I’m someone who believes that everyday life can be as interesting as a fictional universe. So I often find myself watching slice-of-life anime more than any other genre. Most people think it’s boring, but I’m here to bring some recommendations that will prove it wrong.
What is Slice of Life Anime
The genre of “Slice of life” refers to anime (or manga) that do not have a story or plot focused on a paranormal event or a goal that aims to get someone or something out of danger. But it has as the center of the plot the day-to-day life of its characters.
For example, Jesus Christ himself can be introduced as the main character. But it will not focus on explaining why or bring with it a plot to save the world. Instead, his life in a modern world where nobody cares much or at all that he is Jesus Christ. Maybe they would think he is a crazy hippy or something.
5 Slice of Life Anime Recommendations!
Awesome! Now that you know what slice of life anime is all about, its time to get started and pick out a good series to watch. We have five recommendations for you. We have binge watched and greatly enjoyed these series ourselves so you can trust and pick out the one that seems most appealing to you personally.
5. Violet Evergarden
Violet Evergarden is the story of a young war veteran, stripped of her own feelings, who, having been a soldier throughout her childhood, knows no world outside of war. Now that the war is over, she is hired as a letter writer for those who do not know how to write or need help putting their feelings into words.
In this series’s self-concluding episodes, we are told the stories of different people and how Violet acts as an intermediary between them and her own sadness and problems through letters. Learning and growing as a person at the same time, facing her actions in the past and stepping into a future where she recovers the humanity she never imagined she had inside her.
4. Saint Young Men
Jesus and Buddha take a vacation from whatever it is they do in Heaven or whatever you want to call it and go down to Japan to fulfill what would be the dream of many otakus: live there in an apartment and enjoy what the country has to offer to anyone who visits it. The expenses, of course, are literally paid by Heaven.
And although we didn’t know, it turns out that they are friends and even have very similar personalities, both relatively innocent and faint-hearted, scary and impressionable. Still, they also have some differences. For example, Jesus is too generous with the money he pays, and Buddha is exceptionally thrifty. That would basically be the only source of conflict in their coexistence, but overall it’s pretty trouble-free.
The day-to-day life of this odd couple, with hobbies typical of any young person today (Jesus, for example, runs a blog and plays online games), consists of visits to events taking place in the Japanese village of Tachikawa, shopping, excursions to other locations and even everyday problems ranging from illnesses to temperature changes, birthdays, monthly accounting or cooking.
To all this, they will face the small problem of having an appearance and some “skills” that do not exactly help them to go unnoticed, although surprisingly no one relates them with the historical figures they really are, even though it is clear who they are.
3. The Girl that Leapt Through Time
One of those movies that I tend to re-watch a lot. The main character is just like you and me, someone with a perfectly ordinary life but who one day is thrown into a streak of bad luck where she accidentally acquires powers. This is an ability she acquires in a world that is not in a situation that requires her crucial help.
Makoto, the first half of the film, spends what most of us have wished even once. Using time travel as a way to turn everything in our favor. Repeating things like the night, your mom cooked your favorite dinner, or you embarrassed yourself in front of a lot of people to keep it from happening. But it makes you feel bad that you had fun with the main character afterwards. The movie makes you remember what most tend to forget; everything has consequences.
2. Usagi Drop
It tells the story of Daikichi, who goes to the funeral of his deceased grandfather, where he meets a girl who happens to have been under his grandfather’s care as his daughter. NO ONE wants to receive her because of what she means (being the grandfather’s illegitimate daughter with a woman much younger than him). Annoyed by his family’s attitude, who do not think about the feelings of a girl who is not to blame for anything, he decides to send everyone to hell and take care of little Rin. He soon discovers that life as the guardian of a minor makes him forget his bachelor life and completely change all his habits to ensure that little girl’s happiness.
Short, uncomplicated, precise, Usagi Drop narrates Daikichi’s life in his new role as a “single father” Daikichi’s learning and evolution in this phase through showing us his new everyday life. It’s great to see how small moments can ultimately mean so much to one and how they hold so many emotions and meanings behind them that change both of their lives for the better.
1. Sweet Slice of Life Anime: K-ON
At Sakuragaoka Girls’ High School, a group of girls decides to try to revive the school’s music club, not because they want to win tournaments, gain fame, or anything really important that would be of great merit to their school. Under the name Houkago Tea Time or “After School Tea Time”, these girls simply wish to enjoy their youth with their friends, having fun after school while playing their instruments, or just eating cakes.
While this may appear to be a story where not much happens other than girls going about their everyday lives in a distracted way, it is misleading on the surface. I’m not referring to the fact that this series surprises us with existentialism, complex themes, or some heavy human drama that allows us to dive into its depths, but rather that in the calm waters it possesses, this is a series that captures and reflects a very strong sense of youth.
That “wasted” time with friends, simply those ideal good memories that stay with you for life as you grow up. Loaded with a sense of nostalgia, K-On is a work that prefers to leave aside the more serious side of their growth as a band, only showing occasional occasions, to focus on the more mundane of the girls’ friendship and how they spend their lives as high school students from the day they meet to the day of their inevitable graduation and going their separate ways.
Conclusion
There you have it, our top picks for slice of life anime that will offer a good dose of laid back entertainment. Great for spending a quiet evening with some anime or binge-watch with friends!
Did you like our picks? Let us know down below! Until next time anime fans.