Impression
It’s at times like these when I’m glad to be a slice of life fan. While it still retains an element of comedy, Non Non Biyori is a show that leans more towards the “pure” slice of life genre (alongside series like Hidamari Sketch or Aria) and as such, everything is calm, tranquil and soothing. When you’re having a shitty day, it’s this type of show which makes you think that things aren’t so bad after all. It also means that things are extremely slow-paced (indeed, the first 2 minutes just comprised of a montage of scenery porn) and so Non Non Biyori definitely isn’t for everyone. Some may even label this show boring, though then I’d have to question what exactly you expected from a slice of life show set in the countryside.
Contrary to Renge’s mistaken beliefs, they are very much living in the country – how could she have possibly decided otherwise when the local bus turns up once every two hours?! As someone who lives in a very urban area, I was just as bemused as Hotaru was to find out that there were four other students in the entire school (all in different year groups) with no convenience stores or bookshops anywhere in the… town. Is it a town? Or a village… of some sort? No-one seems to lock their doors, and the nearby candy store sells two-day old magazines. That sounds extremely inconvenient, though it might be different from their perspective. I mean, if these girls all grew up here, it’s not like they would know of an alternative (Renge’s seen a picture of a convenience store though). Renge’s definitely a potential candidate for best loli. Her expression reminded me of Chiaki’s deadpan look (from Minami-ke, another great slice of life) and the gag with that tanuki was funnier than I thought it would be.
If everything works out okay, I think this could be a great slice of life. However, it’s pretty much impossible to blog – it’s not the kind of show that will ever get anywhere, and coupled with its format (a series of extended gags like with Kiniro Mosaic) it becomes even harder to form some sort of impression on a weekly basis. I’ll be sure to watch this though – 23 minutes of weekly slice of life can’t possibly be a bad thing.
Possibility of Watching: Guaranteed
Possibility of Blogging: Unlikely