Gingitsune (2013)

Okay, time for a short-ish review!

I know I've said this before, but sometimes I dislike using the word 'sweet'. Mostly because I worry that it has dismissive connotations or that it suggests a lack of tension, or stakes. And that's not the case in Gingitsune for me.

Maybe 'feel-good' or 'uplifting' is better for a description of tone in this short series? If I was pressed in terms of genre (beyond supernatural or fantasy) I'm thinking of that blurred line between Slice of Life and Drama.

The main draw for me was the grumpy-but-caring Gintaro (messenger to the fox god Inari) and his relationship with heroine Makoto, the young shrine maiden. Their quarrels and triumphs were great and Gintaro's obsession with oranges was always funny.

I also enjoyed the Shinto aspects. I'm not very familiar with that cultural aspect of Japan at all and so it was great to learn a little about it, even in the fictionalised context of an anime.

Notwithstanding the tediously jealous Hura, the characters are all cute and fun and I liked the episodic nature of the stories too, along with those beautiful backgrounds – of which I've shared only a few.

So, if any of the above sounds like your thing and you've not come across Gingitsune before then consider finding it because I reckon it's pretty great 🙂

4 Stars