kurosaki_kabuto

"Everybody's youth is a dream, a form of chemical madness." F. Scott Fitzgerald. Oh youth and the epic journey called growing up. Most people tend to, in a way or another, be deeply defined by their teenage years. High school is a fond memory to some and a painful one to others, but I think everyone can agree that it is a unique and special period of our lives, one that has no equal. Most people quickly relate the words High School with friendship, as the friends you make in that period of time seem to leave a permanent mark in your memories and sodoes the time you spend with them, most of which is filled talking about something random or even stupid, laughing at simple and normal things, sharing mutual interests and hobbies, talking about the opposite gender in a playful or perverted way and worrying about the weirdest things. Yes, those years you spend in High School are special in a simple and silly way and it is that way that Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou (DKN) tries and successfully manages to recreate in a hilarious manner. [Story] - 8 - Daily Lives of High School Boys. That's basically it. It is a standard slice of life type of story, but one that works amazingly well. The episodes are divided into segments and focus on a big number of characters, each of them with his own peculiarities, as he endures daily tasks. To portray something so simple in an amusing way is not easy at all and I think most animes that actually try this end up filled up with dull boring moments that just kill the mood. DKN avoids that in almost every single scene which is quite amazing and even in its worse episode you'll still laugh out loud quite some times. Most segments are short which gives the comedic tone light, random and fast paced giving it a tremendous enjoyability. To sum things up, it isn't an amazing and complex storyline since it is a slice of life, but the setting and the execution of the comedy match and fit each other so well that you just can't care about how simple the story is. [Art] - 8 - Not much to point out here. The art was acceptably good. It didn't need to be better anyway. The character design was adequate with a pretty good worn on some characters' expressions. The animation was good enough for it. It didn't particularly shine, but I never felt like it needed to be better, so I guess they did a good job with it. [Sound] - 9 - Alright, so I had to give the 9 here for two specific reasons. First of all the soundtrack was very fitting and comedic. The Literature Girl Song cracked me up every single time, it was absolutely perfect for those moments and just hearing the song alone will make you laugh so that's a great job there. Then the second reason lies in the voice actors. Since I'm not an experiences anime reviewer I wasn't sure about where I should talk about this, so I'm just including it within the sound for obvious reasons. Yeah I have to admit I'm a Gintama Fan, so having Sugita (probably my favorite voice actor) and Suzumura playing two of the main characters made the anime that much better. Sugita's voice fit Hidenori too well and his natural ability of making everything he says funny was perfect here. Other than them I also have to positively mention other very fitting voices like Motoharu's (Daisuke Namikawa), Ringo's (Aoi Yuuki) and Yanagi's (Yuu Kobayashi). Indeed a great selection of voice actors. [Characters] - 9 - Probably one of its strongest points, since most times the punchlines rely completely on the characters as the humor is very character-driven on most scenes. Something very good about this series is the fact that the main character doesn't monopolize every scene, in fact it's just the opposite - he doesn't even show up in two or three episodes at all. The secondary characters are hilarious, each of them playing right into a character stereotype but adding a sort of twist to it. Motoharu, the delinquent who's supposedly badass and mature, but still get's manipulated by older girls and is strangely deep and introspective, also having an above the average sensitivity and fragile spirit. Literature Girl, the mysterious silent girl who stands by the riverside staring into the horizon lost in thought, but she's actually just a naive wannabe novel author looking for an ideal encounter with a guy by the riverside. Among many others. [Enjoyment] - 9.5 - Maybe I'm exaggerating here but I feel that the 10 is appropriate. Most episodes went by extremely fast and I laughed like a mad man at most scenes from beginning to end. If a comedy that achieves that doesn't deserve the 10 in enjoyment then few animes do. I really enjoyed this very much and agree with people that relate its sense of humor to Gintama and Nichijou - which I also liked quite a lot. It really surprised me, since I didn't watch any trailers. I just saw a new anime called Daily Lives of High School Boys and thought "well I have 20 minutes free so why not? It'll probably be filled with female-targetted fanservice though...". Then the first episode blew me away. It's actually very easy to tell if you'll like this series or not - just watch the first episode. If you dislike the first episode you don't need to see more as you most likely won't like it at all. [Overall] - 9 - Overall a solid comedy anime that any comedy fan should check out. Get some friends together one afternoon and watch a couple of episodes, it'll probably feel even better! I hope you decide to give it a shot and thank you for reading!

Impala

What is the first thing pop up in your head when you hear a high-school-slice-of life-comedy anime? Boring, if you ask me. I used to think that a pure comedy show revolving around high school students life is so common and dull, my perception changed after I watched Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou, I will refer it as Nichibro from this point. The title may give you a doubt, I wouldn't be surprised if you're skeptical, what's so great about watching a comedy anime revolving around highschoolers' everyday life? I'd say Nichibro stands out because it succeed in delivering what it offers, that is comedy. The titleof this anime literally describes what this show is all about; the daily lives of high school boys. No it's not about cute boys do cute things, but it's about a group of school boys do what they do best, such as slacking off in a friend's house, pranking on people, talking about girls, telling random stories and any other things in exaggeration manners. Nichibro is a gag based anime much like Nichijou-- its girls counterpart. The format is also similar; every episode of this series is composed of several random short skits which usually are not connected to each other. Each skit focuses on a slapstick humor with a punchline at the end. I personally found most of them hit the mark while others are predictable. It's like getting a present on a Christmas morning; sometimes you get what you want, sometimes you are unsure and sometimes it's an ugly sweater. In other words, some people may find one or two skits boring and unfunny, and some other may not. After all, I believe comedy is very subjective, you can't really argue what's funny or not, it's a matter of taste-- what's funny to one person will not always to another. As for the art, Nichibro is quite decent but it's not amazing either. Although the background is simple but it's pretty detailed especially the buildings which is fine for this kind of show. The characters are well drawn and they look natural, like how the male characters aren't wearing their uniform properly. That's how the high school boys dressed. They leave their ties undone, some characters even don't bother to wear ties at all, their shirt are un-tucked, even Karasawa is wearing a hat all the time. The funny expressions or the faces they make is enough to make me burst out in laughter. The characters are also well animated, I notice some characters look alive and vibrant. There is one thing I'm complaining about its design, they (the studio) probably decided to cut corners by drawing some characters with no eyes or it was simply lazy, I have no idea. Still, one can say it's on purpose to show which ones are the main characters. Overall it doesn't ruin the show thou. Another strong point of this show is the characters. First of all, Nichibro doesn't have much character development. I believe character development isn't always necessary especially in a pure comedy show like this one, as long as they are there to make you laugh, that will do. Now let's check out our main characters, the first is Tadakuni, he is the straight man in the group and probably the most ordinary among the trio, but surprisingly, he's someone you can easy relate to. He's usually needed to pull off the jokes. Hidenori, he's the one who usually comes up with crazy schemes. The last is my favourite, Yoshitake, the blond guy. He usually plays along when Hidenori comes up with anything stupid. Their exaggerated attitudes, expressions and randomness are really amusing to watch. In the midst of the series, in fact, they don't "eat" all the screen time. In other words, if one is too "normal" being a student, he won't have much screen time. This when the supporting characters rise. I find the supporting roles are very interesting as well, complete with their own unique personalities. One thing I mind is how violence the girls are to the boys. In my opinion, it's a bit overusing for a slapstick joke anime like this. I can't say much about the sound. The opening song is rather typical but I find the ending sequence is really something. They put a skit on the ending which is very interesting. The upbeat and catchy music while the casts are performing a play in cultural festival is hilarious. The randomness on it is epic. I have no complaints for the voice acting. The voice actors fits the characters, especially Hidenori who's voiced by Sugita (he also has done voice for Gintoki). The way when he talks to himself or when he's overthinking something really makes me laugh. My personal note; Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou is a solid comedy show. If you're looking for good laughs, I'd like to suggest you to give it a shot. In my experience, in every episode I've watched I always find at least one or two skits that are funny and memorable. Moreover, I'm sure you can somehow relate them to your highschool life, although it won't be as extreme and funny as in this series. This is the first time I've watched an anime that is divided into several skits each episode and I like it. I would gladly recommend this to everyone. Overall, This show is thoroughly entertaining and worthy my time.