I was kinda "off" anime for a quite awhile before I found myself starting this particular one and getting myself sucked in completely to the entire shoujo rom-com animes. This one in particular is pretty great. One of the main reasons why I enjoyed it as much as I did was that I started with zero expectations while thinking that the main pair in consideration will probably not appeal to me. Boy was I wrong.
The story introduces, slowly but surely, two characters with pretty dramatic complexes that stems from the way they were brought up. The show is observed from Ririchiyo's POV, revealing a dear and awkward character despite the overly harsh manner she portrays herself. We also see, slowly but surely, Soushi's character development through her eyes.
There were many questions I asked myself when watching the show, such as the simplest: "Who decides the role of SS and 'Owner' when all are simply descendants from youkai without any hierarchical distinction?" While that question and a couple others popped up occasionally through the course of the show and not being too pleased with how Soushi's past was so quickly brushed through in the last few episodes despite it being one of the biggest build-up from the start, I still really enjoyed it. I enjoyed seeing Roromiya and Watanuki on the screen, both in their own little world and together with Ririchiyo in school. Kotarou, the little human boy, was a whiff of fresh air and deadpan comic midst the ridiculity of everyone in Maison de Ayakashi. I liked most of the character's developments and how their relationships play out. I also really liked the OVA episode, which hit me with a lot of the romance that I was ultimately very drawn into.
Inu X Boku SS is comical (given the absurdity of Soushi and Ririchiyo's relationship right from the start coupled with the the colorful side characters), romantic and easy to watch. I rate it highly.
I really enjoy animes with a hint of youkai and deities so I gladly picked this other shoujo rom-com after the above. I don't know what to objectively think of it.. It's a charming, quick and easy watch, but on hindsight it probably wasn't as amazing as how much I enjoyed it.
The characters lend themselves more to the cliche side, with an overly optimistic, doe-eyed, ditsy "plain jane" thrown into a ridiculous, manga-only situation to meet a cool and reserved man with a dark past. Yup, that's that. If you're into that kind of quick watches, you might find yourself enjoying it for its simple plot and ability to draw you into their problems and relationship. It's one where the comical elements outshines the romantic elements.
I initially didn't enjoy the artwork of the characters, with both characters looking a little too 2003 for my taste. There are also many questions left unanswered by the end, with the largest being Tomoe's unsettled past, but that is understandable given the massiveness of the manga series condensed into just 13 episodes. They're probably giving leeway to a 2nd season? Nonetheless I enjoyed their adventures, figuring out their place in each others lives in their own way and how Tomoe still is Tomoe right to the end (no elaborate "love very quickly changed me for the better" plotline). Tomoe's character was probably the biggest draw-in -- I liked his slow and realistic character development that essentially spans a couple centuries, his calm and collected demeanour and how he treats Nanami right to the end. Overall I give it an above average rating, being one I enjoyed but probably not going to heavily recommend.
One of my favourite from the lot. I think one of the biggest hint of how much I enjoy an anime series is how quickly I jump into it's manga predecessor - I downloaded all 12 volumes in a heartbeat. Simple artwork and a simple plot with two very intriguing and strongly developed mains.
Haru and Shizuku had a strong push-pull thing going on which could be annoying but wasn't. I felt that I was able to follow through with how they felt, yet getting enough suspense to want to know what will eventually unfold. The first episode caught me straight and I found myself liking how Shizuku brought along the story with snippets of her thoughts between all the storylines.
The characters are very obviously non-stereotypical which I enjoyed - a deadpan, apathetic, socially awkward and relatively unattractive female who genuinely loves to study (not for any family issues or whatnot, but for the sole pursuit of satisfaction and empowerment which I really appreciated), and a ridiculously maniac, violent, socially awkward and straightforward male. They go through realistic changes through the span of the few episodes and I really found myself investing quite a lot of emotions in their relationship's rise and falls. On the flip side it was unfortunate that some of the characters, initially set out to be interesting, were very quickly brushed through and given way too little character development to even be considered interesting, like Yamaguchi and Mizutani. The only that did, Natsume, aimed to be a different kind of pretty girl character - one who hates getting attention and is alienated by others for her looks - but ends up falling short.
Despite the relative nondevelopment of the side characters, Haru and Shizuku alone are rich and complex enough characters to bring life into the experience. There were also plenty of comedic moments that had me burst out laughing, balancing well the heavier bits. I really enjoyed it, no doubt.
Ahhh.. Well. It's not bad, it's just not what I wanted to watch. The show itself appears to have what I enjoy in a show; a dash of supernatural midst friendship, love and family. But wait - it's only 10 episodes!
Everything moved too quickly for me to even invest any bit of emotion into the show. While the premise was interesting enough, the plot did not exactly hold up for me and I found myself not interested in how the show plays out. I would have much rather they focus on a single aspect, instead of trying to show all aspects of Inari's life while giving the side characters love lines. Characters like Kouji were given zero attention, and Suzimome had not too much character development beyond the "beautiful yet real" mould. I would much rather they speak more for the romance aspect, instead of giving a quarter of each and not fully expounding on its potential.
I do have to say though, the artwork was great. The shrines looked beautiful and I especially love the red stretch of road through the it. While this anime didn't work for me, I think it did for many others so you might consider it. It's only 10 short episodes after all.
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