First Impression: Slow Loop

While fly-fishing and reminiscing about her father, who died three years ago, Hiyori sees a girl nearly jump into the cold March ocean. The girl, Koharu, who had never seen the ocean before, takes an interest in Hiyori’s fishing, and even gets treated to some fresh sashimi. That night, they discover that they are to become stepsisters, as their respective single parents are getting married. However, Hiyori has some trouble getting used to the new family arrangements, and Koharu tries to connect with her through fishing.

Before this, she had only fished in video games.

It’s time for another cute-girls-gone-fishing anime, and while the last one of these had some issues, there are thankfully no such issues here as no one’s being dragged into fishing against their will. Instead, we get a very heartfelt episode that uses fishing as part of a deeper story about the challenges of adjusting to a mixed family. Hiyori’s feelings are easy to sympathize with, and some viewers will definitely relate to her struggle a lot. Koharu is a good secondary protagonist; she is the typical energetic girl that contrasts with Hiyori’s introverted personality, but she also shows her own concern for her feelings without pushing her, and mainly just shows interest in fishing and spends time with her that way. It helps that she herself is not completely comfortable within her new family either, and it seems like the process of adjusting to changes in family will be a big theme of this series. This is great for a slice-of-life show and helps give some weight behind the usual fluff of the genre. Also, this show provides plenty of educational information about fishing, with a healthy side of cooking to go with it. Slow Loop is easily one that is up my alley and is perfect for slice-of-life fans, while also potentially being of interest to others who are interested in a story about mixed families and don’t mind learning some fishing stuff along the way.

Slow Loop is streaming on Funimation.

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6 thoughts on “First Impression: Slow Loop”

  1. Thank you so much for this article! This is the first show of the season I am sure to check out. I love slice of life and I love fishing. Thanks from those too crunched on time to watch every premiere!

  2. These kinds of shows always walk a fine line with me. “Laid Back Camp” walked it masterfully, but I often find them to be blandly saccharine. I’ll check it out and see what’s what here.

    1. Funny you should mention Laid Back Camp (one of my absolute favorites of all time). I watched this one and it really hit me as trying to be Laid Back Camp way too hard. It felt imitative to the point of being distracting. And it’s too bad because I like the premise. Maybe things will improve with later episodes.

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