Non Non Biyori (2013)

1 - I Became a First Grader

Renge, who is about to start first grade, goes with the others to check out the school before the entrance ceremony, before seeing Hikage off as she goes to Tokyo. The next day, as Renge and the others enjoy the entrance ceremony and begin their first lessons, Hotaru starts moving in.

1 - A New Transfer Student Came

In the countryside village of Asahigaoka, a fifth grade elementary school girl named Hotaru Ichijou moves in from the city and transfers into the villages branch school, which consists of only four other students; a first grader named Renge Miyauchi and three middle school siblings, Natsumi, Komari and Suguru Koshigaya, along with their teacher, Renges older sister Kazuho. After school, Renge invites Hotaru and the others to her house, where she shows off her pet tanuki. The next day, the girls take Hotaru to a blooming cherry blossom tree to eat their sakuramochi, though they end up missing the bus home on the way back.

1 - I Played the Frog Song

Its another idyllic day in the countryside, but things are anything but ordinary when Renge meets Akane, a flutist who has trouble playing in front of other people.

2 - We Went to the Candy Store

Ichijou Hotaru is enjoying life with her classmates at her new school. In particular, she has come to think of the diminutive Koshigaya Komari, at less than 140cm, as her “cute Senpai.” This feeling soon grows into absolute adoration. Then, one day, Komari calls Hotaru and invites her to hang out together…

2 - We Went to Look at the Stars

A few days after transferring in, Hotaru and the others play a game in which they try to knock each others rulers off a table. Later, Hotaru gets lost while walking her dog Pechi, but manages to get pointed back towards home thanks to Pechis scent. Afterwards, Hotaru goes with Komari to watch the stars together, but run into trouble when their flashlight runs out of battery before they head back. Thanks to a wayward bottle cap Komari dropped, they soon manage to make their way back home.

3 - I Ran Away from Home with My Sister

The class goes on a school trip to help out in a rice field, where Natsumi and Komari end up getting stuck in the mud. Later that night, Komari gets frightened after seeing a scary movie, which is not helped by Natsumi. After getting into a fight with her mother, Natsumi runs away from home with Komari in tow and goes to her secret hideout. They eventually spot a cat that had put Natsumi in trouble in the first place, but leave her alone when they see she is feeding her family and eventually head home.

3 - We Got Motivated During the Holiday Break

Its the day before Golden Week, and the students of Asahigaoka Branch School listen to the voice of their unmotivated teacher, Kazuho, as they take tests. Natsumi struggles the most with the tests, so the others help her study during the break. Then, during Golden Week, the students agree to do their holiday homework together, so Renge decides to do something about their lazy teacher before the others arrive…

4 - Summer Vacation Started

As summer vacation begins, Renges older sister Hikage comes home from her school in Tokyo, hoping to impress the others with her know-how about city life only for Hotaru to outshine her. Later, Renge meets another girl her age named Honoka Ishikawa, who she quickly become friends with. After spending several days playing with Honoka, Renge is saddened when she learns Honoka had to suddenly leave due to her fathers work. However, she cheers up a week later after receiving a letter from Honoka saying shell come back next summer.

4 - I Made a Teru-teru Bouzu

When Renge receives a bike from her grandma, shes eager to practice so she can ride everywhere with her friends. But the rainy season is in full swing, so she sets about making a teru-teru bouzu in hopes that the rain will stop. Meanwhile, Renge is on duty to take care of the tadpole shrimp she caught while playing in a field, and she grows very fond of them.

5 - We Ate Okonomiyaki

One morning, Natsumi uses a toy fortune dispenser to read Komaris fortune, and tells it her, “bad luck: beware of water.” Komari says she wont be near any water that day anyway, but when they get to school, theyre told that theyll be cleaning the school pool… The next day, the Koshigaya sisters are bored at home on a day off from school, so Natsumi reads Komaris fortune again and draws yet another “bad luck”…

5 - I Pretended I Forgot My Swimsuit

Hotaru and Renge are invited to the Koshigayas house for breakfast. Afterwards, the girls, accompanied by Kazuha, go to the beach, where Komaris height leads her to be mistaken for a lost child. On their way home, the girls stop at a railside noodle restaurant, where a prank by Natsumi on Komari backfires due to Renges innocence. They manage to catch the last train home on time, but accidentally leave Kazuha behind.

6 - We Made Friends With Fireflies

As everyone is cleaning up the school on the last day of the semester, Natsumi and Hotaru end up weeding and watering the garden together. Natsumi realizes shes never been alone with Hotaru before and tries to come up with things to talk about… Then summer vacation begins and the kids start to work on their summer homework, but quickly grow bored. Hotaru then tells everyone her parents are going to buy some fireworks…

6 - I Became a Ghost and Tried Hard

Natsumi gets chewed out by her mother over her poor school grades whilst also trying to hide her poor test results from her. Afterwards, the girls visit Hotaru, who attempts to hide the vast number of handmade Komari plushies in her room. This ultimately fails, but she manages to pass them off as part of a school project. Later that night, the gang have a test of courage at the shrine, which proves a bit too much for Komari.

7 - We Bravely Dove In

Hotaru is finally getting used to how kids play in the country, although shes still afraid to jump off the bridge into the river. Hotaru returns home from playing to find a letter from her friend in Tokyo, with a photo of her old friends at an amusement park, making her feel nostalgic. Meanwhile, Hikage is home for a visit and shows off pictures of Tokyo Tower to Renge.

7 - My Rice Cracker Turned Into Curry

With Kazuha absent at the start of the new semester, the girls try and find ways to pass the time in class. Later, Hotaru and Renge try and catch a rabbit that had escaped from its pen, only for it to lock them inside the pen themselves, though they are eventually rescued by Kazuha. Afterwards, Renge visits the candy store run by Kaede Kagayama, who finds her to be a handful.

8 - I Took Lunch Duty

The second semester has begun, and the Asahigaoka students are making wood crafts in class. Renge and Natsumi pair up to make something together, but cant come up with any ideas. Just when Natsumi starts to panic, Renge demonstrates her unique sensibilities again. Then at lunchtime, the smell of curry fills the air, and the Koshigaya sisters recall a tragedy that befell the school long ago…

8 - We Cooked Rice at School

Hotaru gets along with the Koshigaya familys next door neighbour, Konomi Fujimiya, whilst Komari laments that the two seem more grown up than she is. Later, Komari joins Hotaru and Renge in doing some sketching, where she ends up becoming a model for them. Afterwards, Konomi helps Komari and Natsumi make dried persimmons.

9 - We Looked at the Moon Together

Natsumis mother asks Natsumi to go catch something to live in the familys pond, and Natsumi agrees when shes told shell be paid. She lends Natsumi a watch and tells her to be home by curfew, and all the kids go out for a day of fishing. Later, Konomi sees that Natsumi still doesnt seem like a girl at all even now that shes in middle school, and brings some of her old outfits over for her to try on…

9 - We Tried Having a Cultural Festival

Since the school doesnt hold cultural festivals, Natsumi suggests they hold their own and invite the alumni, including Kaede, Konomi and Hikage. At the festival, the girls run a café, hold an art exhibit and put on a play. However, theyre play ends up being overwhelming and they end up slacking on food orders. They do eventually work together to prepare some food and have fun. Afterwards, Komari and Konomi help clean Natsumis room, where they find a lot of old toys.

10 - I Practiced Really Hard

Renge goes to visit Natsumi, but she and her family arent home. Shes about to give up and leave when a hand starts talking to her from the other side of the fence! She thinks its a monster, and is relieved to learn that its the next door neighbor Konomi. But Konomi then tells her that she is, in fact, a monster… Later, the Koshigaya sisters tell Renge they were in first grade when they took off their training wheels, so Renge starts to practice riding her bike without the training wheels.

10 - We Watched the First Sunrise of the Year

After sleeping through the New Year, Renge joins Kazuha, Hikage and Kaede as they decide to go up a mountain to watch the first sunrise of the year. Along the way, Kaede recalls five years ago when she was first asked to look after the one-year-old Renge, initially finding her to be quite a handful but soon taking a liking to her. They eventually manage to reach the top of the mountain and watch the sun as it rises.

11 - We Made Snow Houses

Due to a snowy blizzard, the girls end up having to spend the night at school, with Hotaru and Natsumi competing against each other to see who gets to sleep in a futon, eventually decided to just kick Kazuho out of hers. Later that night, Hotaru decides to check out the snow and see the starry night sky, leading to some misunderstandings from Komari and Natsumi. Later, on another snowy day, the gang decide to try their hand at skiing before building a snow house and having some hot food.

11 - I Became a Pampered Child

One morning during winter break, Ichijo Hotaru and Koshigaya Komari are on a walk when they run into Fujimiya Konomi on her way back from practice. Komari takes great interest in Konomis cellphone.

12 - Spring Came Again

As Spring arrives again, Hotaru and Komari go on a picnic together, where Hotaru ends up eating Komaris botched up homemade lunch in order to not hurt her feelings. Later, the girls get together to search for some edible plants, eventually coming to a field of renge flowers where Natsumi makes a costume for Renge.

12 - A Year Passed

During spring break, Renge and Hotaru head to school to feed the rabbits and end up finding Renges Legendary Sword.