My followers from my oldest days will remember that this was actually a series that I discontinued since I wasn't happy with the format, but now that I've gotten a few things sorted out, I'm ready to jump-start this thing again. So, hello people of "The Wired", my name is Quan, and today, we'll be taking a look at a certain moment from...
Non Non Biyori
...or...
Renge's Not So Bizarre Adventure
That She Tries to Make Bizarre Anyway
Released in the Fall season of 2013, Non Biyori aired its 12 initial episodes to warm reception from both critics and average viewers. The critics liked its precise character writing and lovely soothing atmosphere, while fans basically just appreciated how freaking cute it was, and Renge, one of the show's heroines, has since become the unofficial mascot of anime memes due to her impossibly amazing and adorable reactions to pretty much everything. The "plot" follows the daily lives of four girls living in the Japanese countryside(but don't tell Renge that), and for its vibrant and upbeat vision of the mundanity of the everyday, it eventually got itself a second season in 2015 called Non Non Biyori Repeat, which chronologically took place inter-spliced between the episodes of the first season. For me, while I don't quite think it quite scratches the top of its respective genre, it definitely is a must-see for fans of slice-of-life stories, and coming from a genre that has arguably produced some of the best anime of all time, that compliment is a lot more significant than it first sounds. However, what really shuffles my bubbles about this anime's reputation in the community is that I always see it being placed and/or compared to moe-blob shows like K-On! or Kiniro Mosaic, when in reality, its overall goals as a show are much different. Now, yes, I'm not saying following the premise of following the inconsequential activities of four cute girls isn't entirely removed from the aforementioned comparisons, but for a show with a such a unique thematic binding as Non Non Biyori, I can't helped but be bothered by that. Now, if you've watched this show, you're probably getting a little confused, and making a face that is somewhere in-between a squint and a raised eyebrow. Even if they think this show is good or charming, you won't find many people arguing for the novelty of Non Non Biyori. Well, allow me to explain. The reason I watch anime is for the almost unbelievable myriad of different ideas, both insane and revolutionary, that the medium encompasses. Anime is where the weird crap that nobody else would air gets its moment to shine, and for the most part, I love it for that. However, even with my list nearing 500 completed titles, even with the incredible amount of variety in my viewing habits that I strive for, Non Non Biyori is one of the only anime that I've seen that is specifically about childhood.
Look, it's not really a secret that most anime is exclusively for teenagers. It's why most anime take place in highschool, it's why most anime protagonists are angsty guys with stupid haircuts that inexplicably attract every girl around them, and it's why you'll see so many adolescent characters in anime that are either more skilled or more smart than practically any adult, like the Sphinx team from Zankyou no Terror, Kotomi Ichinose from Clannad, or that one smug genius character that according to anime, every Japanese highschool has at least one of. That's also why coming-of-age stories like FLCL or Eureka Seven are so highly acclaimed, because they break the mold and actually expose the insecurities and issues that most teenagers must go through in order to become functional adults. When you take all that into account, in a medium where our main catalysts for wish fulfillment and relatability are either characters that are already impossible badasses or emotionally broken young-adults trying to become better people, I suppose it's not really that much of a surprise that nobody really has time to be a kid, or even pretend to be one. That is where Non Non Biyori is unique.
It's not just that Non Non Biyori is about a group of eleven-to-fourteen year old kids, not counting Renge who is literally only like seven. Non Non Biyori captures childhood with its atmosphere and story-lines; the whole show exudes this aura of childhood indulgence that relaxes and soothes the veiwer, and most of the episodes revolve around the small insignificant things that kids do yet turn out to be some of your fondest memories when you look back on them, like learning to ride a bicycle, going out to catch fireflies with your friends, and climbing a mountain to see the first sun of the new year rise at the peak. This was refreshing for me, and probably would have been enough to get across the kind of atmosphere it wanted, but Non Non Biyori, convinced me, in one five minute sketch, that it actually understood what being a kid is actually like. Which means, yes, it's finally time to get to the scene this post is about.
After the lovely eyecatch, we see enter a scene midway through the third episode with the two sisters of the show: the older yet immature Komari, and the spunky younger sister Natsumi. In order to prove how mature she is I guess, Komari decides to watch a horror movie by herself on the pretense that it won't scare her like it did as a child. Of course, it utterly terrifies her, and Komari ends up trying to sneak into Natsumi's room at night so she doesn't have to sleep alone. Natsumi eventually lets her stay, but not before teasing Komori (in the way that she usually does) a little by putting on a creepy clown mask and scaring her sister into thinking there's a white-robed figure behind her. As the pair settle down for the night, while Komori, frightened, counts sheep by muttering "no more ghosts" over and over to herself, Natsumi casually reassures her sister. The little exchange of dialogue that follows turns a scene that was pretty much played for the laughs into probably my favorite few individual seconds of the entire show.
Komori: "No more ghosts, no more ghosts, no more ghosts, no more ghosts, no more ghosts, no more ghosts..."
Natsuki: "There's no such thing as souls or the other world."
Komori: "No more ghosts, no more ghosts, no more ghosts, no more ghosts, no more ghosts, no more ghosts..."
Natsuki: "There's nothing to be afraid of..."
*pauses*
"Wait. If souls and the other world don't exist... what happens after we die?
...Hey sis, if we don't have souls, does everything just go black?"
Komori: "*already half-asleep* ...There's no such things as ghosts..."
Natsuki: "...okay, I'll just go to sleep...
*silence*
Hey sis, please wake up!"
When we were kids, I'm sure we all had that moment when we realized something. As we just went about our everyday lives, we suddenly realized one of those "adult things" that you usually wouldn't concern yourself with, and had that moment when you realized that it confused and scared you. Kids aren't stupid, but they just don't know all that much about the world. When that fragile barrier breaks down, when the real world suddenly and without warning reaches into your own, well, I don't know about anybody else, but it was one of the most alienating experiences I had as a kid. What's important here to note is Natsuki's personality. She is not like Renge, whose inquisitive nature constantly leads her to discovering things that absolutely blow her mind, or like the main character Hotaru, who is thoughtful beyond her years, or even like her sister, who is probably too busy attempting to be mature to think about this kind of stuff. Natsuki is a tomboy -she takes life at her own pace and doesn't sweat the small stuff- and as far as she's concerned, the most important thing about life is having fun. However, even if it is just for a moment, Natsuki's mind has wandered beyond the bubble of her own life and her own town. She is thinking about death, about being gone forever, maybe for the first time in her life. And it scares her.
Non Non Biyori as a whole doesn't typically have any interest in anything that isn't highlighting the mundane wonder that can be found in a small country town in Japan. Nothing particularly that dramatic happens in it, and for the most part, its best moments come in the form of the comedy and nostalgia. Even after this brief moment of seriousness, the show reverts back to comedy without missing a beat. Life moves on, like it's mimicking the wondering mind of a kid like Renge, who always is up to some new thing practically every episode. Even Natsuki probably forgets about this moment after she goes to sleep. But it stuck with me, a single moment of uncertainty in a show filled with charm and ambience, that made me realize that Non Non Biyori actually knew what it was talking about, and from that moment on, I was ready to listen completely. Goodbye for now guys.
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