Slow Loop

Slow Loop is without a doubt one of the greatest slice of life anime that I’ve watched. I was in a pinch trying to decide on my next show, and this was what caught my eye, and I wasn’t even expecting anything revolutionary to be honest. It would be a nice chill watch that I could say I enjoyed until the next big thing came to become my entire personality for the next two to four months. Instead, it became the next big thing, and spent a good amount of time at my #1 spot.

The show revolves around Hiyori, whose father passionately enjoyed fishing, and Hiyori took part in that as well, but unfortunately, he passed away a few years ago, but despite the tragic passing, she’s continued coming out to the seaside from time to time. One day, though, her mom decides to remarry, and on the day that she plans a dinner with her fiance, his daughter, and her, she goes fishing again to cool down the nerves, when she meets Koharu, and they have a nice time together, and it looks like Hiyori’s found a new friend. Oh, but here’s the twist. Koharu is her new stepsister. Boom. Mindblowing! A fated encounter straight out of a romance anime, except this isn’t a romance. Yeah, so the families meet and the two girls start their new lives, and Koharu starts joining in on these fishing trips with Hiyori.

One of the main focuses of this series is fishing. Basically every episode to some degree has fishing elements, and they do a lot with this topic. Firstly, it has some educational aspects to it, and in each episode, you’re bound to learn something new about fishing or even the cooking of the fish that they catch. For someone who may be new to the hobby or even wanting to try and find their way into it, these segments can be pretty cool, and the same can be said for the cooking side of things as well. Even if you’re a pro, I think these moments can still be enjoyable, and you can flex your knowledge or something, I guess. Secondly, these various fishing trips really help strengthen the bonds between all the characters. Koharu and Hiyori will obviously grow closer no matter what happens, since they’re literally family now, but their dynamic undeniably is fueled thru these moments, and the second episode in particular is a great showing, a passing of the torch moment, if that’s the right way to put it? And thirdly, it doesn’t consume too much of the show. If this were about fishing and nothing else, or was solely based off of some kind of fishing goal the characters were chasing after, with little else to offer beyond that, this would very likely be a much weaker show, but Slow Loop manages to integrate its main focus in a way that isn’t too overbearing, while also not leaving any undeveloped potential hanging that sours what could’ve been.

One of the other main points of Slow Loop happens to be family, and this is probably the most family-oriented show I’ve seen since Clannad, and I’m not saying Slow Loop is anywhere near as much of a masterpiece story wise as Clannad, but for a 12 episode, virtually unknown slice of life, it does a pretty good job. The balance between family and fishing, especially in the first half of the series, is what I love about it so much. It’s so vibrant and fun to watch, and I’ll have more to say on that note soon, and while the main family focus comes from the Minagis specifically, there’s also some really nice moments between Ichika and Futaba. It’s not showcased as much, but these two have a great dynamic and relationship as well. I’m impressed that not only do parents and family exist in a slice of life anime, but they’re actually a strong focus! K-ON! could never. Regardless, this balance is excellent, and it’s one of Slow Loop’s strong points.

Another strong point comes with the cast of characters here. Slow Loop happens to be one of those shows where basically no character feels flawed, or annoying, or useless, or any other negative term like that. They all either play a big role, or are at least a nice addition to the series. I’ve already talked a little about the main girls Hiyori and Koharu, but let’s dive a little more into them and everyone else. Hiyori is the more introverted one, evident by the opening scene, but her passion in fishing is really admirable, and she could go on about all you need to know about it all day long, (Literally me) and I really liked her in the eighth episode, where she gets help trying to cook, which she usually can’t do, in order to make something for Koharu, who had gotten sick that day. Speaking of Koharu, she’s on the total opposite end of the spectrum. She’s a lot more energetic and silly, and acts rather childish, but also isn’t useless either. While Hiyori has the fishing brains, the cooking department is all Koharu, if her having a whole reoccurring segment didn’t tell you enough. She’s pretty new to fishing but does make an effort to become better at it, and in most cases, she’s a respectable character despite her level of immaturity. Koi is the third main character, and the childhood best friend of Hiyori, and she’s rather quiet like Hiyori. The difference is, while Koharu is a whole other world of something, and Hiyori has some of those “something” moments herself, Koi’s like the mediator in all of that, the needed balance to iron out the main cast, and plus, she plays a really big role later down the line, which I’ll talk about shortly. After that we have all of our side characters. Ichika reminds me a bit of Hiroi from Bocchi The Rock, although the alcohol jokes are a lot less intense, and don’t consume her entire personality. Beyond the drink or two, she’s a great sister to Futaba, another fishing nerd who’s a nice addition and help for the others later on, and of course, all the family are great additions as well. One character I would’ve liked to see more of though is Kaede, who only plays a semi-significant role in episode six, when the girls visit the restaurant she works at, preparing a fish they had caught for them. Interestingly, she’s established as a hunter, which would’ve been a really interesting change of pace, to integrate some hunting once that season rolled around, although sadly there wasn’t enough time for that to happen. I’d assume we get to see this in the source material, though. I swear, I keep getting attached to these one-season shows that have more material to be adapted but will never get them, I have no idea how I keep doing this to myself.

An observation I made that should’ve clicked sooner, and may aid in my love for this series, is how… authentic it feels. The characters are fleshed out very well here. Most anime will have characters with a pretty exaggerated personality or personality type, and come across as rather stereotypical, and this is typically played out for a more comedic effect, which is understandable. If every character acted to a tee like normal humans, the entire anime industry would probably collapse in on itself, because lets be frank, unless we’re adapting a Discord voice call where half of the people are drunk and the others are playing games that make them rage after a single match, normal life ain’t all that exciting.

Now, I’m not saying that the characters in Slow Loop act like a tee to a real person. If they did, I’m not even sure if I’d view it in the light that I do, but everything feels so much more authentic here. The balanced dynamic between the three main characters is really nice. Koharu is the energetic one, Hiyori is the quieter one, and Koi is kind of like the mediator. When I first saw Koi, I wasn’t expecting her to get to play a major role in the series, since it seemed pretty tight between Koharu and Hiyori. She’d just be the third wheel childhood friend or something, which is the typical way to go, but she gradually fit in plot wise with the main cast rather well, and is just as important in retrospect as the others.

Her defining moment, and certification of importance comes in the eleventh episode, where Hiyori credits Koi with helping her take a step forward, and suggesting that had Koi not congratulated her on her mother’s remarriage before hearing about it from her mom herself, she may have not actually gone through with it, since her mom had been conflicted on what to do, unsure of how Hiyori would feel. Such an amazing moment that I wasn’t expecting to see. The side cast is great as well, and the atmosphere, particularly within Koi’s family when we see more of them, is really good, and feels pretty realistic to what you’d expect from a real family of that size.

Another episode that I like for its authenticity is the ninth episode, where the girls wanna venture out on a fishing and camping trip on their own. Rather than just immediately getting to go with no pushback whatsoever, there’s an obstacle to overcome, that being worried parents, who aren’t ready to let their children just wander off like that so suddenly. They have to come together and work out a solution to get clearance, that being a written plan they present to their parents, and only then do they get the ok.

While there’s still that level of anime-goofy throughout, they balance it out pretty well with immersive writing and construction that makes Slow Loop feel a lot more authentic compared to other shows. It doesn’t have to be 100% realistic to be good, nor does it have to be nothing but nonsensical goofiness. Slow Loop demonstrates that very well.

This seems like a no-brainer, but I can imagine that one of the other reasons that I like this show so much is because, simply put, I also fish. Well, I did. I went fishing a lot with my father back in 2021 and 2022, but haven’t had the chance to go again in almost two years now, which sucks, but during the time we did go, I got a few nice snags, but I was more often than not one-upped. If anything, I probably took the fishing trips for granted, as going into the summer, the weather was significantly hindering my interest in going out, since temperatures would go up into triple digits a lot, or get really close, which was unbearable to sit out in for 6-8 hours throughout the weekends. Seeing the characters doing one of my hobbies was really cool, and I won’t lie, Slow Loop did slightly raise my interest to one day go fishing again. I don’t know if it’s possible because of life, but if the chance ever comes, I’d definitely take it.

It pains me how underrated this show is. I hardly hear any talk about it, and usually its because of the Bocchi The Rock cameo in the tenth episode, but Slow Loop deserves so much more praise and love. It’s an amazing show, and among one of my all-time favorites now, with such a dynamic cast, a great plot, fun episodes, really cute moments, and some really awesome fishing stuff. I fell in love rather quickly, and I have no regrets.