"CITY THE ANIMATION" is a Sekai-kei comedy, isn't it?

This time, I would like to write about the much-talked-about new Kyoto Animation series"CITY THE ANIMATION".

As a new work from Kyoto Animation (not a sequel), it's been a really long time.
That said, this is based on the manga by Nichijou's Keiichi Arawi sensei.
Moreover, since "CITY" and "Nichijou" are apparently in a parallel world relationship, in a sense, it's not impossible to interpret it as a spin-off of "Nichijou".

I assume everyone watched it after getting at least that much advance information, but honestly, what were your impressions?
...Well, if I may give my frank opinion,

"This is completely different from 'Nichijou'!"

That's about it.

No, since it's a different work, it's natural that it's different, but I had assumed on my own that it would be something like "Nichijou," so I was just caught off guard by the gap.

<Differences between "Nichijou" and "CITY">

1. The art is clearly different

Since they are by the same original author, the characters naturally look similar, but as animation, it was completely different.
While "Nichijou" used relatively pale colors, "CITY" is quite vivid.
And while "Nichijou" used relatively thin lines, "CITY" clearly has thick lines.
Or rather, they were so thick that there are few other examples...

2. The texture of the characters is different

What I was really bothered by in "CITY" was the expression of tears and sweat.
Of course, there were tears and sweat in "Nichijou" too, but it didn't bother me that much.
But in "CITY," the amount of moisture is so high that it's noticeable.
Is it simply because it's set in summer?

3. Script/Series Composition

The series composition (script supervision) for "Nichijou" was Jukki Hanada.
On the other hand, "CITY" has no series composition (is that even normal?), and instead, there is a mysterious credit of "Taichi Ishidate <Script Supervision> / Keiichi Arawi <Script Supervision>".
What does this mean?

4. Character Design/Chief Animation Director

For "Nichijou," they brought in Futoshi Nishiya (who passed away in that arson incident...), an ace among aces who was called a "genius" at the time, as the character designer/chief animation director, whereas for "CITY," they have selected a young woman named Tamami Tokuyama as the character designer/chief animation director.
I think this might be her first time in such a major role, right?
Previously, being in charge of character design/animation direction for a short Kyoto Animation PR anime was probably the peak of her career so far...
I think it will be fine because her mentor, Ishidate-san (who seems to be in a teacher-like position for young staff within the company now), is with her, but I'm a little worried.

5. Animation Production System

Above all, what bothered me about "CITY" was the small number of key animators.
In the first episode, there were only 5 (and most of them were women).
And in the second episode, there were also 5 (3 men, 2 women here).
By the way, "Nichijou" had 17 in the first episode and 22 in the second.
Hmm, I should probably praise the fact that "CITY" was able to achieve that quality with only 5 people, but are they planning to go all the way with this 5-person system?
Will it be okay?

6. Parody

What stood out in "CITY" was the Fujiko Fujio parody.
Did we have this kind of thing during "Nichijou"?
I don't remember well.
If I hear correctly, Arawi-sensei is a huge Fujiko Fujio fanatic, so perhaps the sensei's own intentions are being reflected.
Anyway, the taste is strangely "Showa"... (laughs).

I have listed the differences between "Nichijou" and "CITY" above, but there might be some people who thought, "Since the director changed, it's natural that the style changed, right?".

...No, that's a little different.
Because the previous "Nichijou" had a two-headed system of <Director: Tatsuya Ishihara, Assistant Director: Taichi Ishidate>.
This time, Ishihara-san just happened to step down because he needed to work on the theatrical version of "Dragon Maid", and the assistant director, Ishidate-san, simply got promoted.

So, Mr. Ishidate, who has a complete grasp of "Nichijou," originally had no reason to take the risk of changing "CITY" significantly.
Yet, this time, he is daring to take that risk.

To begin with, why wasn't Jukki Hanada brought back?

I think this is actually a key point.

Even though calling Mr. Hanada would surely guarantee a certain level of quality, the fact that they didn't do so shows that "Arawi-sensei's <script supervision> had already been decided" was a fact. At the same time, Mr. Ishidate is also listed as <script supervisor>, but this is likely a role of "translating" what Arawi-sensei wrote for animation, and the initiative remains with Arawi-sensei.
That's probably why they didn't bother to appoint a "series composition" role this time.

But why go through all that trouble just to have Arawi-sensei join the staff?

Well, this is just a guess, but Arawi-sensei himself probably just really wants to make anime (laughs).

As proof, please take a look at Arawi-sensei's YouTube channel sometime.
There are plenty of animations he made himself there...

"If you have time to make stuff like this, go draw manga!" Some people might want to retort like that, but no, no, ever since the days of Osamu Tezuka, it seems that to a manga artist's eyes, "the grass always looks greener on the other side." In other words, I interpreted it as Arawi-sensei just dying to make anime with his own hands.

...But, isn't that fine?
One of the advantages of having the original author get involved in the anime like this is, above all, that "you can make changes to the original work more smoothly" right?
That's why I think there's a good chance that this "CITY THE ANIMATION" might show developments that are significantly different from the original manga.

So, with that in mind, let me write down my own interpretation of the "correlation between "Nichijou" and "CITY"" here.

<Comparison between "Nichijou" and "CITY">

"Nichijou" => Pale colors => <Dream>-like
"CITY" => Vivid colors => <Reality>-like

"Nichijou" => Less sense of humidity => <Dream>-like
"CITY" => Strong sense of humidity => <Reality>-like

"Nichijou" => Has a sense of a closed utopia => <Dream>-like
"CITY" => Even depicts human sorrow => <Reality>-like

Originally, the correlation between these two works was announced as a "parallel world," meaning they are not on the same world line.
And one is "sharp" while the other is "soft".

If this is "a difference in expression intended by the production side",

<One is the real world, and the other is a virtual world>

Don't you think that interpretation isn't entirely unnatural?

Personally, I interpret "Nichijou" => virtual world (something dream-like) and "CITY" => real world, but one could also interpret the vivid color palette of "CITY" as artificially colored => virtual-like, so it's hard to say for sure...

...Well, anyway, I think there's a good possibility that one is the "official history" and the other is the "created world".

Huh? Am I too influenced by "GQuuuuuuX" (lol)?

...Actually, there is a mysterious doctor↓↓ in "CITY" lol

And the fact that he is voiced by Takehito Koyasu makes him incredibly suspicious (lol).

This Takehito Koyasu character definitely has some connection to the "Hakase" (Professor)↓↓ from "Nichijou," right lol?

You might all be thinking, "But Arawi-sensei isn't really a sci-fi person, is he?"

No, he is a huge "Eva" nerd lol.

In other words, he is someone who also loves "Sekai-kei tropes".

So, as a hypothesis derived from the aforementioned points, I predict that in the final episode of "CITY," the Sekai-kei structure of this story (the correlation between the "Nichijou" world and the "CITY" world) will be revealed...

First of all, the "story about the petrified bird" at the beginning of the first episode of "CITY." Didn't that bother you all a little bit?

I think you all interpreted that bit as a kind of joke where "they talk about a grand historical event, but in the end, it has absolutely nothing to do with the main plot," but is that really the case? Would Kyoto Animation really spend screen time on such a low-level joke? ...I have a feeling that bird is a piece of foreshadowing.

Also, another possibility is a "story-within-a-story" structure, a so-called meta-structure. I thought this person was a key person↓↓

This Oni-Kamaboko is a manga artist. A manga artist, in other words, is a "
person who creates worlds."

For example, the heroine of "CITY," Nagumo, has a character that is a bit similar to the heroine of "Nichijou," Aioi. They don't look alike. But their rough personalities are a bit similar. Similarly, I feel like Izumi Wako from "CITY" is similar to "Nano" from "Nichijou." Like, in their airheaded nature...

...So, based on these character similarities,

The characters in "Nichijou" are fictional characters created by Oni-Kamaboko using the residents of the same apartment building as models.

⇓⇓⇓

In other words, please keep in mind the possibility that "Nichijou" is a fictional world created by the demon kamaboko in "CITY".

...No, of course, the reverse structure is also possible.

...No, of course, the reverse structure is also possible.

Because there are manga artists in the "Nichijou" world too lol

...Yes, that means the reverse interpretation, where the world of the manga Mio drew is "CITY," is also possible. However, if that were the case, "BL" and "glasses" should definitely exist in the "CITY" world (since Mio likes BL/glasses), but unfortunately, I don't see them at the moment.

Well, whatever.
Anyway, I intend to continue watching "CITY" and keep verifying this matter.

...Huh?
Am I the only one looking at it this way lol?