Life nowadays feels too fast-paced. If you’re the type of person who gets easily swept away by all your responsibilities, you’ll understand the feeling of being too tired to enjoy life and get proper rest. One anime this Spring 2019 addresses exactly that and I would love to recommend it to those tired people who need some love.
Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san (The Helpful Fox Senko-san) is a slice of life anime by Studio Doga Kobo. The show is directed by Tomoaki Koshida whom you may know as the director of Zoku Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru. The anime’s source is a manga by mangaka Rimukoro so some people may have already read this heckin’ fluffy story.
The anime’s story is simple: We have the Nakano, who is a clearly overworked salaryman working for a ruthless company, meet an intruder in his home one day after coming home from a tiring day at work. This uninvited guest is Senko who is an 800-year-old divine messenger fox with an appearance of a little fox girl. Her goal is to help clear out the anxiety and darkness plaguing humanity by pampering them and Nakano just happens to be the man she chose to heal. You can expect each episode to be light and fluffy as it explores the loving relationship of Nakano and Senko.
The anime is visually relaxing due to its use of light and soft colors. The art style is simple and cute and it certainly helps emphasize Senko’s adorable features. One needs to only look at her floofy ears and tail to realize that those two things are probably the show’s animation highlight. Doga Kobo isn’t new to this type of animation style since they’ve done shows like Gabriel DropOut, Himouto! Umaru-chan, and New Game! If you’re a fan of any of the aforementioned shows, then Senko-san might just be the show for you this season.
I find the anime interesting and worth a try because of how the viewers can relate to the situation of Nakano. For the setting, the show doesn’t hold back in showcasing the dark and dreary side of modern society. Nakano is presented as your basic overworked salaryman who has nothing interesting in his life. The man lives alone, gets a minimal amount of sleep, and eats cheap yet unhealthy food. He’s too busy and tired to find time for recreation and we can only sigh in exasperation as we wonder how he gets by in his dull and colorless life. There’s not much else I can say about Nakano because that’s all he is. He has no special skills or powers that make up for the suffering he goes through. If anything, his specialty is being Tired™. Nakano’s not the only guy who’s living such a life. The show describes humanity as being like this as a whole and Nakano’s just one example. With that said, there’s no shortage of people who can relate to our main guy.
This portrayal of humanity’s living conditions is not without real life basis. Japan is noted to have one of the longest working hours and has even coined the term “karoshi” which means death by overwork. In that case, how does the show solve this problem? This is where Senko comes in. Senko is what I would call the wish-fulfilling character of the show due to how she is portrayed as the perfect housewife. She does all the housework perfectly and will even indulge Nakano with his desires for rest and relaxation usually through fluffing her tail. Senko provides a type of affection that soothes the soul and washes your worries away so that you can challenge the next day feeling refreshed and happy. This is exactly what Nakano needs since he lacks companionship and support in his life. The show may make life appear cold and exhausting but it fights it with the warmth Senko and Nakano bring.
Watching anime can help people calm down and Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san can do just that. If you’re interested in watching something cute and relaxing then give this show a try. Otherwise, at least take the show’s message to heart: No matter how tired and stressed you are, always find time to rest and find people who care for you and love you unconditionally.
