Nichijou Episode 12

"Nichijou Episode 12" (日常の第十二話) is the twelfth episode of the Nichijou anime. The episode was written by Joe Itou and directed by Noriyuki Kitanohara. It aired on June 20, 2011.

Summer Heat
Tsuyoshi Nakanojou and Tanaka walk outside on a very hot summer day. Tanaka talks about how hot it is, and Nakanojou points out that Tanaka has being saying how hot it is for a while now. It's already hot out, and pointing it out just makes it feel hotter, so Nakanojou asks Tanaka to stop talking about how hot it is. Tanaka agrees, but then starts talking about how hot it is again, only using a different word. Nakanojou clenches his fists and tells himself, "I guess I'll have to hit him."

Part 48
Yuuko Aioi walks to school in a very cheerful mood; today, everything is shining brightly! She reaches the classroom and continues thinking to herself that the air, the people, even the classroom are shining brightly. Grinning from ear to ear, Yuuko reveals why everything is so wonderful today: She actually did her homework for once! She reaches into her bag with the intention of showing her homework to Mio Naganohara, but after rifling through it for a minute without finding her homework, Yuuko gets worried. In a fit of explosive anger, she cries out that her homework is gone! She begins frantically searching through her bag, as she thinks to herself that this can't be happening. She finally did her homework, so why is this happening?! Yuuko collects herself and sighs; she can just copy Mio's homework. She reaches her arm out to tap Mio and get her attention, but she suddenly remembers something terrible: Today's homework was a worksheet! She slowly and dramatically collapses onto her desk in despair. Mio notices this and turns around, asking Yuuko what's wrong. Yuuko, face still buried in her bag, mournfully tells Mio that she's forgotten her homework, and now is just hoping the class is invaded by aliens. Mio asks if Yuuko forgot to do her homework again; Yuuko gets indignant and stands up, telling Mio she did her homework, but forgot to bring it. Mio suggests that maybe the worksheet got stuck in one of her books. Yuuko's already checked several times, but opens her bag once more. She sees a piece of paper sticking out of one of her books. Yuuko's heart fills with hope as she pulls it out and looks at it, only to quickly transition into rage as she sees it's a flyer for a daifuku fair! What is that, even?! She buries her head again in grief. Mio tries to comfort her, and goes to see if there's a spare sheet in the podium at the front of the class. She is shocked; Yuuko hopefully asks if Mio found another worksheet, but when she reaches the podium sees that Mio pulled out another flyer for the daifuku fair. Yuuko curses everything, grabs her bag, and heads toward the door. Mio tells her that she'll never be able to go get her homework and come back in time for class, but Yuuko doesn't care. She slides the door open, only to find Takasaki-sensei standing there. He tells them that class is about to start and they need to take their seats.

Idiom
Hakase is sitting on the deck, trying to enjoy a nice snack with lemonade, but the sun is too bright and hot. She gets up and grabs the hook needed to extend the shade over the deck. After some difficulty, she's able to get the hook into the ring and begins to turn the crank on the handle, but it's too tough for her to do. She tries to throw her weight into it to get the crank to turn, but slips and falls. She's still holding on to the hook, though, so spins around. When she spins holding the hook, the hook in turn spins and turns the ring, which extends the shade a little bit. Hakase gets an idea and begins spinning herself, opening the shade.

The male narrator says, "More haste, less speed."

Part 49
Standing in the hallway lamenting her forgotten homework, Yuuko is visited by Buddy.

Business Card
Hakase gives Sakamoto her business card. She begins to laugh while Sakamoto panics asking himself what he's supposed to do with a business card.

Vending Machine
Misato Tachibana is at a beverage vending machine and inserts her money. Now she just has to decide what to get. She backs up while thinking, bumping into Koujirou Sasahara who is walking by. She turns to apologize, but is flustered when she sees it's Sasahara. He asks Misato what's wrong. She tells him that the vending machine has some new drinks, and she can't decide which to choose. Sasahara points to one and begins talking, but Misato angrily interrupts him and asks why she would listen to him. She then pushes the button for the other new drink. Sasahara completes his thought; he was going to say that the drink he pointed to probably doesn't suit her taste and she should buy the other one. Sasahara excuses himself and walks off. Misato watches him resentfully and opens her beverage can. She quickly places it on the ground and pulls out an FN P90 and fires at him.

Part 50
Haruna Annaka has heard that they have set up some booths, and is excited to check them out. She was especially looking forward to the shooting gallery she finds. She's only seen them on television, so she's very excited to try it. She worries if the ¥500 she has will be enough; the man jokingly tells her that it's ¥5,000,000 per shot, and Annaka is surprised she has the exact amount. She grabs an air rifle, jams a cork in it, and aims. She's surprised, however, when she sees what the prizes are: It's all eggplants and boxes of caramels!

Annaka asks the man running the stand if these are the only prizes. He feigns surprise and asks what she means; he

only carries top brand-name goods! Then he laughs. Having spent all her money, Annaka resigns herself to her situation and decides to go ahead and win something. She lifts her air rifle, aims for an eggplant, and fires. The cork comes flying out of her gun, hitting the eggplant dead center with enough force to wedge itself into the eggplant; yet the eggplant doesn't budge. Annaka is surprised. The man laughs and tells Annaka she shouldn't start off with the big-ticket items, advising her to aim for something a little more in her reach. Perturbed, Annaka asks herself what the man is talking about. High-ticket item? There are only two kinds of prizes! She decides to aim for a box of caramel. She fires, again with terrific aim, hitting the box right in the middle. The cork flies off harmlessly, with the box not moving at all. Annaka is stupefied as she watches the cork fly into the air, indicating that the cork was traveling with a lot of force when it bounced off the caramel like a brick wall. The man snickers and teases her that that was close. Annaka concludes that the prizes must be glued down. She decides to aim for the eggplant again, which again doesn't move when a second cork drives itself into it. She fires again, and the eggplant still won't budge. The man laughs and asks why the long face? She doesn't think he's rigged it, does she? Honesty is his stall's hallmark! Annaka fires one last time. This time, the cork flies through the eggplant, which has been weakened by the three other corks wedged in it, taking a big chunk of the eggplant with it. The eggplant splits open, revealing a nail! The eggplant had been wedged onto a huge nail sticking out of the board beneath; that's why it wouldn't even budge! Annaka is speechless, but then soon starts raving at the man running the stall, demanding to know what's going on. The man is suddenly silent and just sits there. Annaka continues, pointing out the nail she clearly see; doesn't that make this stall rigged? The man continues sitting there, blank-faced. In consternation, Annaka asks why he won't say anything; he was loud and lively just moments ago. And how could he do something like this? The man pretends to be sleeping, frustrating Annaka further. She despairs that she only has one shot left; with everything rigged, what is she supposed to aim for? The man then slowly gets up and walks over to the eggplant. He grabs the top (also the smaller of the two halves) and walks silently back to Annaka, handing it to her. She hesitatingly graps this small piece of eggplant, and the man then walks back to his chair without saying a word. Annaka stands there, awe-struck and confused. The man then curtly asks her not to come back again. Understandably, Annaka asks, What the hell?

Things We Think Are Cool
Mio and Mai are outside the school watching Yuuko toss a superball against a wall. Yuuko looks at it up close and gets an idea. Leaning out from a second story window, Yuuko calls out to see if Mio's ready. Yuuko then lobs the ball toward the ground. It bounces off the ground high enough that Yuuko is able to catch it. Yuuko is amazed, while Mio exuberantly shouts back, "Nice catch!" Even Mai seems like she might be impressed. Maybe. She's staring up at Yuuko with her mouth open a little bit.

Oh! Superball!

This time in the classroom, Mio, Yuuko, and Mai continue to have fun. Each has a trading card made of hard cardboard lying on the ground. Yuuko picks up hers and slams it down next to another one. When the card hits the ground, the air it pushed out of the way lifts up the card next to it a little bit. Yuuko is disappointed, saying it was so close. Mai picks up her card and lifts it above her head. She quickly shuffles around to where Yuuko's card landed as Mio and Yuuko watch in anticipation. Mai hurls her card down hard enough that it bounces a little; Yuuko's card is lifted into the air and lands upright, perpendicularly to the side of Mai's card. After a moment, Yuuko's card begins to fall, landing on top of Mai's card. The girls are astounded.

Oh! Slipstream!

Part 51
Mio and Yuuko smile and pose as they get their picture taken together in front of an amusement park. Yuuko thanks the rabbit mascot who took their picture and gets her camera back. Both Yuuko and Mio agree that it was a good idea to come to this amusement park; it may be old, but it still is fun. Yuuko decides she's going to buy some juice and asks for her wallet; she'd given it to Mio because she knew she'd probably lose it if she kept it herself. Mio goes through her bag. Suddenly she panics and frantically looks for Yuuko's wallet, but to no avail: it appears Mio has lost Yukko's wallet. Yuuko reacts calmly... too calmly: her face show no expression whatsoever. Her depression even affects the atmosphere, leaving everything sepia-toned and muted in color. Mio suggests they try the lost and found, and Yuuko slowly turns and walks off, still emotionless, followed by Mio. Mio asks, and Yuuko tells her that she'd had ¥4,016 in her wallet. They reach the lost and found and Mio describes Yuuko's wallet: brown, with a snake skin inside. The man finds it and hands it over; the colors return to their full vibrancy, and Yuuko is elated. Mio's sighs in relief, grateful that the lost and found really did have Yuuko's wallet. Yuuko agrees, worried that she'd lost her wallet forever. Her sentence is cut short when she opens her wallet: the snakeskin is still in there, but the money is gone. Emphasizing the awkward silence, a woman announces over the loudspeakers that a girl wearing a denim shirt tucked into denim shorts with a denim hat is looking for her mother. Yuuko silently puts her wallet in her backpack, and the overlaying color becomes muted again. Yuuko slowly puts her backpack back on her back, turns around, and walks off; Mio follows. A montage follows, showing Mio having a blast at the amusement park while Yuuko continues showing no emotion. She doesn't have fun on the roller coaster, she isn't scared in the haunted house when the mummy jumps out at them, and she doesn't smile when Mio takes her picture standing next to the amusement park mascot, although Mio makes the most of all these things. The scene ends with Yuuko posing in a carnival cutout; everything goes black except for a zoom-in on Yuuko's emotionless face. That's all, folks.

Izumi
At the coffee shop, the barista repeats Izumi Sakurai's order (three lattes to go) and asks if she'd like anything else. Izumi goes over to the pastry display and orders three items she points to. The barista bashfully excuses herself and asks if Izumi could give her a name. Izumi timidly tells her, "Sakurai." The barista tells her that's not the name she meant; embarrassed, Izumi then tells her, "Izumi," adding that a lot of people tell her that both her names sound like surnames. Flustered, the barista tells her she wasn't asking because Izumi gave her her surname; rather, she needed a product name. Izumi sheepishly asks what the barista means. The two then continue to stammer and try to apologize to each other.

Chopstick Stand
Mio, Yuuko and Mai have just finished a meal at a family restaurant. Mai reaches for the paper her chopsticks came in and begins to fold it. Mio and Yuuko decide to follow suit. Mio creates a chopstick stand and places her chopsticks on it. Mai finishes hers, which is far more complex, causing Mio to marvel at her skill. Mio turns to Yuuko, asking if she's finished, but Yuuko has her head down on the table in defeat, her chopstick paper mostly torn up beside her. The view zooms in, however, showing that Yuuko was able to create a tiny crane-shaped chopstick stand.

Part 52
Hakase rushes into the living room, excitedly telling Nano to look: She's put a key on her own back! It's sort of like a backpack, held on by straps. Hakase tells Nano that they match now. She tells Nano that she's going to be her for a day, so no matter what, she must not call her "Professor." Nano agrees and calls her Nano. The girl formerly known as the Professor (or Hakase in Japanese) has trouble with her new accessory, banging it into the doorway as she turns, then slamming it onto Sakamoto as shy lies down, then clunking it on the table as she sits down. Soon she's lying on the ground reading, with her key detached and sitting on the table. Nano is surprised and cries out, "That was quick!" She asks Hakase if she's done already, adressing her as Hakase, "the Professor." Hakase gets annoyed and scolds Nano for calling her by her title/name. Nano is surprised; Professor Hakase just took her key off. Hakase indignantly replies that she's just taking a break. She gets up and reminds Nano that today, she's Nano. The girl who wants to be called Nano lies back down and goes back to reading her comic book. The famous original Nano lets out a sigh and goes back to reading her own book. Suddenly, she has an idea. She asks Hakase— sorry, Nano-chan— if she'd like to play a game. If the Professor will be Nano for the day, then Nano will be Hakase for the day. The real Hakase finds the idea to be fantastic and agrees to play. First, new Nano has to put her key back on, so she does. Old Nano continues, telling her that since she's the Professor, she'll need to remove her own key. Hakase tells her that's not going to happen, devastating Nano. Hakase ignores this, cheerily asking the original Nano what she wants to play. Nano I sees Nano II's bag of snacks and rudely snatches it away, much to younger Nano's dismay. The real Nano begins to eat the snacks in indignation, pretending to be Hakase when she's most annoying and brattish. The real Hakase petulantly says that she'd been saving those snacks, but Nano continues eating them, pointing out that she's the Professor now. The real Hakase/Professor watches in tearful rage until she can't take anymore and grabs the bag out of Nano's hands. She throws a tantrum, saying she doesn't understand; she's going to be Nano, but if Nano is her, Nano will eat all her snacks, so Nano should just stay Nano! She then goes off and begins angrily eating her snacks. Dejected, Nano decides that since she's Nano again, she'll go get groceries for dinner, and gets up to leave. Hakase decides to go to, and wants Nano to buy her some snacks, which Nano won't do. The two continue to argue, with Sakamoto adding that they shouldn't forget his food; everything's back to normal. The male narrator announces that the Shinonome household passed another peaceful day.

Killing Time
Mio and Yuuko are hanging out at Daiku Burger after having finished their food; neither seem too excited about anything. Yuuko decides they should play something, and tells Mio that whoever uses English first, loses. Mio replies with okay. Yuuko points out that Mio just used English, so she's lost already. Mio says that since Yuuko didn't say start, she's safe, using English for both. Yuuko decides that she should use a bunch of English words before they begin. Mio asks if Yuuko knows a lot of English words, but Yuuko doesn't say anything. After a long moment, Mio says okay.

Short Thoughts
Somewhat sleepy, Hakase goes into the living room and opens the mini-fridge. She pulls out a cider, opens it, and drinks it. The female narrator says, Bubbly, carbonated drinks make you feel awake.

Unintentional
Yuuko is sleeping at her desk in school, but then wakes up. Mio, reading the newspaper, turns to Yuuko and jokes that Sleeping Beauty has woken up without her kiss. Yuuko sits up and asks, How? Mio suddenly gets red-faced and abashed by the implications, Mio hesitatingly asks what Yuuko means. They then sit in awkward silence.

Don't Miss It!
The bottle of cider Hakase drank (voiced by Korogi Satomi) calls us "master" and welcomes us home before introducing itself. It says it will enchant these bubbles to make itself delicious. The next episode of Nichijou is Episode 13. Don't miss it.

Transitions
After the vending machine, a tennis court is shown.

After Yuuko doesn't enjoy the amusement park, the tennis court returns. Someone in the next court over, offscreen, whacks a tennis ball onto it.

Image Gallery
Episode 12/Image Gallery