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I think being similar to real life is one of the furthest things from what Nichijou is trying to do, heh. There's still times where you can be like "I can relate to this" but overall it's highly exaggerated and more of a parody going for laughs and craziness. It can be relatable and tender when it wants to, but the relation probably bound to be more general than direct. Idk if you were expecting something more normal but that just ain't Nichijou. I actually don't think Nichijou is similar to Azumanga. Neither the mangas nor the anime. Whereas Azumanga was "SoL" focusing mostly on easy-going gags with some light surrealism and dreamy tenderness thrown in, Nichijou is just a lot less sane and relatable. Azumanga was actively trying to make you feel emotions towards the characters and their relations in a conventional way, it had conventional storylines bridged together by gags, and it's easy to read moral messages and expected emotional feedbacks into stuff that ain't part of the comedy. Nichijou is pretty much exclusively gags with little continuity or obvious reason. In Azumanga arcs and storyline continuity often lead to an emotional payoff, sometimes vague, sometimes not (I particularly like Sakaki's relation with cats over the course of the whole thing)

I like Nichijou more because I find it more bold, funny, creative and impressive, but Azumanga is more tender and becomes likeable when you're in a lighthearted mood. Nichijou's non-comedy related emotional feedback (spanning the entire series, much like Sakaki's thing with cats) is disconnected from what Nichijou is overall about and based on something more or less ridiculous to begin with, making it more a part of the overall comedy (to me). If you'd watched the whole thing I could get more into this but it doesn't matter a whole lot either. I'm pretty much only in it for the gags, and when it comes to things like that, if you don't find it funny you just don't find it funny. That's really the biggest and most important thing.

What did you think of Inu wo Kau btw? I was totally blown away by it, particularly the last chapter which when taken with the previous chapters into account became all the more powerful to me. Really curious to read more Taniguchi but he doesn't exactly seem favored by translators.

I dunno, the idea that they would go "against each other" is probably already refuted by my high rating :P

I do think that the more relaxed moe stuff tends to be the lower point of the series. It's still very comfy to me.

You should probably just give up on it tbh.

i never said i watch it "with distinctions" whatever that means. i dunno where i hinted at that i'm not watching it "fluidly", how you come to that conclusion, i merely mentioned the somewhat schizopohrenic nature of the show.

there is a larger storyline in that the world and characters are moving forward and not standing still, but it takes its sweet time for this to really get apparent. just don't expect that to "pay off" with some kind of deep climax in the traditional way. i don't wanna give any details away. and when i speak of sentimentality and depth, i mean the shoehorned kind, the melodrama that really doesn't belong in a lot of anime but that the creators inexplicably persisted with putting in regardless. Nichijou does not have this, however, it does have a lot of the opposite, sweet sugary moe stuff with Hakase household. the other thing is that the situations are rather sadistic much of the time. at first I didn't like that, but I've since come around. the art is... relatively consistent. I mean it's not crazy out there like Mind Game. occasionally you're thrown a curveball like here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3KR0jYAufU. The animators seem to like changing up the style majorly on occasion, but I'd say the art style itself is more multifaceted and simply has room for deviations of that kind. I mean there is a major difference between this, "relaxed" Nichijou, and "deadpan" Nichijou.

nice to hear from you! you know how these things go so i might not be able to give a satisfying convincing response, but i'll try.

it tries too hard in a way that really hits me in the right spot, the gags are so comfy and sometimes gets me laughing oncontrolably, but what's to note here is not just the impeccable comedic timing, but also the amazing art style (a modern anime that actually looks good! what the heck!). honestly i don't think 6 episodes tells teh whole story either. i don't dare say it gets better but there's a lot of isolated arcs that you're missing, like i-go soccer. Nichijou is very vibrant, bright, colorful, in terms of its characters, their surroundings, the music and art, the general feeling, sometimes it gets carried away and changes up the animation style in ways i can only describe as breathtaking. it never falls into the trap of getting sentimental or trickking the viewer into thinking there's any depth in there as so many other anime would, it avoids that completely, if you ever feel otherwise, you're being pulled a fast one. it's all about fun! in addition, i love the voice actors, they are simply unbelievably good. but that is precisely because they are allowed to try "too hard!" yuuko and mai are simply amazing!

if you wish to know more just ask! I didn't think it was THAT great at first but after rewatching a few times, I really can't get enough, it's one of the funniest things ever to me

So I have been watching Heidi and love it. How does Akage no Anne compare?

sugar-coated sentimental romance can be awful, sure. but i'm quite picky about what i watch nowadays, for the most part. and i don't watch a lot of that. most of the romances i watch are south korean realism, lol. anyway i didn't mean to start this debate with you (even if it's been interesting) it mostly just asking about why you made a ghibli top list in the first place. it's nice to hear that you still think whisper is really good. hopefully anne won't disappoint you.

also: "that there existed a moment of fleeting joy but it is eventually doomed" <--- why not appreciate whisper as the fleeting joy it is, then? ;)

that's a pessimistic view, but i'm not going to tell you that you are wrong. let's not forget that we're just talking about works of art here. when we think about these works, i don't think it's necessary to think about stuff like "what happens afterwards?" but rather about the works as a whole. there is a reason why whisper ends during the most positive moment, and just as it ends, so should the viewers speculation about how their love "is doomed" or whatever else. think about it, the film is just one package, speculating about stuff that doesn't exist in the film (that we're obviously not meant to speculate about, such as doomed love) is merely projecting too much of ourselves onto the work of art. forgive me for saying this but it might even be an egoistic practice. of course i understand that you can't help your pessimistic view, and the films you mentioned are all great in their own rights. it just seems there is so much hip nihilism going around everywhere in all kinds of art at the moment. it's just so refreshing when something truly positive and revelatory comes along. i say this as someone who appreciates and respects depressive films like Oasis for example as much as the next guy.

"deeper than that" <--- how do you mean?

i think everything that happens in whisper is entirely plausible. yes, even the ending, which apparently doesn't work for some, i find unbelievably uplifting, and yes, realistic. certainly doesn't hurt that it is so perfect in terms of style, either. even if it's sugar coated, it's still realistic, IMO. i can't say the same about for example kiki's delivery service, which seems more sugar coated (still a very good movie, though). of course it's easy to start to look down on whisper when one reflects on one's own life and experiences, so i understand you also. but for me that film kind of gives me some hope.

by the way, didn't you feel like you had outgrown ghibli movies or something like that? something about them (or maybe it was whisper of the heart in particular) not being as relevant to you anymore.

you could always add comments or something.

i get what you mean by serious modern style. it's a very common trap. the 'serious older style' tends to be more campy and therefore more endearing. i saw 2 episodes of mushishi way back now, and am not currently interested in seeing more, though i probably will at some point

:D

btw, what do you think about Mushishi?