In a medium filled with outrageous and otherworldly magic and mechs, sometimes it is nice to relax and sit down to watch a person live their lives. Slice of life anime is for watchers who want to vicariously experience all the trials and tribulations of life without the direct consequences.
Slice of life mostly crosses over with shojo animes; however, they can come in a variety of shapes and sizes with a myriad of different storylines. From heartbreak, losing loved ones, and finding a place in the world, to dealing with loss, messy relationships, and what it means to be a person in society. Slice of life can be dramatic and theatrical to grounded and comedic, and there is a lot of series that have captured the magic of the genre over the years. However, some did not perform well as others, and they deserve a chance to be experienced too.
7 Yawara!
Naoki Urasawa's name may be synonymous with their other famous works, such as Monster and 20th Century Boy. However, before those series became extremely popular there was Yawara! The story is about a high school student, Yawara Inokuma, who lives a normal life, except she is a prodigious judoka in a family rife with martial arts talents. However, in order to lead her life as a high school girl, she suppresses her own strengths and tries to conform to what the rest of the girls in her school are like.
Considering this anime is a far departure from his other series, this would give audiences a glimpse into Urasawa's comedic tendencies. A modern reboot can help the anime by fixing some of the glaringly out-of-date tropes and jokes for modern audiences.
6 Nobody's Boy Remi
From the great mind of the anime and manga creator Osamu Dezaki, who has created such series as Black Jack, Ashita no Joe, and Aim For The Ace! Nobody's Boy Remi is a slice-of-life anime that deals with darker themes and motifs, taking the melodramatic in its stride.
A heartbreaking watch that is also somewhat cathartic as Remi lives with his father and mother in the French countryside. When his father returns from war, he learns that they aren't his biological parents, and he is almost sold to a slave trader; only to be rescued by Vitalis, a wandering entertainer.
5 Dr Slump
Many series over the years have featured the main protagonist looking after a child and getting involved in adventures with them. From Beelzebub in the shonen sphere to the recent commercial success Spy x Family, this may indicate that some similar series could return with good reception. One such anime is Dr. Slump.
This show was a hive of pop culture references (that surprisingly resonate today). It follows the tales of Senbei Norimaki, an inventor who dreams of creating the perfect robot girl. His creation, Arale, may not be the perfect construct he set out to make, but they live their lives anyway in a village surrounded by talking animals and their friendly (yet frustrated) neighbors.
4 His And Her Circumstances
Kare Kano has a storied past between the creator, Masami Tsuda, and the production company/animator Gainax as they wanted to present different aspects of the slice-of-life anime: comedy and romance. There were many issues that arose out of its 1990s productions, including budgeting problems, narrative disagreements, and the eventual director's departure from the series.
The original manga is quite popular in the slice-of-life, shojo anime, and manga circles, and now that the story is finished, this may be a good time to revisit the series and give it the full adaptation that it needs.
3 Maison Ikkoku
A cult classic that is regarded as one of the best shojos of all time; however, never received the popularity it so rightfully deserved as an anime. This adult slice-of-life has a more realistic premise following the story of a university student as he falls for the widow who runs the Maison where he is currently living. Both Kyouko, the female lead, and Gyouda, are very down-to-earth and likable characters.
When it aired in 1988 it garnered a massive fan base and is still popular today, however updating the animation into a newer style may make it as successful as some of Rumiko Takahashi's other series, such as Inuyasha, Urusei Yatsura and Ranma 1/2.
2 Princess Sara
When approaching projects such as Princess Sara, it needs to be handled delicately. The anime finished airing in 1985 and is lauded by few to be a cult classic, to even a modern masterpiece, as it centers around Sarah Crewe as she attends a boarding school in London; only to receive news that her father has died. In lieu of her only parent's death, she falls from the echelons of the wealthy society and must work her way through school as a maid. Now shunned by all her friends, she has to deal with heartache, stress, and loneliness by herself.
A reboot of this series would be merely about adapting it to modern audiences and not completely redoing the original. The main story back in the 80s was told very well; however, graphical updates, streamlining of the story and maybe a change of pace could bring it up to modern sensibilities.
1 Yokohoma Shopping Log
The pinnacle of slice-of-life manga Yokohama Shopping Log has a weird animated past only receiving two singular episodes that do not give full credence to the world and characters that mangaka, Hitsoshi Ashinano, has created. In a world that is declining after a disaster, humans have chosen to live the last moments of their lives peacefully. Sharing a society with androids, the audience follows Alpha Hatsuseno as she waits for her master to return, only to receive a package from him containing a camera and photos to reminisce about.
The melancholy story about humanity's final years is surprisingly wholesome focussing on cherishing life rather than worrying about the end of it. If the manga was adapted in its entirety it could be an experience like no other that could change the landscape of the modern slice-of-life genre for good.