I am here to post my Top 10 Slice of Life anime series/movies. The list will probably change as I write it out. And practically all on this list are multiple-genres. So some of these are romantic, some are coming of age, some are sports, and some are combos of three or more. No matter. They all give us a slice of life.

In reverse order:

10. Big Windup! This is a slice of the life of Ren, star pitcher of his high school baseball team which always loses. Of course Ren gets the blame, even if baseball is a team sport. Ren gives up the game, until he gets to a new school with a new coach and a new catcher who both believe in him and his control. I only have seen season one.

9. Forest of Piano. I just finished season 2, which does not stack up to season 1. Otherwise it would be higher on my list. Shuuhi, the son of a renowned pianist, and Kai, the son of a prostitute, meet and become friends over their love of music. The series takes us through their childhood until young adulthood when the two become rivals in a major world piano competition.

8. Hi Score Girl. Haruo is a high school kid who is only good at one thing – video games. He meets Akira, a quiet rich girl from his school, who is every bit the player that Haruo is and becomes his rival. But Akira is actually quite fragile, with an unhappy home life. She begins to rely on Haruo for emotional support after he befriends her. Then there is Koharu, who is in love with the clueless Haruo and becomes determined to become his equal in the game room if just to get his attention. A slice of life, plus coming-of-age.

7. Only Yesterday. This film took a while to get to the US. Disney owns the American distribution rights to Studio Ghibli films, and the contract forbids Disney from cutting or re-editing the movie. So when Disney objected to scenes referencing menstruation, they shelved the film. But it was worth the wait. A young woman reaching a cross-road in life reminisces about her childhood as she decides which road to take.

6. Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad. A slice of life with a side order of coming-of-age. Koyuki is a nice kid, but has no direction or purpose in life, until he meets up with a Japanese-American musician named Ray. With music giving him a purpose, Koyuki redirects his life while dealing with school bullies and a first love.

5. March Comes in Like a Lion. Basically a sports anime centered around a Japanese version of chess called shogi, we get here a slice of the life of Rei and his friends. Things are not easy for Rei trying to find his place in life. So this is not only a sports anime, but a coming-of-age anime as well as a slice of life. Three sub-genres in one!

4. Silver Spoon. Yugo is another teen trying to find his way in the world. This leads him to enroll in an agricultural high school, despite being a complete city kid. The series gets into the trials, hopes, and dreams of his classmates. We get many slices of life.

3. Nana. Finally we get to a series which is not also a teen coming-of-age tale. Two girls named Nana meet and become roommates. One is a rock star hopeful, and the other a small town girl trying to find some place for herself in the world. Various relationships develop within their day-to-day experiences, and some not so pleasant. Small town Nana makes some pretty bad life choices, disrupting more than her own life.

2. Grave of the Fireflies. This is an historic slice of life set in Japan during World War II. No question this is the darkest film ever to come out of Studio Ghibli. Teenaged Seita must care for his little sister after they a left alone in the world. The film details their daily struggles in this tragic slice of life anime.

1. Your Lie in April. Another sad story, but this one with some hope. Here again are the daily lives of high school students. Primarily the story deals with Arima and his efforts to regain his musical inspiration inspired by a young violinist named Kaori. Again we deal with multiple sub-genres.

OK. Your turn. What are your favorites?