Non Non Biyori and Informal Pedagogy: The Educational Value of Childhood

Note: pedagogy refers to the science and art of education

In Fall 2013 the animation studio Silver Link released Non Non Biyori (NNB), a show centered around four girls – Komari (an 8^th grader), her sister Natsumi (a 7^th grader), and Hotaru (a 5^th grader) and Renge (a 1^st grader) who live in the Japanese countryside and their adventures. All four of them go to the same school; this school consists of one building and one class but different grades as shown in Figure 1. (Komari and Natsumi have an older brother who is in 9^th grade.) Featuring beautiful animation and stunning visuals as depicted in Figure 2, Non Non Biyori vividly depicts country life through its characters; though childhood is not the only stage of life portrayed in the show, the main crew clearly struggles with themes endemic to not-yet-being-an-adult.

Figure 1. The Classroom Door Sign Depicted In Episode 1.

 

Figure 2. The characters (Left to Right: Renge, Natsumi, Komari, and Hotaru in that order) standing beneath a cherry blossom tree during Episode 1.
 

Watching this show reminded me of a quote from the foreword for the first collection of Calvin and Hobbes. Garry Trudeau writes, “ [Bill] Watterson is the reporter who’s gotten it right; childhood as it actually is, with its constantly shifting frames of reference. Anyone who’s done time with a small child knows that reality can be highly situational. Fantasy is so accessible, and it is joined with such force and frequency.” Trudeau describes childhood in terms of its ability to change the dominant reality seemingly at will; therefore, the reality a child posits to be true may simply be a fantasy to an adult.  Though only Renge the 1^st grader is roughly the same age as Calvin, the other characters are able to distinctly connect to her, indicating that they share child-like characteristics such as intense curiosity and shifting frames of reference. As a result, the show lacks a complete focus, allowing for great fluidity.  The child-like ability to envision fantasy as truth is not useful from a conventional perspective on learning. In other words, the “educate the imagination out of the children so they can be good citizens and adults” methodology seems to hold sway. This show suggests that in fact childhood provides valuable learning beyond that which an education can provide. Through its portrayal of childhood themes, Silver Link’s Non Non Biyori suggests that childhood is a time of learning beyond what can be academically provided, though such an informal education may seem fruitless to adults. 

Through its simple but full and expressive artwork, NNB creates a child-like representation of the world. For reference, a visually darker and more realism-focused show would be more “adult.” Simple yet bright (but not painfully so) reflects the lightheartedness associated with the informal education attained during childhood. Dark colors and realism are usually used to indicate the maturity (or hurt feelings) accumulated as a person grows up  The show features a broad range of simple colors that are appropriately used (as opposed to a psychedelic-color-fest), creating a form that mixes realism with blurring; this effect is obviously supported by the use of watercolor. Another key feature is the lack of total darkness – there is never a scene where the viewer struggles to see what is going on, unlike in many shows where a portion or majority of the frame is taken up by blackness. As a result, the show’s art style shows childhood as both innocent and fundamentally instructive; after all, a lack of total darkness can suggest that not everything is unknown. At the same time, the grounding presence of dark colors allows for maturity: though many moments are frivolous and care-free, there exist even more that are serious and become incorporated as experiences.

Figure 3. The Non Non Biyori characters (Left to right: Natsumi, Hotaru, Renge, and Komari) traveling through the rain storm that occurs during the opening theme song.  

Though the backdrop is comprised of dark green; varying blues; and brown, the shot never achieves true darkness. Some of the grass is glistening with water, making the atmosphere mystical instead of offsetting. The characters’ umbrellas, which each feature different colors and designs, make the rain storm something more lighthearted. The shot could even be described as colorful due to the variety of colors displayed. Therefore the characterizations present in this image clearly support the underlying innocence of childhood. In particular, Natsumi and Renge are visibly charging forward into the rain without any fear, which is a very child-like sentiment. In situations such as these, the words childish and child-like are conflated due to the apparent uselessness of such an activity with respect to “adult” activities. At the same time, such experiential learning forms the core of a human’s experiences and therefore is still ultimately important. For example, general science research is often denigrated for being a waste of resources despite providing the basis for many different fields of applied science (NPR’s “Ducks Do It Differently”). Therefore lessons learned in the absence of formal application still provide valuable knowledge.

            However, the art style is not the only important factor behind the child-like atmosphere of the show.  The actions of the characters reflect their intense curiosity and shifting frames of reference more clearly and should therefore be analyzed more (Figure 4). Actions ultimately drive a show’s atmosphere, not simply the art style.

 Figure 4. (Left) (Left to Right: Renge, Hotaru, and Komari) Non Non Biyori characters beneath a cherry blossom tree during the opening theme song.  Renge is on the swing, while the other two characters are looking at the tree. (Right) Renge talking about horsetail due to spying the wild plant growing amongst grass. She interrupted Natsumi (not pictured) to make this observation.

In the left image (Figure 4 Left), Renge swings – an obvious signifier of childhood – as Hotaru and Komari curiously examine the cherry blossom tree. Despite the two separate subjects of focus, all three characters are immersed in their thoughts as if that space represents the whole world. The characters genuinely enjoy their respective activities, allowing for learning. Thus the world can be explored in a more interactive yet less abstract manner. In the other image (Figure 4 Right), Renge mentions eating horsetail miso soup for breakfast. By making this comment, she interrupted Natsumi mid-sentence. Here Trudeau’s comment about children using “constantly shifting frames of reference” is highly applicable: Renge’s focus immediately jumped from her conversation with Natsumi to the wild horsetail plants she saw. In addition to being curious, children are often seemingly sporadic, which serves as a true foil to the goal of formal learning. Renge’s response is decidedly child-like but reflects the importance of her spontaneity in her learning. She can, for example, connect what she had for breakfast to the natural source, reflecting her ability to relate abstract and concrete information. Thus this spontaneity allows for the processing of information which is vital for true learning. Informal pedagogy can therefore allow for education beyond what can be learned from school due to the human need for actual experience not just abstract knowledge.

Non Non Biyori, therefore, suggests the importance of childhood in learning. Curiosity and the ability to change perspective play a very important role in such experiential learning; both of these components are strongly emphasized in play, giving it importance independent of schooling. How a child interacts with his or her surroundings thus plays a large role in their development, as can be extracted from this show. Renge, Komari, Natsumi, and Hotaru, with their varying levels of curiosity and shifting perspectives, are therefore informally educated through their adventures.

Works Cited
Watterson, Bill. Calvin and Hobbes. Kansas City: Andrews and McMeel, 1989. Print.
Non Non Biyori. Dir. Shinya Kawatsura. Perf. Kana Asumi. Silver Link, 2013. Anime.
King, Barbara J. “Ducks Do It Differently, And Science Wants You To Know About It.”  NPR. 11 July 2014. Web. Accessed 22 December 2014.
<http://www.opb.org/news/article/npr-ducks-do-it-differently-and-science-wants-you-to- know-about-it/>