First Impressions / Series Introduction / Snapshots

OP Sequence

OP: 「今日に恋色」 (Kyō ni Koiro) by May’n

「いなり、初恋、初変化(へんげ)。」 (Inari, Hatsukoi, Hatsu Henka [Hen-ge].)
“Inari, First Love, First Change (Transformation).”

That was a pleasant premiere.

Once every so often, you stumble on the rare anime adaptation that actually improves upon the source material a little. Inari, Konkon is such a series, though not for any immediate or monumental reasoning. What the show does for the series is inject a little bit of atmosphere and style into the premise, and a little embellishing in this case goes a long way. Make no mistake, however; I enjoy Inari, Konkon the manga just fine, but there’s something about the music, the direction, and even the rather beautiful art that just make this so much more charming once its come to life.

That being said, don’t go into Inari expecting this much-spoken-of “saviour of anime”, or something gripping and high-brow. This is a good little show so far, that’s true, but it isn’t unique or particularly different from other offerings in its family. Chances are you’ve seen every trope in the book by the halfway point, and you can probably name a few siblings it reminds you of in seconds. But that isn’t really the point when it comes to shows like Inari, Konkon; it’s not about how new or interesting the premise is, but how much entertainment you get out of the tried-and-true ideas, and how invested you become in the world and characters. Everyone is attracted to certain general premises depending on individual taste, and Inari is definitely in the “mystical fantasy” and “shrine anime” categories, with a little comedy here and there. Think series like last season’s Gingitsune, though not quite as profound, and you’re definitely in the right area.

The story revolves around Fushimi Inari (Ohzora Naomi), a fairly stereotypically clumsy and shy girl who holds a secret crush for her classmate, Tanbabashi Kouji (Okamoto Hiroshi). Unfortunately, Inari accidentally pants Tanbabashi in public one day (c’mon, you’re in middle school; I’m sure she’s seen plenty of “junk” drawn all over the school property, and she only even saw his butt in underwear anyway… everybody has a butt, Tanbabashi), angering him and leading to Inari accidentally witnessing his confession to Sumizome Akemi (Minase Inori), the prettiest and most popular girl in school. In return for saving her familiar, however, the goddess Ukanomitama-no-kami (Kuwashima Houko) grants Inari one wish, through which Inari eventually gains a little of the goddess’s power for shapeshifting.

What makes the story pleasant isn’t necessarily the premise so much as the atmosphere. It isn’t the most beautiful show ever produced, nor is it likely going to be the best thing (it’s only ten episodes, that’s rarely enough time for anything), but it’s charming, it’s character driven, and it’s cute in an almost playful way. Should the material stick to the manga, the character driven portions should be a treat, especially when it comes to relationships. It may not be a surprise hit of the season, but I definitely recommend Inari, Konkon for anyone who likes the sound of any of this, and for those that enjoy atmospheric series.

There are no immediate plans to cover Inari, Konkon on a weekly basis. Check back on the schedule over the week for any potential changes.

 

ED Sequence

ED: 「SAVED.」 by 坂本 真綾 (Sakamoto Maya)

50 Comments

  1. It made me DL the manga scans last night. Nice premise and has good potential. NEET goddess is kawaii and the hint that the elder brother can see her too, as well as the OP, hints God X Mortal romance.

    Nice episode 1 10/10.

    TheMoondoggie
    Reply

  2. I really dig this show. The art, atmosphere & simplicity. But most of all, I find their Kyoto accent really really cute.
    Show so far has been nothing amazing but this was definitely the most enjoyable premiere episode of this season for me.

    *v*
    Reply

  4. loved it!

    it was great – the atmosphere of SoL&fantasy world. they presented it very lovely and lively.

    as a manga reader(love it, you should read it) anime managed to convey the feeling of shrine anime and SoL very well.
    however, a few omissions have been made. it’s no big deal and they will manage with or without it…but it was felt.
    for example, Inari as Sumizome told Tanbabachi “I like you” when they were eating (that’s a big omission if you ask me), also Inari as Sumizome find herself home after her wish was granted and it was like so funny since her parents and brother were like “WTF who are you” LOL.
    I hope it’s one-time slip, because they still manage to convey the atmosphere without it.

    Inari Konkon premiere was great, I really look forward the rest of the season. only 10+1 (OVA) episodes..that’s too little…yet I hope it’ll bring more people for the manga and open a path toward further seasons (if Natsume did it, so as Gingitsune and Inari can do it).

    thedarktower
    Reply

  6. Liked this better than the chapters of the manga that covered this part of the story :p. If they can keep this up, it might end up being my favourite anime adapted from a manga this season.

    x
    Reply

  7. The direct English translation of the title is ‘Inari, Yelp Yelp, The Color of Love’.
    ‘Konkon’ is the sound effect of an animal yelping.

    Also Inari will have a bonus OVA included with vol 8 of the manga this June.

    zztop
    Reply

  8. Never thought i’d say this but….. Ukanomitama-no-kami >>>>> Beldandy.. >_<

    And like some others, this anime made me go and search for the manga and actually go and read it, making this only the 4th anime to ever make me do such a thing

    I like this show 🙂

    .Mero
    Reply

    1. And so these fateful words sparked the violent factional conflict between fundamentalist Ukanomitama-no-kami shippers and fundamentalist Belldandy shippers that would rage across the world and the internet for centuries.

      I’m on the fence in the goddess war but as much as I respect Kuwashima I prefer Inoue oneesama.

      celebrinen
      Reply

  9. I read this a few months back and it doesn’t lose its charm along the way. Good stuff.
    I guess I’ll watch the anime as well, because this episode had good music, however rather familiar. Not sure if one of the soundtracks sounded like Clannad or another memorable SoL, but it certainly felt familiar. The art and general animation seemed pretty good too.

    Crook
    Reply

      2. I did not even notice the Onii-chan x Goddess parts in the OP, but the parts near the ending gave away the pairing enough for everyone who has ample anime experience to notice (and they are my OTP too!)

        nagi
        Reply

  15. Was an enjoyable first episode. I was already fagging over Noragami being the only enjoyable Japanese God-related show of the season (since the jokes in Hozuki seem pretty confusing), and i would probably put this on par with Noragami in terms of execution. I also like how it strongly reminds me of some old-school shoujo-oriented magical girls shows (Not the crappy otaku-oriented ones) i watched back in Animax Asia on early 20’s such as Creamy Mami and Himitsu Ako-chan.

    I really love these subtle, understated, mono no aware atmospheric centric shows and this nailed it on the head. Nothing was excessive, nobody talks or acts in aggravated manner, and love the gorgeous Kyoto setting. Perhaps this is one of very few types of slice of life shows that i genuinely like, one that rely almost entirely on the setting’s dynamics and imaginative story than corny dialogues and exaggerated physical mannerisms that most slice of life seems to suffer of. It seems going to be love-triangle, but i don’t really care about that if it’s this well done.

    Amiluhur
    Reply

  18. I think i would have enjoyed this a bit more had the MC been so whiny and childish. I mean seriously almost every 5 minutes she’s crying about something else and having to be comforted by someone for it. Her friends are basically a full time babysitter for her. And i don’t see that changing soon. Some people find that relateable but i just found it rather irritating.
    bleh………

    This will indeed be my replacement for Gingitsune though and i’m glad it’s implementing romance which i wish Gingitsune had done. Still i’ll always consider Gintaro to be the best shrine god from this point forward :I.

    leatherhead333
    Reply

    1. Well first, she’s in middle-school. By most of our definitions she IS a child. So she’s at an emotionally volatile age. Second, it’s not like she’s crying for no reason. The things that upset her are things that were fairly justifiably upsetting. Third, she’s kind of sensitive, so yes, she cries. It happens. Fourth, you’ll note how she doesn’t like the fact that she just ends up there at the shrine, crying about what’s gone wrong, unable to do anything herself. Her desire to change herself into a stronger person is kind of what kickstarted this whole chain of events.

      So could you A: try to understand her a bit more, and B: give her some time to have some character growth before coming down on her like that?

      Wanderer
      Reply

      1. Here is the thing. Even if you can understand why a character acts a certain way it doesn’t mean it’s entertaining or pleasing to watch. It’s like when you have a character who is always a dick because of (insert tragic past). Just because you can understand how he ended up that way doesn’t mean you enjoy watching him being a douche all the time. (if you want to see a good example of this i implore you to watch Diabolik Lovers).

        This isn’t a game breaking deal or anything because i’m still intrigued by the show and will more than likely watch it till the end, but if her character does not grow past this it will hinder my impression of the show as a whole. I realize i’m making early judgements but 1st impressions during the first episode are very important to some people. There is a TON of anime both old and new airing and others (myself included) really don’t have time to watch something we don’t think we’ll end up being satisfied with. If i were to judge the anime by her character alone i probably would have dropped it but there are many interesting factors that have kept invested (the shrine god and her brother being the main things).

        Of course i’m sure this will be fixed with time but i just want you to see where i’m coming from.

        leatherhead333
        Reply

    2. Having read the manga, I’d say they have toned down the whiny bits a whole lot :p. The pacing of the manga is also a lot slower than the anime (too many cliffhangers, each time waiting for at least a month before the next chapter :p), making the whiny bits more than I’d like to bear much of the time ^^;. Having said that, this is an endearing and interesting story. Similar to the protagonist’s moods, the mood of this story does swing from one end to another rather quickly (which I think is well demonstrated in this first episode :p). As hinted in this episode, there will also be many fun stuff, serious stuff, and romance stuff. In the manga, there has also been quite a bit of thought provoking stuff, which I hope will translate well to the anime.

      x
      Reply

  20. Although I would have liked to see Sumizome!Inari end up at home, that wasn’t really necessary for this episode/to get the story going. Rather, I’m glad it was animated, as it could have thrown the pace into disarray due to time limits of a episode.
    brother mistaking her for pervert would have been hilarious though

    In short, I think this episode was perfect as adaptation, cutting things less important things to the plot so the plot-important bits could be properly show.
    Definitely watching!

    Anonymosity
    Reply

  24. Wait, so what happened to Sumizome?

    Did Inari’s wish result in her taking over Sumizome’s body? If so, what happened to Sumizome’s “soul” and Inari’s original body? And when Inari (in Sumizome’s body) gained the transformation ability, didn’t she just transform Sumizome’s body to look like Inari? But in the ending, you see both Inari and Sumizome in the class so now I’m mind fucked.

    I guess Inari’s wish just changed her appearance to that of Sumizome’s. So there was Sumizome and a Sumizome lookalike existing at the same time. The repercussions of that would have been entertaining to watch.

    Whatever, I’m going to start reading the manga now.

    IAmConfused
    Reply

  25. Hime-chan no Ribon! It’s bizarre how similar their plots are (unless it’s on purpose?). That said, since Hime-chan’s loooong over this isn’t such a bad way of getting more. Hoping the plot diverges soon FMA-style~

    q
    Reply

  27. I recognized a lot of scenes and views of the Inari shrine, one of the places I like the most in Japan. I really like Kyouto as well so i am looking forward continue watching this and especially to see if I can recognize the scenes.

    Greg
    Reply

    1. Quite a few, actually, plus those continuing.

      Sure, in a perfect world all the anime would be covered —and we’d all have our choco-covered pretzel sticks and catsup-emblazoned rice omelets served daily by attractive school girls in sailor uniforms and navy blue swimming costumes. Or whatever you prefer.

      RC is a great site. Hurray for all and everyone who helps make it such a pleasure to visit.

      kornpone
      Reply

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