Nichijou: My Ordinary Life

Nichijou is a high school slice-of-life comedy, with slices that are razor thin—each episode features vignettes that range from minutes to seconds long, usually taking place in the town of Tokisadame but traveling as far away as outer space. Most revolve around two groups of characters: 1) high school students Y­uko (the wacky one), Mio (the nice but violent one), and Mai (the deadpan one), and 2) child genius Hakase, her robot Nano, and the (sort of) talking cat Sakamoto. While cute, each is also terribly flawed. The small, ordinary events of life, such as ordering coffee, are meticulously rendered here. But despite an utter lack of overarching plot, life in Tokisadame does move along, and the characters grow and change: Nano becomes a student, Mio succeeds as a skilled manga artist, and the Igo Soccer Club gains new members. What makes this mad pastiche of humor cohere is the beautiful and carefully rendered animation. Presenting all 26 episodes from 2011 in a Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, in Japanese with English subtitles, and rated TV-14, extras include a bonus episode. Highly recommended. Aud: P. (L. Martincik)