Ranked #548

Inu x Boku SS

Regardless of how unoriginal, clichéd or poorly written a story is, so long as it contains characters which appeal to the otaku fanbase, it can be adapted into an anime. Now this isn’t to say that all titles targeted primarily at otaku are bad, so to speak. Studios such as Kyoto Animation and Shaft have pumped out quite a few quality titles over the years that have had huge critical and commercial success. Though I sometimes have to wonder where the future of the anime industry is headed at times.

Inu x Boku Secret Service is an adaptation of a manga by the same name and animated by the studio, David Production. The basic premise revolves around the protagonist, Ririchiyo, and her daily interactions with the supernatural residents of a place called Ayakashi Ken. Along the way Ririchiyo tries to overcome her isolated upbringing and become a more personable individual. But thanks to a large cast of supporting characters, her journey isn’t nearly as difficult as it seems. The main driving force behind Ririchiyo's development is the romantic tension between her servant, Miketsukami. And while straightforward and predictable, the romance fits nicely into the theme of Ririchiyo trying to break free from her shell. In this respect, Inu x Boku SS almost seems like a shoujo title with how it handles the romance. Generally, the romantic scenes between the two are executed nicely, with lots of fluffy moments and cute exchanges occurring. And while this may cause the viewer to experience an irregular heartbeat on multiple occasions, it makes the interactions between the two characters feel a lot more personable.

However, while the romance makes up the bulk of the show, it is only one of many aspects in Inu x Boku SS. Unfortunately many other genres, tropes and clichés are thrown into the mix, which makes the show feel a lot more convoluted than it really should be. To start off, while the show could be classified as being part of the supernatural genre, that element plays a very small and inconsequential role in the grand scheme of things. Other than the fact that each of the mansion’s residents can shape-shift into a magical creature, the supernatural aspect isn’t utilized at all. Titles such as Mushishi and Natsume Yuujinchou have been highly effective in using the supernatural to enhance character development rather than just being an element of visual shock value. Unfortunately, Inu x Boku SS seems to be quite guilty of the later. A large percentage of the episodes revolve around a monster of the week, where the characters use their supernatural powers to subdue their foe. And while this can be seen as a nice change of pace for the show, it is poorly integrated as a whole. If anything, it feels like an obvious attempt on David Production's part to include elements from battle shounen titles such as Yu Yu Hakusho. As a result, the development of the core romance becomes hindered by an aspect which has little relevance towards the plot or characters.

As is the case with many slice of life and romance titles, the plot is almost secondary to the characters and their personalities. While the plot of the show was simple, the integration of many secondary genres such as supernatural and action detracted from the character development. Unfortunately, Inu x Boku SS makes the exact same mistakes with how it handles its main cast of characters.

The dynamic duo of the show, Ririchiyo and Miketsukami, are rather sweet and likeable characters at first glance. But like all sweet things, too much is never a good thing (provided you aren’t a hyperactive kid with ADD). Ririchiyo’s core personality can be seen as a small twist to the popular “tsundere” character archetype. Rather than getting violent or resorting to bouts of verbal abuse when she’s ridiculed, she tends to isolate herself and become depressed. And while this is a refreshing change of pace in today’s anime market, once you get past the initial hump, things start to get old. Beyond this single personality trait, Ririchiyo doesn’t have anything else that makes her character memorable or unique. The show tends to follow a rather predictable formula with Ririchiyo’s development in that she’ll act tough, get depressed over something and then act tough all over again. Though it may seem as though this is part of the process of her development, it begs the question as to why David Production needed twelve episodes for her to budge an inch.

In a similar vein, Miketsukami’s core personality is almost entirely composed of one trait as well. Being a loyal servant of Ririchiyo, Miketsukami is well, very loyal. Building off the popular perfect butler trope, Miketsukami is completely 100% devoted to serving every one of Ririchiyo’s desires, even when she has none. His doglike level of devotion is played for comedic effect throughout the series and is one of the most common forms of reoccurring humour. Aside from that, Miketsukami serves as the main love interest for Ririchiyo. And while he may seem like a fairly one-dimensional character on the surface, towards the end of the show that no longer becomes the case. However, all the developments revolving around Miketsukami and his past are rushed in at the last minute, and with very little prior build up. Furthermore, while these developments do help justify his personality, they largely conflict with the way his character has been established for 95% of the show.

Now with the main leads of Inu x Boku SS being fairly one-dimensional characters, it would seem as though the supporting cast would follow the same pattern. And that is precisely the case with just about all of them here. The supporting cast in Inu x Boku SS are very weak as a whole and mainly exist to satisfy as many different fanbases as possible. Quiet girl with an endless appetite? The FABULOUS guy who is most certainly straight? S&M fanatic who categorizes everything as either a sadist or masochist? Since there are so many of these side characters, it becomes almost impossible for any of them to develop within the show’s limited time. As a result, most of these characters become entirely regulated to comedy roles, which revolve around their single character trait. While these characters’ quirks are entertaining at first, they quickly lose their effectiveness over time. Unfortunately, David Production seems intent on reiterating each character’s quirk time after time in hope that each fanbase remains satisfied. I don’t know about you, but when I see the same joke being repeated time after time, it starts to get a bit annoying. What’s worse is that most of the humour in Inu x Boku SS are crude jokes about character’s breast sizes, sexual orientations and perverted fantasies. And while a bit of crude humour or fanservice is fine once in a while, David Production doesn’t know when to draw the line between funny and insulting.

The technical aspects in Inu x Boku SS are solid as a whole, but like the rest of the show, are nothing special. The quality of animation used in the show is fairly high and with few animation errors. The style fits the characters quite nicely and makes a lot of their interactions with each other cute and charming. During certain scenes, a number of different shading techniques and lighting effects are utilized. And in a way, this helps maintain the supernatural feel of the show when it is needed. However, don’t expect to see Shaft-like camera angles and ufotable-esque lighting effects here.

Sound and voice acting are fairly mediocre on the other hand. While the few tracks used in the show do convey the mood well, there’s very little to make them stand out from the bulk of electronic or J-Pop themed tracks. The large cast of voice actors in the show are composed of a number of high profile names, including Kana Hanazawa and Sugita Tomokazu. Unfortunately due to the fairly one-dimensional characters and repetitive script, the voice actors are greatly restricted in being able to utilize their vocal talents here.

In the past decade, the anime industry has proven that the more fanbases you please, the more successful your show will be. And that’s exactly what David Production is trying to confirm here with Inu x Boku SS. With a boatload of different genres, characters from a number of popular archetypes and many other fan-pleasing tendencies, Inu x Boku can be seen as a simple experiment to determine what sells well and what doesn’t. Since Inu x Boku essentially has a bit of everything for everyone, it’s easy to recommend this title to most casual anime fans. However, for those seeking a more complex story or even just one that is well-executed, there’s a lot to be disappointed about with Inu x Boku SS.

So I’ll end off with a simple, yet somewhat unnecessary analogy to sum up Inu x Boku SS. You have a single cupcake with vanilla frosting. It’s perfectly sweet the way it is, but then you add pineapples, carrots, chilli peppers and whatever was leftover from last night’s dinner into it. You may have appealed to a wider variety of taste buds in doing so, but you’ve lost the initial sweetness that you started with. And really, who wants to eat a spicy cupcake? read more

When this anime first started airing recently I was unsure what it was going to be about. At the end of finishing this series, I still am unsure what this series qualify as. Inu x boku was supposedly a comedy story incorporating some supernatural and mysterious themes. However, it seems like the director changed their mind during the middle of the series.

The main plot follows around a young woman named Ririchiyo. Basically, she's a very delicate person, so delicate and shy that she can barely express herself. In fact, to the point where she almost expresses the opposite of what she means every time. Thus, she has no friends at school. But then one day she moves to a new environment where her lifestyle is replaced by supernatural beings. But that's all there really is "supernatural" about this series. Besides just the characters, nothing is distinctively different about inu x boku, than if you compare it to a cheesy school drama. Also, it can barely qualify as a  mystery because no suspense was really built throughout the series. This series was very slow paced in this aspect.

The characters were the only unique part of this series. Ririchiyo along with some supporting characters have some very interesting conversations. And, with Ririchiyo's personality, it just makes it so much more fun to watch. The comedy included in the show was based mostly on the stupid conversations, thoughts, fantasies, or actions some character started. It will fit the taste of basically anyone with a sense of humor. But don't be fooled! There really is only one character development in this series. His name is soushi, and a servant of Ririchyo"sama."Not very much is known about soushi except that he has a strange attraction to his master until the very last few episodes, and that is why I think the characters turned out a lot worse than they could of. This goes back to my point about the series being seriously paced; therefore making it an anime not everyone will like. But this anime is 12 episodes so it's not a big deal.

The artistic aspect of this series was probably the strongest. The producer made the characters with very cute designs, thus making the audience more connected to the characters. The delicacy put into Ririchiyo almost made it express her personality better. The music put into this anime was worth some efforts, and could be very favorable. But what I liked most about it was that they played it during some of the most appropriate scenes and it complemented very well.

The results of inu x boku was definitely unexpected than what it seems to be on the surface. Although not what I expected, which was a mysterious drama about the supernatural of some sort. This series still impressed me in the end concluding with a relationship I did not think would blossom in just one season. However, it was still very slow paced for that one season. So if you're looking for an anime with character developments, you may or may not like it.

I will end it here and keep this review short and clean. Because that's what this anime really was, a short and innocent story about our kind Ririchiyo and her adventure with her air-headed friends in the Ayakashi mansion. To be precise, that's exactly how this anime played out until the last few episodes, then it's all out surprises. If you're going to watch this series, do keep in mind the old cliched saying "never judge a book until you're done reading the whole thing." But if inu x boku really was a book then I'm pretty sure it could be described as one of those trending books that becomes famous after its first publish, soon to be forgotten as the decade carries on. read more