The tranquil feeling of rest after a day of Gondola work. It’s beautiful

As much as I am somewhat confused others to think that I am one of the biggest lolicons around in this wide web (the biggest being lolitron.org), my favorite genre is really not loli. In fact, even though I adore cute stuff quite a bit and like to worship cute little anime girls with the sweetest smile, it does not really live that much of an impression on me in the long run.

Lolis are in a cynical way, a B grade flick that makes you happy when you watch it, but it’s hard to remember a series whose main genre is for the lolicons. There is often very little depth and surprise surprise, I do like some depth in my story. Well, who does not anyway?

To me, an anime series has to have excellent character development. To me, character design, development and dynamics (the three Ds) is perhaps central to whether I will watch a certain series. To me, when the three points of judgment is passed, the story cannot really be too bad. With that said and done, it is apparent that a certain genre tends to fulfill these three requirements very easily, as long as it is dealt with well.

That genre is the slice of life genre, one that starts me off into this anime blogging world. That anime that started this blog is Aria the Natural, a series I regard to be one of the best slice of life series out there. Even that is a hard choice considering the wealth of good anime surrounding this genre. It’s time for once to discuss my favorite genre and why it is attractive to an anime blogger like me.

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The basis of “Slice of life”

Darkened wings, waiting for redemption. Will it ever come, or disappear within the gray ashes?

It’s perhaps surprising that there is little description online on the definition of this genre. Unlike Shounen, Mahou Shoujo and Comedy, the Slice of Life genre is generally much of an acquired taste due to its strong focus in characters rather than the plot. It is usually used to describe a series that depicts or portrays characters realistically in a “cut-out” sequence of events that happened in the characters’ life. However, a slice of life series is much more than that. More than a cut-out, it presents a realistic scenario in the characters, giving them energy and providing that setting that makes us feel that we are living in the world that the characters are living in.

Slice of life series can and is usually mixed in with other genres that are perhaps more recognizable. The examples include Thriller (Serial Experiment Lain), School Life (Azumanga Daioh), Romance (Lamune), Comedy (Ichigo Mashimaro), Shounen (Kurau Phantom Memory), Mystical (Mushishi), Sci fi (Dennou Coil), Mahou shoujo (Someday’s Dreamers), Parody/Culture (Lucky Star), Drama (Haibane Renmei) and Philosophical (Kino’s travels). It is perhaps a bit surprising that Slice of Life series is considered to be boring and lacks a plot. I do not deny that some slice of life series generally do not have a huge plot but it is definitely character driven.

You feel the joy, the sadness, the despair, the hatred, the love of the character and empathize with the situation. That is perhaps the strongest character development you can ever feel from a slice of life series. In a sentence to sum up, the summary of this genre is “the life journey of the character”. It’s a life that is imaginary yet living right before your eyes.

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Why do I like it

It’s smart when my title is “why I like it”, and we have an image of Ichigo Mashimaro…

For one, I particularly like a slice of life series that is somewhat idyllic in nature, somewhat relaxing yet pulls you into the story. I do not know why but as stated earlier, a series with the ability of huge character development tends to attract me. The main pull of the slice of life story is precisely that, to use the characters to attract you to a story. The story does not move the characters, but the characters are moving the story. There is a subtle but significant difference to the route of success.

To me, a slice of life series is not to push through some spectacular story plot that weaves seamlessly like how a weaver spins her thread, but it is perhaps the focus of the character to make you experience and feel for the character that is in the story. The basis of the slice of life series is to allow yourself into immersing to a world that is perhaps different (usually the case) and carrying you into that world.

The defining success for a slice of life series is paramount to whether you feel that the reality that this anime is portraying is up to your liking. It is probably the level of realism that you can feel for it that is the charm. When a story is way too obscure or unbelievable, the slice of life series generally fails quite badly. However, I am glad to say that there are surprisingly equal amounts of bad and good series pertaining to the slice of life genre, which is amazing by any standards.

The static, the vision and the collective unconscious of Lain, the being that wires us together in this connected world.

One important thing that I enjoy a lot about slice of life series is the frequent attraction of the characters in the story. There are really strong characters in many of the excellent slice of life series that I have watched, each with their unique charm that you cannot help but love.

You might argue that other series have such wonderful characters and I agree with that viewpoint. However, when an anime concentrates on the strength of the character development, it generally generates powerful characters that will be hard to forget. Up to now, I still remember the face of Lain staring wistfully through the computer screen as she looks at Alice. The evoking of emotions in the story telling is often very powerful when you feel for the character. I can never forget the scene of silence when Reki lies down motionless on the track as she awaits the train to run over her. Her two words, “Save me” amidst the silence, still strikes a chord with me every time I talk about it.

If it is not, it will not fit you. However, I am one who always likes to see a different life other than mine. That is perhaps why I always immerse myself into the environment of the anime and imagine that I am one with the flow of the narration as the character moves on with his or her life.

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My recommendations

It’s a mystical journey into the world of the Mushi. It’s a story to learn about humans, their thinking and alternative life.

For me, I will go on with a few recommendations to start off. For something that is more symbolic of the “growing age of youth” as well as “redemption after death”, Haibane Renmei is an excellent anime to start off this slice of life journey.

Abe, the famous director of anime series such as Serial Experiment Lain, Technolyxze and Niea 7, is one of the greatest directors in terms of provoking emotions and deep thinking in terms of philosophy and religion. It can be usually felt that the journey of the Haibanes are a total parallelism with the coming of age, as they leave their path behind. To prevent myself from spoiling anymore from those who have not watched this, you can feel a bit of religion vibes from the show if you watch carefully.

Another series that I will strongly recommend is the rather low profile Mushishi. It is a historical story about Mushishi, a master of mushi that deals with the supernatural spirits that are not visible to most people except those with a special eye to see it. It tells about the journey of Ginko, one such mushishi who travels to various people who are inflicted with diseases and symptoms caused by Mushi and eventually moral and social implications come into play.

For those who have a wanderlust and like beautiful scenery as well as a peaceful, tranquil feel good effect when you watch an anime, Aria the Natural is definitely your choice for a show that you can watch with your afternoon tea and shortcake biscuits. It is a story about Undines, a group of girls who work as Gondola rowers, as we are brought through a city not unlike the beautiful water art city of Venice in our world. Beautiful scenery, a tranquil story in each episode and a soothing feeling running down your heart promises in this series.

Lastly, for something light and funny, I fully recommend Ichigo Mashimaro. Little explaination needs to be done on it, other than that entry and that entry that T.H.A.T Anime Blog has blogged. Now, how many thats do I use in that last sentence?

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My Response:

I am sure most of you have already read this over at That Blog, so I will try and keep this short. I am not sure what else I could add to what impz has already pointed out. Personally I feel very relaxed or perhaps I am just jealous of the beauty and ideal life I find in series such as Aria, sure it can be a bit cheesy at times, but it does leave my heart feeling a bit warm. Often they make everything else seem so insignificant and it draws you into the series, be it the characters or the plot, I believe this is the reason why I love this genre so much. Impz has made some excellent recommendations, some of which even I’ve not seen.