5 Criminally Underrated Slice-of-Life Anime

The slice-of-life genre has become somewhat of a staple in the world of anime. Being a break from some of the more linear genres out there, the primary goal of slice-of-life has always been to reel in the viewer through relatable occurrences or actions. However, oftentimes, this simplistic approach can be superseded by unexpected greatness. Whether it be in the form of well-written comedy or an intricately woven central plotline, plenty of series in this overpopulated genre go unnoticed due to preconceived disposition.

I am here to shatter that illusion with five of my absolute favorite slice-of-life shows- each one jumping through different hoops to stand out amongst the others they may be compared to. These will be presented in no particular order, but please be advised that I wholeheartedly endorse each one. 

Girlish Number (2016)

Diomedea

Slice-of-life/Comedy

(6.99 scored by 24,641 users on MyAnimeList)

Work-based slice-of-life anime has seen a boom in popularity over recent years due to the success of series like Shirobako or Hansaku Iroha. Girlish Number, detailing a rookie seiyuu's venture into the industry, follows along the same vein. With a heavy dose of cynicism fueling the show's comedic elements, we see a glimpse into the world of voice acting not touched on by similar shows like Sore Ga Seiyuu (Seiyuu's Life). This realistic approach and almost polarizing view of the medium goes on to create an experience unlike any other. The fact that Girlish Number's character roster is lovable and diverse only winds up honing in on that even more.

Love, Elections, and Chocolate (2012)

AIC Build

Slice-of-life/Romance/Drama

(7.24 scored by 57,254 users on MyAnimeList)

Despite a rather...interesting ending arc, KoiChoco's twelve-episode journey has proven memorable enough to continue impressing me years down the line. Finding good adaptations of visual novels is pretty hard to do when the current trend has become condensing roughly fifty episodes of material into about thirteen. Regardless, this romantic comedy utilizes the bulk of that time adapting the common/shared route instead of each individual scenario. The result is a heartfelt experience with a somewhat darker twist in the latter half that goes on to illustrate a side of some characters we aren't exactly accustomed to seeing.

Minami-Ke (2007)

Daume

Slice-of-life/Comedy

(7.77 scored by 55,406 users on MyAnimeList)

I'm going to be honest, my love for Minami-Ke was sort of the driving force behind writing this article. It's been over ten years since the series' debut and it's still one of the funniest shows on the market. Whether it be the incessant parodying of popular video games or the always-hilarious adventures of "Sensei and Ninomiya-kun," Minami-Ke is an endless barrage of comedy that will leave you begging for more. Luckily, several additional seasons eventually saw the light of day, so there is plenty of content to go around. But with so many new viewers coming into the world of anime, the series has begun to fade into non-existence. It is currently available for streaming on Funimation, however, so hopefully, this turns at least some of you onto it.

Love And Lies (2017)

LIDENFILMS 

Slice-of-life/Romance

(6.80 scored by 66,639 users on MyAnimeList)

I'll honestly never understand the critical outcry against this remarkable series. Love and Lies takes place in a society where marriage partners are chosen by the government after compatibility screening. The traditional idea of the "red string of fate" turning into a sort of "red string of science" already provides a foundation solid enough to sculpt a unique and interesting voyage. But with beautiful artwork, a phenomenal soundtrack, and breathtaking performances from the cast, that voyage becomes one for the history books. Even with its rather lackluster and borderline-insulting end, my time spent with Love and Lies is more than enough for me to call it a must-watch series. Love works in mysterious ways and there are very few shows that get this across as well as this one right here.

White Album 2 (2013)

Satelight 

Slice-of-life/Drama/Music

(7.88 scored by 61,801 users on MyAnimeList)

No, you don't need to watch the first White Album before checking out this one. Based on a popular two-part visual novel from 2010, White Album 2 focuses on a toxic love triangle between three high school students in the light music club. And while this may not sound particularly unique, the manner in which this romance is treated is shockingly suspenseful and significantly closer to the 'adult' side of things than most viewers are used to seeing. Though, given that this adapted from an eroge, that isn't exactly surprising. Either way, the series' set-up and character development are some of the most impressive I've seen to date. And given just how encapsulating the pilot's ending is, it's easy for me to say that this is one of the most intimate and dread-filled romances out there.

Scum's Wish Vol. #05 Manga Review

Every single one of us is lonely.

Creative Staff:

Story & Art: Mengo Yokoyari

Translation: David Rowe-Caplan & Megan Denton

Lettering: Erin Hickman

What They Say:

Twisted love causes problems. Hanabi and Mugi are supposed to be dating, but Ebato's love confession has confused Hanabi. Moka's love for Mugi is still unrequited, a painful thorn hiding beneath the blossoms of love. As all around them people are changing their shape, will their feelings change also...?

The Review:

Content: (Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)

Oh man, it's good to be back. After a lengthy six-month break between my review of the fourth volume and this one, I'm more than eager to share some of my thoughts on what is arguably the most well-constructed love-hexagon on the market. Sure, there aren't many other hexagonal romances out there but, even if there were, Scum's Wish would likely have them cornered. Even after its fifth volume, its prowess is shown once again in the form of a wondrously twisted narrative and a meticulously flawed character roster.

When we last left off, Hanabi had taken it upon herself to spark a lust-filled revolution against her now-rival, Akane Minagawa. Dead set on gaining equal footing in the world of sex and romance, Hanabi had turned to the arms of another man involved with Akane -- a college student by the name of Takuya. Takuya, like many of the characters in Scum's Wish, is a creature fueled almost entirely by his sex drive. This becomes increasingly apparent each and every time he tries to force Hanabi into a love hotel with him. Despite contemplating it the first several [out of roughly four-thousand] times he asks, she eventually shuts him down when she realizes that she doesn't have it in her to do something like that with some random guy. Hanabi's desires, at least at this point, are an interesting mix between her obsession with Kanai and the idea being wanted by someone. This idea goes on to parallel the second portion of the manga, which centers on the relationship between Mugi and Moka.

It's no secret how much Moka fawns over Mugi. So when he finally asks her out on a date, she says yes without a second thought. In traditional Scum's Wish fashion, the book swaps over to Moka's perspective where she recounts pretty much her entire existence up to this point. It then becomes clear that her whole 'princess-persona' thing is almost entirely made up. Moka has lived her entire life attempting to be flawless- creating an idealized world in which she can live happily with her prince. The only thing is, she's gone so long living in that ideology that it's become just that -- an idea. Mugi shatters the illusion when he asks her out and, even though it should make her happy, it makes everything seem all the more fake. Moka knows that at least right now, she's a substitute for Hanabi. But unrequited love is a bitch, and so she accepts his advances even though his heart doesn't entirely back them.

Meanwhile, the character we're all waiting to see (Ecchan) lies dormant in the background, waiting for Hanabi to call on her once again. Despite not appearing in most of this volume, Ecchan's presence is almost like a huge cloud hanging over the head of our protagonist. Everything that Hanabi desires (Apart from the whole brother fetish) could easily be obtained with just a simple phone call. The only thing is, she would need to trade away the only friend she has in order to obtain it. The volume then comes to an abrupt end after switching back to the Moka-verse. The date and the dream finally cease to be. And even though she's still questioning herself and her motives, the princess willingly begins to shed her skin.

In Summary:

Scum's Wish regains its footing following the weakest release in volume four. Hanabi and Moka flourish in this book, each going through dramatic shifts in not only their minds but their actions as well. With her descent into madness (Or at least something akin to it) finally beginning, Hanabi's role in this world will soon be amplified as everything around her comes crashing down. The dynamics between characters are as toxic as ever and, in several different ways, we realize once again that Hanabi and Mugi are nothing more but toys for one another. One of the chapters in volume five is aptly named, "I Am a Musical Instrument," which I firmly believe encapsulates not only the themes of this particular book but Hanabi's self-assigned characterization as a whole. 

Content Grade: A

Art Grade: B+

Packaging Grade: A-

Text/Translation Grade: B+

Age Rating: 16+

Released By: Yen Press

Release Date: November 7, 2017

MSRP: $14.99

Girls' Last Tour Volume #04 Manga Review

The corpse of a machine

Creative Staff:

Story & Art: Tsukumizu

Translation: Amanda Haley

Lettering: Xian Michele Lee

What They Say:

Chito and Yuuri borad a train that runs below the forgotten remains of the streets above and take it to the end of the line. When they finally reach the surface of this new layer of battered city, they discover a mysterious creature that can learn human languages. With a new companion along for the ride, the girls' tour gets a little more lively -- but what awaits them is beyond what they could ever imagine!

The Review:

Content: (Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)

I guess it's kind of important-ish to preface this review by stating I have no idea what happened in the volume prior to this one. Considering my distaste for the first two books and how our third review copy was skipped out on, I couldn't bring myself to jumping through hoops in order to acquire it. That being said, Girls' Last Tour hasn't exactly been the most linear tale around thus far and, unless something ridiculous happened in volume three (Which is highly improbable), I can't imagine the gap being all that noticeable- if even at all. Regardless, here I am again, hoping to be reacquainted with one of the best 'ideas' in recent memory- but with a bit more prowess this time around.

Book-four starts with Chito and Yuuri waiting to board a train in a dilapidated subway station. For some reason that I am apparently incapable of comprehending, trains are still running in this post-apocalyptic world and, before we know it, our girls have embarked on another journey to...somewhere. They eventually arrive at what appears to be some sort of military base. The excursion this time, however, isn't accompanied by the same hints of loneliness typically synonymous with the series. The girls wind up encountering a strange, white creature that, despite looking like an incomplete ferret, survives by eating bullets and missiles. Their quick attachment to him/her/it becomes a subtle focal point of the manga, with each action backed by a layer of skepticism stemming from their confusion over what the hell that thing even is. Regardless, human nature plays its part once again as they decide to protect and accompany it, padding their numbers and attempting to kill their expected loneliness.

Eventually, they encounter the creature's "family" and allow him to rejoin them. Well, I guess 'allow' isn't the right word to use here, considering the eldest creature actually eats Yuuri during their first confrontation, but that's beside the point. The biggest thing we get out of this is that the girls have learned the valuable lesson of 'letting things go.' It is perhaps the only time in the entire series that a central theme is not battered into the reader and is, instead, purveyed with a sense of necessity. Everything else, however, winds up falling incredibly short.

Girls' Last Tour and Tsukumizu have made it frighteningly apparent that they are nearly incapable of posing philosophical questions without sounding like a rehashed Jayden Smith tweet. A good five or six times in just this volume alone come to complete standstills when Chito looks at the camera and says, "(Insert theme here)." I'm all about post-apocalyptic worlds and dystopian communities, but what this series lacks in comparison to the rest of those is its incessant insistence on never letting the reader do any work. It's actually really depressing because, at least in this volume, the world building is fantastic. Volume four is more war-torn than any of the preceding volumes and it does wonders in establishing where these girls are in the bigger picture. The main issue is that it's hard to care because of the writer's lack of faith in the audience. Girls' Last Tour is less of a manga and more of an excuse for Tsukumizu to pose overly-generic, philosophical questions only to answer them before we have a chance to formulate our own opinions.

In Summary:

Despite a step-up in world building and some of the best panels we've seen in terms of art, Girls' Last Tour is unable to overcome its inherent lack of faith in the audience. It forces us to realize its themes through the use of poor dialogue rather than allowing us to formulate our own thoughts on the world as a whole. Sometimes, less is more- and considering there is almost nothing in this series to begin with, it's almost impossible for me to see how it could be remedied. Girls' Last Tour is the perfect example of a great idea executed horribly. It's almost as if the writer is so eager to let us in on it, that they wind up killing it before it has the chance to bloom. 

Content Grade: D

Art Grade: C+

Packaging Grade: B

Text/Translation Grade: C-

Age Rating: 13+

Released By: Yen Press

Release Date: February 27, 2018

MSRP: $14.99

Horimiya Vol. #10 Manga Review

What would you do if the world was ending tomorrow?

Creative Staff:

Art: Daisuke Hagiwara

Story: Hero

Translation: Taylor Engel

Lettering: Alexis Eckerman

What They Say: 

Hori and Miyamura decide to ring in the New Year at the local shrine...but with it also comes the beginning of their last term in high school. As the pair and their friends return to their everyday lives and the usual hijinks, both the special days and the humdrum ones prove irreplaceable as the Kiri High gang looks to the future...

The Review:

Content: (Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)

Jeez, ten volumes really flew by, huh? Though, I guess when you're a series as consistently enjoyable as Horimiya, time  really isn't much of a factor. I mean, I've been following the publication for almost three years now and, apart from a few modifications to the character designs, not much else has changed. The entire roster is still the same lovable bunch they've always been and they're backed by the same well-written comedy and gorgeously clean art from Hero and Hagiwara respectively. Of course, being a romantic comedy, relationships have made steady progress thus far, ultimately culminating in last volume's tide-turning and spontaneous marriage proposal from Miyamura. This installment picks up exactly where things left off. 

And then immediately abandons it. 

It's unclear all throughout book-ten exactly what happened at the end of this proposal. We don't see any more of the scene and any time it comes up in conversation, Hori and Miyamura become incredibly [and expectedly] awkward. And even though this continues through all eight chapters, the atmosphere never seems heavy. It's still remarkably clear that our primary romance is in no danger whatsoever and that the manga is using this gap of uncertainty to propel the central plot forward. Without beating around the bush, it works. It's not the most subtle storytelling method we've seen, but it's definitely well-executed, predictable or not.

All that aside, it's important to note that, in typical Horimiya fashion, several of the side characters also have room to shine this time around. The primary focus bids adieu to the Yuki subplot we've grown familiar with as of late and, instead, focuses on the origins of Remi and Sengoku's relationship. Sengoku, who actually appears very often throughout this entire book, is shown in a relatively different light than usual. Even though he remains his normal, reclusive self throughout the founding of his relationship with Remi, he displays some uncharacteristic behavior in straight-up confessing to her out of the blue. Remi, of course, returns the favor and confesses as well, creating what I'd call the best scene in the entire volume.

Apart from that, Honoka makes her first substantial appearance in quite some time, arriving at Miyamura's house to sleep one night due a storm keeping her awake. In the following scene, we learn that Honoka is being bullied by some of her classmates. Miyamura, being Miyamura, winds up [silently] standing up for her, adding another layer to their increasingly odd relationship. Regardless, I hope we get to see more of Honoka in the near future. She's actually one of my favorite characters in the entire series despite her incredibly underwhelming amount of screen time.

At the end of the day, book ten falls into the 'filler-ish' side of Horimiya releases, straying from any major developments. Though, I guess that's to be expected considering the end of volume-nine. It's not easy to say where exactly the whole 'marriage' thing is headed, but if I know these characters as much as I think I do, I can't imagine it heading downhill any time soon.

In Summary:

The tenth book in the series reunites almost every character we've met thus far for another side-character focused fun-fest. Miyamura's proposal has created a relatively suspenseful means of moving the series forward, while in no way damaging the relationship that we've watched flourish up to this point. The chemistry between both main characters remains some of the greatest in recent memory and, thanks to a meticulously spontaneous structure and flawless English translation, Horimiya remains arguably the best romantic comedy on the market.

Content Grade: A-

Art Grade: A

Packaging Grade: A-

Text/Translation Grade: A+

Age Rating: 13+

Released By: Yen Press

Release Date: March 20, 2018

MSRP: $12.99

Kiss & White Lily For My Dearest Girl Vol. #05 Manga Review

We're family...Why won't she love me?

Creative Staff:

Story & Art: Canno

Translation: Jocelyne Allen

Lettering: Alexis Ecerkman

What They Say:

Sawa Itou lost touch with her childhood best friend, so imagine her surprise when her old friend, Itsuki, shows up in her digital media club! Meanwhile, a surprise phone call from Ayaka's mother has unhinged her, and her relationship with Yurine struggles... The story of kissing girls continues—!

The Review:
Content: (Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)

I feel like every time I start to get a grip on White Lily's formula, it just goes in the complete opposite direction. With the last volume centered primarily on Mizuki and Moe's relationship, I was almost confident that we'd see more of the primary love story this time around -- Shiramine and Kurosawa. And, to be fair, we do- but it's more of a split volume rather than one getting back to the main plot, if there can even be a "main" plot considered at this point. So apart from the two girls I've been dying to see, we're introduced to yet another new couple. And in a kind of strange turn of events, it's almost the same exact one we saw last week with Machida.

Itsuki and Sawa were childhood friends when they were younger but, due to stereotypical manga circumstances, Itsuki needed to move away. When she finally returns so many years later, she expects Sawa to remember her. But due to the fact that Itsuki has blossomed into a lovely young woman, her old friend is unable to recognize her. This, in turn, breaks Itsuki's heart to the point where she doesn't know how to act around Sawa. This continues for roughly half of the book until it becomes apparent that there's more to Itsuki's feelings rather than just being forgotten. She's been in love with Sawa for pretty much forever while Sawa, on the other hand, seems to have a hard time comprehending romantic feelings between two girls (In typical yuri fashion). At the end of the day, the two of them overcome their conflicts and patch up their relationship once and for all. While there are clear differences between this story and Machida's, the fact that the 'moving away' trope was used in consecutive couples is rather off-putting and lacks the creativity we're used to seeing from Canno.

With that subplot aside, however, we do finally get to take another glimpse into the relationship White Lily was built upon. Over the past several books, we've been introduced to Ayaka and Kurosawa and watched their dynamic with one another develop incredibly well. What we haven't been introduced to, however, is the motivations for either character. That being said, even though there is a hefty scene with these two characters together, the true focus is on Shiramine's relationship with her mother. As it turns out, the driving force propelling her to always strive to be the best isn't something planted within her of her own accord. Her mother has been pushing her to succeed for as long as she can remember, and not in the way most mothers do. For Shiramine's mother, anything but first place is not enough. This notion has been beaten into her (Not physically, don't worry) so often that she's taken to adopting it herself. When Kurosawa learns this, however, she doesn't act in the way we'd normally expect her to.

It's overwhelmingly clear at this point how Kurosawa feels about our black-haired honor student. After discovering that something is ailing her, she even takes to following Shiramine several towns over just to make sure she's okay. And while this action is incredibly cute for a character as unique as Kurosawa, the biggest part comes in the form of Shiramine's rebellion. You see, Shiramine isn't using her free time to travel, she's cutting class- something she's never done before. And even though we'll shrug this off as yet another trope synonymous with primarily delinquent characters, this is an action that directly goes against everything Ayaka has been taught throughout her life. With Kurosawa by her side, she managed to stand up for herself and truly show us that she is, in fact, beginning to grow up. Hopefully, this signals even further development in the future. I'm sure we'd all love to find out why both she and her counterpart are so...interesting, after all.

In Summary:

The fifth installment of the Yen Press yuri flagship blends two stories, one old and one new,  with significantly more ease than one would anticipate. And even though the execution and structure of this particular volume may be unrivaled by the prior books, its lack of creativity makes it hit fractionally less hard. Shiramine finally sees development not as a romantic interest but as a character, making the coming story all the more interesting. At the end of the day, book five is still a good read, but it's definitely one of the least impressive so far.

Content Grade: B-

Art Grade: A-

Packaging Grade: A-

Text/Translation Grade: A-

Age Rating: 13+

Released By: Yen Press

Release Date: March 20, 2018

MSRP: $12.99