For the most part, slice-of-life anime usually takes place in a normal setting with normal characters. As the genre is generally about everyday moments and day-to-day activities, there really isn't much need for characters with strange abilities or unusual powers.
However, sometimes fans encounter a slice-of-life series that appears to be set in a real-world setting but features a protagonist with a strange power. Due to the fact that anime is still largely about everyday life, these powers don't come with action-packed fights and villains that threaten the world but affect your everyday life in some way. Here are some slice-of-life anime protagonists who exhibited strange powers.
8 Junpei Kosaka – Nyan Koi!
Slice of Life protagonists with strange powers
Junpei Kosaka is extremely allergic to cats and therefore hates them with a passion. Unfortunately for him, he accidentally destroys a statue of a local cat goddess, cursing him. He gains the ability to talk to cats, but he must redeem himself by granting the wishes of 100 cats, or he'll turn into one himself!
Junpei's ability to talk to cats may seem amusing, but it's hardly a boon to him, as it forces him to give in to the whims of nearly every cat he encounters. Despite this, he works hard to make sure the wishes of every cat he encounters are fulfilled, but only to avoid dire consequences.
7 Mameda – My Master Has No Tail
Slice of Life protagonists with strange powers
Mameda is a tanuki living in the Taisho era who goes to Osaka City to play pranks on humans. She is surprised at how ineffective her antics are and is nearly captured when she is saved by Bunko Daikokutei, a rakugoka. Fascinated by her performance, Mameda works to become a rakugoka in her own right.
As a tanuki, Mameda can transform her appearance, which is how she creates her human form. Despite her interesting power, she rarely uses it outside of maintaining her human guise, preferring instead to hone her rakugo skills and her relationships with others.
6 Miko Yotsuya – Mieruko-chan
Slice of Life protagonists with strange powers
Miko Yotsuya is an ordinary high school girl with an abnormal problem: she has the ability to see ghosts. Ghosts are constantly roaming Japan no matter where she goes, but if she pretends not to see them, they ignore her.
Miko's daily life soon becomes a challenge where every day she has to act as if she is unaffected by all the horrible sights she sees. Unfortunately for her, ghosts are everywhere, and the fact that her friend naturally attracts ghosts to her doesn't make things any easier.
5 Keitaro Urashima – Love Hina
Slice of Life protagonists with strange powers
As children, Keitaro Urashima and an unknown girl were told that two people in love would be happy together forever if they managed to get into Tokyo University. Keitaro makes a promise with the girl to enter university together, but after two failed attempts, he is still struggling to get into the school and needs to move to the Hinata Inn if he wants to continue studying to enter.
Although Keitaro Urashima is a normal person, he has shown to be incredibly resistant, whether due to the physical attacks, he suffers from the girls he lives with or falling from high places. Keitaro's stamina is so extreme that when he actually gets hurt, his acquaintances are shocked.
4 Tadayasu Sawaki – Moyashimon
Slice of Life protagonists with strange powers
Tadayasu Sawaki and his best friend Kei Yuki are about to start college life when they are drawn into Professor Keizo Itsuki's microbial studies due to Sawaki's ability to see and communicate with microorganisms. The series follows their university lives as they dabble in various types of brewing and production.
Sawaki's ability to see and talk to microorganisms isn't a strong trait in the series, but it's still an important part of his character. His ability comes in handy from time to time, and while Sawaki doesn't make much of an impact on its own, his ability keeps him relevant to the story.
3 Makoto Kowata – Flying Witch
Slice of Life protagonists with strange powers
Makoto Kowata moves to Aomori to live with some relatives. Her cousin Chinatsu is initially wary of her and soon learns that Makoto is not your average high school girl - she is a witch and has come to complete her training.
Makoto Kowata isn't the only witch in the series, and Chinatsu soon embarks on her own journey to become a witch. Despite the fantasy elements, the series never strays too far from a slice of life, and magic is only used to enliven the everyday life that Makoto and Chinatsu experience.
2 Squid Girl
Slice of Life protagonists with strange powers
After watching humans pollute the sea, Squid Girl sets out to conquer the world, starting with the local seaside restaurant. To her surprise, the Aizawa brothers who own the shop barely consider her a threat, and when she destroys part of the shop's wall, she is immediately put to work to pay them back.
Squid Girl has many abilities common to real squids, but her most frequently used ability is her hair tentacles, which she can control independently of each other. Despite the fact that they can be used for battle, they are often used for more mundane things like clearing tables and carrying dishes.
1 Takashi Natsume – Natsume's Book Of Friends
Takashi Natsume has always been able to see and converse with Yokai, a power he inherited from his grandmother, along with the Book of Friends, a strange book that turns out to be the list of names his grandmother had obtained from the spirits she bullied.
Due to his abilities and possession of the Book of Friends, Takashi is frequently harassed and chased by Yokai hoping to be freed from the book's chains. Most of his encounters with yokai are surprisingly peaceful, although more dangerous spirits are often kept at bay by his guardian spirit "Nyanko-sensei".
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