SLICE OF LIFE is a genre that focuses on finding the charm in everyday experiences. Often eschewing intricate plots and big, world-ending stakes in favor of more realistic-feeling stories, slice of life fiction highlights and takes interest in the daily lives of its characters.
Slice of life doesn't need to have a strict plot. It's usually loose, with no defined beginnings or endings. Typically there will be no big drama, no world-important action, just observing the daily life of a chosen character.
Popular themes include school life, friendships, first love, family dynamics, coming-of-age.
Slice of life is comparable to lit-fic. Short for literary fiction, lit-fic is generally explained as "any non-genre fiction". But outside of that, it's also a genre of its own, characterized by a greater focus on style, theme and psychological depth, as opposed to the focus on plot and narrative typical of genre fiction.
So in a slice of life work you'll focus on the characters, their everyday lives, transformations, relationships. You'll invite the reader to be there by the character's side, watching them do their best at living.
Slice of life is most famous in Japan, so you'll find a lot of manga and anime in that category.
Part of the reason why slice of life is enjoyable is DEFAMILIARIZATION. It's the idea that, by making familiar objects or scenarios slightly unfamiliar, readers will be able to view the object or scenario from a fresh perspective. For example: by reading a character struggling to connect with their mom, the reader can reflect on their own relationship with their mom and how they're struggling to connect.
SLICE OF LIFE STORY:
→ must involve characters leading normal lives by the standards of their universe
→ is defined by the absence of any other defining genre
→ overarching narrative, character development and a sense of progression, are all optional
This genre appears the most in Japanese manga and anime. My recommendations for slice-of-life anime would be: Silent voice, March comes in like a lion, Horimiya or Given. Out of all of them, March comes in like a lion would be the biggest slice-of-life, to the point where at times I was bored watching the MC eat lunch or sit in his apartment in silence again. Other than that, I gave this anime 7/10.
SUBGENRES:
IYASHIKEI
Depicts the mundane day-to-day routines of life, emphasizing the whimsical atmosphere, beautiful moments and heartwarming messages in dialogue to the point they have an almost therapeutic effect in the viewer, with narrative tension kept incredibly low.
GAG-DRIVEN SLICE-OF-LIFE
Built around delivering jokes. Most scenes are framed around building up to an eventual comedic climax.
horror • romance • adventure • fantasy • science-fiction • historical fiction • folklore • inspirational • western • thriller
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