Slice of life anime has a habit of sticking to the same script but changing slight bits and pieces along the way. The main character starts a new school or meets a new student/person who ends up changing their life through a series of wacky, sometimes heart-breaking events.
While these tropes aren’t the worst thing in life, they can become grating after watching them over and over. With the number of new ideas out there, there shouldn’t be a uniformity to the slice of life genre, yet each new series is so close to the last, they are often barely worth a watch. Obviously, not all slice of life anime are the same, and some truly branch away from the norm, but these are some things that seem to be in every one of them or not in many.
10 Too Much: Harems
This works for both genders, but it is annoying to see a significant amount of the student body attracted to a single character, who happens to be the main character. For this list, this will also include love triangles that are prevalent in anime as a whole, not just slice of life series.
The harem trope is not only incredibly common, but it is damaging to the realism that slice of life anime typically strive for. Apparently, writers believe that the only way to exist, especially in high school, is to be surrounded by members of the opposite sex who want you deeply, which is pure fantasy for 99% of people.
9 Never See: Realistic Relationship Drama
When was the last time you watched a slice of life anime and the big problem of the episode was that the main character forgot their partner’s birthday? It probably hasn’t happened but guaranteed you’ve seen an episode where the main character slips and falls directly into the breasts of another person, and is then caught by their partner.
This kind of stuff probably does happen; nevertheless, there are so many more realistic mistakes that can be made in relationships that are rarely touched upon by anime series. We’d rather see the main character have an action they control, like missing the big game, than hear explanations for why they were naked in front of their teacher.
8 Too Much: Little Sister, But Creepy
There is a large amount of fear that comes with the way that many little sisters are characterized in a plethora of anime. From simply wanting to be involved in their brother’s life to the much creepier wanting to be their brother’s only love, sisters in slice of life anime have some big problems.
It would be different if this was playing solely on the overprotective sibling trope, but more times than not, it plays on a much more disturbing implication. Familial bonds are strong, yes, but there is no reason for storylines to frequently play up this taboo.
7 Never See: Loving Parents
This critique fits anime as a whole, but at least with more action-oriented anime, the lack of parents or lack of loving parents can be overshadowed with multi-episodic fight scenes. Slice of life anime must stand on their own two feet when it comes to the behaviors of the parents.
It is easy to name anime parents who are either overly indifferent to their child’s needs and wellbeing or are dead because they were killed off so the plot could happen. Either way, it is constant and would be a nice change of pace to see a pair of loving parents caring for their child, rather than watching another main character become an orphan.
6 Too Much: One-Shot Club Joining
Introducing a club for a single episode is something that most anime have done in some way. These clubs can range from a photography club, student newspaper club, or even a kendo club. The issue is not that these clubs exist or that they are the focus of an entire episode, but that the clubs don’t make another appearance.
Mob Psycho 100 does a good job of flipping this trope on its head with the body improvement club. Rather than having a single episode where it shows up and then is never mentioned again, Mob ends up going back several times throughout the series. Something other anime can learn from.
5 Never See: Character Growth For All
It is easy to watch the main character grow from the first episode to the end of a series. While the main character is growing, a common issue is that no one around them changes over the course of the series. If someone has a defining characteristic in episode one, they are often only that one thing at the end of the anime's run.
Like real people, the point of growth is not seeing grand improvements, rather noticeable differences. If a character is too aggressive in episode one and gets called out on it by the main character, why would they still be aggressive by episode 24?
4 Too Much: Extreme Bodily Dimensions
This is a common characteristic of many anime, but it is especially apparent in slice of life series, notably ones set in high school. The inclusion of, especially, teenage girls with chests the size of watermelons is a common criticism about the genre.
The whole situation is based on a weird wish-fulfillment that comes off as perverted and, when taken to extremes, can be distracting. It’d be nice to see an end to this trope, but it doesn’t look like it will stop anytime soon.
3 Never See: Characters Who Are Friends Before The Show
That title might be a bit misleading because there are plenty of shows that have the best friends since birth kind of vibe; however, when drama arises or the new student walks in, these friendships seem to disappear completely. It is common to hear a best friend character say that they didn’t know the main character was into [insert readily apparent hobby], even though it is a big part of the personality of said character.
When characters have history, it would be beneficial to the audience to see that backstory in motion outside of flashbacks. Just the acknowledgment of shared history is better than nothing.
2 Too Much: Beach Day/Swimsuit Time
We all know the beach episode, heck for some people, it is the best episode of the series. While these episodes can be somewhat fun, slice of life anime tend to feature relatively young casts, so this setting can often lead to an offputting amount of fanservice.
This compounds with the extreme bodily dimensions entry and can serve as an example of a storyline being stopped in its tracks so a show can cater to a basic male (or female) fantasy.
1 Never See: A Main Character Who Isn’t Hot Girl or Skinny, Average Guy
Outside of the recent Ore Monogatari, there are not many anime out there that focus on a main character who is not a pretty girl or a young guy who looks like every other guy in the anime. Those shows that do have a plus-sized character typically use them as comedic relief who is largely defined by their appearance.
There are many more types of people in the world, big and small. Representation is a common talking point for anime, and while it is getting better, anime has a long way to go. Slice of life can help by dealing with real situations faced by the underrepresented people who watch them.