Nichijou Episode 22

"Nichijou Episode 22" (日常の第二十二話) is the twenty-second episode of the Nichijou anime. The episode was written by Maiko Nishioka and directed by Yasuhiro Takemoto. It aired on August 29, 2011.

Part 93
The episode opens with dramatic vocals and a close visual of the Moon. A spacecraft similar to the Apollo spaceship, complete with a lunar module, drifts by. The Moon exits screen left, and after the Apollo shuttle drifts offscreen, Earth is seen behind them. The scene of the Earth in space then transitions, the Earth becoming the bottom of a drinking bird toy, attached to a glass of water; the bird dips and takes a drink. The area around the drinking bird then shrinks, forming a circle; the drinking bird and the circle get smaller and smaller, revealing it to be the view inside a microscope. "Science can prove anything in this world," declares Tsuyoshi Nakanojou as the microscope is displayed next to a portrait of Zacharias Janssen. The scene cuts to a shrine at night, two crudely-drawn ghosts cheerily hovering in the night. "There are many reports of supernatural phenomena from across the glob," Nakanojou continues, "but there's no way anything that lame could exist." The ghosts near the screen, smiling broadly as they ignore Nakanojou's diss. "They just can't exist," Nakanojou thinks. Various items found in shrines flash across the screen before Nakanojou is revealed to be sitting in front of a display of [is this the Maitreya Buddha again?], his mohawk beginning to grow back. "In other words," he finishes as the temple priest enters, "I don't believe in ghosts!"

Nakanojou and the priest sit on cushions, facing each other. As the priest picks up a mug of tea, Nakanojou narrates inside his head: "I came here because I heard that this temple performs exorcisms." The priest puts down his tea and, with a concerned look on his face, asks Nakanojou, "How may I help you?" "I'll pretend an evil spirit is possessing me while I look for contradictions," Nakanojou thinks. He leans forward and tells the priest, "Lately, I've felt like something's strangling me." The priest seems concerned and grabs something from a cabinet behind him. He then hands Nakanojou something, telling him to use it for his throat. "This is it!" Nakanojou thinks gleefully. "What kind of baseless ritualistic talisman is he giving me?" Nakanojou is flabbergasted when he realizes the priest has handed him a box of throat lazenges. He grabs it and stares at it in shock. "It's good for the throat," the priest tells him. Nakanojou is disappointed at how remarkably logical the priest is being. Was his story too unrealistic? He vows to try again. Slamming the box to the ground (much to the priest's shock), Nakanojou gets intense. His throat doesn't just hurt; it feels like he's being strangled! Not only that, but he also hears strange voices sometimes... like he's being possessed!

Seeming a little nervous, the priest tells Nakanojou that he's probably just been reading too many strange books. Under his breath, the priest says that he should get away from him. Nakanojou is stunned; he never thought he'd hear a professional say that! Does this priest even believe in ghosts? He figures that he's come all the way here, so he can't give up just yet. He clutches at his throat and cries out, "Something terrifying is strangling me!" He sticks out his tongue. The priest is speechless, and appears to struggle to say something, before it turns into snickering. Nakanojou is steamed as the priest tries not to laugh at his display. "He saw right through me!" Nakanojou thinks. "Of course he did. I was an idiot to think my bad acting could fool a professional!" He decides that he must take this seriously, and to take it to the limit!

Nakanojou stands up and, holding his hands behind his head, begins running around frantically as he screams. The priest stands up and is shocked at what's going on. Nakanojou then runs over to the wall and begins banging his head against a beam, cracking it. "Hey!" the priest yells. "What are you doing?!" Nakanojou dashes toward a ceremonial wooden fish and, giving an unholy yell, begins bashing his head on it, too, much to the priest's horror. Nakanojou then emits a high-pitched yell and begins imitating a locomotive as he runs around the priest, who's had enough. The priest bends down and launches himself headfirst at Nakanojou, attempting to knock him down. Somehow, Nakanojou is able to grab the priest and throw him to the ground. The large floor tile the priest lands on falls down, sending him beneath the floor. Nakanojou continues to make noises as the priest slowly climbs back out. "You brat. My temple..." he groans. "What are you doing in my temple?" He grabs the box of lozenges and hurls it at Nakanojou. It bounces off Nakanojou's scalp and hits a light fixture above him, which falls, hitting him on the head with enough force to drive him through the floor.

"I want to become a scientist," Nakanojou narrates as the dust settles. Nakanojou looks around at the damage he has caused in the name of science, realizing that, like many a scientist before him, he's gone too far. "I will explain the world with science, and make everyone understand. And when the time comes, I will have but one thing to say..." Nakanojou climbs out of the floor and slowly approaches the very upset priest. "Are you all right?" he asks the priest. "Begone, evil spirit!" the priest cries out, causing a bird sitting on the temple roof to fly off. Somewhat ironically, Nakanojou completes his thought that "the true evil spirits are just people."

Part 94
Yoshino Naganohara is walking past a plastic snowman as she notices something. Smiling, she jogs forward. "You're open!" she says cheerily as she taps Mihoshi Tachibana on the head from behind; Mihoshi appears to be on her way to kendo practice, as her bamboo sword is in its sheath beside her. Mihoshi turns around, shocked, and asks who's there. "Mihoshi, long time no see!" Yoshino greets her. Miffed, Mihoshi merely replies, "It's you, Naganohara-san!"

Yoshino decides to walk alongside Mihoshi, either not noticing Mihoshi's annoyance or just not caring (with Yoshino, it could easily be either). "I haven't seen you since before you entered middle school," Yoshino tells Mihoshi. "That's because you never come to the dojo," Mihoshi replies. Yoshino chuckles; she hasn't been going to practice at college, either. Mihoshi is flustered. "But you still managed to win at that national tournament!" Mihoshi zooms in on Yoshino's smiling face. "You damned genius!" she thinks bitterly.

Yoshino asks Mihoshi if she's going to the dojo, which she is. "Are you coming too, Naganohara-san?" asks Mihoshi. "Eh," Yoshino replies. "The more I practice, the weaker I get." "What are you saying, you damned genius?" Mihoshi asks silently with rage.

Mihoshi sighs crossly. She does have to admit Yoshino is strong, she thinks to herself. But she can't accept her strength when she hardly even practices! Mihoshi recalls the story of when Naganohara-san was in seventh grade, and was able to score a point against the assistant instructor. Against the assistant instructor! Mihoshi is a middle-school student, too, but she doesn't stand a chance. She goes to the dojo after club, and practice on weekends, too! She recalls that the assistant instructor said, "Hard work will always open doors."

Completely unaware of Mihoshi's thoughts, Yoshino stops as she spots Sakamoto sitting on a wall and stops to pet him. Mihoshi glares at Yoshino. "Seeing her makes me question myself," she thinks. Mihoshi takes out her bamboo sword, wanting to hit Yoshino; just one blow! She sets herself in position to hit Yoshino from behind. "Maybe now, I could..." she thinks. "For now, this is all I can do. But maybe someday, in a match..." She raises her sword behind her head and pounces as she thinks, "And someday, against the assistant instructor, too! You damned genius!" Just as Mihoshi is about to land a blow on Yoshino, a man rides by on a bicycle and receives the blow instead. The man falls to the ground, his bike going on without him. Mihoshi apologizes, utterly surprised by what happened. She's even more surprised when she notices who she hit: the assistant instructor!

Like Love
A pajama-clad woman opens a door to her room, clearly sleepy and probably going back to bed. She sees that her cat is sleeping right in the middle of her bed! She lifts the covers and slowly slides into bed, not wanting to disturb her cat; most of her back is exposed. "So cold," she says as she begins to shiver. The cat is sleeping peacefully, though.

Reign
At the daifuku stand, Nakanojou's father hands him the daifuku mask and tells him to do a good job, got it? Nakanojou takes the mask and thinks, "Father wants me to follow in his footsteps." His father then hands him a white balloon and tells him to give it to any kids who come by. "But I won't fall for it," Nakanojou continues. "I'll look for a chance to escape!"

Later, people walking by the stand snicker as they walk by Nakanojou wearing his costume. He begins shaking with embarrassment as he notes that the balloon doesn't float whatsoever, just sitting there at his feet.

Short Thoughts
A trio of the yellow birds stand in front of some bushes. Sakamoto begins to sneak up on them, but they see him and fly off.

In the end, everyone hopes for a happy ending.

A Certain Christmas Short
At night, perhaps the night before Christmas, Hakase hums Jingle Bells. Sakamoto is sleeping, wearing a chain of construction paper around his head. Hakase, wearing a Santa hat, and Nano Shinonome get ready for Christmas by making more decorations. "Professor," Nano asks, "what are you asking Santa for?" Beaming, she tells Nano, "I want chocolate, and colored pencils, and cake erasers and... and..." Nano beams herself. "You're asking for all that? No fair. Then, I want two cartons of eggs, five hundred grams of beef, an Ivan Bilibin book, and—" Hakase gets irate and interrupts her. "I already asked for lots of stuff," she explains, "so you only get one thing!" Nano is disappointed, and almost begins to cry. "What?" she asks meekly. Hakase feels bad for making Nano sad and tries to tell Nano, "You can still ask for a little..." She then offers Nano her hat. "I'll even let you borrow this..." Sakamoto is unamused.

Helvetica Standard
A daily calendar shows that it is December 24th, Christmas Eve. Sitting in a chair, a boy looks at the calendar and then down at a towel [is this a towel? If so, Huh?] in his hands. Santa Claus approaches the boy's window and slides it open, much to the boy's delight. "Hello!" Santa says boisterously. "Hooray! It's Santa!" the boy cries out. "Merry Christmas!" Santa begins as he holds up a package of melon bread; but Santa is barely able to show the boy his present before he slaps it out of his hands. The melon bread hits the wall and slides to the floor. The boy begins to cry, apparently disappointed and in great emotional pain; Santa looks at him dumbfounded.

Trap
Abandoning his balloon, Tsuyoshi Nakanojou backs into an alleyway before running off. "I don't have time for this farce!" he thinks. He turns to make sure no one is following him and tries to remove the daifuku mask, but is unable to; it appears to be sticking to his head, causing him pain as he tries to take it off. Nakanojou's father walks into the alley and informs his son that he's made some modifications to the mask to prevent escape. Underneath the mask is wet paint!

Part 95
"Ouch, hot!" Weboshii cries out, dropping her fresh meat bun (nikuman 肉まん) on the sidewalk. She mourns the loss of her meat bun, of which she didn't even get a single bite. Fe-chan, eating a [frozen dessert of some kind], tries to console her. "There, there, Weboshii," she says brightly. "If that bun were poisoned, you'd be dead. See? You're lucky." Weboshii fails to see the luck in dropping her meat bun; it's supposed to be the best part of walking home. "If you're always positive," Fe-chan advises her, "good luck will eventually find you." Weboshii is not amused. Still chipper, Fe-chan tells Weboshii with a wink that she should be grateful her meat bun fell.

Disheartened and annoyed, Weboshii asks Fe-chan, "What's with the optimism?" Fe-chan chuckles. "I've decided to be positive, no matter what happens," Fe-chan explains. She bends down and looks at the fallen meat bun. "If you remove the dirty parts, you can still eat it," she suggests to Weboshii, who silently takes note that the poisoned scenario sure disappeared quickly. Fe-chan holds her ice cream treat with her mouth and picks up the meat bun and begins tearing away the dough from the bottom. Muffled, she begins to explain, "If you remove the dirty parts...," but is interrupted as meat bun's heat proves too much, and she drops it back on the ground. She also screams in pain, dropping her ice cream from her mouth, which lands on the meat bun like a cushion. Fe-chan is astounded. "Whoah, ice save!"

Fe-chan picks up her popsicle and stands back up. "See?" she tells Weboshii. "Fortune favors the upbeat. It's merry magic!" This doesn't cheer up Weboshii, however, who grimly points out that her meat bun is finished. Fe-chan tries to tell her that now is the time to look on the bright side. "If that bun were poisoned," she adds with a merry wink, "you'd be dead." "You don't have many variations, do you?" Weboshii snaps back.

Weboshii looks at her meat bun and groans. "Even if I cut off the dirty parts," she groans, "I don't want the part with ice cream on it..." Fe-chan tries to cheer her up. "Come on. Positive thoughts, positive thoughts!" Suddenly, Fe-chan's ice cream bar falls apart and falls to the ground in pieces, leaving her holding an empty popsicle stick. Fe-chan cries out shock. Weboshii, also surprised, surmises that, the bun's heat must have weakened it. Fe-chan shuts her eyes and grimaces. "If I pretend the ice cream was poisoned, it's no big deal..." she tries to tell herself. "You were just eating it!" Weboshii points out. Fe-chan then notices something about her popsicle stick and gasps in awe. Weboshii leans in to see what's wrong. As it turns out, Fe-chan's popsicle stick has "Loser" written on it. Weboshii laughes heartily at Fe-chan's misfortune. "You used up all your positive attitude's mojo!" Fe-chan looks very disappointed, but at least she's finally cheered up Weboshii. Fe-chan tries to turn the situation positive. "No," she says, "God must be warning me not to eat two and get a stomachache." Weboshii is impressed at how determined Fe-chan is today.

Fe-chan bends down to look at the chunks of her snack lying on the ground. "If it had been soft serve, it would definitely be gone," she points out. "But I can wash off the dirt from this frozen treat. I'm grateful for that," she adds, looking up and winking at Weboshii, who can't believe that Fe-chan still wants to eat it.

Suddenly and out of nowhere, a bicycle passes by in between them, running over the remains of Fe-chan's ice cream. The two girls stare at each other in complete shock, and then down at the smooshed frosty treat. The assistant kendo instructor then runs up, chasing his bicycle and calling out, "Wait!" Fe-chan and Weboshii watch as he runs by, stepping on the remains of Fe-chan's ice cream. Stupefied, the girls watch the assistant instructor run off before looking back at the ice cream, which has a perfect imprint of his shoe in it. Fe-chan slowly stands up, struggling to get her balance before taking a step, seemingly in a daze. She steps on Weboshii's meat bun, whose ground meat insides and soft doughy outside do not provide a secure footing, causing Fe-chan to slip and fall, slow-motion, on her backside, right onto her ice cream, landing with a splat.

Neither can believe what just happened, and exchange a blink. Fe-chan stands up and turns around, showing her wet rear to Weboshii and asking her, "How is it?" "It looks wet," Weboshii answers flatly. The two stare at each other a moment before Fe-chan begins sobbing. Weboshii tries to cheer her up. "Come on, Fe-chan, positive, positive!" "Waah, I give up!" Fe-chan wails.

Dash to Freedom
Standing epically as the wind blows the back of his robe, Nakanojou's father waits for Nakanojou's answer. Nakanojou falls to his hands and knees, the daifuku mask still on his head. "If you refuse to take over my job," his father warns him, "I'll set a second trap, and then a third." Nakanojou slowly stands back up and slowly places his hands at the base of the mask. "Dad..." he says as he begins to lift the mask, which doesn't give easily due to the paint inside. "This..." he continues as he lifts harder, "is my..." he adds, the sides of the mask pushed up very high, but with the center still not giving. "Impossible!" his father thinks, stunned. Nakanojou finally lifts the mask off his head, ripping his hair out with it, and crying out, "answer!" to finish his defiance.

Guidance Counselor's Office
Misato Tachibana sits in the guidance counselor's office, talking to Tomioka-sensei. "Tachibana," he asks, "what will you do after graduation?" Misato sits and thinks for a minute. "I'm deciding between college and culinary school," she tells him. Tomioka-sensei is intrigued at Misato's inclusion of culinary school. Misato looks up from thinking and suddenly begins to blush. "Wha.... wh-wh-wh-what?" she sputters, suddenly embarrassed for some reason, her face turning red. She slams her hands on the table and stands up, yelling at Tomioka-sensei. "Marry him?!" "Calm down, Tachibana," Tomioka-sensei tells her.

Part 96
Inside Shinonome Labs, Hakase finishes tying a knots in a rope so that it's tied around her hand. Nano then slides the front door open and announces that she's back from school. Hakase cheerily tells Nano that she's going to take a walk with Sakamoto. Nano tells Hakase that her friends (presumably Mio, Yuuko, and/or Mai) are coming over to study, which Hakase is fine with. As Nano walks past Hakase, we see that Hakase has tied the other end of her rope around Sakamoto's neck, who is actually napping on the floor. Hakase tells Nano that she wants to hang out with Nano's friends, too, so she'll be back soon. Hakase says goodbye and begins to walk out the door, dragging along Sakamoto, who is rudely awaken as he is choked by the noose Hakase has provided. He tries to tell Hakase that she's killing him, but she's too happy to pay any attention.

As Hakase drags Sakamoto outside and on to the sidewalk, he tries bargaining with the Professor, pleading that he'll give her anything she wants if she lets him go. She tells Sakamoto that she wants a shark; Sakamoto laments that this is impossible. Hakase, still unaware or just not caring about Sakamoto's troubles, begins singing. "Crying by myself..." "I'm the one who wants to cry!" Sakamoto shouts. "Okay, a shark?" he says desperately. "No problem! I'll get it right away... so get this off me!" Sakamoto squirms and claws at the rope, trying to get out of its death grip.

Suddenly, Hakase stops and gasps, the shine departing her eyes; clearly something is amiss. Panting happily, Pyon and Oguri Cap are shown to be sitting on the sidewalk. We then can see that the two are both on leashes held by Mai, who has just finished taking them on a walk. Hakase begins to tremble. "Dogs..." she thinks, obviously scared. "They're dogs, so they might bite me." Sakamoto has noticed the dogs, too, and is sitting rigidly next to Hakase, also trembling and covered in a nervous sweat. Hakase points out the dogs to Sakamoto and worries that they might bite them. Stuttering in terror, Sakamoto asks her, "Wh-wh-what, y-y-you're scared of dogs? They're on a leash, so they can't bite us." Naturally, the scene cuts to show that Mai has just taken the leashes off her dogs. Pyon begins to jump back and forth, pivoting on one leg. Hakase and Sakamoto fall back in shock and begin to tremble even harder in fear. Sakamoto turns; "We have to run!" he cries out. Hakase agrees. They fall back in shock again as they see that Pyon has suddenly appeared on the other side, blocking their escape route!

In despair, Hakase tells Sakamoto that they can't run. Sakamoto tells her not to give up; if she does, it's all over! Panicking himself, he tells Hakase to get the owner (Mai) to put them back on their leash; but Mai is nowhere to be found. As Sakamoto panics trying to think of something, Hakase reaches into her lab coat's pockets and pulls out a small cube of candy. "I had a gummy in my pocket," she tells Sakamoto. Sakamoto desperately suggests that Hakase give the gummy to the dogs. "We'll run while they eat!" he cries. Hakase thinks this is a good idea and tosses the gummy to Oguri Cap... who eats the entire thing in one bite. Hakase and Sakamoto are dismayed that this plan didn't work, either. "I know!" Sakamoto shouts. "Invent something that can help us escape!" The Professor beams, wondering why she didn't think of that herself. Her hope is short-lived, however, and she tells Sakamoto, "I don't have the equipment to make anything!" Sakamoto wails and drops backwards to the ground. "Boil me or fry me! Do whatever you want with me!" he cries out, giving up. Hakase trembles as she puts together what Sakamoto said. "Boil me..+ fry me...+ do whatever you want...= dinner." She then begins to cry pitifully, thinking the dogs are going to eat them.

Suddenly, Yuuko is heard as she notices Hakase, who looks over to see both Yuuko and Mio walking towards her. "Why are you crying?" Yuuko asks. "Are you lost?" Hakase happily greets Yuuko, hope renewed. Mio asks Yuuko if this is the "professor" Yuuko had been talking about. Yuuko then notices that Hakase has Sakamoto with him and kneels down to pet him. Hakase sternly tells Yuuko to cut that out; she needs to defeat the dogs! Yuuko just rubs Sakamoto's belly and gleefully cries out, "He's unbelievably fluffy!" Mio tells Yuuko that she wants to pet Sakamoto next. "Don't be ridiculous!" Hakase cries out, frustrated, and again telling Yuuko that she has to save them from the dogs. "I understand," Yuuko says. "He bit you, so you want revenge." "No," Hakase says back, "he's about to bite us!" Oguri Cap continues to sit there, panting happily.

Yuuko laughs at Hakase. "What? I bet you're afraid of dogs, you scaredy cat!" Mio is also amused. Hakase gets mad. "No!" she shouts. "He's a dog, so he'll bite us!" Yuuko can't believe her. "Look at him," she says, referring to Oguri Cap. "This docile dog wouldn't bite anyone." Hakase insists he will; Yuuko disagrees, and Hakase insists more firmly that he will. Yuuko then pulls out a pack of gum from her pocket and jests, "Think he'll chew gum? Just kidding." Mio is surprised at Yuuko's joke, while Hakase hollers that the dog will bite! Yuuko walks over to Oguri Cap. "Then watch this," she tells Hakase as she adjusts her bag and squats down in front of Oguri Cap. "Shake," she tells him, offering him her palm.

Oguri Cap bites Yuuko's hand firmly. A wall of force forms around Yuuko and the dog, pulsating outward in waves. The camera then races up the side street the scene is taking place on, past Mio, Hakase and Sakamoto, turning and zooming in on Yuuko's face as she cries out in pain, releasing a hyper beam into the sky, cutting through the air and releasing shock waves across the city. Back on the ground, Hakase and Sakamoto stare in shock, the force of Yuuko's pain blowing their hair and clothes (or scarf) back.

Oguri Cap is then shown panting happily again, completely unaware of, or just not caring about, what just happened. Yuuko is curled up on the ground, holding up her freshly-bitten hand and shivering in pain. Mio kneels down besides her and asks Yuuko if she's ok, but she doesn't answer back. Mio then looks back at Hakase and Sakamoto, who are now trembling in affright, their worst fears confirmed. Mio walks over to Hakase and tries to calm her down. "If you don't go near him," she tells her, "he won't bite you." Hakase stammers, "Yuuko... Yuuko...". As Yuuko seems to be in too much pain to hear anything, Mio tells Hakase, "It's ok. Yuuko's just stupid, ok?" Hakase meekly replies, "Ok..." We then see Mio's shoes and calves; Pyon comes up behind Mio and begins sniffing around her right Achilles tendon, unaware to Mio. "Let's get Yuuko and go to Nano's, ok?" she tells Hakase, who is a little surprised. "You know Nano?" she asks. "Of course I—" Mio begins to say, but is interrupted as Pyon bites her on the leg. The camera spins around Mio, standing perfectly still as small beams of energy appear to rush into Mio's head; a faint red light begins to shine upward off of Mio as she finishes charging. She cries out in extreme anguish, which is shown from three different angles, the third showing that her red scream beam of pain slices through an apartment building! Hakase and Sakamoto again stare in awe, Mio's scream causing Hakase's hair to fly backward.

Pyon is then shown panting and jumping happily again, just as before. Mio lies curled up on her side, grabbing her leg and trembling in pain like Yuuko before her. Hakase and Sakamoto stare in shock at their fallen comrades and the innocent-looking dogs who've caused so much pain.

Mai then walks up, and Pyon and Oguri Cap rush over to her to greet her. She kneels and pets them before suddenly noticing something's wrong. Hakase and Sakamoto stare in anger at Mai, who in turn stares in confusion at Mio and Yuuko lying on the ground. Hakase lets loose her fury. "Where have you been?!" she yells at Mai. "You have to keep your dogs on leashes!" Hakase and Sakamoto are shocked when Mai finally looks at them. Unbelievably, Mai just tilts her head a little and warmly asks, "Did they play with you?" "What are you talking about?!" Hakase bellows back. "They almost bit me!" Hakase trembles in rage as Mai looks back, somewhat surprised. She then turns and reaches into a grocery bag she'd set next to her and hands Hakase a box of chocolate sharks. "Shark chocolate!" Hakase beams, completely forgetting the terror she's just been through. Hakase politely thanks Mai, who looks at Mio and Yuuko in confusion as she walks her dogs, now on leashes, back home.

Hakase smiles and sums up the current situation: "I got chocolate, and the dogs are gone. Isn't that great, Sakamoto?" Sakamoto huffs pompously; "Only little kids are afraid of dogs." He then turns to Hakase and tells her indignantly, "Hurry up and get this leash off me!" Hakase tells him that she got some chocolate, so she will. She begins to pull on the rope tied tightly around her hand, but can't get it to budge. It's too tight! She asks Sakamoto to take it off, who roars back, "I would if I could!" "Let's get Yuuko to do it," she tells him as they head over to Yuuko, still whimpering in pain. She tries to shake Yuuko, asking her to untie the rope, but she doesn't respond. Sakamoto turns and looks down the alley and bolts upright in terror again. Hakase eventually turns to see what is scaring Sakamoto and sees two dogs running at them at full speed! Hakase runs off crying, dragging the hapless Sakamoto along with her. The dogs, Buddy and Kobuddy, stop and watch them run off.

Back at Shinonome Labs, Hakase announces that she and Sakamoto are home. She walks into the living room looking sad and tired, covered in sweat. "There were lots of dogs..." she tells a worried Nano. "You're so sweaty!" she points out. Hakase then raises her leash hand in victory, choking Sakamoto some more, as she cries out, "Oh, right! I have some chocolate!" Nano is confused. Hakase holds the box of shark chocolate in her hand and parades around the room chanting chocolate, Sakamoto hanging helplessly. Nano looks back at the doorway and worries to herself, "Aioi-san and Naganohara-san sure are late..."

The scene fades back to the alley, Mio and Yuuko still lying in pain. In unison, Buddy and Kobuddy place their paws on Yuuko and Mio, respectively. The boy who is assumedly Buddy's owner runs up, clearly looking for the dogs. Her stops and gasps in shock as he sees the two sympathetic canines with two girls trembling in pain. He has absolutely no idea what's going on. Someone then places their hand on his shoulder and he turns around to see the Gentleman standing behind him. "Gramps!" he cries, obviously the Gentleman's grandson. The Gentleman then begins to give his grandson a moving speech. "Humans help each other out, Takashi." The boy stares at his grandfather slack-jawed, making a low guttural sound of disbelief. "Animals are the same, Takashi," he continues. "Don't underestimate the bond between animals and humans, Takashi." The boy finally speaks up. "Gramps... I'm Kiyoshi."

Don't Miss It
The rejected piece of melon bread (voiced by Shibata Hidekatsu) introduces itself. It comments that humanity has spent an eternity debating whether melon-flavored melon bread is better or not. The next episode of Nichijou is Episode 23. Don't miss it.

Transitions
After Yoshino surprises Mihoshi, the inside of an empty elevator is shown. Nothing happens.

After Nakanojou's balloon won't float, the elevator is shown again. The lights go out.

After Nakanojou's father informs him the mask has paint inside, the elevator is shown again, the lights still out. The lights then kick on, and we can see through the windows on the door that the elevator has begun to go down.

After Fe-chan's ice cream is ruined, the woman from the Like Love segment steps onto an elevator, dressed in daytime clothing, carrying a plastic sack and a small wrapped present. She pushes a button and stands as the elevator goes up.

After Hakase and Sakamoto run from Buddy and Kobuddy, the woman from the Like Love segment is riding the elevator as it goes up, still carrying the sack and present. The elevator stops and she walks off.

Image Gallery
Nichijou Episode 22/Image Gallery