Review Nichijou

Dog is there for you

This is the story of the everyday life of three high school girls, Mio, Yuko and Mai. This is also the story of the everyday life of Nano the robot with a clock screw on her back, the child professor she takes care of and Sakamoto the talking cat. There are also some other characters that show up from time to time and it's their daily life as well, no matter how strange it is.

Obligatory shoe joke

To put it simply  Nichijou is a collection of show comedy skits (most of three minutes in length although a few are longer) stacked end to end until it is the length of a regular television show. Although the show is suposedly about daily life the can easily do something absurd (like deer wrestling) or break the laws of physics just because the show feels like it for a sketch.

Like I said not only school girls in this show

Quality in comedy is something that is almost impossible to judge but I found that in the case of Nichijou the comedy changes gears enough that even if the comedy is a bit hit or miss at times there should be some nice solid hits most of the time for most people.

Be careful not to rust

Overall I consider Nichijou I decent time waster of a comedy anime show

Rating the bronze Mesousa (Pani poni Dash) for being a decent slice of life show where anything can happen. 

Kofuku Graffitin

Even pyramid head goes moe

Ryou Machiko was a lonely girl ever since her grandmother died. Most importantly she couldn't cook as well she could. By chance her cousin Kirin had to stay in the city once a week do to her taking a class in the city. When she cooked for her Ryou found her true love of food for when it was cooked and eaten with another person.

The fourth wall is no match for Eel.

Kofuku Graffiti is a slice of life show about cooking. There are two big differences between this show and most slice of life shows is that in every episode the much ado about food and the fact that this show has a smaller core cast than most shows of the genre.  (although the show tries to convince you that Shina is a main character although she really doesn't have much presence in the show). I found this causes the show to be a rather weak example of the slice of life genre.

While the show does have it's premise and if handled properly it would have been more interesting the show simply repeats itself too much. On top of this I found Kirin slightly annoying with her usual selfishness, which given she is usually about half the cast kills the moe aspects in the show. 

In short Kofuku Grafiti is a weak slice of slice show that hangs it's premise mostly on a food gimmick but fails at it.

Rating the tin mermaid (ponyo) for being a work that fails to measure up despite a prominent director.

Review Atelier Escha and Logy

Slice of Life with occasional Golem fight

In a land which battles an encroaching desolation called the dusk there are special people who study the long lost technologies to make life better, they are called Alchemists. In a small frontier town called colseit Escha is an alchemist who dreams of exploring the ruins floating in the sky. Her life begins to change when another alchemist named Logy is assigned to the Colseit alchemist guild.

Trust me there are story reasons why she has a tail

Atelier Escha and Logy is a show based off a video game of the same name from the Atelier series. As for a genre classification the show is pretty much a slice of life show with copious fantasy elements. I am not familiar with the game so I can't make a comparison on the faithfulness of the show.

And that task involves staying in this thingy somehow.

I found this show is nice and charming and serviceable as a slice of life show. There is a decent amount of character development although some things could use some more closure. I found the show to be charming with most of the attention in the show paid to individual characters and with a mixed cast it felt a little less cloying than your usual “four girls doing nothing” show with just the barest amount of plot substance to it but not much.

Overall I found Escha and Logy to be just a simple diversion of a show.  

Rating the bronze Hadouken (Street Fighter II ) for being a decent anime show based off of a video game.

Hidamari Sketch 365

Staring the day with a real alarm clock.

Yuno was a bit aprehensive about living away from home to go to an art focused High School. However she found that the other three girls who lived at the Hidamari apartments were really nice and Yuno became good friends with all of them. This story focuses on the everyday lives of the girls that live in the Hidamari apartments.

I am surprised the people on the left are drawn.

As you could probably guess from the introduction paragraph Hidamari Sketch 365 is obviously a slice of life show. As with many shows of the genre this show is incredibly episodic, even more so in this show, as even though 365 is the second season of Hidamari Sketch the first episode is the first that happens chronologically. Other episodes happen at random intervals during Yuno's first year at High School.

Yuno is the quiet pillar of maturity

I found the character chemistry in Hidamari Sketch works a bit better than in most slice of life shows and since the show is very character driven this is a big plus. The strength of the girl's friendship allows the show to be somewhat heartwarming as opposed to the cloying feeling that can happen when a show focuses totally on being moe. Also this show is Directed by Akiyuki Shinbo and it shows given how the show can slip into odd visual style with barely any notice.

Overall I found Hidamari Sketch 365 to be a cut above most slice of life shows and if you are wanting to give the genre a look this would be a good option.

Review Kiniro Mosiac

Hair wings

One time a Japanese girl Shinobu stayed with an English family and became friends with their daughter Alice. Years later Alice decided to visit her friend in Japan and she decided to live there. The two of the them as well as their friends go about their everyday lives in this situation.

Don't feed the wild moe girls

Kiniro Mosiac is a slice of life show based off of a four koma manga. As such it doesn't try to have much of a plot and centers around being cute and funny. Doing cute is something that this show does very, very well. The humor is a bit more hit or miss but I found it mostly goes hand in hand with being cute.

With posture like that you know it's not a sports anime show

I wouldn't call this a slice of life show that really tries to be anything special but it works as a very decent vanilla show of it's genre. Like many shows of this type it has some soft yuri vibes but with everything else about Kiniro Mosaic it is very innocent and generally goes nowhere.

Take it Off!

Overall I found Kiniro Mosaic to be nothing more than weaponized cuteness and it is kind of proud of that.

Rating the bronze Hokago teacup (K On) for being a nice and decent slice or life show.

Review Barakamon

Tsundere in training

Seishuu Handa was a notable calligrapher but one who's temper caused him to punch an old man who criticized his work. As punishment he was exiled to a rural island. However Handa is a city boy who is completely out of his depth in this new environment. However could this change of scenery and the people that he now lives with be a catalyst for change in Seishu?

Rpg jokes go with everything

Barakamon is a twelve episode slice of life show. The show is rather different from most of the genre as it is not a four girls do nothing type of show, but a show focusing on the slow personal transformation of a man. It is the kind of show that shows that you can tell a more personal and substantial story while still using the slice of life format.

And they say his calligraphy was going to the toilet

While it isn't the usual type of slice of show it doesn't mean that it is without moe. The other main character in the show is Naru, a totally adorable seven year old girl who is really attached to the main character. It is different enough from most shows of the genre that it feels fresh and a bit more real to life than 

Overall I found Barakamon to be a fun and unique slice of life show that should be a fun watch even for those that typically don't like said genre.

Rating the Silver undine (Aria) for being a really nice and well above average slice of life show.

Review Hanayamata

Yosakoi, just like you wanted

Naru was just another school girl drifting though life with no confidence or plans for her future. Then by chance one night she met a strange blonde girl who wanted to dance with her. As it turns out this strange girl is actually a transfer student named Hana. Hana wants to form a club for the Yosakoi dance and she has her eyes set on Naru to be one of the first members of the club.

 

The tsundere is always to be feared

At first glance Hanayamata is just another one of those cute girls slice of life kind of shows and while that is not entirely true I have a strong feeling that anyone who likes that genre will enjoy Hanayamata. The main difference is that while most shows of the genre will be nearly devoid of plot there is a fair amount of attention given to the individual stories of the characters giving the show a bit more weight to it than many slice of life shows.

double flying glomp

As if the to put icing on the cake of cuteness this show has really nice animation and an emphasis on making the colors in the show vivid and more noticeable than usual. If there is one complaint I have about the show it is that oftentimes setbacks or difficulties facing the group will disappear with little effort from the characters.

Overall I found this show to be one of the better slice of life shows out there. If you like this genre at all I warmly suggest this show.

Rating the silver gondola (Aria) for being a very good and engaging slice of life show. 

Review Locodol

Behold you new cute and loose dictator

Nanako was just another high school girl who wanted to buy a bathing suit but had no money. She was able to get the money from her uncle but found out there was a string attached, namely she was to perform for the opening of the community pool. There she meets a beautiful and talented girl named Yukari and the two of them form a group called Nagarekawa girls, named after the town the live in.

Come on we need to pander to out fans

Locodol is the summer seasons addition to the latest anime trend, the idol craze. The difference in this show is it is about some really low key idols who work together to promote their town. It is a slice of life kind of show in reality and manages to pull that off decently. Nanako and Yukari play off of each other well enough and the show as a whole is light and fluffy. Also beyond a slightly sketchy manager and a couple swimsuit scenes there isn't really all that much in the way of fan service.

See I told you the show isn't that exciting

However there is a major problem with the show and that it feels like the show amounts to a pile of nothing and that is even by standards of slice of life shows.Simply put I found this show lacking either the comedy or emotional impact that better slice of life shows have. Naming it's merits feels like damming it with faint praise and the show often felt boring. There isn't even that much music in the show beyond the opening and closing themes.

Overall I found this to be a disappointment of a show that doesn't really capture the energy of what idols and idol shows can be.

Rating the tin ear for being a rather lack luster and frankly boring idol show.

Review One Week Friends (Ishuukan Friends)

Ordinary boy, you interest me so

Kaori Fujimiya is a young woman with a strange defect, every week on Monday she forgets all of the memories she has of her friends. Yuuki Hase is a young man who tries to approach Kaori and tries to overcome the wall between her and any possibility of forming a relationship with others outside her family.

Beach episode but no fan service, what witchcraft is this?

One Week Friends is a slice of life drama, although this is a rather different show than the usual troupe of cute girls doing whatever gimmick the show has. Instead this show plays out like a romantic show although actual romantic commitment is something that would exist in some non existent future season. The show does lack a lot of the exploitative elements that are in most romantic comedies as there is no fan service or harem elements in this show.

We were going to have gay sex on this roof but I see you are already here

The show does require some suspension of disbelief required to accept although besides that the show does adhere to realism. The shows animation is rendered in pastels which helps further the mostly calming atmosphere of the show. The cast of characters is small but the show does a good job developing all of them and making all of them feel like they are important to the show as a whole.

Overall I found One Week Friends to be a heartfelt anime that really hits the spot if you are looking for a warm fuzzy feeling.

The silver dango (Clannad) for being a rather delightful and unique art style and a very worthwhile addition to the slice of life genre. 

Review is the order a rabbit

Good anime needs good headwear

One day a girl named Cocoa walks into a café called rabbit house and is utterly enchanted by everything there including the stores mascot a round looking rabbit thing called Tippy. she gets a job at the rabbit house and's stays there while she is going high school. There she spends her days with the cafés owner Chino and another worker named Rize as well as to other employees into other cafés, Syaro and Chiya.

four sleepy girls

there is a certain genre of Anime shows that are simply called cute girls doing cute things and that description could pretty much fits is the order rabbit to a tea. As with many shows of this type it also tries to be a comedy show and for the most part does a decent but not exemplary job of attempting to make the viewer chuckle.

just a peek

There is a slight amount of fan service in this show; it's not much but given the character designs and general tone of the show it can still be a bit jarring. I would have liked to say that the Germanic architecture in the show is a plus but I felt it wasn't used well enough to really be much of an asset to the show. There is a small amount of strangeness considering one of the characters is actually an old man in a different form but in the end it is just another one of the show's quirks.

Overall is the order a rabbit looks like a cute and breezy show and that is what it is. It's like buying a jar of peanut butter and finding it is full of peanut butter.

Rating the bronze Hokago teacup (K-on) for being a decent and pleasant slice of life show.

Review Sakura Trick

Every episode to be precise

Haruka and Yuu are two girls who are going to a high school that is going to close in three years. To commemorate their first day at school they decide to do something very special, they kiss each other.  

 

Don't you just love anime clone genetics

If you have seen slice of life shows for any time you might have noticed that there is a reoccurring theme of lesbian subtext in said shows. Sakura Trick takes this subtext and ramps it up to the point of being not only obvious but being the selling point of the show. However this show is still a slice of life show as even though the two main characters are in a relationship that relationship doesn’t go anywhere in terms of plot.

That post fondling haze

Sakura Trick is a show that tries to win over the viewers with a combination of warm fuzzy feelings and some fan service. I say some fan service because while there is obvious sexual content it isn’t at the levels that shows that have fan service as their main selling point tend to reach. The humor in Sakura Trick is generally sporadic and not a main draw like in many slice of life shows. Perhaps the greatest problem with the show is that various episodes tend to feel like each other and the novelty of the concept may wear off.

So now we know why this character is so laid back

Overall Sakura Trick is a decent and unique slice of life show even if it is a bit of a one trick pony. 

Rating the bronze lily. 

Review Engaged to the Unidentified

No don't leave us

Kobeni was just a normal girl living with her mother and older sister Benio. One day two people come to live with Kobeni. One of them is Hakuya who has been betrothed to Kobeni for quite some time and it has been decided that the two should start living together. The other person is Hakuya's younger sister Mashiro who is there to look after Hakuya and make sure he can adapt to city life after living in the mountains all of his life.

 

That's right, it's all about Mashiro

Engaged to the Unidentified is a show that is oddly wedged between the slice of life and romance genres of anime. There is also a small supernatural element to this show but that manifests itself as nothing more than a plot device and a couple instances of really good jumping. In a sense It is something like a shoujo anime with a few changes like the extra sized role for the male character’s little sister. In fact I believe that the viewer’s impression of Mashiro is something that will make or break this show for most viewers.

 

I know she is the most important character

I found the other characters to relatively entertaining to watch. There might be some small concern over how the older sister character (Benio) is a bit of creepy stalker but her behavior is not something the show expects the viewer to sympathize with.I found that the main problem with the show is that even though it tries to be a romance at times the main couple tend to be quite lifeless. At least it works as a slice of life show.

 

Benio being Benio

Overall I found Engaged to the Unidentified to be a pleasant if generally average slice of life show.

Rating the bronze Onigiri (Fruits Basket) for being a nice laid back show with a supernatural twist.

Inari KonKon Koi Iroha

What does the fox say? Quite a bit in this show

Inari Fushimi is a shy school girl who has trouble making new friends as well as telling her feelings to a boy she likes. One day she makes a prayer to the local shrine and her wish is granted in the form of transforming her into another girl. When she finds out that it isn’t what she wanted Uka, the local god, gives Inari a fragment of her divine power which allows her to change forms. Thus begins Inari’s new adventures in dealing with the gods.

boys, in a slice of life show, le gasp

Inari Kon Kon is a show that is a slice of life show with a rather obvious supernatural twist being that it has gods and taking foxes in the cast. It is different from most slice of life shows in that romantic relationships are a significant but not overwhelming presence in the show. In this aspect this show is something like the shojo anime shows that used to air. This is not to say that Inari’s other relationships are given the short shrift as much attention is paid to most of the characters.

Friendship is divine, in more ways than one

 This show only lasts ten episodes and spends a good part of the later episodes wrapping the show up so there is no real hope of a second season. This means that there are several plot lines that feel like they have been cut before they really had their chance to really play out. Such is the fate of many anime shows that are adapted from an ongoing manga. However said manga is currently unlicensed in English so that avenue is closed to most people reading this blog as well.

Overall I found Inari Kon Kon to be a rather sweet and fun anime show that it is an offbeat slice of life show that can be about slightly more than four girls eating cake all the time.

Rating the silver Undine (Aria) for being a great slice of life show.