DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA Slice of LifeSlow Loop
ANIME ComedyBocchi the Rock!

REVIEWS

• 

  Sirion

  78/100
  There is certainly something in angling that tends to produce a serenity of the mind

  THERE IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING IN ANGLING THAT TENDS TO PRODUCE A SERENITY OF THE MIND

  
  Within a not so exciting winter season as far as new shows are concerned, one of those that stood out most in my eyes is Slow Loop. Right in the tranquility of fishing I managed to find one of the few new positive series of the last 3 months.
  
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  </center>__PLOT__<center>
  
  Being a slice of life, the plot can be summed up in the very concept of this genre: "Nothing in particular happens, the key is to enjoy the placid everyday life of the characters". With little surprise the anime speaks specifically of fishing, a sport that is practiced by our 2 protagonists and by almost all the cast members of the series. The show, however, does not limit itself to telling a story about the days that the characters spend fishing, but uses this concept to expand its vision also to concepts outside the activity practiced. The focal point of the show, in fact, more than the fishing, is the relationship between Hiyori and Koharu. The 2 girls (high school for those wondering even if the character design doesn't show it, as often happens in anime) meet by chance during a Hiyori fishing trip to which Koharu becomes curious. The protagonists immediately form a relationship destined to become friendship but soon discover that, having both lost a parent, Hiyori's mother and Koharu's father decide to get married. The 2 girls then legally become sisters and this only consolidates their relationship even faster. From these premises the series then begins to vary between various concepts: fishing, cooking freshly caught fish, the friendship between them, the fact that fishing can be practiced without shame even by girls, the phase in which Hiyori teaches Koharu to fish, new relationships formed with other characters, Hiyori and Koharu's past regarding the relationship they had with deceased parents. The series therefore turns out to be also very informative as regards the theory of fishing (and cooking) and also touching in the moments dedicated to the girls and their past.
  
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  _______________
  </center>__CHARACTERS__<center>
  
  Hiyori and Koharu are the protagonists of the story and I can't help but notice the similarity of their personality with that of 2 other very important characters in the world of slice of life. Hiyori in fact recalls a lot the character of Rin (Yuru Camp): reserved, initially convinced of preferring solo fishing, responsible, independent but she does not totally deny the possibility of practicing her favorite activity in the company of other people after meeting Koharu. As Hiyori resembles Rin, Koharu is very reminiscent of the character of Nadeshiko: the girl who has just arrived in town, totally inexperienced in terms of fishing, sunny, sociable and immediately convinced that she wants to build a friendship with the co-protagonist. Being personally a great admirer of Yuru Camp to the point of considering it the perfect slice of life, I can only be happy to find a similarity between the characters.
  Koharu and Hiyori are joined by Koi, an Hiyori's childhood friend, who owns the fishing shop where the girls go to buy material for their activity. Unlike the protagonists, Koi is not a great fishing enthusiast (unlike her father) but she gladly accompanies her friends to have fun with them. The relationship between them 3 works very well even in situations where they disagree and this allows us to always enjoy the touching, cute and funny moments they give us to the fullest.
  
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  _______________________
  </center>__ART / ANIMATIONS and MUSIC__<center>
  
  While not reaching the sublime technical level of Yuru Camp in terms of settings, colors and atmosphere, Studio CONNECT has certainly managed to extrapolate as much as possible the tranquility and sweetness of the characters. The designs alternate between normal and "chibi" in order to enhance the comic moments. Despite being a minor studio, it certainly could have done better in some situations but I am still satisfied with the work that has been done. On the other hand it may not seem at first glance but the slice of life genre needs a good technical sector more than other genres need it. Graphics and music have the task of managing the calm and peaceful atmosphere of the events in the best possible way but without heavily boring the viewer.
  
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  </center>__CONCLUSION__~~~
  
  I absolutely do not consider Slow Loop one of the best slice of life shows ever produced but I think it fully fulfills the purpose for which it was conceived: to instill a sense of peace and serenity in the heart of the spectator, to have an educational function regarding many aspects of fishing and get people interested in the story of the characters present. If you are a lover of the genre I suggest you to "waste" a few hours to see this show, which has certainly helped me to relax and unwind from time to time in the midst of many rather demanding anime.
  
  _P.S. I am not a native English speaker, so I apologize for any mistakes_
  
  _P.P.S. The title is a fishing quote by Washington Irving_

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• 

  HMashiro

  75/100
  A charming and adorable anime about relationships, fishing and a little bit of cooking.

  Minor Spoiler Ahead (￣ ￣|||)

  Note: TLDR at the very bottom.

  Story - 8

  Slow Loop is one of those Moe girls doing cute things slice of life anime but with an actual solid theme for the story. To simplify, Slow Loop touch on these three topics, relationship, fishing and a bit of cooking, all neatly put in one simple package.

  I always fancy those slice of life anime where you learn about a certain topic be it the manga industry like Bakuman or Game development like New Game to name a few. I don’t really have an interest in fishing but Slow Loop manage to get me hooked and the relationship aspect is done in a very natural way.

  The story mainly revolves around Hiyori and Koharu. Both of them are going to be stepsisters due to their parents' re-marrying. Koharu first met Hiyori when she was fishing and slowly take up an interest in fishing with Hiyori mentoring Koharu.

  

  The relationship aspect of the anime is handled perfectly. Through fishing, the two sisters bond gradually and their relationship improves naturally from strangers to real sisters. Of cause, there is no shortage of cute moments between the girls too.

  Now, on to the fishing part. I can feel that the author has researched the topic of fishing quite deeply. The fishing part is really detailed but at the same time deliver in a laid back and informative way that won’t overwhelm the viewer.

  You will learn about fly fishing, different types of bait, how to attract fish, where to fish, how to cast your line, fishing superstition, etc... The anime even include some information on fish behaviour. For people like me who just want some general knowledge, I believe this is the best way to gain some new knowledge about a topic while also being entertained.

  

  The cooking part plays a minor role in this anime and it usually shows how to prepare the fish that was caught or some kind of fish dishes in different cooking methods. Needless to say, it makes my mouth water. As soon as I know cooking is in the anime, Slow Loop become my go-to while having dinner.

  Character - 7.5

  There are four commonly seen characters in Slow Loop that the story revolves around while the other characters are supporting characters. All four characters are adorable and feel natural without falling deep into a single trope.

  We have Hiyori who is an introvert and loves fishing. She used to go fishing with her dad before he pass away and Koharu happen to pop up and fill that void for her in a sense. Hiyori is way more responsible compared to Koharu too.

  

  Koharu is Hiyori’s stepsister when her mum re-married. She has an opposite personality from Hiyori. Cheerful and extroverted but a total newbie when it comes to fishing. Koharu also loves acting as the older sibling since she used to have a younger brother.

  Through fishing, both Hiyori and Koharu slowly got closer to each other, which is noticeable as each episode passed. Much like in reality, two-person doesn’t just become close in a day, it is a gradual process.

  

  Koi despite having a huge knowledge about fishing, despite her dad being obsessed with fishing, hated fishing due to how her dad acted and do things. She eventually warms up to fishing as she accompanies Hiyori more. The two being childhood friends also make for some really nice backstories and relationship views.

  Futaba is a younger girl who is into fishing but thought fishing is a hobby for boys and wasn’t able to admit that she loves fishing. Eventually, she openly embraces fishing thanks to the older girls Hiyori, Koharu and Koi.

  

  What this anime has done well is the relationship development and the pacing at which the relationship progresses also feels organic. Relationship development is not just between the girls but with the parents too, especially Hiyori with her new stepdad.

  Even though it is a wholesome and cute anime, the anime was able to show that the characters have emotions and struggles through their backstories and past experiences without getting overly dramatic.

  Art & Animation - 7

  The overall art & animation of Slow Loop is quite good. It has a simplistic but very pleasant to look at art style. The colours are vibrant and the tone gives out a very relaxing feeling to it.

  Much like other Moe anime, the character design leans more into the simplistic but cutesy side making the character look a bit younger than they actually are. The character design looks nice with a good amount of emphasis on the facial expression.

  Background arts have a fair amount of details in them. An indoor scene such as a store has a good amount of objects populating the background to make it feel like an actual shop while an outdoor scene such as a fishing spot is tranquil and vibrant in colour.

  The background detail in the city is kind of a mixed bag. Some scenes got a good amount of detail with all the background characters and objects, while some scenes feel strangely barren.

  

  Some still-shot of the moments when the character manages to get a fish look great, plus the foods look nice even though they are not on the same level as Shokugeki no Soma.

  Sound - 7.5

  Both the opening and ending songs are soothing and relaxing but I won’t say they are playlist worthy. Personally, the ending song sounded better to me.

  The background music is not really outstanding or memorable and sounds pretty much like many other slices of life animes. They are more of, it gets the job done for the scene they are played on types.

  

  The sound effects are actually well detailed. For example, sounds such as rain hitting the water, fish splashing, the screeching and creaking of the fishing rod, cracking of the fire when grilling, etc.. are all in the anime.

  The best part of the show would be the voice actors and actresses. Hiyori voice actress seems like she is still a newbie but she nailed the Hiyori reserved personality and voice. Koharu is voiced by the same voice actress who voiced Shii in the anime Super Cub whose voice I really like. Of cause, the rest of the cast also have solid voice acting suiting for their adorable personalities.

  TLDR:

  A charming and adorable anime about relationships, fishing and a little bit of cooking. You might learn a thing or two about fishing but in a relaxing way.

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• 

  roze04

  100/100
  The perfect CGDCT anime, absolutely heartwarming.

  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.

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