Episode 3/Plot

Prelude
The episode opens showing the things around an unidentified room: books, test tubes and beakers, and a plain black cat eating food in a cage with no top or bottom, near an open window. The cat looks up when two sparrows land on a box sitting on the windowsill. The box reads "Sakamoto Medicine". After knocking its cage off balance, the cat is able to slip under the cage. The cat pounces, the birds fly off, and the cat lands in the open box sitting vicariously on the windowsill. The cat and the box then fall out the window, which is on the second floor! Naturally, the cat is able to land on its feet, but then the box lands open-side down on the cat, trapping it. [Opening Intro]

Part 9
A sparrow is pecking around on the sidewalk, but flys off when it sees Yuuko and Mio walking towards it. On their way to school, Yuuko tells Mio that she's been wondering for a while now: Why does Mio always use wooden cubes to hold her pigtails? Mio responds that she just... does. Suddenly, Mio panics and starts checking her bag, then sadly says she's forgotten her math notebook. Mio runs off to get her notebook and her math homework, but Yuuko didn't even remember that they had math today. Yuuko turns the corner and sees Mai on her way to school. Yuuko cheerfully greets her with "Selamat Pagi!", but Mai walks by without comment. Yuuko remains upbeat and asks if this is Mai's famous silent treatment. Yuuko jokes that the scale is huge, like a mountain. The scale is mountainous! Could it be that it actually is a mountain, Yuuko asks as she pulls a toy microphone from her bag and holds it as if she were a reporter waiting for a quote from Mai. Mai continues walking on in silence. Yuuko dejectedly puts her microphone back in her bag.

Mai and Yuuko stop at a crosswalk. Yuuko tells Mai that she knows why she is mad at her: it's because Yuuko took Mai's broccoli from her lunch yesterday. Yuuko reaches into her bag and pulls out a big stalk of broccoli she bought Mai as an apology, but Mai ignores her and begins walking as the light changes. Yuuko sadly concludes that it wasn't the broccoli that made Mai mad, and puts it back in her bag.

Yuuko begins to get worried. Apparently she's done a lot of things lately that could have made Mai angry at her. Yuuko decides that she'll just apologize for things until she gets the right one, and rushes to catch up with Mai. She apologizes for eating Mai's main dish and offers some raw ground beef. She then apologizes for eating her apple and her rice, offering these as well. Then she apologizes for not eating Mai's black beans. Yuuko, now really upset, figures that Mai isn't mad about yesterday's lunch, and begs Mai to tell her what it is. Mai continues to ignore her. Yuuko then has a series of flashbacks. Is Mai mad because of the time she had a Maitreya statue on her desk and Yuuko accidentally broke its neck? Yuuko remembers her taking the statue home and trying (but failing) to fix it with tape and wonders, is Mai made because she borrowed it without asking? Or is Mai mad because Yuuko secretly buried it? Is Mai mad because Yuuko changed her mind and put the statue and an offering on Mai's desk? Or is it because Yuuko changed her mind again and secretly burned it in the incinerator? Yuuko is so upset she begins to cry. She reaches out and grabs Mai's shoulder, and Mai finally takes notice. Yuuko looks at Mai with a sorrowful and apologetic expression. Mai tilts her head to one side, and a confused Yuuko does the same. Mai then takes an earbud out of her ear and music is playing out of it. Yuuko is shocked and relieved to learn that Mai was listening to music this whole time. Somewhat embarrassed, she concludes that Mai must not have heard her, and that she's been talking to herself this whole time! Yuuko thinks to herself that that was close, she almost spilled the beans! Mai then says, "The second part." Yuuko is confused again. Mai continues, explaining that she didn't know about the second part. Yuuko is flabbergasted that Mai really did hear her confess about destroying the statue.

Tanaka
Sakurai-sensei catches up to Tanaka in the hallway and asks him if he doesn't think that his hairdo (a giant afro) is a little inappropriate for school. Tanaka instead reaches into his hair, pulls out a dorayaki and offers it to her. Sakurai-sensei just stands there smiling awkwardly.

Part 10
Yuuko stares at her blank math worksheet: She's forgotten to do her homework again! Yuuko remembers that she borrowed Mio's homework just yesterday, promising it wouldn't happen again. She'll have to ask Mai. After Yuuko asks to see her homework, Mai hands over a sheet of paper that's been folded in half. Yuuko thanks Mai and goes back to her seat; but when she looks to copy the math assignment, she sees the paper is actually a comic Mai has drawn!

"A boy, named Masao, looks at his alarm clock and panics because he's really late for school. He begins to run. His father then yells at him, telling him it's still early. Masao continues panicking about being late for school. His father then yells at Masao and tells him he's been laid off. Masao screams in panic."

Yuuko is dumbfounded. She again asks Mai for the homework, promising to buy her juice when she doesn't respond. Mai then hands her another folded sheet of paper. It's another comic! "Masao is on the sidewalk, running to school, and panicking because he's late and his father's been laid off. Suddenly he's being chased by a tiger." Yuuko is upset and says she doesn't have time for this. She worries over what's going to happen to Masao before remembering that she should be worried about her own math homework. Yuuko asks Mai for the math homework a third time, this time promising to buy Mai that thing from the station. Mai hands her a folded piece of paper. Yuuko opens it and sees that it is indeed math, and sits back at her desk to copy it, calling Mai a tease. Yuuko then compares Mai's homework to the worksheet she has, and sees that they are completely different. Yuuko asks herself how old her worksheet is.

Short Thoughts
I want to go to New Orleans.

Mio, Yuuko and Mai are in a park. Yuuko is digging around in a mound of dirt. Mai gently places her hand on top of the mound and pats it twice. The mound then collapses, but Yuuko's arm is still under the dirt.

Part 11
The math teacher Akagi-sensei asks the class if anyone knows the solution to the problem he's written on the board. No one raises their hand. The scene then goes to Yuuko, sitting in the back of the class, with a visible bump on her head. Yuuko thinks to herself that Akagi's classes are difficult; he hits you for forgetting homework (hence the bump on Yuuko's head) and yells at you for getting problems wrong. Akagi-sensei then tells the class that their lack of enthusiasm will be reflected in their grades, and everyone raises their hand with zeal, except for Yuuko. She thinks to herself that if this is the kind of game Akagi-sensei wants to play, she won't crumble under his threats. She then raises her hand in the most lackluster way imaginable, her hand raised in front of her, instead of above her head like everyone else. Such is the balance between volunteering and avoiding being called on.

Akagi-sensei begins to think outloud to himself. Since the date is the 23rd, he'll pick student 23 (Tsuyoshi Nakanojo). Yuuko knows this isn't her and now raises her hand with gusto, knowing she won't be called on. Akagi-sensei then finishes his thought, noticing that Nakanojo isn't in class today. Yuuko panics because now she's fully visible; she goes to lower her arm back to half-mast, but it cramps up and won't go down! (Probably due to lack of use, as she never uses the muscles needed to raise your hand in class.) To add to the tensity of Yuuko trying to avoid the teacher's sight, the room turns green and the teacher's eyes become laser scanners. Yuuko is able to turn in her chair and bend down just before the teacher's beams reach her, and she's safe. But suddenly, her hungry stomach growls. Yuuko tries to cover it up by scratching her chair leg across the floor, which makes a similar, vibrating noise. Tanaka then stands up and jokes that the noise is someone's cell phone going off. The class laughs. Another student stands up and says, "Thanks for calling!" The students laugh harder. A third student stands up and say that no one's phone sounds like that, and the class laughs uproariously. Akagi-sensei joins in on the fun and says that everyone's smiling now! The class has no reaction to this. Akagi-sensei then stands in the front of the class in silence.



Akagi-sensei then calls on Yuuko, who is still trying to hide. [This comes after a non-sequiter. I'd like to find a way to note that somehow so it doesn't seem like this sentence should be part of the last paragraph.]

Part 12
Nano is on her way home from grocery shopping when she overhears two women talking about how the eggs were on sale today. Nano checks her wristwatch (literally a watch in her forearm, but near her wrist) and decides there is enough time to go back and buy some eggs. As she turns around to head back to the market, a cat in a box in an alleyway catches her attention by mewing at her. It's the black cat from earlier in the episode. Nano adores the cat, finding it both fluffy and adorable, but realizes she shouldn't take the cat home; she has Hakase to look after, and can't also take care of pet. She apologizes to the cat and starts towards the store.

Nano arrives at home and finds Hakase with the cat. Nano lectures Hakase and discusses the merits and difficulties of keeping a pet. Nano tells Hakase that if she wants to keep the cat, Hakase will have to take care of it. When Hakase hears that Nano isn't going to take care of the cat, she tells Nano that she won't be able to touch it, then. Nano tries to tell Hakase that's not what she meant, but is distracted as the cat curls up in her lap. Nano and Hakase then take turns petting the cat, remarking how soft and fluffy every part of it is. Nano says that the cat's tail is even fluffier, but for Hakase gets mad for some reason and argues that the back of the cat's ears is fluffier than its tail. The cat then gets up, sits down, and begins meowing at Nano and Hakase. Nano wonders what the cat wants, and suddenly Hakase has an idea! She runs off. Hakase returns holding a red scarf, and proudly tells Nano that this scarf will enable the cat to talk to them. She ties the scarf around the cat's neck and refers to the cat as "Sakamoto", the name that was on the box in which they found the cat. Nano thinks that naming the cat after the logo on the box is a bit simplistic.

At first, the cat plays with the scarf a little, unused to this sensation at its neck. Nano and Hakase look at the cat in awe, waiting for it to say something. The cat jumps on the table and sits down, facing them. It then speaks, and tells them, "That was too much petting, don't you think?" Nano and Hakase are stunned. The cat continues, telling them that if a cat is meowing, it almost always means that they are hungry. He then chastises Hakase for giving him a name simply because it was on the box he was in. Hakase is visibly upset and apologizes. The cat then asks how old the two are. Hakase says that she is eight, and Nano says she is one year old. The cat Sakamoto then tells them that, in human terms, he is twenty; since he is older than they are, Nano and Hakase should refer to him as "Sakamoto-san" (Mr. Sakamoto). Nano and Hakase are a little put off by his Osaka dialect, which is odd as they don't live there. Sakamoto says that while he's grateful that he'll be getting free good, the girls must remember to respect their elders. Sakamoto then begins talking about how much one should pet a cat. Nano picks him up while he's still talking and asks Hakase if she should leave the cat where they found him. Sakamoto frees himself from Nano's hold, bows his head on the floor and apologizes to them both.

Straw (1 and 2)
The Vice-Principal drops a straw doll as he walks through the courtyard. The Principal finds it and is distressed. The Vice-Principal asks the Principal what the confusion is about, then ominously suggests that the Principal should open the doll's body. He does so, finding the doll to be filled with natto. The Principal is further distressed.

Helvetica Standard
A down-on-his-luck Tengu is given food by his landlord. He then pushes the landlord's generosity by asking to borrow some money. She tells him not to get cocky, and he apologizes.

Part 13
Yuuko challenges Mai to an arm wrestling duel; if Yuuko wins, she doesn't have to buy Mai the thing from the station like she promised in Part 11, but if she loses, she has to buy Mai a juice. Yuuko loses the initial match immediately, but claims she only lost because Mai had a false start. Mio, officiating, agrees that Mai was just a bit early, and they go again. Mai wins just as easily, and Mio declares her the winner. Yuuko, however, claims that she underestimated her opponent's strength, but she is prepared now, and challenges Mai again. Yuuko continues to offer up excuse after excuse, rechallenging Mai, who always wins handedly.

Yuuko claims her arm is sore, but her body and soul are warming up and asks Mai if she's ready for the "real" battle. (Mai wins.) Yuuko then says she looked away. She says she let Mai win three times. After a bit of planning, Yuuko challenges Mai yet again, telling Mai her beginner's luck is about to run out. Yuuko grabs the desk with her other hand for leverage. When Mio says Go, Yuuko leans her entire body to her left, but even the additional pull from Yuuko's falling body doesn't change anything; Mai easily wins yet again. Yuuko then acts as if she didn't know what arm wrestling was before now, but now she gets it. She takes the bow off her shirt and hands it to Mio. Now Yuuko is going to pull out the big guns! Mai wins again. In a series of epic shots, Mai beats Yuuko at arm wrestling again and again and again. Mio looks on in disbelief.

Yuuko sits with her head on her desk, sobbing and asking herself why she got so worked up over something like arm wrestling. Yuuko then gets up and excuses herself to go to the bathroom. As Yuuko is just about to leave, Mai reminds her that she owes her the thing from the station and 23 juices. Yuuko is further disheartened.

After Credits Scene
Yuuko is sitting in math class, with another bump on her head for answering the question incorrectly. She laments that her arm cramped up and that she was yelled at for not doing her homework, and lays her head on the table. She then suddenly remembers something. She turns to Mai and asks what happened to Masao in the comic Mai had drawn. Mai ignores her, but when Yuuko promises to buy her another juice, Mai hands over a folded piece of paper.

"Masao is running. The tiger who was chasing Masao then gets under him, and Masao rides the tiger on a busy freeway."

A confused Yuuko stares blankly at the comic, and she thinks to herself that she didn't understand this last page at all.

Don't Miss It!
The straw doll (voiced by Masaoka Hiroshi) asks if we want to hear a joke. He asks what "kinase" is. Is it some kind of serenade? The next episode of Nichijou is Episode 4. Don't miss it!

Transitions
Background is a back alley surrounded by cozy homes. The alley has shrubs, ivy on the wall, and many flower boxes.

In Part 9, the cat is walking while still in the box; only its feet are showing. It stops and sits among the flower boxes, and only the box is visible. Nano and the Professor enter from the other side of the screen, walking and talking. Neither notice the box or the cat.

In Part 9 after the broccoli, an old man waters the flowers. He starts to water the box the cat is in and the box begins to shake, surprising him.

After Akagi-sensei's joke is a buzzkill, a woman walks through the alley towards the left, and two children walk towards the right. Once they leave, Sakamoto walks his box offscreen.

After Akagi-sensei calls on Yuuko, Nano and Hakase play rock-paper-scissors. Hakase throws rock and Nano throws paper, but suddenly Nano's wrist starts emitting flames, and then Nano's hand blasts off like a rocket. Nano's new hand pops out from her sleeve, but it's scissors, so now Nano looses.

Mai jumps rope. Not only is she really good at it, she's doing so while still engrossed in the book she's reading.

After Nano finds the cat but decides she can't keep it, Nano is running through the back alley at twilight, wearing the same clothes and carrying the same shopping bag as in that scene.

After Hakase has a lightbulb idea and runs off, an unidentified woman walks through the alleyway, at night, carrying bags of groceries.

After Mai annihilates Yuuko in arm wrestling, Hakase and Sakamoto walk on top of the wall in the alleyway. A worried Nano then comes running in after them.