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Now in Japan
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Written by maehara
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Wednesday, 04 April 2007 17:00 |
 After an opening pair of episodes that pushed the bad-taste boundaries, Inukami! suddenly discovers a sense of propriety and the first inklings of an underlying story, as we meet Youko's rivals and take a look into her past. Let's just say it quickly becomes clear why Keita's the one wearing the dog-collar here...
3 - Exterminating in Swimsuits!
After Youko finds his secret porn stash and gives him a thorough kicking as a result, Keita begins to wonder if having an inukami is worth all the hassle - especially when she starts refusing to do any of the housework. Who's serving who here!? He's about to find out there are worse things than keeping one inukami, though, when a visit to a local pool introduces him to 10 more of 'em - and they're not on the best of terms with Youko. Meeting Kaoru's band of inukami does give him idea, though - one of them, Nadeshiko, is the model of good behavior: perhaps if he could borrow her to act as a good example for Youko..?
4 - Unwillingly Wear the Apron!
Nadeshiko arrives at Keita's house, and immediately sets about being the model maid & inukami - much to Youko's annoyance, as Keita's spending most of his time eyeing her up. Keen not to be overlooked, and after having tried and failed to find any fault with Nadeshiko's housework, Youko decides it's finally time to show Keita that she can be the domestic goddess - at least for the week Nadeshiko's going to be staying with them. Meanwhile, Kaoru's other inukami have had enough with Nadeshiko's unwillingness to fight with them, and decide to expel her from their group...
5 - Keita and Youko!
Sendan and the others are still trying to come to terms with losing so badly to Youko - the way they see it, if Keita can only attract one inukami, then neither Keita nor Youko should be all that powerful. In reality, it's the other way around - they're powerful enough that they don't need anyone else. Flashback to when Keita and Youko first met... At first Keita had a hard time taking the whole inukami-taming thing seriously, but Youko soon taught him who was the real boss...
Spot the pecking order here: Sendan and her 8 sidekicks can't beat Youko (even though Youko remains in her weaker human form), and Youko seems to know that picking a fight with Nadeshiko wouldn't be good for her health. Makes you wonder what a riled Nadeshiko would look like - they do say it's the quiet ones you have to look our for. The addition of Kaoru's ten inukami does a lot to add to the fanservice potential, but these episodes are remarkably restrained and don't go too over-the-top, on either the fanservice or bad-taste fronts. I'm still trying to decide if that's a good thing or not...
Episode 5 fills in some of Youko's own backstory, including how she came to be Keita's inukami when no other of her kind would go anywhere near him. That she's inordinately powerful isn't doubted - but why she's that powerful and why she was so keen to take on the lecherous Keita remains a mystery for now. Hopefully the series will remember to cover that ground a little later on.
So, slightly different from what I was expecting after the first two episodes, but equally enjoyable - Inukami's showing signs of developing a little bit of depth, and that's never a bad thing as long as it's handled properly. Roll on the next few episodes... |
