Bewitched! Susukihotaru & Otome Youkai Zakuro

The new anime season is in full swing now, am watching several series, some of which originally hadn’t thought I would follow like “Kore wa Zombie desu ka?” but also dropped quite a few that had initially planned to watch like “Freezing” or “Rio – Rainbow Gate!”.

Looking back on the previous anime season though, must say one of my favourite series along with “Shinryaku! Ika Musume” was definitely “Otome Youkai Zakuro”.

Art by Gofu (Pixiv) whom even though it is a black and white sketch managed to imbue Susukihotaru’s facial expression with a lot of personality.

Beyond a doubt this series and its cute half spirit fox eared maidens bewitched me, especially the irresistible cute Susukihotaru (薄蛍).

Terrific image by ゆあ (Pixiv) of Susukihotaru with a bright, lively smile, a nice contrast to her often shy demeanor.

Lured in by the simple premise of the series having kitsune mimi characters, ended up immensely enjoying this show every week as a fun filled ride of excellent entertainment. Loved the typical, sugar coated shoujo elements that oozed from its every frame in both the animation style as well as basic character and plot events.

Interesting illustration from（ФωФ）(Pixiv) of Bonbori from the episode we saw her face the black widow while her twin Hozuki protects Ganryuu.

Wish we would have seen more action from the twins and Susukihotaru during the various confrontations throughout the series as most of the decisive battles were left to Zakuro.

Lovely image of Zakuro under a moonlit sky by トリュフ (Pixiv). It seems the usual cherry blossoms might be roses in this particular image, a nice touch.

Although Susukihotaru is my favourite, quite like Zakuro’s character too, as well as Bonbori and Hozuki. None of the characters were particularly deep or novel, but the writers succeeded in getting me to cherish and care for each of the girls as the episodes went by.

Art by 真白 (Pixiv) of a lethal looking Susukihotaru. Wonder what it would have been like if they had revisited the possessed sword arc in a later episode, having the gentle, mild mannered girl wield it once more (perhaps to save Zakuro or her other companions)?

Might have provided some potent storytelling and character exploration. Or does she turn out looking too much like Shiki from “Kara No Kyoukai”?

Image from ユッキュン (Pixiv) showcasing different expressions of Susukihotaru. When looking through Pixiv illustrations from “Otome Youkai Zakuro” seems she was quite popular and spawned a lot of fan art.

A more daring illustration from たまつー (Pixiv) showcasing Susukihotaru, Bonbori and Hozuki in state of undress.

Am not really a fan of the shoujo genre and never kept up with “Kaichou wa Maid-sama” even though it started off well. On the other hand, “Otome Youkai Zakuro” really wooed me and managed to keep me glued to the screen for every episode.

Another image by たまつー (Pixiv). Will not claim the series was surprisingly novel or ground breaking but it appealed to me because it provided a fun watch that allowed me to indulge in the sugar coated, overly sweet sentiments it so profusely plastered on screen.

It is like the honey sweet desert you know isn’t haute cuisine but tastes great every time and brings you delight.

Closing off with a more typical shoujo styled image from ほがら (Pixiv) with the Riken and Susukihotaru pairing, one that worked quite well.

One could lament the different pairings were set in stone right from the start, but in light of how the series was, viewers can easily forgive that when considering it provided such nice entertainment and served to swoon us with its idyllic romances one can normally only dream of.