First Impression – Inu x Boku SS

Now it’s time for our first episode of Inu X Bishies! ..oh wait I mean Boku, but you get the drift.

Wohoo finally Fujiwara Cocoa’s manga has been adapted into anime. Though I don’t know what to say about this one since I’ve never read this one yet, but I’m sure it will be great because I always ended up liking her works. Here I come, bishie doggy!

I’ll admit that what drew me to this series was that it looked like Yamada from Working’!! had caught a bishie and was trying to force it to adopt her (a scenario I would love to see), and not that said bishie had the bi-colour eyes, cried like an uke, and was also some kind of fox demon. Oh, no. That never ever crossed my mind. Okay, maybe once. Or twice. A few times…Alright, alright! He’s hot, and that’s why I’m here.

Oh look, it’s the shounen show that’s not really shounen. Confusing genre’s aside, I AM EXCITED FOR THIS (just like I am for pretty much every other anime out there). …For the heterochromia bishie. Why can’t heterochromia be more common?

Woo~ Inu x Boku is finally here, when the show was announced the synopsis caught my attention right away, the whole secret service-thing sounds like it could be interesting … I’m not so sure about the fox spirit though … Anyway, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it!

The moment I set my eyes on the preview image for Inu X Boku SS, I already knew I was definitely going to watch it. Heterochromatic youkai butler bishie = automatic win for me. This is actually the show I’ve been looking forward to the most this season for ALL THOSE BISHIES (call me shallow ;_;) and my fangirl mode is activated and ready to go hyper!

Say hello to our charming female lead, Ririchou Shirakin. She’s absolutely adorable, a combination of a loli and a tsunshun – similar to a tsundere, the only thing is that she puts on a cold and arrogant mask, and then regrets it and feels bad about it later on. And I thought tsunderes were hard to handle… *facepalm* Anyways, she’s moving in into the Ayakashi Mansion, which is basically a high-class, top-security mansion for the chosen ones (sounds pretty elitist to me) and her childhood friend, Renshou Sorinozuka (aka Bishie with the Tattoos) is prompt in giving her a warm welcome.

Tsun tsun tsun tsun tsun

She then encounters Soushi Miketsukami (aka Heterochromatic Butler Bishie), who introduces himself as her butler slave dog from the Secret Service of Ayakashi Manshion. With tears in those beautiful eyes of his, he dramatically proclaims that there is no other purpose in his life, other to serve his beloved ojou-sama for all eternity. During the next few days, Soushi is completely and wholeheartedly dedicated to catering for Ririchou’s every need. Regardless of how tsun and cold she acts towards him, he seems utterly unfazed and even asks her to “dispose of him” if he is deemed no longer useful. Although Ririchou would probably rather die than admit it, his caring words and thoughtful actions were beginning to rub off on her. I mean, where do you even find such a hot sexy devoted butler like Soushi?

B-but those watery eyes, that sad smile, I-i cant…

While Soushi gives her a tour of a house, they run into their fellow Secret Service tenants – Nobara Yukinokouji, the quintessential lesbian character who happens to have a very ‘open’ *cough* personality and Karuta Roromiya, the reserved glutton who has another dark, unspeakable side. On a talk she has with Souji while strolling in the garden, Ririchou reveals that her anti-social behaviour was first induced by the bullying and stereotyping she was subject to when she was younger (*rolls eyes* figures) and her aim in coming here was to tear down that cold wall.

YOU’RE SO MOE I WANT TO *censored* AND *censored censored ceensored*!

That night, a burglar interrupts Ririchou’s daily lamenting session and demands her to hand over all her money, threatening her with a gun. Psssshft, you mess with the wrong household, burglar. Ririchou’s eyes start to glow creepily, and oh it’s probably about time to introduce the fact that no one in this mansion is actually human. The trusty little dog he aspires to be, Soushi arrives soon and blocks the incoming bullet, and all the tenants present transform into their youkai forms, working together to scare the shit out of the poor burglar who finally makes a smart move and runs for his life.

And what were you saying about how easy it was to break in again? *sickly sweet smile*

Soushi then reveals that he was the half-kitsune she saved when they were younger, and for that, he was forever indebted to her. Taking chance of the beautiful scenery and perfect atmosphere, he asks once again if she would allow him to stay by her side, and a very embarrassed Ririchou agrees. Perhaps it was because there was a sexy heterochromatic half-kitsune bishie kissing the tip of her foot when she was half-naked – that was probably why the next morning, when Soushi innocently twists her words and blackmails her using the very words she said last night, Ririchou starts to regret her decision. Looks like she’s going to be stuck with him for a long, long time.

More HNGGGGG for everyone:

HNGG Soushi, you’re so much more sparkly and beautiful, I’ll pick you over Edward Cullen any day.

A-alright, just stop looking at me with those big sorrowful eyes ;_;

Hehe, should I take this time to mention that I’m a stalker? But I love you, Ririchou-sama~ :3

End Thoughts:

Man, this whole thing sure screams “Fujiwara Cocoa” and “Square Enix” to me. Well, not really the Square Enix. I know that Fujiwara Cocoa’s works are always under Square Enix. Hehe. Ahem, but yeah, it really screams Fujiwara Cocoa. Bishie male protagonist? Check. Male protagonist is not human? Check. Male protagonist is a stalker? Check. Tsundere female protagonist? Check. Female protagonist has special power? Check. Female protagonist is socially awkward? Check. Even the male protagonist is like the white hair version of the Demon King from Watashi no Ookami-san (which was a good manga IMO). Oh wait, the protagonists exactly look like the characters from Ojousama to Youkai Shitsuji! Talk about being exactly similar. All I need to know now is whether Inu x Boku’s butler knows all the lines from Gundam movies just like the butler from Ojousama to Youkai Shitsuji. Not that I mind seeing her having the exact same characters in all of her works, but sometimes I wish she has different type of protagonists.

I shouldn’t say that though since there’s a big change in Inu x Boku. Known as a big fan of Final Fantasy, most of her manga have some kind of RPG feeling in them (the ones with multiple books). However, Inu x Boku is not like that. This might look simple, but this is definitely a sign that Fujiwara Cocoa wants to try something different. As a fan of Fujiwara Cocoa’s woks, Inu x Boku is like a new breeze to me, and I like it.

Now, let’s talk about the story. The story is somehow interesting, especially the part where the apartment owners are partially youkai. I’m not into the female protagonist since she’s rude, but I can let that pass since she was bought up in an unusual way. I love the fox youkai though. His hair is silver, and his eyes have different colors. Both are definitely something I dig from bishies. And NGGGHHH HanaKana is there too! Yay for HanaKana! Although the animation is not that great, the story (and the bishie butler) is interesting enough to perk my curiosity, so this is definitely in my watching list. And as a fan of Fujiwara Cocoa, I’m curious how this manga, this very first un-RPG manga of hers, will end up.

Honestly, I didn’t expect it to be this good. Our main is actually pretty interesting. She’s a different breed of tsundere. A rare one. And I really thought she was going to be the deal-breaker for me when I saw previews and kind of decided what kind of character she was going to be by how she looked. She turned out to have a bit more of an edge to other tsunderes because really she is quite resigned. Her tsun-ness doesn’t come from her throwing a tantrum, she goes the other way by being quite sharp and cold. I like that. It’s just easier to watch. The downside is that the front she puts up is a lot more interesting than her real personality.

She is pretty boring and pathetic, so personally, I would rather see her being a bitch to people. Unfortunately this fox is going to condition that out of her and teach her to “open up her heart” and all that bullshit. I am enjoying how much he cries. It’s so moe. He’s also very funny, but with Yuichi Nakamura at the helm what else do you expect? Tattoo-face is entertaining, especially in his interactions with our main. I like how quick he is to call her out on her fake personality. The writing is actually what grabbed me first. “It’s like the house I am part of is a bigger part of me than myself.” – What a great fucking line. Nice bits of writing like that are so rare in anime. Oh, and “Of course I mean in a sexual way!” is now my new catchphrase.

The animation is really nice, but to a certain extent they abuse it. I get a bad feeling our little loli might just turn into “Ciel with titties” …and I don’t have anything against Ciel, but if that’s the case then we are going to have to endure a lot from her. Uncomfortable panty shots. Inappropriate angles. The are already appearing. The fanservice just seems distracting from what it is at it’s heart; a good show with strong characters. A lot of good shows have been ruined by fanservice, I’d hate to see it happen here where things are so promising.

Yeah, okay, there were loli pantsu/boobs. I guess this IS a shounen.  Could have fooled me with all of those bishie sparkles. Anyways, I’d say this was a success! Or I enjoyed this at least. They added in a ton of pretty mild fanservice that wasn’t in the manga (or if it was, then I managed to completely ignore it. I’ve gotten good at that.), but I guess they needed to bring in male viewers somehow. I can assure you that 99% of them aren’t watching for Soushi. I swear, they upped his …loyalness in this. Move over Sebastian, there’s a new pedobear butler in town! Sadly, I don’t think the phrase “One dog of a butler” is going to catch on anytime soon. For obvious reasons.

There’s something off about Nakamura Yuichi as Soushi (maybe because I’m so used to him acting like a trap in a gay bar), but I can’t really complain since I like the guy’s voice. Of course, Hanazawa’s character, Karuta is adorable (great casting choice there) too. Dear lord, the deepened voice that came with her skeleton transformation was a shock though. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Hanazawa’s voice in such a low tone xD. My favourite casting overall would be Hikasa Yoko as Nobara. It just works so well when I wasn’t sure if it would or not.

I also love what the animators did with the eyes when the residents go youkai mode! I can’t wait to see Ririchou in her transformation since I absolutely love her outfit. So yeah, overall, they did an awesome job at introducing the characters and setting up the general plot. …Not that there really is much of a plot from what I’ve gathered in the manga, but they’ve introduced what will happen over the entire anime pretty well. I can’t wait for more!

Ahmagawd, that was so awesome! That fox bishie! That frosty lesbian! That giant freaking skeleton! That Kana Hanazawa! Okay, okay, I’ll calm down. But really, I think this was a surprise hit of the season, for me at least, it started off super slow and I couldn’t help but feel like it was going absolutely nowhere, but then it picked up when the other secret service members started to get introduced. I also found myself laughing inexplicably from time to time. When the guy with face mark turned into a flying scroll … yeah, I had to pause the show to regain composure. I guess that’s what happens when you watch anime right after a Modern Family marathon. -_-

I’m not sure how I feel about Ririchiyo yet, to be honest I liked even some of the minor characters more than her. Hm. I guess it’s just her personality that puts me off, but I definitely prefer her inner personality that she doesn’t want other people to see to her outer, colder one. I just want to shake her and tell her to open up to people! (Though, she has a strange habit of saying everything she’s thinking out loud.) Soushi on the other hand is so hilarious, I usually hate the typical bishie-servants, but his obedience is pretty funny and I’m interested in his fox powers and what they have to with Ririchiyo.

Other than the cast I also love the way everything looks. The apartment complex in general feels somewhat dull in comparison to the brightness of the characters, who sort of bring the show to life with their personalities. I’d definitely say that I’m watching this mostly for the characters now, since the “story” is not all that interesting to me. Ergh, there are so many great series this season and I haven’t even started some, but I’m glad I gave Inu x Boku a random try because it was a lot of fun to watch.

I LOVED IT SO, SO MUCH. I will admit that my inexplicable attraction and fondness for this anime is largely due to a certain devoted butler, but hey, you can’t blame me! This is a sexy heterochromatic bishie we’re talking about, and a sexy heterochromatic butler that freaking sparkles and can hold that much tears in his puppy-dog eyes. I can’t resist that! What I felt after watching that episode could be summarized into one sentence:  ~*EVERYTHING IS SOUSHI AND NOTHING HURTS*~

Okay, I should probably control my inner squealing fangirl now and move onto the other less significant characters. I’m actually liking Ririchou for now, and I will continue to do so unless she turns out to be another one of those female characters that seem to always seem to need someone else to save her sorry ass. Yes, her background story is cliché, but I find her rather endearing, and I understand why Soushi could see the need to protect such a precious little thing. Damn girl, you are lucky. I am also very interested in the different youkai forms of each character so far – we only got to see a small part of them this episode, so I’m hoping to get to learn more about them in the near future.

The animation style? Eye candy, just pure eye candy. I have always liked pretty, glossy styles and this hit it right in the nail. I love everything – the character designs and the colors used for their eyes, hair, etc. It’s so appealing and it draws me in into the anime, contributing to my overall enjoyment of the episode. :3 The ED was… fine, but not fantastic. Where is my OP?! I do hope that it will be more impactful than the ED though.

The many romantic tendencies are obviously signs of a shoujo anime and I can’t really see it as anything else. I haven’t watched this genre of anime (romance + supernatural) in a long time because I haven’t been able to find any good ones recently, but Inu X Boku SS looks incredibly promising! Romance is actually my favorite genre ever so I would be looking forward to seeing some love in the air (hopefully) and not only vague hinting, or I will enter a fangirl rage. xD I WANT MY LOVEY-DOVEY SCENES >))) So yes, I really enjoyed this, and I’m pretty sure I will continue to enjoy it for subsequent episodes. Staying tuned!~

Preview:

About Tag Team

We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.