Epic battles of the high school era.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Keiichi Arawi
Translation/Adaptation: Jenny McKeon
What They Say
The witty and surreal high school comedy continues in volume 3 of Nichijou!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With two volumes of Nichijou under the belt, it’s definitely easy to get a feel for the series. While some of what Arawi did in the beginning was a bit rough, and seeing the original series concept showed how much it evolved over time to begin with, he’s been able to really master is quickly and excel in a way that a lot of other creators never end up doing. The result is something that’s smooth and fun that works to its own tune but has such confidence about it that you can’t help but to get into it. It’s certainly a bit of a distinctive sense of humor and the structure of the chapters can take a bit of getting used to, but for those tat it appeals to it ends up really clicking wonderfully.
With this volume, the book continue to run plenty of gags in a similar way. The short joke sections with the four-panel material is particularly fun as we see the go/soccer club being as useless as it usually is and a host of other little blips of nonsense that even when the gags don’t land you end up laughing because of the visuals and expressions. The book has some fun with Takasaki this time around as well as he gets closer and closer to trying and making a move on Ms. Sakurai and he actually goes the distance, to a degree, and just the look of surprise on his face as things seemingly progress, misunderstandings in the mix and all, is priceless. His earnest approach to trying to get closer to her doesn’t dominate the book by any stretch but when he and Ms. Sakura show up there’s just a certain liveliness and almost innocence that’s just cute and adorable.
The main trio of girls certainly have their fun this time around and Mio in particular really nails it as Arawi gives her a fantastic action sequence – with Yuko and a police officer no less – when he yaoi drawings are being discovered and she has to try and find a way out of it. The panels and layouts for this aspect of it is just fantastic and while Arawi does try it again later in the book, it’s this first one that just goes above and beyond and delivers a great experience. This installment also has some cute fun with Nano and the Professor once again as they deal with their own things, especially being scared to go to the bathroom late at night, thunderstorms, and trying to get Sakamoto to operate as a kind of referee for some of their minor bickering. The trio is definitely cute and I like how the dynamic shifts up between them in how they interact.
In Summary
Nichijou has a particular rhythm about it and it definitely works well if you can get into that groove. This installment largely carries things forward without any radical changes or anything that’s out of this world in terms of story, such as the block-ish chapter in the last volume, but it provides for some smooth progression and growth for the characters and a growing bond for the reader as we see more and more of their quirks and interactions. It’s a silly and fun book that works great as you can gobble up a whole volume and love it or spread out the chapters as little morsels of humor that delight over a few weeks. Definitely recommended.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: All Ages
Released By: Vertical Comics
Release Date: July 5th, 2016
MSRP: $10.95
