Like many hardworking members of the workforce, Kuroto Nakano is perpetually stressed out by his job. Still, since he lives alone, he must carry on to sustain himself. Little do humans like Kuroto know, this stress takes the form of darkness residing within a person's body and will bring one's life to ruin.
Fox deities can see this darkness and have the duty to save people before it is too late. To help rid Kuroto of his stress, Senko-san, an eight hundred-year-old foxgirl, volunteers to take care of him, and will do everything she can to ease the tension in his weary soul.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Stark700
Remember that time when your parents, grandparents, sibling, teacher, your best friend, your lover, or someone told you that ‘there’s no such thing as free lunch?’ Tell that to Kuroto Nakano and he may surprise you. It just happens so one day when he comes home after a long day of work and finds a kitsune demi-goddess in his home! Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san is about the fluffiest anime you can find this year. Literally, Senko’s long smooth tail combined with her gentle personality brings a feeling of easiness. Nakano’s miserable life changes forever after meeting Senko. From the very first episode, I was prepared ofnothing less than a relaxing slice of life comedy. It’s what makes the manga so charming to read with the amount of daily life adventures…and misadventures. Animated by Dogakobo, this was also the perfect choice for a studio. They’ve been known to be involved with a lot of slice of life content, though recently leaning more into the ‘cute girls doing cute things’ category. This show makes that mold in some ways with an adult main character and demi-goddesses that does more than cute things.
Slice of life, as everyone knows, is not much about a linear plot or complex storytelling. If you’re new to the genre, that’s ok because it’s easy to discover why the genre works so well for this anime. From day one, Senko decides to take care of Kuroto without any form of real payment. It’s essentially free lunch with some added bonus such as Senko’s fluffy tail. Besides that, Nakano can hardly resist the adorable charm of Senko and the being taken care of after a long day. Anyone who works the generic 8-5 pm shifts will know how enduring that can be. What awaits Nakano at home is this adorable little goddess declaring her duties to take care of him. While not being experienced like a housemaid, she is very much devoted to her promise. When Nakano feels down, she tries to cheer him up; often with the aid of her tail if necessary. When he needs advice, Senko becomes his personal life coach. It seems Nakano’s life really turned around with this newfound luck.
Or does it?
As this all sounds like him winning the lottery, it’s not as easy as it seems. Other characters such as the kitsune Shiro and Nakano’s neighbor Yasuko also gets involved in their lives. Contrary to Senko, Shiro treats Nakano more as a servant. On the other hand, Yasuko also gets very curious about Senko. With her otherworldly appearance, she becomes a joke for cosplay. Later in the story, we have the alluring kitsune Yozora entering Nakano’s life and aims to show her seductiveness. But really, there’s not much else to add for its main cast or is it necessary. The anime is aimed to be as relaxing as it can be. Despite the additional elements of drama, this never turns into a moody show with oversaturated melancholy. This may surprise viewers considering the way the synopsis sounds at first. Realistically, Nakano does feel a heavy weight in his life. He works at a company with long grudging hours that puts a stress on his mental health. If you put yourself in his shoes, you’ll understand.
At some point in this anime, I asked myself the real reasons to watch this in the first place. The simple answer is to relax and enjoy the simplicity of slice of life. While there’s some subtle romance elements and minor drama, it always succeeds at what a slice of life show is. Here, we have 12 episodes that ranges from the reality of a stress at work to a relaxing day at the beach. Senko is also way too charming to keep eyes off of despite her inexperience with working with modern technology. However, the overall vibe of the show may occasionally rub viewers in the wrong way. There’s the age difference and it doesn’t help that Nakano gets mistaken for a pervert early on. Senko herself is also a target for hilarious borderline fan service moments. The show aims to bring comedy but there’s definitely some hidden innuendo when Nakano buries himself into Senko’s fluffy tail. I mean, the show is trying to be fluffy, right….?
Finally, I do want to applaud the voice acting for such a small yet talented cast. Senko’s dialect contains an accent of formal Japanese and ancient speech tone. With her personality, it makes her sound very distinctive compared to other characters. We also shouldn’t forget the colorful and vibrant upbeat theme songs performed by the voice actors themselves. The fact is, there’s a lot of talent that went into this show beyond just the adorable character designs and charm.
I love a classic slice of life anime these days and Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san managed to be just that. The author knew what they were aiming for from the start and this anime turned out to be a terrific picture. It uses supernatural characters to blend in with real life segments to bring about this charming creative work. Now, maybe there is such a thing as free lunch.
AbnerA
Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san is not your typical slice of life. The reason for that is because of the focus of the show. This anime tells about a demigod fox named Senko who one day decided to take care of our poor and miserable Nakano who's exhausted from work. That's it, there is hardly anything more of it. What makes it not typical is that the focus is on self-insert. This show tries to makes Nakano simple so it is easy to self-insert ourselves. This is, of course, to make you fantasize how lovely it is to have someone like Senko take care of you.This point is further reinforced by the extra parts post-ending song. This part is the real self-insert with the first-person perspective. It is fanservice, but not the lewd kind of fanservice. And as bonus info, this anime likes to present about fluffy tails of Senko and the other demigod foxes.
The fact that this is anime focuses on self-insert is not the bad thing about it. It does it, and it does it pretty well. The bad thing about this anime is the lack of depth. Nakano and Senko can be very shallow characters. There are not much to see from them as the focus is not on the characters. Side characters get it worse, as they get even less screentime than the main characters.
I won't deny that the art and sound are great to help you feel relaxed while Senko does whatever different things she does each episode. The animations are not a spectacle, but I argue that sound and music usage is more important at keeping the viewers relaxed.
And so, here is how Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san stands. This anime is a great watch to help you relax by self-inserting yourself into the position of Nakano. Enjoy Senko pampering you with her fluffy tail. However, it has hardly anything to offer in terms of character depth. Characters and their interactions won't be memorable. Just focus on Senko taking care of you and It will be good to enjoy.
Ainosora
Doga Kobo has done it again with a series that's exactly what it sets out to be, a cute heartwarming show. Senko-san does this perfectly and you get exactly as advertised in high quality. The story follows a hard working man who's beginning to be slammed with massive depression due to how rough just living and working is, when a fox girl who feels like she owes his ancestors arrives to start helping him feel better. If you can accept that as a concept, the show performs it perfectly, so it's just a matter of if that concept could be appealing to you. Every episodeis a breath of life and happiness, and I couldn't help but smile when watching and that's saying a lot.
The art is standard Doga Kobo moe art, very well done though and very fitting for the show.
The sound was also good and helped to create the "breath of life" atmosphere the show has going for itself.
The characters were pretty likable, the titular character was memorable.
Overall I'd give this a 10/10 for being near perfect at what it sets out to be, although I'd understand lower scores if this isn't what you're looking for, you may still find enjoyment in it. To know if you'd dislike it simply go back and read what I said the story is about, if that just sounds plain bad to you then you'll likely dislike this show.
Drakestalker
The premise is as straightforward as this sort of thing can be. Kuroto Nakano is a single, depressed Japanese office worker perpetually stressed out by his job. Still, seeing as he lives alone, he has no choice but to struggle and push forward to sustain himself. According to the show's supernatural conceit, all of that stress, sleep deprivation, and depression inevitably takes the form of a darkness residing within the body, and once it surpasses containment level, it manifests itself externally as a sort of black smog, which not only negatively affects the people around one's self, but will also bring one's life to ruin. Thankfully,the demigod servants of the Shinto gods, fox deities, always keep a watchful eye over humans. They can physically see the darkness caused by anguish and suffering and it is their duty to help people and alleviate their burdens - to save them before it's too late. As such, Senko, an 800-year-old loli foxgirl volunteers to live with Kuroto and pamper him in every way imaginable so as to relieve the tension in his weary soul.
Having aired in the spring of 2019, Senko-san is a Doga Kobo production. In terms of what they are known for, I hesitate to say they are known at all, period, but for what it's worth, they seem to generally specialize in cutesy loli shit. They're the studio being Umaru-chan, Yuru Yuri, and most notably Gabriel DropOut. While nothing stands out about Senko-san's production value, neither in terms of audio, nor in terms of video, it does its best to feel as warm and welcoming as possible. By and large, it succeeds.
In principle, Senko-san is simply meant as a wish-fulfillment show for single, older, working (mostly) men who have a hard time coping and finding a reason to keep going. It satiates a deep-seated need by providing a Tinkerbell-type substitute for a housewife in the form of an adorable foxgirl with an outlandishly fluffy tail. For the most part, that's exactly what it is.
Now that's all fine and dandy. Alas, if you've seen the poster or a trailer, you already fucking know what my problem with the show is. Alarm bells might have been ringing in your head ever since I mentioned the term "loli". You might be thinking: "Hold up, hold the fucking phone. What are you telling me here? Setting aside the supernatural trappings about 800 years and tails and what not, you're essentially saying this is a story about a 12-year-old-looking little girl moving in to live with a grown ass single man and having all sorts of physical contact with him?" Well... yes. That's exactly what it is. I mean, one can imagine a world in which this show wouldn't really be that offensive, a version of this show in which she only cooks and cleans for him, say, and otherwise just entertains him with conversation. That still wouldn't address some of the fundamental ethical concerns, but it would be a damn sight better.
Unfortunately, we do not live in that universe and we don't have that version of the show. No, we have the actual show where she has him lay his head on her lap to clean his ears, lays in the bed next to him to spoon him and help him fall asleep, changes clothing in his line of sight (though he has the decency to look away in horror - har har), they give each other massages, and they even end up bathing together, they wash each other's backs and everything.
Whenever they do have physical contact, be it her washing his back or giving him a massage, or when doing either of those to her in turn, his constant emphasis on how small her back and hands are really doesn't help.
Yeah, no, it's just as fucked up and indefensible as you think it is. Thing is, if this were real life and a fox deity that looked like a child, but was really supernatural and 800 years old and all that jazz showed up on your doorstep, yeah, fine, whatever. Let her take care of you. It is what it is. That said, this isn't real life. It's fiction. That means that as this universe's omnipotent god, Rimukoro, the manga's (yes, this is a manga adaptation - I was surprised, too) author made a conscious choice to make her be a 12-year-old girl. "Uhm, ackshually, she's 800 years ol-"; Shut up! What sane grown ass man would make the conscious choice to have their housewife substitute be a small 12-year-old girl? Why? Rimukoro had the option to make her anything he wanted. Why, then, did she turn out to be a 12-year-old girl? Be honest here, as a guy, if you had the option to be personally and closely pampered by a small, frail child versus a grown, voluptuous woman, which would you choose? Hell, I'm not even suggesting that she would have to have an anime bimbo physique. Make her flat-chested for all I care. Make her be Sakura from Naruto Shippuuden. I give two fucks. But why the fuck a child? Why the fuck not an adult?
Why is this a story about a grown ass man having inappropriate physical contact with a child? Why is this a story about a child who is not that grown ass man's daughter getting naked and changing in the same room as him? Why is anime so fucking full of this cancer? Doga Kobo's other production I'm familiar with, Gabriel DropOut, had the same problem. Despite being an infinitely better and hilarious show, it still insisted on sexualizing its main cast of 4 extremely young girls by dressing them up in all manner of suggestive clothing that you can't have me pretend isn't exactly what it is.
As if to make my point, the one thing that Kuroto really finds fascinating and attractive about Senko is her fluffy tail and ears. Well, judging by the way she reacts when he touches and fondles them, they are, to put it as bluntly as I can, such an obviously a paper-thin metaphor for genitalia, that not even the innocent mind of a child could miss that something illicit is going on. Particularly, when he fondles her ears and accidentally slips his fingers inside them and she gets mad, like, bro... could you possibly be any more transparent with your anal sex metaphor? Yeah, dude, we weren't born yesterday. We've all heard "wrong hole" jokes before. This isn't some obscure symbolism whose secrets have yet to be divined.
For what it's worth, if you manage to look past the degenerate aspects, Senko-san is a genuinely pleasant, and at times, really funny slice-of-life show. Nothing much happens, but then again, nothing needs to happen. The whole point of the anime is taking it easy and relaxing. Alas, I wouldn't call this a binge-worthy show. The novelty of the R&R wears off after a couple of episodes and the rest becomes a bit of a slog to get through.
Besides, every single episode ends on a short PoV segment where Kuroto disappears as a character and the idea is that you get to see what it's like to be him, to have Senko take care of you and talk to you. She speaks directly into the camera and reacts to silent answers the viewer is presumably giving her, like in Dora the Explorer. The camera even shakes left-right or up-down to simulate you, the viewer, shaking or nodding your head in response to Senko's queries and prompts. Ugh, I fucking hate that sort of thing with a passion. No matter how funny or pleasant each episode was, those segments always left a sour taste in my mouth at the end.
The one technical aspect of the show I feel compelled to note is that the protagonist is voiced by my favorite voice actor of all time, Junichi Suwabe. He is the voice of Grimmjow from Bleach, Greed from the original Fullmetal Alchemist, Daiki Aomine from Kuroko no Basket, Takashi Komuro from High School of the Dead, Emiya Archer from Fate, Siegfriend also from Fate, Eraserhead from My Hero Academia, etc. I won't pretend not to be disappointed to see him play a central role in a show like... this, but what can I say, Suwabe goodness is still Suwabe goodness. Alas, Kuroto admittedly doesn't have the aggressive quality of characters like Grimmjow or Aomine that Suwabe brings to life so well, so all in all, this is in no way an outstanding performance.
inim
"My Little Furry Loli Can't Be This Cute!", the animation. And an entertaining one if you buy into it's premise: a divine loli-waifu becomes your personal therapist, cleaning woman and love interest. While the show fails to achieve the full quality of it’s obvious role model “Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid”, it solidly entertains with feel-good slice-of-life comedy centered around the titular kemonomimi girl's vibrant personality. *** Story *** Let's start right with the elephant in the room. "Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san" stars a furry harem, and it’s best loli Senko and the MC Nakano have a lot of intimate physical contact situations. This includes bathing andback scrubbing, ear cleaning, back massage with bare feet, hair cutting, and they share a bed of course. This intimacy and it's depression-breaking effect on MC are not only central to the story, they are the story. Then there is that tail touching trope, and the orgasmic sounds it triggers in Senko. It's not even a hidden metaphor for sex, it's just a metaphor for it. Like Nakano himself concludes the bathing episode: "I did a lot of fluffy-fluffing that night. Thank you, Senko!". You are welcome, this fantasy is a little weird but probably PG-13.
So undercurrent sexual tension is present in spades, and the resulting sitcom is at the heart of the show's comedy. The genius of the narrative is that this is never defiled by mundane sexualized fan service. The story teases the audience along a fine line without ever crossing it, even in the bare skin episodes. Probably much to the delight of doujinshi artists, who get a pure A-tier loli to build on in Senko. Studio Doga Kobo is very aware of the situation. Self-parody scenes of a police raid (E01, 6:35m) and multiple pedo-bear references (E03, 9:02m and 11:12m) make this abundantly clear.
The complete story could be seen as a well executed wish-fulfillment fantasy with moe and fetish elements. Many males, not only in Japan, will consider the titular cute loli elder with her magic powers, housewifiness, perfect traditional manners, a sprinkle of innocent sexual attraction, and foremost a planet-sized positive vibrancy the apex of womanhood. The evil genius is to accept and never question the fact MC is exploited and burnt-out in his job. Rather than changing this, as it happens in Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, he's sent a peak-kawaii foxy lady from heaven to sooth the pain. Why remove causes when you can deal with the symptoms in such an adorable way?
Overall Senko-san is a one kitsune personality show, the remaining cast, even the MC, are accessories to produce slice-of-life plot for her. And to be honest, I could watch her doing cute things for hours. In this aspect, the show completely succeeds. Excursions into slapstick comedy, like in the vacuum cleaner episode, and the submissive routine pampering are less entertaining in my book. The penultimate episode deserves a special place in my heart, because of the amazing change in tone and direction quality. Senko's party, her misunderstood good-bye speech, and the lone walk into the rain hit poetic melancholy notes beyond simple tearjerking. (6/10)
*** Animation ***
The center of gravity in "Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san" animation are the fox-goddess' ears. The further apart an object is from them, the lower the animation quality. Even alleged mains like Nakano are no exception from this rule. Senkos elaborate design with big, expressive golden eyes, her detailed shrine maiden's hakama outfit, and most importantly the fluffy head and tail get the extra pen-stroke, and that's fine with me. The overall animation excluding her is just average, if not slightly below. Cost-saving techniques such as low-detail still backgrounds, zooms into stills, simplified faces, mouth moving only dialog animation and structure-less clothing are highly visible. The animation is not fully fluent all the time, often falling back to extended still montages.
Despite all that, the artwork's style resonates with a “made with love and passion” feeling in me. Summing this mixed results up, there is an overall average quality (4/10).
*** Sound ***
The show has a really catchy OP and an above average ED. Sound effects such as the clapping of Senko's wooden shoes or effects such as a chime when she perks her ears are appropriately used. There are recurring mini-themes of functional music for moods, persons and situations, many of them done using traditional Japanese instruments. This of course supports Senko-san's told-fashioned Japanese themes very well. Overall, the sound is solidly average, (5/10).
*** Characters ***
There are five characters in the cast. Beside the titular kitsune Senko, the second main (in name only) is self-insert MC Nakano, a burnt-out software engineer. Then there is the harem consisting of spoiled brat kitsune loli Shiro, her and Senko's voluptuous boss and femme fatale Sora, and the slightly maniac manga-drawing neighbor Yasuko Kouenji.
Senko is an very well designed character combining traditional Japanese values, unlimited vibrancy, and a smart polite humbleness. With up to eleven cuteness features such as fang, cat mouth, light clumsiness, and the sweetest pouting of the season you just can't avoid falling in love. There's some but not much character development with her, e.g. towards the end she develops jealousy towards other harem members approaching the MC. She's in full control of the events, without ever dropping her friendly to the point of submissiveness, humble and vibrant facade. This character carries the weight of nearly all of the show on her small shoulders, and makes it look easy.
MC Nakano is so self-insert that there literally is a first person view bonus scene after the ED in which he/you is given the pampering of the week. Nakano's genericness is emphasized by expressionless eyes, rudimentary drawing style, plain clothing, and mostly reactive dialog. He enjoys the kitsune show, but never is in control of it. Of course he recovers from his burn-out courtesy of Senko's influence, but neither is he ever fully cured, nor does he tackle the causes of his condition. In that sense, he is not developing at all. A typical plot point example for him is to teach Senko about some feature of the modern world, such as electricity. This earns him admiration for the miracle she just learnt about, cleverly assigned to the messenger. But in the end knowing how a vacuum cleaner works is nothing special.
The two other kitsunes are hardly more than fanservice girls and significantly more sexualized than Senko. Ironically it’s Nakano's neighbour Yasuko who seems to get the most character development of all the cast. She picks up cooking, gets her life organized, and starts to get out of her shell. (4/10)
*** Enjoyment ***
Yes, the show is quite enjoyable, just don't think too much about it's premise to avoid waking up. Despite average production values, flat cast beside best girl, and borderline-submissive plot for Senko she simply makes you smile and calm down. Moe design at it's best. Senko-san is heroin-grade escapism at highest degree of perfection. Just don't confuse that with real iyashikei (healing anime). One for the story, and six for the fox. (7/10)
*** Overall ***
(6+4+5+4+7)/26=5.1, which means average mainstream. "Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san" is an enjoyable, average show with a strong and cute female main. You will not regret watching it, but forget it the moment the next cute waifu is washed on the seasonal shores. For fans of lolis and furries, the show will surely become part of their "special list". Senko’s character makes up most of the fun, so I can understand perfectly well if people rate the show higher than 5/10. In the end, they rate the waifu, not the show - which is fine. I would defend my rating as a base line, just add extra points for fluffyness as needed. (5/10)
Yata_
Watching this show was, if nothing else, an interesting experience. Throughout this review, I am going to be constantly comparing it to Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, an excellent show of similar plot, but with some key differences that I think are particularly interesting to think about, however, you needn't have watched Kobayashi to understand my comparisons, I hope. To start off with, I will make this slightly strange statement: Depending HEAVILY on what you are looking for in a SoL anime, you will either find this anime WAY better, or WAY worse than Kobayashi. Why this is we will get into a bit as the review goeson, but this will sort of be the thesis of my whole review so please do keep it in mind as we go forward.
The plot of this show incredibly one-beat. The first episode introduces us to our main character, whose name doesn't at all matter, since he may very well be the most self-insertable character of all time. A late 20s to early 30s plank of wood with a fairly ambiguous "white collar" job that he is discontent with. He is afflicted with "anime-darkness disease", which is - as far as I can tell - just a black cloud manifestation of his discontent that may or may not also cause discontent in those around him. This isn't made all that clear.
In order to help him, the titular 800 year-old-fox-lolita-demigod Senko-san begins to live with him and "pamper" him in order to mitigate the aforementioned darkness. Basically, she is a house maid, but also a demigod, so she's good at everything.
For those of you who have seen Kobayashi... this is probably sounding a little bit familiar.
Senko-san is super cute, and her character design is cute - albeit a bit one-dimensional. Other than her desire to pamper Wood-kun and to make him happy after he comes home from work, there is basically nothing to her character. She is carefree, is a great cook, is 800 years old, and has a fluffy tail. That's it.
If you were looking for any of the characters to develop or change at any point, you are looking at the wrong anime my friend. Whereas Kobayashi forms a sort of family with Tooru and Kanna, and her behavior changes as a result of this, there is no discernible difference between Wood-kun at the beginning and end of the anime. He started out as a basically flawless character, and ended the same way, just now he had a fox-maid and is slightly happier.
He is a sad, overworked, white-collar worker in the beginning, and he becomes a slightly less sad, but still overworked white-collar worker in the end.
The anime ends by paying some lip-service to some sort of contrived conflict that doesn't really exist, but had to so that we can cry at the end.
All of the other characters are good (with a special shoutout to the next-door neighbor character, whom I found adorable), but none of them honestly matter that much to the plot. Honestly, I think that they were kind of just there so that there could be any variation in character interaction at all.
I've been told that this anime is part of a niche sub-genre of anime called "healing" anime, where you are supposed to project yourself onto the protagonist to such an extent that you yourself feel pampered by Senko-san (aided by first-person post credit scenes where Senko-san pampers the viewer directly), and thus you feel better in real life... or something like that.
Basically, the only reason why this anime exists is to be the ultimate form of self insert bait, and if that's what you're looking for, this is the anime for you.
The sound design in this anime is delicious, and the voice actors did an incredible job bringing characters to life that would otherwise be completely lifeless. They deserve my highest praise, especially the voice actors for Senko-san and the neighbor characters. Senko-san in particular uses a sort of antiquated diction in a cutesy, child-like tone, which is pulled off brilliantly by Ms. Azumi. Well done for sure.
Now, we are going to do a quick contrast of this anime with Kobayashi, and we are going to scout out some key differences between these two anime, which I hope can help to better characterize them.
Kobayashi is an inherently flawed character. She's dreary, pretty cynical, and is a borderline alcoholic. When she gets drunk (which she does often), she ranges from hyper-passionate, to outright abusive - at one point even going to far as to force Tooru to strip nude in a public place as she reprimands her about how she doesn't dress as a proper maid should. She is also a highly aloof genius, who rarely does anything of outside of work, drink with her friend from work, and shirk social interaction beyond the bare minimum.
The plot is kick-started by two of her key flaws: she drinks too much, and ends up talking to a dragon in the woods, with whom she continues to drink and complain about her day-to-day, before inviting the dragon back to her place to live as a maid. Then, when she wakes up and has to confront her mistake, she realizes that her aloofness has made her late to work, and thus is forced to reluctantly accept the dragon - named Tooru's help, marking the beginning of their relationship.
Wood-kun has exactly one character flaw to start: he doesn't get enough sleep.
Then, Senko-san shows up, and we remedy this problem almost immediately, and replace it with the problem that Wood-kun likes Senko's fluffy tail to an almost fetishistic degree. Now they live together.
As the story progresses for Kobayashi, she becomes evidently more cheerful, becoming more accepting of Tooru's affection and bumbling assistance, becoming a parental figure for Kanna, and becoming friends with a number of other dragons. She also drinks markedly less as the show goes on, and it's clear that the character that we end the series with is vastly improved from the one we start with.
Wood-kun gets pampered by the virtually perfect Senko-san. He eats various delicious-looking meals, gets massages, bathes, and cuddles with Senko-san's tail. She gets upset once or twice, which seems to have no real consequence.
In the end, Kobayashi completes her character arc by confronting powers far beyond her control in order to keep her new familial unit together, showing how strong she has become as a person through association with her new friends.
To avoid spoilers, I will simply assure you that there is no such confrontation for Wood-kun, and if there was, it would be contrived and terrible.
To make a long review short, if you simply want to feel good, and you want to be able to project yourself onto the main character, Senko-san is definitely the anime for you. If you want characters that grow and change, or if you want a story: just watch Kobayashi.
Score: 6/10
I appreciate what the anime was trying to do, and the anime is technically sound. If I were to describe it to one of my friends, however, I would probably shrug, and say: "Eh, it was fine".
fanvarg
Story: Nothing happens, its literally a fantasy scenario you are supposed to self insert to. its light on plot and simply boils down to cute things with cute girls, complete with the im 800 years old cop out. art and sound: music is happy and bright, art is colorful and the characters are cute and detailed....cept the MC who is ironically clouded in a black mist of stress which is about his personality. Again hes a self insert. Characters: senko is cute, neighbor nerd is entertaining, other foxes are fine. Mc is boring as mentioned. MC does creepy things, senko reacts with odd noises... this issomeones cup of tea but it isnt mine.
Enjoyment: i didnt. friend did. he argued its supposed to be bright and happy. i argued this is someones fap material and he didnt exactly disagree.
Overall:If your a loli or a furry or a perpetually unhappy person who needs a ray of sunshine...or all 3 youll probably love this. Anyone else dont bother. Theres better comedies. theres better harems. theres better slice of lifes. i cant shake the feeling this is geared towards a certain demographic, I mean someone drew her this way in a bathtub with a full grown adult man for a reason right?
MoonspiritX
The manga's artistic style is fine, but if I had to choose between the manga and the anime... I would pick the anime's style over the manga on the account of how much cleaner it looks. Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san is NOT a manga or anime I would recommend. Why? Because there is an extremely problematic element regarding Nakano and Senko's relationship and (by extension) most of the relationships in this story with exception to maybe his friendship with Koenji: pedophilia. You can tell me over and over again until you're blue in the face that Senko is 800+ years old and when it comes to the cultureof the gods, pedophilia might not be an issue, but that doesn't change the fact that the creators of this story thought it was a good idea to have the waifu in this look like a LITTLE GIRL. In fact, it's admitted in both the manga and the anime (when they first meet Koenji) that (as far as Senko goes) she's BOTH the WIFE AND THE MOTHER.
If I didn't know any better, I'd strongly believe that this was a male's fantasy story to an extent (which I can believe if you look at the artist's notes): coming home from a hard day at work and bringing in the bread to his wife who's not only beautiful and (dangerously) young, but is pampering him to his heart's content. With as young as Senko LOOKS (NOT IS), there is a disturbing implication: a child bride/wife.
Add the fact that all of the girls are young in some degree with the fact on how (at least two) of them dress, and it's only adding fuel to the fire. Sure, I've seen it common in stories from Japan to use sexiness as a joke, but when girls under the age of consent are seducing older men (in this case, Nakano) for any reason, you've got a problem.
I used to love this series for the hurt/comfort element and how sweet it was Senko just wanting to do something nice: on reflection, hurt/comfort one of my favorite genres. However, the underlying pedophilia ruins this series for me, and that sucks because Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san could've been something better.
ADelicateOrange
Some times the best pieces of art aren't the one's which wow with extreme elegance, or an overwhelming showcase of skill. Sometimes they are the ones who are true to their nature, and give us a sense of fulfillment that is rare to see. Senko-san has beautifully filled that sense of fulfillment niche with a grace and ease that I believe hasn't been done since the Aria franchise. The sense of nurturing and calmness that viewers get to experience is akin to a breezy, spring day with a warm cup of oolong tea. The complete environment that can whisk you away into a different place througha portal of serenity takes extreme care and effort.
Every single moment of Senko-san never loses its way with trying to be more than a fluffy-SOL that is meant to make you smile through personable, relatable interactions. This may not be a show that will entice everyone, and I can see for a crowd who want copious amounts of action that this would be far removed.
However, if you ever feel like you need an anime that is going to give you a loving-motherly hold, I cannot think of many better options than Senko-san. It won't blow you away with its art, sound, or character development. It is not that type of anime. It's a finessed 10/10 through its execution and niche.
Please give this anime a try. You won't need more than episode 1 to know whether you'll love it or hate it. Senko-San is the 1b to Attack on Titan's 1a for Anime of the Season.
zwolf12
Senko-san is an anime that aims at a certain audience, overworked and stressed otaku that have a lose grip on reality, but let's start from the beginning: The Anime follows the life of the standard salary man Nakano, that is basically a 'yes' man pushover that can't say 'no' to save his life. Thanks to that, basically his only character trait apart from his love for fluffy things, he is endlessly overworked in a job where he is seemingly surrounded by bad coworkers that shove their work on him. Some day a demigod fox girl (that is a 800-year-old legal loli, as the anime never fails tomention) drops into his life and starts pampering him to take away his stress that is so bad it manifests as a black aura around him and starts to threaten to infect other people around him (allegedly, we never see that happen).
That is all you need to know, because that is all that happens. Some shenanigans ensue with sometimes more and sometimes less awkwardness (bathing together, ear cleaning, eating, drinking etc.).
The problem with the show is twofold.
On one hand there are just better anime with similar concepts out there, Dragon Maid comes to mind or Sakura Quest.Those have more character depth and way more general development on every level and while Senko-san has decent animation, it is nowhere near KyoAni or PA Works.
It is just worse than the competition.
On the second hand it feels like the show endorses a lot of bad concepts. There is the implication of 'if you work hard and are overworked maybe you will get a dream wife somehow that makes all your problems disappear without you needing to do anything about your own life', which is clearly problematic and especially worrisome considering the Japanese work culture.
There is also the whole legal loli theme that makes things awkward and plays into certain tastes and is nothing to endorse, at least in my opinion, and most of the show can also be seen as mindless pandering to those questionable tastes.
In the end we have a show that excels at nothing.
The story is non existent. The art, animation and sound are all between 5-7, but the area where the good Iyashikei are weeded out from the bad, the characters, is an utter disaster. The characters are forgettable and worst of all, show zero growth over the course of the show and stay the same for the entire run.
Oh, and I didn't even mention the weird ego perspective parts that are usually situated after the ED with Senko directly talking to the viewers to give the sense that the viewer is the one having Senko caring for...
I can take some pandering here and there, some obnoxious lolis, or some characters that are less than deep, but this show has all of it and no redeeming qualities.
Overall I still give the show an average rating of 5, because the animation and sound is sometimes good and there is no fault in appreciating the work put into those parts, even if it is overall nothing special, but make no mistake this only leads to a very slim 5 that is probably more in the 4.6 area rounded up.
There might be people that need exactly what the show gives you (a legal loli that tells you that everything will be okay), but for everyone else, just stay away, you won't miss anything.
hexashadow13
tl;dr: An anime that’s very relaxing, though at time too much to the point it’s kind of boring. This anime is one that’s purely slice of life centered around being relaxing. There’s a bit of light drama here and there, but there isn’t really much substance to it, at least as far as the anime gets. There’s some romance too, but that too is pretty minimal with nothing like relationship development beyond setting up the initial premise. There’s comedy throughout as well, though surprisingly I felt this aspect too wasn’t all that common, and thus I don’t really consider this a comedy anime either. And thus we’releft with the slice of life aspect. There are other characters that have some presence, but the anime is very heavily centered around Nakano, an office worker who has a job so terrible that the stress from it is causing some sort of dark miasma to develop around him, and Senko, a fox deity that has come to pamper him in order to diminish his stress. There’s some variety to how this goes, such as in that it may involve other characters or there may be some event that initiates things, but in the end it usually comes down to Senko taking care of Nakano in various wholesome ways, ranging from cooking for him, giving him a massage, playing games with him, etc. Nakano himself is pretty much a blank slate self insert character for those feeling the weight of the daily white collar job grind who never really does anything of note and is thus hard to get invested in, but him being such a character allows Senko’s bright personality and kindness to shine through well so the overall dynamic is solid.
Ultimately, I would say that it does what it’s trying to do well, in that it does have a very relaxing feel. But at the same time, I felt that just that wasn’t enough to hold up the anime, and it overall started feeling like too much of the same thing. If there was a bit more of an overarching plot, if Nakano had more of a personality, if there were more characters and they had more of an impact, if there was more variety and quantity with the comedy, and/or if the show was just paced faster overall, then I think the good aspects of this anime would have shined through a lot better. However, that isn’t the case, and thus the anime overall felt pretty slow, even straight up dull at times.
The art and animation were pretty solid but not particularly exceptional. The character designs were also good for the three fox deities, though it wasn’t particularly good at using all of them as it was overtly focused on Senko. Designs outside of that weren’t particularly notable. The OP and ED were both solid in terms of audio and visuals and fit the anime well. The soundtrack also fit well, having tracks that were both relaxing and fit the fantasy related themes, though no single track was particularly memorable.
Kuioyo
Story 8/10: I really enjoyed the story even though it was as basic as a person being tired and a person coming to help them. It kept progressing and when it reached episode 7 or 8 (don't remember) where Sora came into the deal and kept saying about Senko's departure. In the last 2 episodes when Senko leaves I thought it would be one of those animes where it has an ending ending like there is a new season coming but in the end everyone was reunited and happy. Art 10/10: Everyone was well drawn some scenes seemed real. Ihave no words, it was just outstanding.
Sound 9/10:
Amazing. Alot of music was correct on the right timing. The only flaw I noticed is when Nakano had his summer "break" where the music stopped completely then resumed like nothing happened.
Characters:
Character development is important and this anime had one of the best. Every episode we learned something new each character. Sona started as a mysterious character and then was revealed to be the leader of the fox demigods and was even referred to as "Senko's Boss" by herself.
Overall 9/10:
Overall even though the story was a little weird with a guy being obsessed with touching tails it was really enjoyable to watch even if some scenes were a little cringy. I really wanted Shiro and Yasuko should have dated (yes ship ik) but I understand that Shiro is a fox demigod and Yasuko referred to herself as a "mere human".
DiscipleOfAzura
Mangaka is an overwork salaryman, decides to write manga about an 800yr old kitsune demigod who can look after him as a housewife. Yeah, and that's it. And yeah, it's still awesome. We (and by that, I mean ALL of us) are being pushed to get the maximum amount of producitivity and for very little reward or recognition. Isn't it time that all of us took a step back to acknowledge what we are doing for other people? This is what I like about this show, it takes an average man and allows him the luxury of being taken care of and/or allowing him to see whathe's doing to himself through the eyes of another.
Why you watch 'slice of life' shows is entirely up to you, but this was something quite special that I've not seen yet - in a genre that is beset by misunderstanding and inability to communicate, this show is the complete opposite. Watch it, embrace the fluff, and... melt yourself down into the world of having someone cook your evening meals for you when you get home.
proxime
helpful senko san is worse than indulgent--it's borderline offensive in its shallowness. well! that just about reveals my overall thoughts, but i'm not happy to leave it at just that. there's so many different things that bother me overall with sewayaki kitsune no senko-san that i'd feel wrong not touching on every single aspect--but first, a couple clarifications. one: i am aware that this is an adaptation. in this sense, i can forgive the team for simply doing their best to adapt what i assume to be just as awful material as what is animated. in another sense, i can't forgive the team when i consideradapting to be an art and that an adaptation should strive to eclipse the source material and exist as its own unique product. in a final sense, i can totally forgive the team because this was a tick-off-all-the-boxes money machine through and through and they chased that money to the bank because why the hell would they not. additionally, a lot of the complaints i'm going to have here are probably more than just senko-san, instead probably more appropriately focused on the "hole" it is digging into. but i watched senko-san, so here we fucking are.
enough preamble. first thing's first: the art is quite good. there's really never anything too special to look at: i don't remember more than four or five different environments even existing, the majority of the show taking place inside an apartment (not that this is a problem, but as far as art variety goes...). characters are certainly drawn appealingly, and there's rarely any animation that sticks out in a negative sense (with the only example really coming to mind being a backrubbing scene with zero weight or interaction to it). sound design is good, too, and it's not like any song in the show is obnoxious or anything. so hat's off, there.
now, let's dive in.
the first thing i want to truly ask: who is this show intended for? furthermore--what is helpful senko-san performing for exactly in its genre? this is half rhetorical--i realize obsessive otaku is the answer, but the other half is genuine, and reflective: what do otaku like about this? a slice of life anime involving cute girls doing cute things, for instance, is vapid but comfortable in its simplicity: cute girls really do just go around and do cute things for twelve episodes, ticking off the tropes of the genre and cementing themselves as the usual 7/10s that they are. helpful senko-san feels immeasurably worse than that concept, however. it bills itself as a "romance" involving a certain male nobody, a black hole of personality fit for self insertion, and a doting fox-girl who is completely and utterly sanitized to be a robotic personal maid/servant/lover/mother. now, whether the otaku audience has mommy issues or girlfriend troubles or anything else, i must ask this question i've been leading up to: is this show REALLY the aphrodisiac to the masses that it's set up to be? does it really placate otaku who yearn for these sorts of fantasies? as in... when the show is set up and finished and done, where exactly are you? a CGDCTSOL (how's that for a mouthful) is a window into the lives of cute girls screwing around and then you look away from the window. helpful senko-san is you, the viewer, stepping into the flesh suit of character nakano for twelve episodes, imagining yourself "pampered" and taken care of by the littlest most perfect aide to ever exist, and then it ends and...
well, i have trouble shaking away the imagery of seeing your self insert laugh along with all his friends in a richly colored world before the screen dims, the camera pulls back, and there sits the otaku, the illumination of his computer monitor not only capturing him but the squalor of his desk, the rows of beer bottles clumped together, an undone mattress in the corner, a--let me be direct. i am not making fun of senko viewers. what i am getting at is an unintentional cruelness on the part of the show: what is the archetype of those who self insert strongest supposed to do next? how do they even feel? how SHOULD they feel? and all of this leads to another line of questioning: am i projecting? hah, i suppose so, but the question stands. and another line of questioning: is there anything wrong with a self insert in a romantic setting? romance is a big genre, after all, so why am i being unfair towards this one when there stands thousands more? and now, we can take apart the meat of the show.
the helpful senko san is unbelievably shallow. ankle deep. the wet on your skin after a shower but before the towel. over twelve episodes, we meet five characters, and each one of them is, without exaggeration, absolutely nothing. main character nakano is an every man who works a demanding job (and i'll touch on that later) who has very, very, very simple characteristics: he is a hard worker. he likes to eat food. he can feel embarrassment. he plays video games and watches anime sometimes. that's it. there's the character. i'll just unzip his costume for you so you can gear up, okay? across from him is his lovely fox servant, senko, and here is her character: cheerful. doting. happy. subservient. docile. willing. very willing. exists for nakano. alright, there's your girlfriend for twelve episodes! or, wait, that's not right, because the show gets really, really weird with the crossing boundaries of what constitutes a marriage and what constitutes having a sugar mommy. indeed, these lines are blurred between whether nakano sees his submissive servant as his partner or his mom, and she feeds into it, and it's all... kind of disturbing, really. and empty, because there's so little to either of their characters that, really, whatever kind of "relationship" they form is vapid... and worthless. it's so much worse than just being "not that deep".
and to what plots do these characters engage in? all sorts! like... shopping for groceries. drinking. eating. taking a bath. using a vacuum cleaner. working. yeah, real exciting, but why is this different from the aforementioned CGDCTSOL genre? well, it's been awhile, but in the last two i watched--yuru yuri and new game--i seem to remember there being some forms of conflict and character squabbles in each episode, even if only slightly. characters in these shows somehow define themselves more than anyone in senko-san, and that's surprising... and kind of depressing. every episode here is a wet blanket of plot. there never exists any kind of real pushback to anything save for an absolutely paper thin pathetic attempt at underlying drama that one will unearth for themselves should THEY choose to follow this episodic virtual pampering. and, again, if the point isn't to watch cute girls do cute things nor to have any sort of real, substantial plot develop, then the point has to be, again, to self insert and indulge myself. but what am i indulging in? nakano gets a backrub. i'm not getting a backrub. i'm not getting anything.
i've written way, way too much about such an empty show, but this last bit of criticism is something i feel more necessary than anything else: helpful senko-san plays with the idea of critiquing the rigorous and disgustingly unhealthy standard of japan working culture. the phase is "plays with it", unfortunately, and that pisses me off, because why do it all then? in almost every episode, we get glances into his working life, the unfair conditions, the constant stress imbued, the, frankly, harassment stemming from his coworkers and boss that feed into his own time, the... oh, it's all such bullshit because nakano just shrugs it off, right. well, he's got senko-san, it's all okay! that's fucking great, but there's millions of workers who DON'T have senko-san, and they DO face the constant horseshit conditions that nakano does, and the show just doesn't do enough with the window it offers. lean into it more, damn it. have some teeth, you pathetic otaku fantasy. a conversation begins with the easiest placation an anxious populace purposefully seeks--entertainment.
... sorry, one more quip. i don't fucking get the tail thing. at all
Vatmann
Well it's my first time writing a review so I'll keep it a short one. I watch Shonen anime most of the time. When I start feeling bored (I don't get bored easily though) I jump to a Slice of life or Comedy anime. A friend of mine said when you rewatch something over and over again you'll get bored for sure. And to be honest I rewatched a big arc of one piece to feel nostalgic. But knowing what will happen every time got me bored. So I was searching for something refreshing. Then I came across this one. This anime's main attraction is Senko-san. She isa type of demigod who finds happiness by pampering people. The pampering felt so good that I watched the whole series in a day hahaha.
And what's more important that I'm back to my old self again. People have different tastes in different things. I got bored and watched this anime in a coincidence. But I think even when you're not bored and if you watch this anime you will enjoy it.
"Just let Senko-san pamper you"
ShiroFox2
honestly i wanted to watch this anime for a while. it seemed like kobayashi's dargonmaid and i loved that anime so i thought this one is good too i was wrong. so wrong. a little bit right but a whole lot wrong. let's start from the story, the backstory is disorganized and has a ton of holes in it and missing parts that we dont learn enough about at all. the main story of the show is boring, dull and annoying. every episode is literally the same. no special event, almost 0 jokes and no new characters after episode 4, or rather even the other characters besides the mainones almost never show. the jokes were also repeated almost every episode which made the show more annoying.
the art, music and voice acting were great tho.
the characters lacked... stuff.
it felt like the show was "here are our characters, here is stuff they like and how they act, now have it like that for the whole show".
the show was really boring and i am honestly surprised i managed to watch it without skipping anything. i honestly wanted to give the show a chance but it was just dissapointing.
overall if you want a chill nice and cute anime i recommend kobayashi or blend s over senko-san.
if you watched both, go watch one of them again, do yourself a favor and dont watch this anime.
i would like to see a season 2 where the main characters are shiro and koenji and stuff happens to them though. it seems much more interesting and i really wish we'd get more of them in the show, could've easily saved it.
i would not recommend this anime. if anyone would ask my opinion on it, i'd say it was boring and not worth the time.
Michael76
Short Review Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san is an anime about deities fox and human. The anime is 12 episodes long, which consists of the combination of the slice of life, comedy, supernatural, and a little bit of romance, I think (I doubt about this anime’s romance genre, though). The story’s concept is the deity fox can see the darkness surrounding humans and try to help and save them before too late. The story itself is entertaining and engaging. The arts are well-animated, and the music, opening song, and ending song are catchy. It revolves about the Senko and Nakano. Senko is the golden-color deity fox who helpNakano to help relieve stress because of the overwork. She helps Nakano a lot of things, such as housing, cleaning, cooking, and even… (watch it yourself). It has a cute opening in the introduction and a solid conclusion in the ending. Not only the main characters are well-development, but the side characters are good introduction and development, too.
Even though this anime is pretty good, of course, this anime isn’t for all people. I strongly advise people who hate the slice of life or maybe cliché story and supernatural to avoid this anime no matter what. If you hate to see a loli character (this one is 800 hundred years old, so it’s legal anyway), better get out and watch another anime or movie. Overall for myself, I really enjoy it, and I can replay one scene several times. The comedy is amusing, and also the story is very heartwarming. It even is in my favorite list. It’s worthy to re-watch in the future. In the end, if you love heartwarming and the slice of life story, you mostly will love this.
Long Review
After complete watching Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san, I will give my review and opinion.
Story and Plot (9/10)
The story is about a slice of life, which means daily life. I think the story is inspired by overworking in Japan. You may search for the information or literature about overworking or reality in there if you want to know comprehensively. In my opinion, this issue isn’t only in Japan, but also in most countries in the world. The story starts about the Nakano is overworking in the company. Every day he looks exhausted and eats instant foods. Then, one day, Senko, the golden-color deity fox, come to his place and cooking food to him. She tries to pampering him to relieve his stress about work, and thus the story begins.
Though the story’s concept is a little dark, it delivers to the audience is really well. You won’t be confused about the story because it is easy to follow. The anime is full of comedic and heartwarming time. I really like how the interaction between Senko, Nakano, and others who support the story. Their interaction is written really well and even well-development. It has good consistency in the development and story. There are no sexualized, even though the description says something like a special service as long as I watch. It is really full of heartwarming moments, so you don’t have anything to worry about. I feel the comedic is pretty well, and I even replay it several times. It even makes me remember how good childhood is. Overall, I really enjoy it, and I may re-watch in the future.
Art and Animation (9/10)
The art and animation are well-drawn and pictured. It has excellent art both as a whole and in detail. They draw the character is so lovely and charming, especially Senko. The background is beautiful and really emphasis the atmosphere and mood about the story. The change from one scene to another scene is really fluent and smooth. You can see how beautiful the sunset, beach, and snow at specific episodes. The opening art is really well done, and the ending of the art is really heartwarming. Personally, I love pout-face and angry-face Senko. Anyway, you mostly won’t complain about the art.
Sound and Music (10+/10)
OST is pleasant to hear. Both the opening and ending are catchy, and the lyrics describe the story’s general really well. Combination with opening and ending, and it will be perfect. Voice Actor’s voice is excellent to tell us about the mood and situation of the story.
Character (9.5/10)
It’s rare to watch anime with almost all characters is well-development. Every character is well written. Every character has their own story, such as why Senko helps Nakano, why Nakano still works in that company. Furthermore, The interaction between the characters is really engaging, interesting, and funny. Not only the main characters’ interaction but also with support characters’, too.
Enjoyment and Conclusion (10+/10)
I am lucky to find this anime. The mix of the slice of life, comedy, and supernatural are magnificent. It’s pretty rare to see fox human in anime, so I really like it. Moreover, It’s a pure comedy, and I really like it. Besides, it has a good message for all of us, too. For me, it is to enjoy more about our life and give more time to our family. You can watch it yourself to see what message you can get. In the end, this anime is really enjoyable, and I really love it. I wish I can have the helpful fox-like Senko.
Overall (10+/10)
I take note of my score (1-12) from all episodes (12) and OP/ED.
Episodes - Score
(1) - 10, 10, 9.75
(4) - 10, 9.75, 10
(7) - 9.75, 10 9.5
(10) - 10.5, 8.75, 9.5
Total Raw Score: 116.75
Main Anime Score: 117.5 / 12 x 10 x 90% = 88.11
Opening & Ending Score: 110 x 10% = 11
Total score is 99.19 that means overall score is 10.
It is one of my favorite anime, really worth for re-watch.
I hope my review will help you!!!
PyraXadon
You know, even though I've read the manga, it wasn't until I watched the anime that I realized the depressing undertones this series actually has. Oh well, cute fox mom/wife ahoy nanoja and all that. Story: The kitsune are a divine order of demigod spirits that serve to help humanity during hard times. On one particular case involving an overworked salaryman by the name of Kuroto Nakano, the spirited Senko nominates herself as to be his caretaker to help wipe away the stress and negative emotions that plague this lonely man's life. With each episode based around roughly two episodes of the manga, Senko-san is a series builtaround the general schtick of seeing Nakano go about his daily life being pampered by and taken care of by this eight hundred year old fox through various means after work. Episodes consist of the characters having a nice home-cooked meal or spending some time off either at home or somewhere outside, almost always wrapped around a story set in the slice of life genre with fluffing Senko's tail typically being the show's running gag as the allure of a cute foxgirl's tail is too much for one man to handle.
Because of this, Senko-san doesn't really stray too far in its storytelling and is one of those series's that's good for a nice bit of unwinding, as there's hardly any episode drama and the pleasant ease of its overwhelming slice of life elements is the kind of comfort and tone the show sets out and exceeds in. Pacing's pretty casual as a result and I think it's definitely worth watching for the more casual audience. The one 'anime-only' detail I find uncomfortable happens after the credits and actually gives the show a dark undertone especially in relation to Japanese culture.
After the credits roll and just before the next episode preview, the show takes a few minutes in a first person POV perspective where Senko welcomes the viewer home, treats them to dinner, all while pausing briefly every so often as if she's waiting for a response with appropriate screen shakes for 'yes' and 'no'. It's intended to put the viewer in the shoes of Nakano and be pampered by Senko which, given the current status of Japanese salary workers and the declining birth rates due to various factors, paints a really grim picture on who this series, especially these scenes, are intended for. I am not a fan of this and I honestly think it spoils the show's good points with what I believe to be a cultural dysfunction in the home country. But that's just my take of the matter.
Characters:
The titular Senko is an eight hundred year old Kitsune who enjoys being the homemaker, enjoying all manners of chores such as cooking and cleaning. In essence, the perfect housewife in a small foxgirl package with the tic of 'Nanoja' tacked on to every sentence she says. Due to the content of the series, there's not really a lot of depth to Senko or the rest of the cast for that matter, so she pretty much stays static throughout. The only real complexity has to deal with some backstory that Senko has in regards to Nakano's family line, a footnote that's only rarely taken into consideration, which I find to be a shame because it's clear the backstory has a lot more than meets the eye. Nonetheless, I still find her to be enjoyable because she is ultimately what gives the series its casual and warm tone and atmosphere.
Kuroto Nakano conversely serves as the target of Senko's pampering, spending a majority of the series undergoing a massive character change in atmosphere on account of his constant reactions towards Senko's aggressively warm and homely actions, rivaled only by his love for soft and warm fox tails. He's kind of the series's version of a payoff since his happiness and head clarity are the reason why Senko is taking care of him in the first place. His depth is even less than what Senko has, only having maybe one scene in regards to the time they met before in the past. But for a slice of life series, that's not really a major concern though I wish there was more detail put into that.
The rest of the cast is filled by Shiro and Sora, Senko's friend and boss respectively, and Kouenji, a mangaka who's also Nakano's neighbor. This frighteningly small cast largely fills up the second half of the series where the show focuses more on social activities with others rather than just ones in the home, and they all pretty much stay static throughout the series's runtime. Shiro is the haughty and confident kitsune with a love for Senko's cooking and Kouenji's a mangaka who runs on fumes, deadlines, and an anime about a magical girl kitsune named Yoko. The only unfortunate cast member is Sora who gets hardly any screentime (even in the manga) despite being the supposed boss of Senko and such. I just wish there was more of her because the teasingly seductive nature in kitsune lore is really only touched on by her and it's clear her age has brought about wisdom not known by many of her contemporaries.
Aesthetics:
Doga Kobo pretty much only knows how to do one thing and that's 'cute'. Senko-san is pretty standard by the company's usual standards and modern anime, so there's not much to note beyond the bright colors and the cute designs similar to that of the original manga. There isn't much animation since hardly anything heavy drawing-wise happens over the course of the series, and in place of that, we get consistency and few animation errors as far as I can see. It's cute, it's charming, not really much else to say honestly.
Because the series makes such a massive effort to run the gag of fluffing the tails of adorable foxgirls, both the OP and ED are conveniently named "Koyoi mofumofu!!" and "Moffumoffu DE Yoi no Ja yo" in order to continue that theming. Both are sung by Senko's VA with Shiro's acting as a backup for OP and honestly I don't find a lot to note about them beyond: catchy. They're both really cute songs all about fluffing, and that's pretty much all they are. Catchy lyrics, cheerful melodies, fits the show, fits the overall tone, but that's about all I can really say.
Personal Enjoyment:
I'm pretty sure there was a weird switch in my head that flipped the moment I heard that this series was getting an adaptation. I've been a fan of this series since the series's infancy for the manga, and I was extremely happy and surprised to see this series get an anime adaptation as soon as it did. So really I don't have many complaints about the series because I still enjoyed the content adapted from the manga to its fullest now that it was in animated form.
Aside from the uncomfortable aftercredits scenes involving the viewer in the shoes of Nakano, I honestly expected Senko's VA to be a bit scratchier or 'older' in my head since she's commonly referred to be more like an old woman instead of a cute, modern housewife. It's a weird thing to complain about I know, but it's how I always imagined her talking in my head, so having her sound like a cute younger girl in animation threw me for a loop. They still manage to execute the 'old woman' joke a few times with some success, but part of me is a bit disappointed with the casting in the end even if it doesn't really ruin the experience all that much. There's also the lack of Sora and the kind of sadistic antics she gets up to behind the scenes in contrast to the show's usually happy exterior, but that's more of a criticism for the series as a whole rather than just the anime.
As for recommendations, I think Senko-san is a good series if you're looking for something to relax to. It's not something that's outlandish or does anything innovative beyond 'cute fox mom/wife' (which is her actual self-proclaimed role in the show), but it does give this pleasant homely feel that a lot of slice of life beyond a few rare shows like Sweetness and Lightning don't really do. So if you want something to unwind to, I highly suggest this one. Just my suggestion though, cut off the episode the moment the credits start rolling. You really don't want to see what comes after that.
EOLAnime
This show is nothing but pure good times and self-care. Honestly, I think most people would see this as a temporary antidote for depression. The show is incredibly laid back, and super easy to binge, our main idea here is that the helpful fox god Senko is doing nice things for Nakano to relieve his stress, she does whips out the fried tofu, uses tail tactics and is generally pleasant to be around. Not that I have any issue with the show though it may sound like it soon. Nothing really happens, each episode is a continuation from the last but they could, for the most part,be watched out of order and still make just as much sense, though that's fine since the show isn't about pushing groundbreaking stories or developing our characters (Some happens but not enough to mention it as a key point) since they are already fantastic characters who just need or want to chill.
This show is so sweet and really worth the time investment, The characters both main and side are enjoyable, you won't fall off your chair laughing but you will crack a smile. I recommend it.
