Slow Loop is a Slice of Life manga about recreational fishing, written and illustrated by Maiko Uchino. It began serialization in Manga Time Kirara Forward magazine in September 2018, with an anime adaptation that aired as part of the Winter 2022 season. The series is licensed by Funimation, and follows Hiyori Yamakawa, a first year high school student whose father had passed away three years earlier from an illness. With her mother remarrying, Hiyori grows nervous and pays a visit to the ocean, where she meets the energetic and curious Koharu Minagi. After showing her the basics of fly fishing, Koharu becomes hooked, and to both girls' surprise, it turns out that Koharu's father will be marrying Hiyori's mother.
Hiyori and Koharu thus become step-sisters, and with Koharu's interest in fishing piqued, Hiyori promises to introduce her to some new techniques. When their term starts, Koharu and Hiyori are joined by Futaba and Ichika Fukamoto, Aiko Ninomiya and Koi Yoshinagi.
Slow Loop provides examples of:
- Always Identical Twins: Koi's younger brothers, Niji and Tora.
- Bears Are Bad News: During their camping trip, Koi tells Koharu a frightening story involving bears, although the specific story is different depending on the medium; in the manga, Koi tells Koharu about the real life Sankebetsu brown bear incident
, wherein seven people were murdered by a bear in 1915, whereas the anime replaces this with a story about Hiyori and Koi's fathers coming across a bear in their tent during a camping trip, but able to escape with their lives. - Birthday Episode: The final episode of the season partially focuses on Koharu's birthday and Hiyori struggling to find a good present.
- Blue Is Calm: Hiyori is fond of the ocean for its cathartic properties, being fond of visiting the breakwater and gazing upon the horizon whenever she becomes nervous or stressed.
- The Cameo: During the school festival, a band is shown playing on an outdoor stage. Its the main characters of a different Kirara manga, Bocchi the Rock!. The Slow Loop girls also make appearances in that manga. Bocchi gets her own anime in the Fall 2022 season.
- Contrived Coincidence: After a meeting at the breakwater and becoming friends, it turns out that Koharu's father and Hiyori's mother end up getting married, resulting in Koharu and Hiyori becoming step-siblings.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: Both Hiyori and Koharu have fond memories of their father and mother, respectively.
- Energetic and Soft-Spoken Duo: Whereas Hiyori is quiet and reserved, Koharu is positively brimming with energy.
- Food Porn: Once an Episode Someone will make a delicious dish (normally Koharu) made from the fish they caught that episode.
- Genki Girl: Koharu is always energetic and ready for an adventure.
- Hates Their Parent: Koi has a strong aggressive streak against her father for being so obsessed with fishing that he often leaves her to take care of the store he owns so he can fish and was five hours late to his daughter's birth because he wanted to catch more fish.
- House Husband: Despite his fishing obsession, Koi's father serves as this since his wife has a busy career that sometimes requires her to travel overseas for business.
- Lethal Chef: According to Hiyori, her mother is sufficiently bad with cooking that she'd once made a microwave explode.
- Luminescent Blush: Koi gets one when she realizes that Hiyori and Koharu saw her acting cuddly around her mother.
- One-Note Cook: The only dish that Hiyori can prepare with confidence is sashimi from the fish she's caught.
- Pinky Swear: Hiyori gives one to Futaba when she promises Futaba that she'll go fishing with her some day.
- Shrinking Violet: Hiyori is quite shy around people she's unfamiliar with, and as a child, she would hide behind her father while meeting new people.
- Single Tear: Hiyori cries in this way one during the stargazing scene in the third episode.
- Slice of Life: Slow Loop follows the experiences of high school girls as they learn to fish and become closer to one another.
