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krofire

  • United Kingdom
  • Joined Aug 8, 2020
  • 55 / M

Non Non Biyori Nonstop

Dec 24, 2021

Shed a tear for Silver Link’s brilliant rural comedy came to an end with its third season in 2021 (nearly six years after season 2). We’re going to push the boat out here and give this a rare 10/10. When something is THIS brilliant, yet is so understated, it somehow hard to find the words to describe exactly why an Iyashikei show (like this) is so wondrous. It’s like the perfect recipe with its combination of ingredients all in the exactly correct proportions and blended with love. When you taste it, you are not conscious of the constituent parts yet it would be incomplete if any were missing. There are occasions when Natsumi goes full-on Bart Simpson, or Hotaru’s plushie obsession is just too cute for words, or Kazuho is just too lazy and sleepy to be taken seriously as a teacher. It’s all here. As always, the signature flavour is marked out by the relationship between Renge and Kaede. Fans will note a small progression by season three. Two male characters now have speaking roles which is somewhat of a miracle in a village that seemingly is only populated by girls. It also seems as if Tokyo has got a lot closer as Konomi regularly attends band practice during the summer holidays. One of her high school friends, Akane, then becomes a regular sight joining the girls in an effort to overcome her shyness as well as perfect her skills playing the flute.

Another new character is little Shiori, a new friend of Renge, being one year younger. Another girl, Honoka (who we last saw in Season one) returns and renews her friendship with Renge. Between these, and a few new adult characters, the cast has grown significantly and it is hard to keep up as they don’t always have very distinctive looks. Season three events (like season two’s) seem to run concurrently with season one’s. It ends with the graduation of Suguru (“Glasses-chan”) and Renge becoming a Second Grader. The highlight of the show comes in episode 11 when Kaede (Candy Store) visits Kazuho for a few drinks but then gets too drunk. She hides her condition from Renge before slumping into tearful reminiscing upon the little baby Renge once was. Both she and Kazuho well up with tears thinking about how their little girls have grown up. It is a truly touching moment set-off with just enough humour as Hikage watches the two in disbelief. There are just so many little moments of genius like this that it is hard to list all the best parts. Consider Renge and Shiori’s bizarrely adult philosophical discussion in episode 7 or the strange escape of Hotarus’s robot Komari plushie in episode 5. This is a show that just discretely slips from one little slice of comic genius to the next and makes it all look so easy, so slick. We are going to miss these girls like crazy. A true goldmine of joy.

10/10 story
10/10 animation
10/10 sound
10/10 characters
10/10 overall

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