Inukami

(All episodes watched--twice):

A skilled martial artist is distraught at being defeated by a team of beautiful girls who are actually Inugami. He relates his humiliation to his master, who becomes fascinated by these worthy opponents and resolves to challenge them himself. Except for one thing--the guy wasn't actually a martial artist, he was a panty thief. That's what to expect from Inukami!

Knowing nothing, I originally downloaded episode one to get an idea what this show was about. The impression I got from the first scene was that this would be a serious, dramatic magical fighting show; this wasn't what I was looking for, and I switched to another disc. After reading Jan-chan's review, I gave it another try and realized that my initial impressions couldn't have been farther off. This is a risque, silly, and genuinely funny series--just what I was looking for! After seeing main character Keita get leg-humped (well, sorta) by burly men possesed by the spirits of dogs, I could only exclaim "this show is crazy!" (in a good way). There's definitely something unconventional about the style of animation Inugami employs, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

Ah, Inukami--a near perfect balance of perversion and comedy; just the way that subject ought to be handled. The episodes got less flagrantly perverted with time (though Youko applied for a job in a "Moe Cosplay" joint, which was good). Inukami is definitely a cut above the usual anime comedy; there's a certain chemistry between Keita and Youko, which is fun. The episodes arrived so far apart that I had a hard time keeping track of the ongoing plot, but that's no big deal because they are fun even if I watch them in a completely episodic manner. Indeed, I started watching the series over from the start even before I'd seen the last couple of episodes. The series as a whole seems pretty episodic at first, but characters recur and there's a method to this madness as the plot builds towards a dramatic conclusion. As soon as new episodes became available, I watched them rightaway--that's about the most sincere compliment I can offer! The boxing match (of a sort) between Keita and a shinigami was great. I can't claim that this is a perfect show, nor can I think of any flagrant flaws with it, which doesn't make writing a review any easier. I guess it just has a unique style of risque humor to it, which combined with an amusing and endearing cast makes this a fun show to watch.

P.S: I read about an incident in Japan in which an otaku was extremely pissed when an episode of this show was delayed due to a sporting event which ran overtime, and consequently he couldn't tape it. This person sent what appeared to be a human bone to the TV station as a token of his anger. Now this is the sort of person who gives "otaku" a bad connotation!

My favorite line: "I only need one hole!" --Karina-san

OK ..having seen up to episode 2, I can safely call this series to be a very silly, light hearted and slapstick story that deals not only with Keita’s various perverse desires, but also with a number of perverted spirits (lets just say that there are lot of elephants in this series). This might rate as high as a silly and spastic <watch>, but probably not anything more.

Update - episode 6 has been release by Mendoi (but I really like the Himitsu releases as well!)

This series is beginning to grow on me. While Keita is still a pervert, he is growing up and the focus is less on his 'bad behavior' and more on the story. Keita and Youko become involved with another tamer family, so Youko has to contend with other Inumgais, not only for her standing within the spirit dog-god pack (or tribe), but also for her exclusive rights to be the only Inumgai for her Keita!

I have to admit that this series has crawled up to a <rent> rating, but I have only seen up to episode 6.