Shiro Seijo to Kuro Bokushi

In a small church atop a hill, Pastor Lawrence looks after Saint Cecilia. Her presence is a beacon of hope for the villagers, as her mysterious powers protect them from the weakness of their minds and outside evils. While she appears dignified in front of the villagers, Cecilia allows her lazy side to show when alone with the pastor. Although Cecilia is the guardian of the people, Lawrence is determined to shield her from harm.

Unbeknownst to Lawrence, Cecilia harbors a huge crush on him. She accompanies him on his shopping trips and provides him with divine protection every day. Despite Lawrence remaining oblivious to her true feelings, Cecilia continues to shower him with obvious displays of affection as the bond between them grows.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Cecilia Main

Sawada, Hime Japanese

Lawrence Main

Ishikawa, Kaito Japanese

Aldridge, Hazelita Supporting

Nakamura, Kanna Japanese

Nordley, Abel Supporting

Ishiya, Haruki Japanese

Frederica Supporting

Ueda, Reina Japanese

Rebecca Supporting

Nakahara, Mai Japanese

Mel Supporting

Tomatsu, Haruka Japanese

Erik Supporting

Koichi, Makoto Japanese

Aldridge, Gieselbert Supporting

Maeno, Tomoaki Japanese

Lily Supporting

Kusumi, Rin Japanese

Kobayashi, Ryou Producer

Shioya, Yoshiyuki Producer

Takahashi, Kanako Producer

Adachi, Kazuki Producer

Reviews

Sep 27, 2023

Marinate1016

Recommended

Simply put, Shiroseijyo is a “healing” anime in the truest sense of the word. It is one of the most emotionally soothing anime I’ve seen in a very long time. Utter and complete bliss throughout, and my life will be worse off without it on Wednesdays.

There’s several things that really stand out about Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence. For starters, it’s one of the few anime I’ve seen that actually depicts Christianity(not explicitly stated, but clearly is) in a decent light. The role of the saints and pastors is to help townspeople with their spiritual issues and be a general pillar of support for the ... community. Other than the magical elements of the story, I actually think they nailed what churches meant to small 19th century towns.

The other thing that stands out for me is just how warm and fuzzy this show makes you feel. Cecilia and Lawrence’s relationship is so delicate and pure you just can’t help but root for him to stop being an idiot and accept her feelings. But even with him being oblivious, just seeing their daily activities and home life is more than enough. It’s “slice of life” in the truest sense of the word. It really feels like we are just watching two people who’ve suffered loss, find a new family with each other.

Simple, seemingly mundane daily tasks like cleaning and cooking feel so nice in this because of the relationship between the two leads. There’s a few side-quest-esque episodes where the cast leave the main town and meet new characters, but for the most part the story is really self contained to the village. Coincidentally, those those few episodes where we did leave the village and learn about how unique Cecilia’s life as a saint was, were really the most emotional. There’s a couple episodes that almost had me in tears.

While the cast is small, the two main side characters, Hazelita and Abel were great. They both basically act as stand-ins for the audience who just want to see Cecilia and Lawrence finally end up together. Had so much fun watching Hazelita play matchmaker behind the scenes, and the budding feelings between she and Abel were also great. There’s a really cool dynamic that exists between Hazelita and Cecilia and Abel and Lawrence as well.

It’s Doga Kobo so you know the art is top notch. It’s bright, cheerful and has so much positive energy. The seiyuu castings were spot on as well, adding a lot of life to every conversation between the characters. The studio really created a pleasant experience with this one and big emphasis on “experience” I think watching this show is a spiritually healing experience that made my Wednesdays so much better. I’ll miss it. A must watch for any SOL or romance fan.

Shiroseijyo gets 9 out of 10

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Dec 5, 2023

i-like-this

Mixed Feelings

The Hot Vicar of Dibley.

If you’re looking for a slice-of-life rom-com that is cute but predictable, safe and at times a bit boring then here is Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence.

The story revolves around Pastor Lawrence who lives with and looks after Cecilia, a mythical Saint said to be sent by god to solve the people's problems. However, Cecilia harbours an enormous crush on Lawrence who is so dense you could mistake him for rock. This is the beginning and the end of the joke spread over twelve episodes.

Okay, that's a bit harsh. The show can be very funny in that cute way ... most competent moé shows are. Studio Doga Kobo may not be pushing the boat out in terms of art and animation compared to the monster anime they made last season “Oshi no Ko”, but the painted backgrounds are pretty and the character expressions are very lively, charming and fun. Especially Cecilia, who is adorable.
This anime nails the first episode introducing her as a kind, saintly, almost divine figure to the people of the village contrasting her adorably lazy and gluttonous self she only shows Lawrence when they’re alone. Abel and Aldridge don’t add much to the dynamic when they’re introduced apart from giving Cecilia and Lawerence some other people to talk to, but theirs and the villager's efforts to drop obvious hints about Cecilia’s obvious affection for Lawerence to the Paster can be very charming.

There’s some light world-building. Saints can communicate with angels/fairies in the form of little light blobs and also the dead later on(?). Still, it is mostly that sort of diet Christian-inspired religious inspiration anime uses but doesn’t fully commit to probably for Japanese historical cultural reasons.

Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence is fine. The first episode is really good but after that, it settles into genre tropes you see in most slice-of-life rom-com’s and fluctuates between good and dull.
The lord may be Cecilia’s shepherd but it's Lawrence she shall want but he's not laying her down in green pastures any time soon if you know what I’m saying.

6/10 It’s Okay.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Sep 27, 2023

GakutoDeathGlare

Not Recommended

This show started off well enough, but quickly fell off the rails with it's annoying and frustrating moments that eclipsed the more cuter and wholesome acts, and never really got back on track again.

I was quite looking forward to this show, in an already packed Summer 2023 season. As a studio, Doga Kobo is a personal favorite of mine, so I was more than willing to check out Shiro Seijo to Kuro Bokushi. They are the creme de la creme of CGDCT and/or wholesome slow life anime at the moment, the synopsis reaffirming my feelings once again, anticipating another relaxing and funny Doga Kobo ... adaptation. They "heal" you, so to speak, washing away the stress and exhaustion of another day of slaving away at work, unfortunately, there was no such healing this time around.

The sole reason is Lawrence, one of the two main characters in this show and our Male protagonist. He's also voiced by Kaito Ishikawa, somebody that I am so sick of hearing these days, it feels like he's in every 3rd show I watch, it was a double whammy personally, punched in the gut twice.

The reason I didn't like Lawrence, was simply because of how dense he was. Whether it be towards Cecilia's obvious feelings for him, friends throwing hints or questioning him, etc, it just did not matter, this dude took thick-headedness to the next level. Think of any other dense MC you know of and times that by ten, that's Lawrence. As a direct result to all this, Lawrence acts like a worried and overprotective parent all damn season, no matter what Cecilia did or didn't do, it was overbearing and frustrating to watch, which made it difficult to care or enjoy the small sparks of romance that would sporadically happen every now and then. "Seijo Sama, careful where you walk, Seijo Sama, leave some space for dinner, Seijo Sama, time to get up now, Seijo Sama Seijo Sama Seijo Sama", literally a parent taking care of a child.

This sort of density wouldn't usually bother me so much, in such a laid back anime, an anime that lacks a serious plot, and I felt that way in the first couple episodes, but it really just got to be too much. It's more of a threshold thing IMO, some won't care at all, others won't be able to stand it. It seemed so counterproductive to me, you want to relax or laugh, but then Lawrence does something moronic for the 127th time, ruining any chance of relaxation lol...He does show tiny amounts of progress, and you do get something out of it in the final episode, but by then I was already long gone.

It is a very aesthetically pleasing anime, I will give it that. Adorable character designs, simplistic but vibrant artwork, cozy enough soundtrack, it ticks all the boxes there. I don't think I've ever been let down by Doga Kobo in this regard.

Overall, it was a pretty disappointing experience, Hazano Kazutake's first adaptation excluding artwork that they've done for other projects like "The Angel Next Door". I won't say just stick to art, but their first story was a miss for me. 5/10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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	Poll: Shiro Seijo to Kuro Bokushi Episode 10 Discussion Stark700 - Sep 13, 2023	21 replies	by LeenPhoenixRae »» Dec 5, 11:06 PM
	Poll: Shiro Seijo to Kuro Bokushi Episode 9 Discussion Stark700 - Sep 6, 2023	20 replies	by LeenPhoenixRae »» Dec 5, 10:46 PM
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