As I have gotten older I have found myself gravitating more and more to
anime and manga that would fit into the category of slice of life. This
can be and is a rather vague category. It essentially means a story that
is based entirely in the real world and is void of anything fantastical.
The characters are normal (if sometimes eccentric) people who live relatively
ordinary lives.
There are a few things that draw me to these stories. Many times they are comedies. There's also a voyeurism aspect to it. It's fun to watch/read them to transport you into a different, plausible, life. (OK so I guess sometimes I may fantasize and escape too!) Many stories could be considered slice of life, particularly the myriad romance titles out there. I'm going to focus on three slice of life styles. The ones that are really about mundane life, the ones that focus on cutesy characters, loli-troupe comedy I guess you could call it. And then the general comedy slice of life series.
General Slice of Life
Bakuman: Two students decide to take on the manga world by storm, striving to be the world’s best manga artist/author. Along the way to their dream, they have to deal with the grueling daily life in the manga industry.
From the creators of Death Note, this series shows in excruciating detail what it’s like to work in the manga industry. The insane hours you’re subject to, the deadline and sales pressures. The psychology behind creating the standard shonen manga. It’s quite insightful into the behind the scenes of the industry, most specifically what it takes to create something like Dragon Ball and Naruto. The manga is incredibly dense and wordy, almost like a novel. I have not seen the anime and don't feel I need to after reading the manga.
Barakamon: After punching an elderly gallery curator, a young professional calligrapher is forced to spend time in a remote village. The goal is to make him realize his place in life and to help him focus on his work instead of what he expects. The town is filled with down to earth folks who dispense nuggets of wisdom to this city boy in unexpected ways.
This is a smartly drawn and fun series that doesn't actually come up with anything new. The characters are what make this show, especially the misfit girl Naru. The plot course is predictable and worn out but it’s still worth watching for some laughs and light hearted fun.
Genshiken: This long running manga/anime follows the daily exploits of a college otaku club.
This is a fun poke/homage at otaku in general. The club is a ragtag band of otaku misfits who have nowhere else to fit in. The best thing about this series is that it evolves as it goes on. Members come and go as time passes and with it the exploits of the club changes too. This is a great introduction to new otaku to the world of anime/manga fandom. It’s a crash course to the various otaku subgroups. I always hope for more stories from this series.
Hanasaku Iroha: A semi-responsible girl is abandoned by her single mother and has to go live/work at her grandmothers’ traditional inn. Life at the inn, under her grandmother draconian rules, is hard but might help the girl to become a stronger person.
This is a series that made me glad I had a good upbringing. The main character ends up having to deal with some hard family issues. Between her irresponsible mother and her hard-nosed grandmother, she finds herself being the punching bag between both women's issues with each other. The story its self is fairly light and mildly comical though, even if it deals with some heavy issues. There are moments in it where the main characters tenacity and ability to solve all of the problems can be a little overbearing though.
Hourou Musuko: Being an adolescent can be hard, but when you have to figure out how to identify your gender and your sexual preference on top of that, life can become oppressive. This story deals with a small group of middle school students who are dealing with gender identification and self identity questions.
This is an excellent and highly enjoyable drama about defining who you are as you begin to enter adulthood. The two main characters share the same problems but also have to deal with underlying emotional issues between themselves. Their small group of friends has to deal with the spillover from their hang ups as well as their own issues. I would highly recommend this for kids just entering their teenage years as a way to help them understand that they are not alone in the world being confusing all of a sudden. It also serves as a way to teach tolerance and acceptance of those who are different from you.
Kids on the Slope: Set in the 60's, 3 high school students become friends through the bond of jazz music.
This was a well done short series giving a peek into life in Japan post reconstruction. It is also a fantastic primer for great free form jazz. The ending is a bit weird and somewhat of a letdown, but don't let that stop you from enjoying this serious coming of age story.
Peeping Life: A long series of shorts depicting various real life and sometimes historical fiction settings.
This web series by CoMix Wave depicts banal real life situations with dry wit. The artwork is shoddy motion capture CG and is set to make the viewer feel like a voyeur. It's entertaining if you like dry wit and daily oddity. It’s also a welcomed break in the anime world from the standard voice acting. The cast in these shorts speak as normal people do, often times on top of each other.
34-sei Mushoku-san: The daily non-adventures of an unemployed 34 year old single woman.
I only just started reading this enjoyable manga by the author of Sasameki Koto. The art is realistic and enjoyable in its little details. The main character, which has no name, carries on mental conversations about her dreams, ambitions and daily task check list in an entertaining way. After a while you start to see why people who live alone for long periods of time develop the habit of talking aloud to no one.
Servant x Service: A comical look at semi-outrageous lives of employees at a local ward office. These civil servants have to deal with the insane demands of the public and the ruts their lives turn into.
This one is semi-romance, semi-off beat and actually pretty enjoyable. Who would have thought the prestigious career of civil service could be filled with so many weirdo's?
Shirobako: The hard life of people who work in the anime industry.
This is like the shojo version of Bakuman but for anime instead of manga. Some of the side characters are based on real life people too, which is pretty cool.
Summer Wars: Math wizard Kenji is wrangled into pretending to be a classmate’s boyfriend for her grandmother’s 90th birthday party. The weekend at the countryside estate is more than anyone bargained for when the internets' hub for interpersonal interaction is hacked and all roads lead back to Kenji and his classmate’s estranged uncle.
While not my favorite movie by Hosoda Mamoru, this is a well done comedy/drama that deals with the love of family and personal responsibility.
Uchuu Kyodai: Set in the future this slice of life drama deals with two brothers reaching and attempting to reach their childhood goal of becoming astronauts.
While set a few decades into the future this series sticks with reality. It hyper-focuses on the grueling selection process for becoming an astronaut. This is a highly addicting, almost drug like, show that keeps you rooting for the main leads and enjoying the agonizing progress of their journey. After 99 episodes I am holding my breath waiting for the manga to get more material under its belt for the series to return.
Usagi Drop: A single man ends up adopting his grandfathers’ illegitimate 6 year old daughter to keep her from being abandoned. He has to figure out how to raise a little girl when he isn't even very responsible for himself.
This is one of my favorite slice of life series. The artwork is a bit odd but the characters and story are incredibly believable and endearing. The anime only covers the first half of the manga. The
second half of the manga takes place 10 years later and things start to get a little...strange.
World Fool News: A news caster is given a co-hosting role for the stations most undesirable program, World Fool News. He has to learn to adjust to the assignment and he bizarre co-workers.
Another motion capture CG slice of life series by CoMix Wave, this one, as opposed to Peeping Life, has a plot and a purpose. But it still shares the dry wit slice of everyday life scenarios as the other show.
Yotsuba&!: The story of a strange little girl and her experiences with everyday things.
This is the manga that the creator of Azumanga Daiou has been busying himself with since that series finished. Sadly, this one will never see an animated version. Regardless, the cute everyday adventures of the title character and her interesting perspective on reality are fun to read again and again.
Loli-troupe Slice of Life
Azumanga Daiou: A 10 year old genius enters high school and has goofy adventures with a small group of classmates.
This is my favorite TV anime of all time. Its humorous, endearing and all around fun. The characters and antics are highly entertaining, sometimes leading to realms of bizarre hallucination.
Hyakko: A group of 4 girls at a private high school ended up bonding together through mutual discomfort in their surroundings. They band together for over the top escapades in their school while surrounded by a large cast of goof ball peers and teachers.
This one is middle of the road and far from original. It plays off of much of the groundwork laid by Azumanga Daioh and meshes it a little with the frantic insanity of Pani Poni Dash. It has memorable moments but don't make it a first pick for series to watch.
Ichigo Mashimaro: Innocent and comically cute exploits of 4 elementary school girls and one of their adult sisters.
This is a fun and sweet slice of live show, probably the ideal loli-troupe slice of life show in my mind. Its innocent, goofy but realistic and endearing without being sappy. The world these girls live in is simple and oblivious to the dangers of the adult world.
Lucky Star: Ruckus high school girls who go through their final days of childhood slacking off and having fun.
This is the opposite of Ichigo Mashimaro, the characters in it are jaded and familiar with the ways of the adult world. The troupe is lead by one of the queens of the otaku, whose main ambition is to slack of and fuel her hobbies. Highly frantic and entertaining in many ways!
Mangirl!: 4 women in a large publishing company decide to produce their own monthly manga magazine. This show glosses over their efforts for the first year of its publication.
I wouldn't be surprised if this was directly based on real people, the manga is actually about a real magazine so its highly likely. This is a good overview of the difficulties and time required to work in the manga industry. Short, goofy and enjoyable.
Minami-ke: The Minami sisters are self sufficient orphans. The series follows their semi-mundane lives filled with the love and friendship of their classmates.
This semi long running anime saw a few disruptions in its production that unfortunately made for some boring episodes. The original series was entertaining and well paced but the following 3 series' weren't able to deliver in the same way. Regardless, this is still a fun show and the characters a loveable and memorable.
Yuyushiki: 3 close friends try to establish their own club in school to not feel left out. The club ends up being nothing but them randomly surfing the internet and obsessing about bizarre and unrelated things.
Another tepid entry into the loli-troupe shows. This one had moments of humor but was ultimately bland and unoriginal.
Comedy Slice of Life
Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai: The sweet and goofy story of an odd couple; a normal working woman and her semi-pro blogger otaku husband. The series of shorts detail the wife’s introduction to the more hidden aspects of otaku culture and they try to reconcile their differences amidst their love for one another.
This short series is crudely drawn and somewhat disjointed in its story telling, but it has some open honesty and tenderness to it that work well with the odd ball personalities.
Denki-gai Honya: This show is about caricatures of employees in an Akihabara manga shop. They all have their perversions and obsessions and they just go about their lives working and hobbying, while trying to gather up the courage to confess to their crushes.
Ruckus and perverted, this was a fun little show that took the otaku out of the schools and put them in the work place. More of a comedy than a slice of life series this one had some good moments.
Gekkan Shojo Nozaki-kun: A girl with a crush on her classmate ends up having to help him with his monthly romance manga. She agrees as a way to spend more time with him, even though he has no idea about her feelings.
This was a fun and entertaining slice of life comedy that masqueraded as a romance but barely let it get in the way of the gags. It was like a more grounded School Rumble.
Kyo no Go no Ni: From the creator of Minami-ke, this somewhat perverted series details the less than innocent escapades of 5th graders.
This series puts elementary school students in innocent but adult situations for hilarious results. The humor is done in a way that adults would generally understand the discomfort with many of the situations, but children would not. I wouldn't however recommend this for anyone under high school age. There is no nudity but the situations are mature enough.
Mainichi Kaa-san: The main character of this odd gag manga is a manga artist struggling to meet her deadlines, keep her kids safe and happy and find time for her own relaxation. This series was based on the long running gag strip in Mainichi Shinbun.
This is a fun and crudely drawn series that shows some pretty realistic scenarios in odd ball ways. Just the way I like it. Every once and a while there will be a segment of beauty and emotion as the main character goes on dream like journeys of dream like self reflection. These moments are beautiful and haunting and really juxtapose the rest of the crazed segments of the show. The scenarios are semi-autobiographical and the manga's creator, Saibara Reiko, has lived a public life fueled with alcoholism, depression and a troubling childhood.
Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki: This is a series of shorts about a rural family and their newly adopted cat. The cat is a big fat ball of fuzz that inspires affection and attention from human and animal alike.
This series is based on a gag manga and is animated to keep that feel. The cartoonish character designs and frequent use of SD add to the comedy in this entertaining show.
Tonari no Seki-kun: Yokoi is obsessed with the boy who sits next to her in class, Seki. Seki wiles away his time in class with elaborate hobbies and activities. Yokoi is half fascinated by his level of creativity and half concerned for him getting into trouble.
This poorly drawn short series is highly entertaining. Seki's extracurricular activities to help him ignore his teachers are entertaining. The show is narrated by Yokoi's internal dialogue as the frets and wonders over her neighbors antics.
Yurumates3D: odd ball daily exploits of the residents of a rundown boarding house. The characters do what they can to slack off and pass away their time wondering about absurd things.
This is a crudely drawn super deform comedy that was enjoyable for its aired length, but I couldn't see it working as a full length show.
Watamote: When a fujoshi wants to come out of her dark and secret existence she has to figure out ways to interact with people normally. It’s difficult for her though as she is incredibly socially awkward and expects too much of reality to be like her favorite eroge titles.
This was a disjointed combination of NHK ni Yokoso and Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge. It didn't totally work but there were some pretty funny moments even if much of the comedic routines have been done better in other series'.
There are a few things that draw me to these stories. Many times they are comedies. There's also a voyeurism aspect to it. It's fun to watch/read them to transport you into a different, plausible, life. (OK so I guess sometimes I may fantasize and escape too!) Many stories could be considered slice of life, particularly the myriad romance titles out there. I'm going to focus on three slice of life styles. The ones that are really about mundane life, the ones that focus on cutesy characters, loli-troupe comedy I guess you could call it. And then the general comedy slice of life series.
General Slice of Life
Bakuman: Two students decide to take on the manga world by storm, striving to be the world’s best manga artist/author. Along the way to their dream, they have to deal with the grueling daily life in the manga industry.
From the creators of Death Note, this series shows in excruciating detail what it’s like to work in the manga industry. The insane hours you’re subject to, the deadline and sales pressures. The psychology behind creating the standard shonen manga. It’s quite insightful into the behind the scenes of the industry, most specifically what it takes to create something like Dragon Ball and Naruto. The manga is incredibly dense and wordy, almost like a novel. I have not seen the anime and don't feel I need to after reading the manga.
Barakamon: After punching an elderly gallery curator, a young professional calligrapher is forced to spend time in a remote village. The goal is to make him realize his place in life and to help him focus on his work instead of what he expects. The town is filled with down to earth folks who dispense nuggets of wisdom to this city boy in unexpected ways.
This is a smartly drawn and fun series that doesn't actually come up with anything new. The characters are what make this show, especially the misfit girl Naru. The plot course is predictable and worn out but it’s still worth watching for some laughs and light hearted fun.
Genshiken: This long running manga/anime follows the daily exploits of a college otaku club.
This is a fun poke/homage at otaku in general. The club is a ragtag band of otaku misfits who have nowhere else to fit in. The best thing about this series is that it evolves as it goes on. Members come and go as time passes and with it the exploits of the club changes too. This is a great introduction to new otaku to the world of anime/manga fandom. It’s a crash course to the various otaku subgroups. I always hope for more stories from this series.
Hanasaku Iroha: A semi-responsible girl is abandoned by her single mother and has to go live/work at her grandmothers’ traditional inn. Life at the inn, under her grandmother draconian rules, is hard but might help the girl to become a stronger person.
This is a series that made me glad I had a good upbringing. The main character ends up having to deal with some hard family issues. Between her irresponsible mother and her hard-nosed grandmother, she finds herself being the punching bag between both women's issues with each other. The story its self is fairly light and mildly comical though, even if it deals with some heavy issues. There are moments in it where the main characters tenacity and ability to solve all of the problems can be a little overbearing though.
Hourou Musuko: Being an adolescent can be hard, but when you have to figure out how to identify your gender and your sexual preference on top of that, life can become oppressive. This story deals with a small group of middle school students who are dealing with gender identification and self identity questions.
This is an excellent and highly enjoyable drama about defining who you are as you begin to enter adulthood. The two main characters share the same problems but also have to deal with underlying emotional issues between themselves. Their small group of friends has to deal with the spillover from their hang ups as well as their own issues. I would highly recommend this for kids just entering their teenage years as a way to help them understand that they are not alone in the world being confusing all of a sudden. It also serves as a way to teach tolerance and acceptance of those who are different from you.
Kids on the Slope: Set in the 60's, 3 high school students become friends through the bond of jazz music.
This was a well done short series giving a peek into life in Japan post reconstruction. It is also a fantastic primer for great free form jazz. The ending is a bit weird and somewhat of a letdown, but don't let that stop you from enjoying this serious coming of age story.
Peeping Life: A long series of shorts depicting various real life and sometimes historical fiction settings.
This web series by CoMix Wave depicts banal real life situations with dry wit. The artwork is shoddy motion capture CG and is set to make the viewer feel like a voyeur. It's entertaining if you like dry wit and daily oddity. It’s also a welcomed break in the anime world from the standard voice acting. The cast in these shorts speak as normal people do, often times on top of each other.
34-sei Mushoku-san: The daily non-adventures of an unemployed 34 year old single woman.
I only just started reading this enjoyable manga by the author of Sasameki Koto. The art is realistic and enjoyable in its little details. The main character, which has no name, carries on mental conversations about her dreams, ambitions and daily task check list in an entertaining way. After a while you start to see why people who live alone for long periods of time develop the habit of talking aloud to no one.
Servant x Service: A comical look at semi-outrageous lives of employees at a local ward office. These civil servants have to deal with the insane demands of the public and the ruts their lives turn into.
This one is semi-romance, semi-off beat and actually pretty enjoyable. Who would have thought the prestigious career of civil service could be filled with so many weirdo's?
Shirobako: The hard life of people who work in the anime industry.
This is like the shojo version of Bakuman but for anime instead of manga. Some of the side characters are based on real life people too, which is pretty cool.
Summer Wars: Math wizard Kenji is wrangled into pretending to be a classmate’s boyfriend for her grandmother’s 90th birthday party. The weekend at the countryside estate is more than anyone bargained for when the internets' hub for interpersonal interaction is hacked and all roads lead back to Kenji and his classmate’s estranged uncle.
While not my favorite movie by Hosoda Mamoru, this is a well done comedy/drama that deals with the love of family and personal responsibility.
Uchuu Kyodai: Set in the future this slice of life drama deals with two brothers reaching and attempting to reach their childhood goal of becoming astronauts.
While set a few decades into the future this series sticks with reality. It hyper-focuses on the grueling selection process for becoming an astronaut. This is a highly addicting, almost drug like, show that keeps you rooting for the main leads and enjoying the agonizing progress of their journey. After 99 episodes I am holding my breath waiting for the manga to get more material under its belt for the series to return.
Usagi Drop: A single man ends up adopting his grandfathers’ illegitimate 6 year old daughter to keep her from being abandoned. He has to figure out how to raise a little girl when he isn't even very responsible for himself.
This is one of my favorite slice of life series. The artwork is a bit odd but the characters and story are incredibly believable and endearing. The anime only covers the first half of the manga. The
second half of the manga takes place 10 years later and things start to get a little...strange.
World Fool News: A news caster is given a co-hosting role for the stations most undesirable program, World Fool News. He has to learn to adjust to the assignment and he bizarre co-workers.
Another motion capture CG slice of life series by CoMix Wave, this one, as opposed to Peeping Life, has a plot and a purpose. But it still shares the dry wit slice of everyday life scenarios as the other show.
Yotsuba&!: The story of a strange little girl and her experiences with everyday things.
This is the manga that the creator of Azumanga Daiou has been busying himself with since that series finished. Sadly, this one will never see an animated version. Regardless, the cute everyday adventures of the title character and her interesting perspective on reality are fun to read again and again.
Loli-troupe Slice of Life
Azumanga Daiou: A 10 year old genius enters high school and has goofy adventures with a small group of classmates.
This is my favorite TV anime of all time. Its humorous, endearing and all around fun. The characters and antics are highly entertaining, sometimes leading to realms of bizarre hallucination.
Hyakko: A group of 4 girls at a private high school ended up bonding together through mutual discomfort in their surroundings. They band together for over the top escapades in their school while surrounded by a large cast of goof ball peers and teachers.
This one is middle of the road and far from original. It plays off of much of the groundwork laid by Azumanga Daioh and meshes it a little with the frantic insanity of Pani Poni Dash. It has memorable moments but don't make it a first pick for series to watch.
Ichigo Mashimaro: Innocent and comically cute exploits of 4 elementary school girls and one of their adult sisters.
This is a fun and sweet slice of live show, probably the ideal loli-troupe slice of life show in my mind. Its innocent, goofy but realistic and endearing without being sappy. The world these girls live in is simple and oblivious to the dangers of the adult world.
Lucky Star: Ruckus high school girls who go through their final days of childhood slacking off and having fun.
This is the opposite of Ichigo Mashimaro, the characters in it are jaded and familiar with the ways of the adult world. The troupe is lead by one of the queens of the otaku, whose main ambition is to slack of and fuel her hobbies. Highly frantic and entertaining in many ways!
Mangirl!: 4 women in a large publishing company decide to produce their own monthly manga magazine. This show glosses over their efforts for the first year of its publication.
I wouldn't be surprised if this was directly based on real people, the manga is actually about a real magazine so its highly likely. This is a good overview of the difficulties and time required to work in the manga industry. Short, goofy and enjoyable.
Minami-ke: The Minami sisters are self sufficient orphans. The series follows their semi-mundane lives filled with the love and friendship of their classmates.
This semi long running anime saw a few disruptions in its production that unfortunately made for some boring episodes. The original series was entertaining and well paced but the following 3 series' weren't able to deliver in the same way. Regardless, this is still a fun show and the characters a loveable and memorable.
Yuyushiki: 3 close friends try to establish their own club in school to not feel left out. The club ends up being nothing but them randomly surfing the internet and obsessing about bizarre and unrelated things.
Another tepid entry into the loli-troupe shows. This one had moments of humor but was ultimately bland and unoriginal.
Comedy Slice of Life
Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai: The sweet and goofy story of an odd couple; a normal working woman and her semi-pro blogger otaku husband. The series of shorts detail the wife’s introduction to the more hidden aspects of otaku culture and they try to reconcile their differences amidst their love for one another.
This short series is crudely drawn and somewhat disjointed in its story telling, but it has some open honesty and tenderness to it that work well with the odd ball personalities.
Denki-gai Honya: This show is about caricatures of employees in an Akihabara manga shop. They all have their perversions and obsessions and they just go about their lives working and hobbying, while trying to gather up the courage to confess to their crushes.
Ruckus and perverted, this was a fun little show that took the otaku out of the schools and put them in the work place. More of a comedy than a slice of life series this one had some good moments.
Gekkan Shojo Nozaki-kun: A girl with a crush on her classmate ends up having to help him with his monthly romance manga. She agrees as a way to spend more time with him, even though he has no idea about her feelings.
This was a fun and entertaining slice of life comedy that masqueraded as a romance but barely let it get in the way of the gags. It was like a more grounded School Rumble.
Kyo no Go no Ni: From the creator of Minami-ke, this somewhat perverted series details the less than innocent escapades of 5th graders.
This series puts elementary school students in innocent but adult situations for hilarious results. The humor is done in a way that adults would generally understand the discomfort with many of the situations, but children would not. I wouldn't however recommend this for anyone under high school age. There is no nudity but the situations are mature enough.
Mainichi Kaa-san: The main character of this odd gag manga is a manga artist struggling to meet her deadlines, keep her kids safe and happy and find time for her own relaxation. This series was based on the long running gag strip in Mainichi Shinbun.
This is a fun and crudely drawn series that shows some pretty realistic scenarios in odd ball ways. Just the way I like it. Every once and a while there will be a segment of beauty and emotion as the main character goes on dream like journeys of dream like self reflection. These moments are beautiful and haunting and really juxtapose the rest of the crazed segments of the show. The scenarios are semi-autobiographical and the manga's creator, Saibara Reiko, has lived a public life fueled with alcoholism, depression and a troubling childhood.
Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki: This is a series of shorts about a rural family and their newly adopted cat. The cat is a big fat ball of fuzz that inspires affection and attention from human and animal alike.
This series is based on a gag manga and is animated to keep that feel. The cartoonish character designs and frequent use of SD add to the comedy in this entertaining show.
Tonari no Seki-kun: Yokoi is obsessed with the boy who sits next to her in class, Seki. Seki wiles away his time in class with elaborate hobbies and activities. Yokoi is half fascinated by his level of creativity and half concerned for him getting into trouble.
This poorly drawn short series is highly entertaining. Seki's extracurricular activities to help him ignore his teachers are entertaining. The show is narrated by Yokoi's internal dialogue as the frets and wonders over her neighbors antics.
Yurumates3D: odd ball daily exploits of the residents of a rundown boarding house. The characters do what they can to slack off and pass away their time wondering about absurd things.
This is a crudely drawn super deform comedy that was enjoyable for its aired length, but I couldn't see it working as a full length show.
Watamote: When a fujoshi wants to come out of her dark and secret existence she has to figure out ways to interact with people normally. It’s difficult for her though as she is incredibly socially awkward and expects too much of reality to be like her favorite eroge titles.
This was a disjointed combination of NHK ni Yokoso and Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge. It didn't totally work but there were some pretty funny moments even if much of the comedic routines have been done better in other series'.
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