Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san

Stressed out? How about a fox girl, or kitsune in Japanese, pampering you with kindness in her heart in many ways possible. Cooking for you. Cleaning as well as relieving you of the stress after going through a long day at work. You have a helpful fox named Senko. When this had arrived over on Crunchyroll, I enjoyed a lot out of it. Of course, who wouldn't want it since she is more than your average roommate or like a stay-at-home wife? It's a fair amount of context that I can provide, given how the show goes. ... You have businessman, Kuroto Nakano, who has lived through an unregulated life before Senko, who watched over him when he was a child as we see some flashbacks of his childhood, adn decides to leave the spirit world to pamper him as well as relieve him of all the stress that is technically in form of a bleak of a dark cloud that surrounds his being. As the series goes, Nakano and Senko go through their daily lives as they now live together along with others who get into their lives like Shiro, who is Senko's friend back in the spirit world, and Yasuko Koenji, who is Nakano's next door neighbor who is a university student as well as a manga artist. You also get brief appearances of other characters, who I will explain later in the review that get involved within Nakano and Senko's activities.
The story itself is technically wholesome with the two like you'd see in Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid. Yes, comparing the two is too easy to know where this was going, yet they are similar for a simple reason. An out-of-this-world being who comes into a human's life in order to make their life better while attending various activities. Therefore, the similarity is there. But unlike how Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid added some dragon-on-dragon action sequence every once in a few episodes along with some added chaos at home, The Helpful Fox Senko-san is more focused on viewing the life of a stressed man who has been going through too much going on with his workplace that he neglected to take care of himself as well as living his life to relax once in a while. Granted, Kobayashi goes through the same thing, and both her and Nakano go through companionship to understand the value of it. However, with Nakano's case, it's because he struggled more than Kobayashi. Let's also be fair that Kobayashi has friends and can have a time of her life, especially with her alcohol. Nakano has just been a loner until Senko came into his life. Although how it's viewed can also work in other situations like with school or with community service. We all go through so much stress that we can technically forget about what it's like to just relax and pamper ourselves, whether we have a roommate or not.
I know it is according to the description of Senko's character is like being Nakano's wife and mother, yet it is odd that we had to use both wife and mother in the same sentence since it's kinda weird, and yes, Senko is certainly a kind of woman that can be anyone's wife, but I feel like I see her more of a guardian deity for Nakano's family line. We do see some flashbacks in Nakano's memories that revolve around his ancestors as well as when he was a child who got lost in the woods and Senko had to guide him out to meet up with his grandmother. Plus, we were shown that Senko has been watching over Nakano every once in a while back in the spirit world. So I do see her more of a guardian deity who watches over Nakano's family, but I would guess that she only focuses on Nakano alone since he looks like one of his ancestors. Sorry if that's me overthinking about it since I've seen this anime from start to finish twice, but it's just a theory of mine. Then again, the chemistry between Nakano and Senko are genuine for how Senko improves Nakano's way of living while also showing a healthy relationship between a man who works all day and a woman at home, keeping both the home clean and the man happy. Life between lovers is always fun when a relationship is healthy that every man and woman, or man and man or woman or woman depending on your sexuality, would love to have a life like Nakano and Senko.
As far as the other characters, Shiro is technically egotistical at times, as well as acting like a child at heart, whether with Senko's pampering or not. Shiro does have some genuine moments as well as having fun with Nakano and the other human character, Koenji. Speaking of Koenji, her character can be fun, too, whenever she was given leftovers from Senko or just hanging out with her, Nakano, or just with Shiro. You also have Sora, who is like Senko and Shiro's boss, who does pop up once in a while. You'd also see Nakano's grandmother in flashbacks, his mother at the last two episodes, and a few of his coworkers who don't do much. Same for this character named Mitaka, who I can't help but think that he just screws up too much and might need to reevaluate his working conditions since he dumps a lot of trouble to Nakano. But I digress. Each of the characters' chemistry works well for how they interact with Nakano and Senko, even when most of them get little screen time. That could say the same for the humor in this. Except some of them are kinda outdated nowadays like seeing Senko, Shiro and Sora as children when in reality, they're just short women as the minimal height for a regular woman is around five feet tall as their maximum is seven feet tall. I know it's an odd take, yet it's just how they behave. Like regular women who are just having fun. To be fair, it's always funny to see Senko behave like the more mature woman that even has back problems like Nakano would have once in a while. I also wanna add that I love it when they even have Senko behave like a fox sometimes like when it came to the episode where it was snowing, Senko does a leap or two like an actual fox behaves when it comes to snow. Fun fact: A foxes ears and tails are highly sensitive, which is displayed to the show until Senko is used to having her tail fluffed that even she enjoys having her tail caressed. Same for when she gets some head pats from Nakano.
Remember when I said that I've seen this anime twice? I actually decided to watch this anime twice in both Japanese and English from start to finish. Both versions are good when it comes to voice acting. But whose voice is better, you ask? For Nakano, both English and Japanese are great Junichi Suwabe and Aaron Campbell. Azumi Waki and Kristen McGuire are fine on their own as Senko for being the genuine and caring housewife. For Shiro, I found Maaya Uchida better than Kristin Sutton when it comes to her childish behavior yet still acting like an adult. For Koenji, I like both Ayane Sakura and Hayden Daviau voicing as the next-door neighbor who is going through some troubles as well as providing fun with Nakano, Senko and Shiro. With Sora, I would have to say Dawn M. Bennett is better than Eri Kitamura since she acts like the boss as well as trying to seduce Nakano a couple of times before Senko comes in to take him back. However, Nakano is a humble fella and would rather chase tail than chase intimately. Or, in his case, chasing fox tails to feel the fluffiness of them. When you think about it, that joke is kind of the same. I mean, who doesn't wanna chase tail. Ha ha ha, I'll see myself out for that one.
As far as the animation goes, it's standard as it's meant to match the tone of wholesomeness while at times it'll get silly with some faces as well as some angles that can make gooners act weird. That and R34 create pieces that aren't for kids. I mean, this is technically for young adults as the rating of fourteen and over goes according to Crunchyroll's description. Therefore, it's safe to say that it's looking at the perspective of how Nakano is living better because of a little lady with fox ears and a fox tail named Senko. It's easily comfort food when you look at the show that way. I love it when anime can show adult life being not as easy and how to tackle such as an adult myself who does have a life outside of the internet. There are also after credit shorts that involve Senko showcasing some homely things, and they're kinda cute. I will admit that the final episode had me thinking it was rushed a little without spoiling too much of anything. However, I will say that it shows the value of life when it comes to a kitsune who lives longer than how an average human can live. Some parts I question even when I'd finished this show in both Japanese and English. But I digress. Aside from some of the cons that I have, I recommend this if you want something that's easy and comfortable to watch.
With that said, I'm gonna give a show involving a helpful fox named Senko-san eight and a half Senko greeting you home after a long day at work out of ten. 8.5/10.

I used to watch this series back when it first started airing, after all it featured a cutie fox loli as it's main protagonist...Except it doesn't.

The actual character we follow for this show is Kuroto who just constantly bummed me out and is the whole reason I dropped the show for so many years. Eventually we do get some more solo scenes with Senko and other foxgirls join in but anytime Kuroto was in the same frame as the characters I actually liked, I wanted to stop watching immediatly.

This made it so difficult for me to watch as the whole plot revolves around this ... man being "healed" by a cute lolibaba fox gf every day. It's about him slowly growing happier as a person and becoming a lot less stressed.

Now WHY do I dislike this main character so much?...Because he doesn't have a personality.

He doesn't develop, he doesn't really change in a way that made me care. He doesn't have any traits that made me root for him and Senko to stay together. He isn't funny, his "mofu mofu" gimmick got old quick and overall he's just the exact opposite of interesting. I believe this was on purpose, he's a character you are supposed to self insert into rather than invest in, but it made for a miserable watching experience.

I read some chapters of the manga to compare wheter it has the same problem...and it doesn't! In fact I liked Kuroto way more in the manga. It could've been just because the pace was much faster and scenes with him didn't feel like they were going at a snail's pace, but I think what also made him more likeable was the lack of any voice acting.

Don't get me wrong, the voice actor for the series did a great job...but he just didn't fit Kuroto at all. He made the character stand out "too much" to the point where I couldn't symphatize with him and instead viewed him on his own merits, sadly Kuroto doesn't have many merits beyond having a job.

The show isn't bad, but the huge flaw of having a boring main guy really drags the anime down.

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.