I should start this review by saying I am not a fan of Nichijou. Not that I don't like it, mind you, it's just that I've never seen it. I've had it on the backlog for a reason, though; the show's surreal humor has made it an icon of anime comedies. It put both mangaka Arawi Keiichi and subsequently Kyoto Animation in the spotlight, and so when City the Animation was announced it immediately got eyes on it. But as someone not seeing this as the legacy of Nichijou I went in pretty open, drawn in by the visuals and tone presented in the trailer. And I've finished the series feeling fairly satisfied, not quite as impressed as I expected but still happy I tuned in for the fun.

Personal Score

this criteria uses the DecentFilms rating formula.

Letter-Grade Recommendability: A-
Artistic/Entertainment Value - ★★★★★
Moral/Spiritual Value - +2
Age Appropriateness: Kids & Up

City is a unique show in that it isn't really about one or a few characters at once. As the name implies it attempts to characterize an entire city, giving personality to as many of its residents as possible. There are multiple groups that are contenders for the main cast and they vary depending on who you ask, but the main factions could most accurately be middle-scoolers Matsuri and Ecchan and the young adult trio of Nagumo/Niikura/Wako. This is a slice-of-life comedy with an emphasis on the surreal, taking mundane happenings and quarrels and ramping them up to lunatic proportions. When you sit down for City you're there to see normal everyday emotions be exaggerated for the fun of the moment, despite the stakes being low and the setting being very comfortable.

Let's begin with the negatives, because without these critiques I'd be more disposed to loving City. We all know a joke that is fairly fun or at least gets a smile out of you, and maybe someone didn't get it, so the joke gets repeated and it's slightly less funny the second time around. This anime doesn't repeat jokes in that way, but sometimes the presentation of the jokes starts to have that effect due to how long it takes to play out. Coming right off of the finale I think that is an excellent example: you have a musical number brought about from good fortune, and the number continues even as things start to go awry, but then things just keeps fluctuating and the musical continues for several whole minutes. Don't get me wrong, I do like the presentation of the jokes, the musical was very pleasing to watch, but it wasn't really funny by the end. Which does sting, and while this doesn't apply to every single joke or most for that matter it does bring down a few that maybe would have benefitted from less time allotted.

Another issue that is entirely subjective would be the fact that this is an anime. Now don't get me wrong, I love the fact that anime is Japanese and that the culture of that country is embedded into its media; I consider that one of its greatest virtues. As an overseas viewer, however, that did mean I was lost a few times watching this. The immediate scene that comes to mind is the Japanese theater segment, which happens a couple times if I recall correctly and completely lost me with whatever the punchline was supposed to be. This cannot possibly be a knock against the show's quality, since this is a Japanese joke in a Japanese show, but it is worth mentioning because in this case overseas viewers will just be confused and that subtracts from the enjoyment factor. This is the biggest barrier of entry that I see and thus why my recommendation does come with these stipulations.

That being said, however, there is a LOT to love about City. The most immediate thing you will notice about this anime is that it is absolutely beautiful, and I don't think very many things can compete. The artstyle is almost an antithesis of modern animation styles, trading out thin outlines and desaturated color pallettes for thick outlines and some vibrant colors, almost akin to a children's book. It's also complimented by some excellent animation that manages to be frantic and off-the-walls when it needs to be as well as fluid and slow depending on what brand of surreal imagery needs to be on the screen. It was a payoff to a lot of the humor and ultimately carried even the weaker jokes.

What I like about this wonderful presentation, putting aside the obvious aesthetic beauty, is how it perfectly matches the themes of the anime. There is a reason City aired in the summer, and it's to give everyone a chance to enjoy life. Time is of the essence for Matsuri and Ecchan as they spend time together, and time has already crept up on young adults Nagumo and Niikura. Everyone wants to live life and do as much as they can with what time they've been given, and that pushes them to do new things. Midori Nagumo is the most explicit demonstration of this: a girl who was at the height of popularity in school and wants to carry that energy into her mundane young-adult reality. Time is a resource, and you miss the shots you don't take, so why not take a risk and do something fun? The more I think about these characters the more apparent this theme is, and in a world that feels overworked and desaturated it's a healthy reminder.

Speaking of these characters, I really do like them all. I'm aware that there are even more in the manga that just couldn't make the cut, and I think KyoAni did a good job with the 13-episode runtime that they had. You had the rich girl constantly finding people to be generous to, the sports team whose only good player gets injured nonstop, the mangaka and his editor grappling with the longevity of his work, the sleepy schoolgirl whose smile can kill a man, and the list goes on and on. There are just so many characters I can recall as I go and I liked every single one, there was not a single unpleasant person in this city and it feels like the mangaka has an everlasting faith in humanity. If I had to give a favorite, though, I would to go with the schoolgirl duo of Matsuri Makabe and Eri "Ecchan" Amakazari; the two are nigh-inseperable for most of the series, and I couldn't help but smile at their innocent frienship. It makes the latter of their story bittersweet, but I won't cover it here. As mentioned I did also like the tomboyish Nagumo Midori, her roommate Niikura, and the autistic photographer that is Wako Izumi. Their various plots to get money and win at various competitions are very fun to watch, and it is sweet seeing Niikura's admiration for Nagumo come out at critical moments to motivate her friend. There are just so many good character moments here that I would be writing for many paragraphs more going over them, and that's a good problem to have.

I love City the Animation. I love its characters and its style, and I already have an itch to watch it again. I mentioned in my last review that Ikamusume is one of my favorite summer anime and I think I may have to slot City in alongside it. I'll be looking forward to the blu-ray when it comes out, and for those of you who sail the high seas it is worthing getting a larger filesize for these as torrents. Trust me, these clips are done a disservice being so small.