With the current pace of anime it’s sometimes good to take a step back from all the action and watch something a little slower, a little more relaxing. Whilst the winter season left us with excellent shows like Yuru Camp , recently I found myself looking towards my plan-to-watch list in order to find something easy to watch amongst the action of shows like Darling in the FranXX and the suspense and thrill of Uma Musume , once such show that caught my eye was Konohana Kitan. I’m not quite sure how the show ended up in my plan-to-watch list, but from its MAL entry it seemed like an interesting show, to say the least. It’s a show about fox-girls who work as attendants for an inn called “Konohanatei” that serves supernatural beings. I expected it to be nothing more than a simple slice-of-life show perhaps with some hints of romance sprinkled in for added Whilst Konohana Kitan on the surface might seem like a simple slice-of-life show that’s nothing more than “Cute girls doing cute things” the real treat lies in the plot and just how special some of the stories are. The plot mainly revolves around Yuzu, a small, blonde fox-girl who’s moved from the countryside in order to work at Konohanatei, an inn for gods and other supernatural creatures of ancient Japanese mythology, a running theme throughout the show. Yuzu herself is hyperactive and clumsy, but soon finds herself fitting in after the first few episodes, it’s here where the show really begins to stretch its legs and deliver some of the best stories I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing. Most of the stories revolve around Japanese deities and the stories behind them; from women that weave cloth from strings pulled from the rain, to ancient goddesses of water directly responsible for the birth of Japan, to spiritual beings swiftly rushing from shrine to shrine granting the New Year’s wishes of those worthy, each new character introduced is not only memorable, but also carries their own intricate backstory extending far beyond the reach of the anime. Then there’s the tales in the episodes themselves, each story, as is the norm with most light-hearted shows, has a clear direction and moral. From self-worth, to understanding, to the value of family, each episode weaves an excellent and creative narrative that captivates those watching. One of the standout episodes of the series in my opinion is episode 8 or “The Transient Guest”. Without revealing too much, the episode manages to weave together the storylines of 3 seemingly distinct characters into a single tale of self-worth, family, and life that nearly brought me to tears at the end of it all. We get to see and experience the troubles of 3 individuals: a girl who tells lies just to get attention, a small boy having to come to terms with his adoption, and an older man who thinks that he’s lived a good enough life to accept death. All three of these seemingly separate and distinct characters all pass through Konohanatei, and, with the help of Yuzu and the others, overcome their challenges and don’t just have their lives woven together, but changed for the better. Konohana Kitan transcends boundaries of a traditional slice-of-life show and instead presents us with a show that is charming in its art style, excellent in its storytelling, and memorable in its genre. Konohana Kitan is a show that caught me off guard, it’s a show that lured me in with its charming characters and light-heated setting and blew me away with its captivating and memorable stories, it’s a testament to the fact that you don’t need to have raging action and explosive characters to tell a good story, that not every anime has to be Attack on Titan or Gurren Lagann in order to tell an expansive story. Konohana Kitan is certainly a show that you should definitely watch and with the manga still ongoing, there’s a chance we might even get to see the tales of Yuzu and Konohanatei once again.
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About Me:Welcome to my blog! Here you'll find various articles about all sorts of topics. Politics, Music, Video Games, eSports, and many other topics I feel the need to write about. Archives
February 2018
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