carlie92 - 2015-05-03 03:35:17

Gingitsune is an underrated, slice-of-life anime that is more than cute girls doing cute things. The show has a similar feel to Natsume Yuujinchou. The characters are more interesting that I originally expected, considering I went into this thinking it would be a K-On clone that I would drop in 2 episodes. 

Don't get me wrong, this IS a slice-of-life show. There is no overarching plot. Instead, the show focuses on different characters' backgrounds and how they interact with each other. And you watch as they slowly but surely change.

Also, there is an old tsundere fox-spirit. 

(If THAT doesn't get you to watch the show, I don't know what will!)

The art style reflects the warm and fuzzy tone, as does the OP and ED songs that get stuck in my head every time I watch an episode.

(Which, by the way, is incredibly awkward when you don't speak a lick of Japanese.)

I love this show. Despite being only 12 episodes long, it left a large impression on me.

It WOULD have a larger score if not for one thing...

It has a 'read the manga' ending. With no English releases in site. They leave off introducing a new character. 

This kind of torture ruffles my feathers a tad bit.

There is only one solution to this.

antonette.turcotte - 2013-12-24 19:38:07

This was, is a good anime, and the characters won me over. If you like Natsume Yuujinchou then jump in. It is not as detailed or as grand as Natsume but it is worth a watch for anyone that likes this genre.

Story 7/10

It is nothing new or exciting but it is entertaining and goes with a tried and true approach. It follows Makoto Saeki, after a tragic accident when she was 4 she began to see spirits, more specifically, Heralds. Since Makoto lives at the shrine she see's Gintarou, which is the fox herald that lives at the Saeki shrine. This follows the good deeds and daily live of Makoto, she makes friends and even finds other people with the "sight" and meets other heralds across these episodes. Satoru is also a main character in the story, he is from another shrine and makes his way to the saeki shrine where he now stays with his little female wolf herald Haru.

It is entertaining and I found the characters and there stories to be really enjoyable, maybe a bit childish, but good. They focus on helping the people around the shrine, and goes through some of the rituals the shrine has. Again nothing serious and nothing impressive. However if you want to sit down and relax to a good anime then the story will make you happy. (character talk is below in relation to story)

1 Thing I didnt Like

I was engaged throughout and was enjoying myself, the last episode was making me want more? I don't know if people find that a bad thing, but they threw so many character interactions into the last episode that was enjoyable, however it was the last episode and they could not expand on those relations. It left me wanting so much more, love triangles, more information about the gods and heralds. It is a good thing i suppose but I think this anime would lose its appeal if it were 26 episodes, but it needs to make good on what it showed me at the end. One last thing, PLEASE explain to me why Gins other herald left, they mention him again in the end but never go in detail... And I Wanted THEM TO GO INTO DETAIL.

Aniimation 7/10

The animation was good nothing special, the little fox fires were cool thought. There was no combat and since it is a new anime its quality was good. No blurs, nice old shrines and new ones to be seen. It looked lovely and quaint, like a welcoming feeling. Again nothing is going to blow you back but it was sufficient for what this anime was, if this had any kind of action i would imagine this would not get the job done, but for a slice of life shrine anime it was just fine. Kept me happy, and I like happy.

Sound 7/10

I am no anime audiophile, music is subjective to highest degree as i know people who just read the text with no sound. However I did enjoy the OP it was fun to listen to, I wasn't rushing to fast-forward one minute and thirty seconds to skip it which is a big plus, the ED had this weird mellow-ness about it that I didnt like. The sound in the anime was fair, and the voice acting was good. No complaints, moving on.

Character 9/10

Yep, 9/10. I loved the characters so much in this anime, this is what drove the entire thing, as it should. The struggles that the characters faced and them overcoming that adversity was genuinely fun and rewarding. Every and I mean EVERY character had some sort of obstacle to overcome, they might not have been huge or held the importance of the world but they were there. They conflicts lasted only a brief time not taking up more than two episodes which was perfect, and when it all came together i was sold. Learning about Makoto, Tatsuo (father) and Gin was a pleasure by itself. Satoru Kamio and Haru's story was great as well, then you add both the stories together and get something great. The Secondary characters were even good, that hardly ever happens. Sure you might hate them to begin with but it was because of their adversity and once it was overcame you found them to be delightful. All the girls and boys for the high school were good big thumbs up. The other heralds that are not apart of the main story are also good, but only mr. turtle gets a backstory, and a sad one as well. Would I say these characters are perfect, No, because they do have some flaws but i loved their flaws. These are some of the better characters this season and it should be watched just for them. GO NOW!

1 Thing I wish was different.

I wish they would have gone into more detail with the Heralds and maybe gave you more heralds than what we got. It is not Natusme, which I think is a masterpiece series. But then again not many things are like Natsume, there is not a ton of spirits/Heralds and focuses more on the real life of Makoto which is good and is the strongest part of the anime, so my only real grippe is that its not perfect =/ but nothing is. still 9/10 on this section.

Enjoyment 8.5/10

I was in the mood for something like this, just like when i watched Natsume, so being in the right mind is also a good thing to have, its not action packed or a deep story, it is a fun slice of life. I think this might be one of my favorites this season and im curious why nobody is actually talking about this. It was fun seeing the characters grow, how the interact now in for example episode 2, and how they act in episode 5. There are changes to the characters. The heralds were great, they cared about the ones around them as well. It was in general all around fun. Nothing bad, just moving along in this happy and fun world.

Overall 8/10- 8.5/10

It is a recommendation to anyone that likes anything to do with shinto, shrine, slice of life stuff. I mean I literally cannot believe i enjoyed this as much as i did. Please do yourself a favor, quit watching what your watching and go watch this. I would bet you will find the characters endearing and lovable. It was a great little anime that left me wanting more, so go get your fill, come back to me, and tell me what you thought.