[Jacky]

Jacky Chen
ENG 1121
Entry to a Genre

Japanese manga and light novels are types of literature that have become massively popular within the past decade. Being influenced by Japanese culture, there are many genres that appeal to a wide audience. Of these many genres, Slice of life is one that particularly stands out. When one thinks of manga, they think of a well defined plot with a multitude of characters. Maybe they’re teaming up to defeat a villain, or they travel across the world in search of treasure. However, the Slice of life genre doesn’t rely on an interesting, fleshed out plot. Instead, it focuses on mundanity.
In a Slice of life manga/light novel, the story usually follows a character(s) everyday life, hence the name slice of life. Reading a Slice of life manga is like looking through a window taking note of a person’s every move. It is usually defined as being uneventful, unlike the Fantasy genre. Throughout the story, there is a lack of conflict within the character(s) life, which ends up creating no real goal. This lack of plot is exactly what the genre encompasses, which may be strange as it is the opposite of what is found in good storytelling. With a lack of plot, the Slice of life genre in mangas and light novels usually have an open ending. There is no defined end to the story, as the character(s) lives will continue on.
Just like how the story follows the character(s) everyday life, it also takes place in an everyday setting. Since mangas are produced in Japan, the most common setting used in this genre will be Japan itself, whether it be urban or suburban. The character(s) are usually high school students that attend school everyday.
A weird similarity between most Slice of life mangas is the lack of parents. The main character lives by themself, and it is usually explained that the parents are working. This trope is somewhat ingenious as it allows the story to focus on a character’s growth and maturity. A big part of Slice of life is witnessing how the character matures as they go on with their life. Having the absence of parents makes for a stronger protagonist. To make up for the lack of plot, the story instead focuses on the character(s) relationships. As the readers, we get to know the protagonist’s behavior and personality as the story goes on. We learn about how they approach different situations that may arise in everyday life;for example, waking up late for school. These elements are what drives the storyline of this genre. The popular manga “K-On!” showcases this perfectly. After getting to know the character’s personalities, the story is driven through how these characters interact with each other when approached with different situations.
Now that we have a general idea of what makes up a Slice of life manga, a question may arise. Why would anyone read this? People like an exciting plot that keeps them on the edge of their seats. How is this genre that is known for being mundane so popular?
When people read Slice of life mangas, they are looking for a way to relax and calm down. There are no epic fights and a complex magical system to focus on. It is the perfect piece of literature to read after a stressful day. It doesn’t require much energy to enjoy, and it serves as a nice break from other types of entertainment like video games, that are usually high paced and action packed. Unlike our own lives, where the media is always filled with problems of our society, the lack of conflict in this genre is a breath of fresh air. This leads to a big factor in why people enjoy the Slice of life genre.
Escapism is the act of seeking out distractions from our own lives through entertainment. Everyone has their own problems. The Slice of life genre is a way for readers to temporarily immerse themselves into the lives of the protagonist to ease the troubles of their own lives. With a lack of conflict, these seemingly perfect worlds are a safe haven for readers that may have a harsh reality. This also ties in with the trope that Slice of life mangas have a lack of parents. We have all fought and argued with our parents many times. With no presence of a parental figure, the protagonists in these stories don’t encounter these problems that we do. For example, in “Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai ” the main character Sakuta takes a train in the middle of the night to a hotel hours away from his apartment. There are many scenarios in Slice of life mangas that would cause conflict in our society.
Being able to relate with the characters is another selling point of the genre. Unlike mangas in the fantasy and action genres, characters in Slice of life manga are much easier to relate to. They are just people going on with their everyday lives, just like us. Being a character driven genre helps this tremendously, as we learn much more about a character(s) personality and how they interact in real life situations.
The authors of these Slice of life mangas are usually trying to tug at the reader’s emotions. They want the reader to relate to the characters and develop an emotional relationship with them. The author achieves this through the use of real conflicts. Instead of huge and dramatic conflicts that other genres may have, Slice of life mangas have everyday conflicts that can be seen in our own lives. “Your Lie in April” achieves this through the protagonist’s backstory. Arima is a musical prodigy that is unable to play the piano after his mother passed away. Since these are mangas, the artists further tug at the reader’s emotions with the images that may depict these conflicts. This also ties back in with escapism, as the pictures paint the world for the reader. They immerse the reader into the protagonist’s life and strengthen the emotional bond that reader has with the character(s).