Nichijou - Episode 24

It's a bit of a Sasahara special in this week's Nichijou, as our favourite cultured weirdo finds himself at the centre of attention on several occasions this time around.

Of course, at least some of this interest is thanks to Mio, whose calm, focused exterior (for a change) is put to the test as Yuuko's tale of seeing Sasahara helping Nano carry some books is somehow embellished into a story about naked debauchery in the courtyard in an attempt to seem less dim than she quite clearly is.  Come the end of the episode, Mio also has a run-in with Sasahara herself as he seeks to purchase a beverage from a vending machine only to suffer from the cruel twists of fate which only such devices can bring upon us.  It isn't just Mio's head that is filled with thoughts of Sasahara either, as Misato continues to bring both plenty of "tsun" with a sprinkling of "dere" to proceedings.

Away from Sasahara, Nano tries to make the Professor eat her onions (don't give in, Professor!), Nano herself continues to be the object of Nakamura's interest, and perhaps most importantly Helvetica Standard was actually funny for a change - stop the presses!  Oh wait, this is a 'blog, it doesn't require a press does it?

As episodes of Nichijou go, this is probably some of the better fare we've been served of late - a few laugh-worthy moments and decent snippets of comedy still don't make this a must-watch series, but it was entertaining enough to just about get by without complaint from me thanks to its reigning in most of the complete over-the-top reactions and sticking to more enjoyable stuff.  Even given this improvement, I have to confess that I'm still looking forward to saying goodbye to this series in a couple of weeks time.