The idea is solid - some dude living a stressful life meets a magical being that can help make it better by calming and caring for him. It does sound very healing, and looks great on paper to me. Enter Senko. Generally when I think wholesome, I think something the whole family could watch, or something you wouldn't mind your parents walking in on. My god, I would not be caught dead watching Senko-san. I was expecting character-driven, heartwarming stories, but the majority of this show has been a loli fox-girl fantasy complete with constant blushing, awkward noises, and 'fluffing'. Please for the love of the Inari god of old, no more 'fluffing'.
I like fantasy slice of life shows for the meaningful character interactions they have. Maybe it's a lonely old yokai and the main character comforts them, or a frustrated spirit trying to move on to the next world. That's healing - that's heartwarming. And it can be wonderful. Senko-san, so far, has had very little of this character interaction and a whole lot more 'cute girl doing overly cutesy things'. It's not entirely absent, sure - it's just buried under the weight of suggestive loli fanservice.
I started to think, after a few episodes, about alternative approaches. What if Senko, instead of being a little girl, looked and acted like an old woman befitting her 800 years? She would try to help Nakano, and they would trade stories of their lives. It would calm and reassure the two of them and form a bond. They would struggle through their own lives in separate human and godly worlds, but in the end come home to talk and relax and deal with their problems (maybe even focus on aging and a wasted, job-centered life). Just an idea, but I can't help but think of the potential in these kind of shows if the main focus wasn't just 'cute girl doing cute things' (with an older guy suggestively playing along). Hell, if someone knows an anime similar to the idea above, I'd love to try it!
I'm gonna keep watching this show. It's already halfway done, but unless it pulls a miracle turnaround, and fast, there's no way I can score it higher than this (it's on the verge of dropping to a 3, even). So no, I don't think Senko-san is very healing, and it's ANYTHING but wholesome. It's not an offensively bad show, but if Senko-san continues like this to the end, it will have left me nothing but disappointment and nightmares of "Nyaaaaaa, uwuuuu, gwaahhh".
(I don't agree with your score doesn't automatically = inaccurate. 3/10 is downright generous for these characters by me, and if all you want is a shallow fox-girl trip, more power to you - but I don't, hence the score. Plain and simple. I think other anime [like Natsume Yuujinchou] have done the healing thing WAY better.)
I finished it. It never got any better. Three.
