Midori Nagumo is a constant daydreamer that has entered City college, but still wants to have fun while ignoring her responsibilities. Niikura is her complete opposite and keeps getting pulled into her schemes, which led to them meeting Wako Izumi, their air-headed classmate.
Together, the three girls end up living in the same apartment and navigate their daily lives in the city of City.
Nichijou by any other name is still just as absurd. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like City, head on down below.
Anime Like City
For Fans of Neighborhood-based Surreal Comedy
Nichijou
Nichijou is about the daily lives of a trio of three friends who soon find their fate intertwined with a young genius, her robot maid, and talking cat. Needless to say, the normal does not ensue.
Similarities Between City and Nichijou
- Made by the same creator, and its… pretty much the same thing, actually.
- A trio of school girls witness and engage in oddness in their school and neighborhood
- Random absurd comedy and slice of life shenanigans that become absurd is the plot
Differences Between City and Nichijou
- The trio of school girls are high school-aged in Nichijou, not college girls like in City.
- Nichijou is far more school focused in its setting while City is the reverse, focusing more on the city as a whole outside of just the college.
- Nichijou focuses more on the trio of school girls while City works more with its expanded cast.
Azumanga Daioh
Chiyo Mihama is the strangest girl in her high school class of some already strange people. As a child prodigy, she skipped all the way to high school where she forms a bond with some of the oddest girls around.
Similarities Between City and Azumanga Daioh
- A group of school girls engage in and witness absurd chaos.
- Random absurd comedy and slice of life shenanigans that become absurd is the plot
- Neighborhood stories about all the weird people that live there
Differences Between City and Azumanaga Daioh
- Azumanga Diaoh follows a larger group of school friends, and they are in high school rather than college like in City
- Azumanga Diaoh focuses more on the school and less on the neighborhood like City does.
Chio’s School Road
This is the story of Chio, a young bookworm, and her daily walk to school. Of course, she won’t be getting to school anytime soon as her usual route usually takes her weirdly off course.
Similarities Between City and Chio’s School Road
- Absurd comedy about school girls and the weird people all around them.
- Random absurd comedy and slice of life shenanigans that become absurd is the plot
- A focus on both school and the weird people that live in the neighborhood
Differences Between City and Chio’s School Road
- Chio’s School Road is themed, specifically, about a girl’s walk to and from her school and how it always gets weird. So most of the show takes place there.
- Chio’s School Road enjoys more parody and references in its comedy
- Chio’s School Road follows one main character whereas the main character in City is harder to discern.
Hinamatsuri
One night, an object falls through space and time into the living room of dignified yakuza member Nitta. The object turns out to be a strange girl with psychic powers, but Nitta is reluctant to both take her in and to accept her offer to make use of those powers.
Respecting his decision to not use her as a tool, this girl, named Hina, decides to help him anyway as they begin their life together.
Similarities Between City and Hinamatsuri
- The neighborhood and local school is filled with weird people
- Random absurd comedy and slice of life shenanigans that become absurd is the plot
Differences Between City and Hinamatsuri
- Hinamatsuri, as it is about an escaped psychic being taken in by a yakuza, is more of a found family vibe, but it does undercut any remotely serious moment with a joke.
- Hinamatsuri works with a more compact cast and doesn’t go quite as absurd with its comedy.
- You could actually say Hinamatsuri does have a sort of plot about people trying to hunt down the psychic. It just moves sluggishly and is often side-tracked by comedy.
Arakawa Under The Bridge
Kou Ichinomiya, as the son of a wealthy businessman, has vowed never to become indebted to anyone.
However,when he falls in the river under Arakawa Bridge, someone dives in to save him, thus he owes his life to this person. She is a homeless girl named Nino who wants only one thing – to fall in love.
In order to pay her back, he accepts her offer to be her boyfriend, thus moving out of his home and starting a new life under the bridge.
Similarities Between City and Arakawa Under The Bridge
- Neighborhood comedy about how weird everyone around is
- Absurd comedy and bizarre situations abound
Differences Between City and Arakawa Under The Bridge
- Arakawa Under The Bridge does have some semblance of a plot to it, but more so, it is also a series with something to say in the social commentary going on among the absurd comedy.
- The “neighborhood” in Arakawa Under the Bridge is a micro-neighborhood of homeless eccentrics living down by the river.
- Arakawa Under the Bridge goes more eccentric with the character designs, personalities, and absurd events.
And Yet The Town Moves
Hastily jumping on the new trend, Seaside Cafe transformed itself into a maid cafe, but offers no classic maid cafe staples and only really gets customers from the nearby shopping district.
Despite the fumbling, this is where Hotori Arashiyama works after school where she, too, stumbles through life.
Similarities Between City and And Yet The Town Moves
- Neighborhood comedy about how weird everyone around is
- Absurd comedy and bizarre slice of life situations is the plot
Differences Between City and And Yet The Town Moves
- And Yet The Town Moves has a singular, clear main character.
- And Yet The Town Moves is centered around a half-assed maid cafe. So it’s not so much a “neighborhood” comedy so much as it is “people from the neighborhood come to that restaurant” comedy.
- And Yet The Town Moves is a little less eccentric with its comedy. It is more grounded to reality.
For Fans of Absurd Comedy About Daily Life
The Daily Lives of High School Boys
This is the tale of three boys that roam the halls of the all-boys school of Sanada North. Their lives are filled with nothing but giant robot drama and true love stories, at least in their imaginations.
In reality, these three boys are nothing special, but they try their best to pass the time.
Similarities Between City and The Daily Lives of High School Boys
- The daily life of a trio in school and the people they intersect with
- Absurd comedy and slice of life that goes awry is the plot
Differences Between City and The Daily Lives of High School Boys
- The Daily Lives of High School Boys is indeed about high school boys and not a trio of college girls
- The Daily Lives of High School Boys is far more focused on the main trio and less focused on any side characters.
- City is more high energy and, because it works with more characters, can be more disconnected with its scenes.
Wasteful Days of High School Girls
On her way to her entrance ceremony at her all-girls school, Akane Kikuchi mulls over how little progress she has made on her dream to become a manga artist as well as gain a boyfriend.
Realizing the more attainable goal of getting a boyfriend at an all-girls school will be difficult, she ends up asking her classmates to introduce her to boys. Unfortunately for her, her classmates, like her best friends, are rather strange.
Similarities Between City and Wasteful Days of High School Girls
- The daily life of a trio of school girls and the weird people they intersect with
- Absurd comedy and slice of life that goes awry is the plot
Differences Between City and Wasteful Days of High School Girls
- Wasteful Days of High School Girls follows a trio of high school girls and it mostly stays in high school.
- While Wasteful Days of High School Girls has a sizable cast, it’s all eccentric high school girls. So not as much character variety as in City.
- Wasteful Days of High School Girls has a theme—going to an all girls’ school and wanting a boyfriend.
- City is more energetic and eccentric with its comedy
Lucky Star
Lucky Star follows the average, but surprisingly eventful lives of four high school girls, led by the short and lazy otaku Konata Izumi.
Throughout their hijinks, they discuss humorous observations about the world around them, ranging from everything from otaku culture to the correct way of eating foods.
Similarities Between City and Lucky Star
- A group of girls and the weird people they meet around the neighborhood
- Absurd comedy and slice of life that goes awry is the plot
- Intense moments of dialogue that end in jokes
Differences Between City and Lucky Star
- Lucky Star follows a group of four high school girls and is mostly focused on them. There is not as much neighborhood focus like in City.
- Lucky Star sometimes is just long conversations about various topics that aren’t actually super comedic, but thought-provoking in their absurdity
- Lucky Star does have an otaku theme to it that is frequently engages in.
Do you have more anime recommendations like City? Let fans know in the comments section below.
