Nano’s getting the screws put to her by her fellow students and teachers these days.
What They Say:
Episode 15
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With Nano acclimating to the life of a student, she’s doing pretty well to fit in besides that screw on her back. What it’s doing though is causing some of them to believe that she must be a robot, which has Yukko coming up with grand plans to expose her. This does admittedly kind of panic Mio as she doesn’t think it’s the right thing to do, but Yukko is an unstoppable force. Of course, Nano isn’t an ordinary robot by any stretch and the Professor hasn’t exactly made her gifted either, as she handles things in a roundabout and obtuse way, especially when the first challenge is mathematics and she pulls out an abacus that she doesn’t even know how to use. Of course, Mai doesn’t help as she throws a few curveballs into the encounter. It’s very cute to see it unfold with Mio panicking but swept up in it and Yukko just wanting a new friend.
The whole situation does put Nano into the mode of wanting to be more ordinary though, especially after an encounter with one of the teachers that tries to drug her so he can prove she’s not human. Her pleading with the Professor to be made more normal is amusing to watch, especially after she sees some kids playing robots and monsters and feels that it dehumanizes her even more. The Professor continues to be adorable as she goes on about Nano is so cute as a robot, including the screw, and especially the weapons she has inside her arms. Or at least one of her arms as the other makes chikuawa, which they both love to eat and goes back to an earlier gag in the series that still makes me grin.
What worries me a bit with the series at this point is that it is spending a lot of time focusing on Nano and some of the other characters are being pushed to the background. We’d have more of a mix of character before, but the Nano stories are dominating here. Even when she’s not on screen, it focuses on the science teacher, Nakamura, and what he’s trying to accomplish in figuring out what Nano is. That does lead to some amusing moments and it works, but again, it’s Nano focused. The last part of this episode is the same as the last episode in a way as well as it has Nano trying to once again get the Professor to remove the screw. It has cute moments and humor to it as she’s so old fashioned at times, but it even avoids anything fun with Sakamoto being involved. I like Nano, but this feels like too much.
In Summary:
My Ordinary Life touches upon its title briefly here as Nano does lash out about how she does want to just be normal, and it’s a cute moment since she’s dealing with one of the most un-normal people in the series with the Professor. Her struggles to adapt to school life are cute and fun but are generally light and empty in a way, but it’s all about the atmosphere and the cuteness of it all,e specially when the other kids interact with here. There is plenty to like here and a good bit of laughs to be had with all involved, but it’s taking one particular angle and working it a bit too hard, even if it is getting the desired results. Even if it had just a bit more Sakamoto involvement, it would have eased it a bit…
Grade: B
Simulcast By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
