3ET: Gingitsune

His paw is bigger than her head. That's adorable

Studio: Diomedea

Director: Misawa Shin (Initial D, Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse)

Writer: Yamaguchi Hiroshi (Rosario to Vampire, To Heart)

Main Cast:

Kanemoto Hisako as Saeki Makoto

Miki Shinichirou as Gintarou

Character Design: Ide Naoi (Mondaiji-tachi ...) and Matsumoto Mayuko

Music: Katou Tatsuya (Free, Mirai Nikki)

Exposure to Japanese culture is one of the things I enjoy the most about being an anime fan. Sure, it's almost always an idealized version of Japan, but it provides something different from the stuff seen in Western media. Yes, the Japanese high schools are their own cliche at this point, but the shows about Japanese spirits and monsters are usually intriguing as long as some effort is put into making them. Gingitsune straddles both the high school world and the spirit world, and it's time to see how well it is able to do this.

Gingitsune's plot is about a girl named Makoto, the daughter of a priest at a Japanese shrine. Also living at the shrine is the fox spirit Gintarou, who serves as a herald between humans and the gods. Makoto is the only one who can see Gintarou, and the show follows their daily lives. So far, it's a true slice-of-life show, in that we see Makoto's life at school as she makes new friends, and at home as she interacts with Gintarou as well as other spirits she comes across. The high school stuff is not as interesting as the spiritual stuff, but at least there is some conflict that needs to be resolved so I'm not falling asleep waiting for Gintarou to show up.

Gintarou having a pensive moment.

And Gintarou is the star of the show for me. He shows a lot of patience when dealing with Makoto, an impressive feat since she is a teenage girl. He helps her tell fortunes for her classmates, finds lost cats, and transports a spirit from a destroyed shrine to a new home. But, this isn't some gruff exterior where the heart of gold is hidden from everyone. It's obvious that he cares for Makoto, as he spends part of the second episode trying to get her to truly open up about her issues at school. It's also obvious that despite enjoying his time with Makoto, he misses his former partner (heralds come in pairs in this world), despite him being more dishonest about this fact.

The human characters are a good mix thus far, with Makoto a good foil for Gintarou. Her well-meaning father can't see Gintarou, but he believes he's there and tries his best to support Makoto. The two girls who serve as her friends are obvious representatives of the delinquent and the rich girl archetypes, and thus clash with Makoto having to act as the mediator. This particular dynamic isn't the best, but as far as high school girl dynamics go, it's fine. Nothing spectacular has really happened yet, but there are a couple characters from the OP to be introduced, so I hope the main plot starts going once they show up.

Makoto knows how to bribe her fox-spirit to do her bidding. Oranges.

All in all, Gingitsune hasn't blown me awy, but it's an easy pass. It might not be the best show of the season, but I enjoy the characters and want to see more of them. And after watching several shows where I wanted nothing more to do with anyone, that is a welcome change of pace.