Ask John: Will Nichijou Become Another KyoAni Smash Hit?

Question:
Given the track record of Kyoto Animation’s previous shows, will Nichijou follow the success of shows like Lucky Star and K-On!?

Answer:
The only anime production studio that’s consistently, reliably successful is Studio Ghibli. Even Ghibli’s relatively poorly regarded Ged Senki and somewhat overlooked films like Neko no Ongaeshi and Tonari no Yamada-kun have been successful. So despite a string of popular, high profile productions from 2006 through 2010, Kyoto Animation can’t be expected to always turn out smash hit shows. In fact, the success and popularity of KyoAni’s Lucky Star and K-On!! overshadow the fact that concurrently with the first K-On! television series, KyoAni also produced and broadcast the Sora o Miageru Shoujo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai television series, which certainly wasn’t a blockbuster hit.

With the exception of the 2009 Munto television series, KyoAni has seemingly become a de facto studio for school girl anime TV shows, producing Suzumiya Haruhi, Kanon, Lucky Star, Clannad, Clannad After Story, K-On!, K-On!!, and Nichijou consecutively. But Nichijou is a very different type of school anime than KyoAni’s immediately prior series. Suzumiya Haruhi included fantasy elements but aimed for a realistic, naturalistic atmosphere. Lucky Star and K-On likewise aimed for a sense of down-to-earth reality. The Kanon and Clannad television series also aimed for a sense of reality and tried to be shows that viewers could relate to. Nichijou, however, does not take such an approach. Nichijou has an intentionally artificial, comic reality and strives to satirize and subvert expectation rather than satisfy expectation. KyoAni’s big hit shows were for otaku in the sense that they tried to engage and involve otaku. Nichijou is different because it’s a show designed simply for otaku to watch objectively; it’s not a show designed for otaku to immerse themselves in. So while Nichijou is fun, and it does appear to have found an audience, it hasn’t turned into a breakout smash hit, nor does it appear likely to. Kyoto Animation’s Suzumiya Haruhi, Lucky Star, and K-On anime were overnight sensations. Kanon and Clannad already had established fans and were expected from the outset to polarize demographics into viewers and non-viewers. Nichijou hasn’t been the overnight sensation that Suzumiya Haruhi, Lucky Star, and K-On were. Already two months into its broadcast, since the Nichijou anime hasn’t become a blockbuster hit yet, it probably won’t ever reach the stratospheric success of KyoAni’s biggest hits.

But I don’t think that Kyoto Animation expected or even wanted Nichijou to follow in the footsteps of past hits. Stylistically, the art design of Nichijou is so far removed from the moé visual design style of Suzumiya Haruhi, Lucky Star, Kanon, Clannad, and K-On that I can only assume that Kyoto Animation consciously chose to take its production in a slightly different direction with Nichijou. Although every studio hopes that every production becomes a hit, I applaud KyoAni for daring to shift direction rather than try to churn out yet another program in what was quickly becoming the characteristic and predictable “KyoAni house style.” That Nichijou is still a school girl anime reveals that Kyoto Animation hasn’t strayed too far from its contemporary comfort zone, but the fact that it’s a very different type of school girl anime should be commendable. Nichijou isn’t a hit rivaling Lucky Star or K-On, nor will it ever be. But in this particular situation, I think that’s just fine.