While I seem to have a new favorite anime series every week, the one that has stayed in the top 3 of my favorite anime of all time the longest is the slice of life series Non Non Biyori.
After all, with gorgeous artwork and animation, utterly adorable characters (don’t you just want to take Renge home and spoil her?), a gorgeous soundtrack and it being one of the most relaxed and relaxing slice of life anime you will ever watch, if you have not seen every second of what has been released in the Non Non Biyori franchise yet, you really should get started.
In fact I love Non Non Biyori so much, it was the first anime series I ever bought on DVD and the one I have re-watched the most since.
Of course, although watching Non Non Biyori in order is easier to figure out than many other anime series, some people do still mix each release up and end up watching the movie before an OVA, or an OVA before the next series.
So, if you have not yet watched everything that has been released in the series, and you want to watch all of Non Non Biyori the way it was meant to be watched, make sure you see every episode in order as listed below.
Non Non Biyori (Season 1)
The first season of Non Non Biyori introduces country girls Renge, Natsumi, Komari, Kaede and newcomer to the village Hotaru.
We also meet the girls’ families, and are introduced to the one-room school house where all five of them and Natsumi and Komari’s elder brother Suguru are the only students.
Hikage and Renge’s older sister Kazuho is the school’s only teacher.
The series itself allows us to watch the daily lives of the Non Non Biyori girls, who are living what many of us would think is an idyllic childhood, somewhere out in the sleepy Japanese countryside miles from a major town.
Non Non Biyori: Okinawa e Ikukoto ni Natta (OVA)
The Season 1 OVA came bundled with the manga volume but, if you didn’t get a chance to see it, it is available in a number of places online — including KissAnime, if you’re into that kind of thing.
Komari and Natsumi’s brother Suguru wins the big prize in a shopping mall lottery. A trip for four to the island of Okinawa.
The OVA is the pre-cursor for the Non Non Biyori: Vacation movie.
Non Non Biyori: Vacation (Movie)
While some people watch this after Season 2, it made no sense to me to do that when it leads right on from the Season 1 OVA with the girls on a plane heading to Okinawa. That’s why I watch it in this order.
The five girls and Suguru head off to Okinawa for their three-day holiday. Renge’s elder sister and Kazuho’s younger sister Hikage go with them, as does local high school student Konomi, and Candy Store, the woman who owns the village sweet shop.
The group stays at a beautiful independent hotel where they meet Aoi, the daughter of the owners.
Non Non Biyori Repeat (Season 2)
Otherwise known as Season 2 of the anime series, in a re-telling of the stories of the first season, but from a different angle, Non Non Biyori Repeat kicks off with Renge starting first-grade and Hotaru and her parents moving to the tiny Japanese village.
Of course, Renge is in the same one-room school house with the other girls but, for Renge, the entrance ceremony is the start of her new life.
As for Hotaru, she has not lived in such a small place before and so is worried that, when she starts her new school, she may not be able to make friends.
Non Non Biyori Repeat: Hotaru ga Tanoshinda (OVA) (aka Hotaru has fun)
In this lovely mellow OVA, we get to see what village life is truly like if you are young, have an active imagination and are trying to amuse yourself in a place that does not have the modern things many Japanese girls take for granted — something the girls manage to easily do no matter what the season.
Hotaru bakes cookies with Candy Store, Natsumi, Renge and Hotaru try to give Komari nice dreams and the girls hunt for wild berries.
Non Non Biyori Season 3
A third season was announced in May, 2019, with the anime itself premiering in January, 2021 and running through the end of March.
Much of the third season centers around two new characters Akane Shinoda and Shiori joining the daily lives of our favorite country girls.
It’s also just as chill and happy-making as the first two seasons, as Renge makes a new friend, the girls go out in a blizzard (crazy scenes!), and they even learn what it’s like to go camping.
Watch the trailer for Season 3 below, which is a really cool retrospective of the first two seasons, and, of course, watch the third season of Non Non Biyori on Crunchyroll.
Related: Non Non Biyori‘s opening theme song is sooooo catchy and ear-wormy
