Nichijou, Vol. 11

日常 (Nichijou) #11

by Keiichi Arawi

ongoing ordinariness

mio vs. a caterpillar. the vice principal vs. all the clubs. the professor vs. sleepiness. yuuko vs. a perfect score. misato vs. a jaguar. nano and sakamoto vs. a strange box. annaka vs. a beetle. mr. takasaki vs. a ham. fecchan vs. a deserted island. mai vs. a daifuku. and so the ordinary days continue…

Genres: Manga, Humor

172 pages, Paperback

First published December 26, 2022

About the author

Keiichi Arawi (あらゐ けいいち, Arawi Keiichi) is a Japanese manga artist and illustrator.
Arawi was born in the prefecture of Gunma in 1977. He started his comics career at age 19 and for about a decade he published short stories. His series Nichijou, a slice of life comedy manga, was first serialised between 2006 and 2015 in the magazine 'Shonen Ace', and collected in ten volumes. In 2011 Nichijou was adapted into a 26-episode anime directed by Tatsuya Ishihara, now considered a cult. From 2016 to 2021 Arawi worked on the comedy manga CITY. In 2022 he resumed the serialisation of Nichijou, as well as starting a new strip called Amemiya-san.

Reviews

[Ludwig Aczel · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10
Seven years after ending Nichijou in 2015 (seven years during which he has given us his masterpiece so far, CITY), Arawi returns to his most famous creation. Why I do not know. Money, possibly. Editorial pressure, one could imagine. Genuine love of the author for these iconic characters, surely. As we know, Nichijou and CITY are structurally very similar series. But I suspect that the former must be easier to do than the latter. Indeed, with Nichijou the creator does not need to relate the various gag episodes in the usual net of correlations that characterised every volume of CITY. So, possibly a bit less of fuzz and writing struggle for a better reward (of public response, if not actual financial reward).
Me personally, as a fan of Arawi, I would rather see the man explore new possibilities, maybe take some risks. I must mention that he has another series going on since 2021, called Amemiya-san. Maybe he is trying something new therein, but who knows when, or even if, we will see that in the West.
With all that in mind, Nichijou is back and it is the usual very accomplished stuff, visually and humour-wise, so I cannot complain! As usual, it does not make me laugh out loud, but it makes me giggle all the way through, while also striking my 'comic formalist' chords here and there. You can see Arawi importing here some of the dynamics that he explored in CITY, with Fecchan and Weboshi having their surreal conversations like the two middle school girls from CITY, and 'big ribbon' Annaka becoming a more recurrent protagonist of weird adventures. Let's see where it goes.

[cyberwebbz]

A RETURN OF THE SERVE.....
I love Nichijou ive always loved Nichijou i think it just has a lovely pitch perfect sense of humour U KNOW.... It always makes the silly stuff work and not feel just super totally out of place and stuff. And i was a little worried going on... Like U Know... What if Keiichi Arawi lost his touch... What if it stinks poopily now... No worries my great Nichijouites this volume is just as lovely and fun as it has ever been it feels like lost chapter ripped straight out of the original run!!! So so so much fun recommend so much... And im so glad they finally translated it to English...
:~)

[Forrest Taylor]

It was fine.

Didn't really laugh out loud or anything. Some of the jokes were kinda rehashes of previous jokes. Better than some volumes.

[Dan P · Rating 4 out of 5]

still laugh out loud funny after ten years. Arawi is one of the greats

[Luke Larson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a sudden change in art styles. Probably because there’s a seven year difference between volume 10 and volume 11. Yes, they’re still reminiscent of each other, but it was still kind of a shock to see a sudden improvement/crispness between volumes. I will admit that I didn’t like the change in art styles at first, but it did grow on me. I’ll also agree with another reviewer that some of the gags are rehashes of previous gags. I personally was not expecting to see a volume 11 since volume 10 ends with the end, but here we are. I also hear that a volume 12 is coming out later this year (2025; English; Vertical Comics). I will say that I definitely still love this series.

[Shaun Heenan]

This felt like a big step down to me from the original volumes.

[Chris Gernon · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s MORE Nichijou! What else can I say?! I love this author’s sense of humor, and I loved this volume.

[Emmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah! My first new Nichijou installment in years! And...I might have hyped it up a little too much in my head, because if I'm being honest, I was a little disappointed. I'm planning on reading it again in the next few days, to see if I can give it a more fair review.

UPDATE: 4/14/2025
Gave it another read-through and enjoyed much more this time. Changed review from 3 to 4 stars.