Best Slice of Life Anime to Watch

Slice of life anime is one of those genres where you could ask ten different people what they think it is and get ten different responses from them. Series in this genre tend to depict a snippet from a character’s life (literally a slice of their life), focusing on their day-to-day struggles or interpersonal relationships. Because of this, the setting itself may not matter, as you could depict such a story even within the confines of a more fantastical world.

These are some of the best slice of life anime series for those who just want to chill out and escape into a fictional character’s daily routine for a little bit.

Barakamon

Barakamon is a sweet, funny, and heartwarming tale that follows young but talented calligrapher Seishu Handa, who moves to western Kyushu after punching out an elderly curator for criticizing his work as unoriginal. His time at Kyushu, especially his interactions with the local kids and teens, help him to rediscover himself and find his own style. The characters are all really cute, especially the little girl Naru and the neurotic boyfailure Handa.

You can watch Barakamon on Crunchyroll.

Cool Doji Danshi

Cool Doji Danshi (or Play It Cool, Guys) is one of the more lesser-known entries on this list, but it’s a really cute watch, especially once all the characters start to interact with each other more. It follows four guys of various ages who seem like they’re really cool and successful. However, they’re secretly super awkward or weird in their own different ways. It kind of sounds like a show that hinges heavily on secondhand embarrassment. But it’s more about cute guys being cute and dumb.

You can watch Cool Doji Danshi on Crunchyroll under Play It Cool, Guys.

Hyouka

Hyouka follows Hotaro Oreki, a pragmatic and somewhat listless high school boy who joins the Classic Literature Club at the behest of his older sister. While there, he meets and befriends several people, but forms a more special bond with curious girl Eru Chitanda. Hyouka is a mix between a mystery anime and a slice-of-life, with beautiful animations and a unique presentation courtesy of KyoAni.

You can watch Hyouka on Crunchyroll.

K-On!

I have to preface this with the fact that I haven’t actually rewatched K-On! since I marathoned it at the end of high school. This show has a special place in my heart specifically due to watching it at that specific time period of my life. Nonetheless, I consider this one of the best slice of life anime series from the studio. The story follows the high school years of four Japanese girls who join their light music club despite their relative inexperience. Though they spend club hours goofing off and eating cake, they still put on really successful and popular performances.

You can watch K-On! on HIDIVE.

Mushishi

Mushishi is one of the most popular and well-received slice of life anime and manga series since it started serialization in the late 1990’s, with many considering it one of the best. Due to the heavier supernatural focus than the other anime in the main list, some may not consider it a slice of life. However, its episodic story focusing on Ginko’s travels have some people categorize it as one. Mushishi follows Ginko, a man who can see supernatural mushi (bugs) that are capable of bizarre phenomena despite their more primitive nature. Ginko travels around Japan to help people with issues that the mushi cause.

You can watch Mushishi on Crunchyroll.

Natsume Yuujinchou

Like the above Mushishi, Natsume Yuujinchou (Natsume’s Book of Friends) has a much more supernatural approach to the typical slice of life formula, but it actually hard focuses on the main character Takashi and his day to day life. This is a lot sadder than some of the other entries on this list thanks to Takashi’s myriad of familial issues and social complexes, as well as some of the youkai he helps having tragic backstories or endings. I cried 85% of the time watching this.

Takashi Natsume is an orphan whose grandmother Reiko was a powerful exorcist. She bound many youkai and ayakashi in a Book of Friends after stealing their names, and they’re coming after Takashi now in order to try and reclaim them. He, along with a spirit he nicknamed Nyanko-sensei, tries to return them all while dealing with his own personal issues and learning how to make some actual human friends.

You can watch Natsume Yuujinchou (Natsume’s Book of Friends) on Crunchyroll.

Shirokuma Cafe

Shirokuma Cafe or Polar Bear Cafe is kind of a bizarre series in the sense of the setting is odd. It takes place in a world where animals and humans can coexist in polite society, though zoos are still a thing. The main protagonist is a kind but dimwitted panda who enjoys lazing around all day and spends the majority of his time at the titular Polar Bear Cafe. Other non-human characters include the pun-loving polar bear who runs the cafe, a cafe mocha-loving penguin who plays the straight man to Polar Bear and Panda, and a sweet-voiced llama who wants to become popular. Its surreal premise and simple stories make it the best slice of life anime to watch when you just want to relax.

You can watch Shirokuma Cafe (Polar Bear Cafe) on Crunchyroll.

Sweetness and Lightning

Sweetness and Lightning is a slice of life anime that follows a teacher and student in their cooking adventures. Kohei Inuzuka is the widowed father to little Tsumugi and tends to buy premade food for his daughter. He works as a teacher and one day, his student Kotori Iida finds out about his living situation. Due to Kotori’s own loneliness, she offers to teach Inuzuka how to cook so that she can eat with someone and Tsumugi can have healthy meals.

You can watch Sweetness and Lightning on Prime Video. As a note, despite the premise, there is nothing untowards between Inuzuka and Kotori in the anime. There is a romance in the manga though.

Tanaka-kun is Always Listless

I like Tanaka-kun is Always Listless a lot and tons of my friends also suggested it on their own when I asked them what their favorite slice of life anime series are. It came out in one of the best anime seasons (Spring 2016) and it was always a treat to watch after the ridiculously disappointing Kiznaiver and Kabaneri, as well as the stupid Mayoiga. Even compared to other slice of life shows, there’s barely a plot, as it focuses on the titular listless Tanaka, who prefers sleeping over anything else. Despite this, he’s got quite a number of friends and doesn’t object to helping them when they need him.

You can watch Tanaka-kun is Always Listless on Crunchyroll.

Yuru Camp

Yuru Camp, or Laid-Back Camp, is a really cute series that focuses on the adventures of the Outdoor Activities Circle. They travel around Japan to camp in various locations, and it’s really cool to see how some characters get better as the series progresses. It’s a really comfy show to watch or have on in the background.

You can watch Yuru Camp on Crunchyroll under Laid-Back Camp.

Honorable mentions include Asobi Asobase, Kimi to Boku, Daily Lives of High School Boys, Tamako Market, and Saiki K. Most of these are more humor-oriented and some may not count them as real slice of life shows. I didn’t include Tamako Market due to the presence of two KyoAni shows and Kimi to Boku is, like Cool Doji Danshi, a show focusing on cute boys doing cute things. Two major characters legitimately annoy me in Kimi to Boku too so it’s not as easy to watch or recommend as Cool Doji Danshi. 

In my honest opinion, if some people can categorize Azumanga Daioh of all shows a slice of life, then anything is fair game.