War. War never changes.

There is tension in the air. The plebeians are dishing out the latest Puella Magi Madoka Magica speculation as their voices are muffled by the silence before the storm. The otaku fandom is anticipating the spring season, the new shows it will bring…

But war never changes.

Every war starts with a spark. Every war starts with mere taunts. The 4koma war is no different.

It’s a battle to the death between A Channel and Nichijou, two upcoming slice-of-life shows competing for the same 4koma-style comedy slot in the hearts of otaku. But will it be a brutal melee of moe, comedy and death… or a mere skirmish, soon forgotten by the ever-fickle anime fandom?

To state it bluntly, this doesn’t look like it will be much of a war. The people at Studio Gokumi have nothing but Koe De Oshigoto! (an anime about a high school girl becoming an eroge voice actress) to back them up. They must be out of their minds to try and challenge the anime juggernaut that is Kyoto Animation, or have a lot of confidence in the A Channel franchise. All things considered, they don’t stand a ghost of a chance.

Nevertheless, when Gokumi launched its first rocket in the direction of Kyoto, the men and women (but mostly men) behind The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya and K-ON! responded with a new trailer for what will undoubtedly be their newest cash cow franchise to rule them all. Let’s take a look, shall we?

What in the holy mother of Yui is this?

First of all, that is some of the most horrible music I have ever heard, and I grew up with 90’s europop. From the looks of it, this is right up Kyoto Animation’s ally. The trailer hints at a laid-back pacing and a more traditional setting. We see cute girls talking, grown-ups playing with crayons and the cat is without any doubt the most hot-blooded character in the entire cast. The character archetypes can pretty much be guessed without hearing them actually say anything and the animation is sub-par (except for some of the backgrounds) to say the least. If Nichijou really is anything like this trailer, looks like A Channel might stand a chance after all…

Only it isn’t. The Nichijou manga is nothing like the relaxing lullaby this trailer presented us with. It’s about deer, robots and people being blasted out of the window with rocket launchers. If the first few chapters are any indication, Nichijou clearly aims for a return to the psychedelic insanity of Azumanga Daioh, rather than the usual ‘cute girls doing cute things’ vibe its direct competitor will represent. However, as it seems the tides has been turned in favour of Nichijou once again, I have one more thing to say before the violence breaks out and thousands of cute little girls will lose their lives for the motherland: A Channel is funny as hell.

And if you’ve read any other slice-of-life manga, you know this is war is going to be hell. One hell of a war.