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The Slice of Life Anime that Made Me Understand Slice of Life Anime

As a consumer of media I'm the kind whose tendency is to binge. If I had consumed Non Non Biyori in this way I think I'd have found it quite forgettable and that it wouldn't have went so well. Instead, I watched an episode or two max per day when I just felt like it and this tremendously added to the experience.

Show-wise this is not a thriller where many things happen. Instead it is a progression of the lives of a few characters and their relationships with one another. The stakes are low ... and instead it's like you're looking into the lives of friends. This is where the strength lies to me. Non Non Biyori isn't a 'main course' type of show but to me is better served as an 'additive' to media consumption or life. It's like salt or pepper where you wouldn't naturally binge consume either of those things but their existence ends up making life richer.

As far as character development, the show takes a few episodes to get off the ground but at some point it brings you into the world where you get invested into some of the cute relationships that happen in this series.

[Spoilers Section Ahead]

There's the relationship between Renge and the character mostly referred to as Candy Store due to her occupation. Candy Store is a personality that comes off as standoffish in the beginning but as she is incorporated into the events of the story, we grow to appreciate her a lot more and it ends up adding depth to Renge as well because we learn about the town more and aspects of Renge like why she has the pigtails.

Beyond that, another example lays in the relationship between Hotaru and her crush on her senpai Komari. There's a cool contrast in Hotaru's more mature appearance, personality, and crush for Komari vs. Komari's more childlike personality and her desire to be perceived as older due to younger appearance for her age and the complex there: being older yet being more miniscule than Hotaru. This ends up creating a nice dialogue on adolescence on some of the vulnerabilities faced in that era of life.

Natsumi is the younger sister of Komari but taller and serves as a bit of tomboy for the main group of four girls that the show centers around. She is shown as someone who often fulfills the leader role, always coming up with ideas of things to do while having her own flaws like struggling with school and a difficulty to take relationship for things. By the end of ep 12 though we gradually learn to appreciate Natsumi as more than a tomboy, who is capable of expressing herself through things like discussing the toys she had as a kid.

Renge's older sister Kazuho ends up serving a bit of a mom role to the kids, being the teacher at the village's school, tasked with taking them on outings or just supervising while the kids have their own self-study due to the limited amount of them and their all being different grades. Though put into this role as one of the oldest adults with free-time, she is also shown to be quite lazy and irresponsible, shirking her duties and doing whatever she can to get out of them.

There is also the main male character in the series, Suguru, older brother to Natsumi and Komari. Due to his quiet nature, he doesn't end up speaking much while still being roped into some of the games that the girls have.

[Spoilers done]

Overall I quite liked the show and there were moments in it that gave me warm wholesome feelings. I wouldn't binge it ever but it's the kind of show I'd definitely throw an episode on for if wanting something easy to watch to fill a pleasant, relaxing vibe. It does that incredibly well.

This isn't just a hentai.

Metamorphosis is a look at what happens when tough life choices and a badly dealt hand lead to someone's descent into the wretched chaos that comes with trying to survive in the world. Whether they get out of that spiral is quite often a matter of luck and stubborn perseverance. Sometimes just trying our best isn't enough. We can have people around us that affect the trajectory of our lives for better or worse. Do they bring us up or drag us under?

In Shindo L's appearances in interviews, something he ends up discussing is the desire to make the NSFW and ... the story be one. Often in the case of porn plots or hentai doujinshi the narrative is an afterthought or tacked on. There's a clear distinction between the set-up and the porn itself. This is fine. All works don't need to be the most elaborate when most people go to something of this nature to pleasure themselves. But this is a case where the horny and narrative are cohesive and this matters.

Ultimately, it creates something you become invested in that goes beyond the boundary of most works. It's difficult to not become invested in the protagonist of this story and the desire to see her be happy. It creates a tension and angst that is very real.

There are readers who may not like this work for either its themes or the emphasis on story interwoven with it. It's dark. It's unsettling. It touches on things such as rape, incest, drug abuse, and exploitation. It's not material to go into without clear attention on it because it's not for the faint-hearted. For those who decide this is a story that they wish to experience, it's worth it. I can guarantee this. If you climb into the brambles of the undergrowth, you get a tale that sits with you. One that will make you think for better or worse.

That and the rest of the story not told is for us to write.

Isekai has been a prominent source of mixed commentary throughout the anime community for its commonality and the sheer formulaic nature that makes most of these shows and manga quite similar. It's often like you've seen them all after you've seen a few. This can make watching the genre quite boring. While Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken has features that make it just like any isekai, this one is worth it.

Its background characters, fantasy setting, and our protagonist developing their own cast of women that fall over their knees for our slime boy are classic isekai tropes. But what separates That Time I Got ... Reincarnated as a Slime is the titular character himself and the world development. While many isekai protagonists are copy and paste, often merely serving as a power fantasy without having much to latch onto beyond that, Rimuru is different.

His slime ability of absorption is a unique way to power scale and the fact his appearance is a slime also gives him an unassuming nature. This is an aspect that is played off multiple times with how other characters perceive Rimuru on first appearance. It also allows a viewer to gravitate towards him for the reason his appearance isn't fixed in any way, which separates Rimuru from every vibrant-hair protagonist that shows up in the majority of modern power fantasy anime isekai or otherwise.

His affinity for bringing others together and his kindness end up bringing different groups together. The way his interactions come across has a sense of wholesomeness. It serves as a contrast to the more lewd elements in the show (you can't have an isekai without elf girls). It's done in a way which is clearly very self-aware and fun. The show knows what it is and doesn't claim to be anything more than that though, which comes across as quite earnest.

While you get the fantasy world one would expect, you also grow attached to the development of it—more precisely the goblin village Rimuru saves that slowly morphes into a city filled with difference races working together and then from that a nation with its own politics, trade, etc.

The interplay between Rimuru and other characters is what adds a layer of complexity to That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime that separates it from other isekai. You end up wanting to see where it goes as if we're gods overlooking a game of Civilization. The cast of characters while incredibly trope-y are also entertaining. The wolf, Ranga, that becomes man's best friend of our protagonist is the quintessential good boy. The ninja Souei is your badass character while everyone else plays a role that while very by-the-book is also endearing.

While I could gush about the show longer, here is a fact. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is incredible fun. Is it the greatest anime all-time? No. Is it an isekai with the normal tropes of the genre? Yes. But if you want a monkey-brain show to just vibe then this is perfect. And it's one that will hold your attention better than 99% of the mid shit that comes out of the isekai genre. This is a quality anime.

Is it worth the time and an enjoyable watch for isekai fans and non-fans alike. For sure.

Nessun maggior dolore / Che ricordarsi del tempo felice / Nella miseria
"There is no greater sorrow ⁠than to recall happiness in the midst of misery" - Dante's Inferno

Objectively, this is a bad show. If one goes into the show expecting much then one is going in with wrongful expectations. This is a niche show for a very specific audience and it is an ecchi. If expectations are going into it expecting a bad show with one or two funny moments perhaps one will get that and that's how I would watch it if taking such a journey. I went into this expecting a bad anime ... because I wanted to be reminded of what bad anime are like.

The animation itself is fine. You can give it that and the concept itself is interesting if in the same way isekai about vending machines are. See: Reborn as a Vending Machine.

The character development is suspect at best and the plot is fairly generic outside of the transformed into dog concept. It's fairly reliant on tropes.

This is a show that's mostly some combination of POV fan service but as a dog of course. By the name of the show itself obviously there are themes of bestiality among other adult-themed subjects. For those without those niche interests, it's possible the show will make a viewer uncomfortable. Overall I wouldn't recommend it seriously to most and the audience for this should be twofold:

1.) Those who this show's themes appeal to.
2.) Those who want a bad anime that is so cringe that it makes for great meme material to watch with friends.

I remember watching this in high school and having fond memories of it, one night just binging it with a buddy who'd stayed the night.

It's rough around the edges and it's a bit different than the rest of the Yugioh series: being the OG it's a lot darker in tone which adds to the appeal. The focus in general is less on the card game itself and more on the Millennium Puzzle and everything else having to do with it. In addition, the characters are slightly different than if one has come into this from having watched any of the others in terms of ... their personalities and character design.

The opening "A Yell of Thirst" (渇いた叫び, Kawaita Sakebi) by FIELD OF VIEW also exists as a nice contrast between itself and the tone of Yu-Gi-Oh "Season Zero". Overall it's an enjoyable show. It's not perfect by any means and I'm not sure how much it holds up on re-watches but I recall it just being a fun vibe and it has this surrealness to it that's enjoyable. It's darker. Going into it as an easy-to-consume anime will reap the most enjoyment.