Anime: Otome Youkai Zakuro

Zakuro is a female half-demon, the second I heard this I instantly though of Inuyasha with the pairing reversed. While the two series are both set in a historic period and both share the general hate towards half-demons by both demons and humans, Zakuro is a much shorter and focused series. The show is about the Ministry of Spirit Affairs, which pairs army officers with hanyou fox demons to resolve spirit-related issues and in general try to improve public sentiment towards spirits. The story follows these pairs as they solve cases and grow closer to their partners.

I was pleasantly surprised at how the characters turned out as I was initially somewhat taken aback by the character drawing styles (just doesn't look quite right from certain angles). I agree with many comments in that this isn't really seinin, the romantic relationships definitely are more shojo based, but still good enough for me. In summary, this is a nice, short romantic fantasy with some action and a bit of comedy. This isn't for die-hard action fans and it isn't meant to be over thought. With that in mind, enjoy the viewing and prepare to be bewitched!

Animation:
Zakuro is a very dynamic series in terms of animation. The character drawing style is a bit odd at first, and completely weird for some characters such as the mini-pumpkin kids, but you get used to it after a while. Despite this, facial expressions are great, and become very important for the character section. The show also makes significant use of color, slice of life periods will have serene colors while mysterious zones have a dark mahogany aura. Certain elements of shojo are apparent here including the drawing style for the males and flowers/stars popping up around characters occasionally. There are also some battle sequences but as roriconfan pointed out these are pretty short and definitely shouldn't be a primary reason for watching this. There is some blood and no nudity (other than partial in the OP for some reason) and no ecchi moments. I noticed one or two CGI usages but these aren't very often so they shouldn't detract from the experience.

Sound:
As a techno geek, I find the OP terrific. There are three EDs, one for each hanyou (the twins count as one pairing...) and their army partner. The EDs aren't that great, and some of them really ruin the mood following a tense moment in the episode. BGM is average and includes an insert song that the girls sing (the partial reason is explained half way through the series).

Mai Nakahara is definitely the standout VA in this series. She gives Zakuro the perfect balance of roughness and inner cuteness that the tsundere title requires. VAs in general fit their characters very well.

Story:
The story starts off in an episodic manner where we find the ministry tasked with dealing with a spirit per episode. Along the way, we learn tidbits about the hanyous' past. This starts off fairly light and slow, but this changes rapidly as the pace greatly picks up around halfway through the show. From that point onwards, this is definitely chain mode.

To be completely honest, there isn't any consistency with the early spirit enemies, they seemed to be almost randomly chosen. The enemies also aren't terribly skilled, usually being brought down easily by Zakuro. This is also a show where the guys occasionally serve as meat shields but that's about it (think Ryoushi in Ookami-san); their primary purpose is therefore to bring happiness to the hanyou girls.

There are quite a few plot holes that are never explained (what's with demons in the first place), but the series does manage to get some cohesion near the end of the series. There's a very distinct climax followed by a very well executed falling action. To be honest, the plot line wasn't terribly great as certain events felt very artificial . However, the execution near the end is quite good, and left me with a fairly positive impression.

Character:
The major achievement in this series is simultaneously exploring three relationship pairs simultaneously. I think this was very well done, so much so that it was enough for me to overlook the plot deficiencies. I guess I'm just a sucker for good character interactions, and this show has plenty of it. You really get a feeling that the characters bond significantly as the series progresses. And you have all your basic requirements for a bit of drama including some jealousy aimed at multiple directions. Just note that Zakuro is definitely the focus of the show, and she does the majority of the work in general (hence the show title). Overall a splendid execution through.

Value:
For its length, Zakuro was an enjoyable watch. The latter half was intense, both in terms of plot progression as well as relationship progression. Despite having some flaws, this show was in general very enjoyable and deserved an entire rewatch.

Animated by J.C. Staff, which translates to “screw the plot; here comes fan service.” Directed by Kon Chiaki, who is a bit famous for her debut work at Higurashi but the rest of her roster is one big failure. Nothing to see here, go home, Zakuro is yet another fantasy romcom for girls and just like the bulk of its kind, it is generic, far-fetched and uninspired.

The story is about humans cooperating with half-monsters against other monsters, as part of cultural understanding. And since this is a fan caring show, the human military officers don’t look like unshaved macho brutes oozing testosterone, but as fashion model gays. And the half-monsters don’t look like ferocious hairy beasts but as cute girls with animal ears; the stuff otaku wet dreams are made of. This is how realistic this show is.

But I am not going to condemn it for being good at what it aims (making the viewer escape reality). It’s the very own core elements that are taken as a joke and end up alienating any viewer who is not fooled into liking a show just because it has gays and nekomimis. For example, the core theme of the series is racism and how two different species need to understand one another if they are to cooperate better. Yet it is done very superficially to matter in the long run. I mean, who in the audience would REALLY hate these cuties just because they have animal ears? And to the most part they don’t even act any different that normal Japanese people, so what is the problem in understanding them? The very internal struggle of the story is not convincing or even captivating; it is just a silly excuse to pair cutties with hotties. I mean the show ends and nothing changed at all; it even feels like a typical harem finale.

So ok, the story sucks. How about the action? They are after all teaming up to take out dangerous monsters. Well no, not even that is good since the battles are short and way too simple. They just sing a silly song or the monsters are way too stupid and fall for juvenile tricks. Plus, it’s the girls doing all the work, while the males are just standing idle and looking all dazed with how cute they girls are. So they are practically useless in this otherwise teamwork.

Ok, the action sucks too. How about the characters? They all look different and there are several flashbacks showing the ill treatment the girls received in the past, which indeed works as character coloring on a basic level. Well no, they all end up being very shallow, besides Zakuro for having HALF THE SHOW centered on her. All the rest of the girls don’t have any side story of their own and the males are just idle spectators. Everybody ends up being defined by a sexual fetish, which in effect makes them all boring caricatures. As fan catering as other shows like Elfen Lied or Ouran High School may have been, each character there would start as a fetish but along the way would receive a unique side story that would set him apart from the rest. This does not happen here at all; they all go through the exact same events and have very similar simplistic backgrounds, so they only end up being the same character with different looks.

So ok, the characters suck too. How about the romance? It has a taboo pairing of humans with half-breeds so it must be good. No it isn’t. The so-called romance is very forced and shallow as all we see them doing is being paired by their superiors in the first episode. Well where is the romance if they didn’t chose their partner or fell in love with him/her BEFORE being paired? They could have being paired any other way and the result would be the same thus there is no actual love here. As for the evolution of their relationship later on, it doesn’t exist since Zakuro is the only one who has a story to begin with.

So ok, the romance sucks. How about the production values? I must say that the artwork and animation are well done for such a show, as everything looks like a dreamy setting, blending a retro look of Japan, along with fantasy and even occult. The use of colors and lighting is done great and you really feel woozy when they are fooling around and anxious when they go chase some monster. Plus the characters are all drawn from the stuff of wet dreams so it helps to keep your eyes open. The thing that is bad is the action scenes which are plain horrible in terms of duration and choreography. The music part is not so good as the soundtrack is passable pop songs and some voices may feel to annoying from time to time. Otherwise, not bad in itself.

As you can tell from the above, I didn’t enjoy Zakuro much. It was all too basic and superficial. I also don’t give this show any value as it is so generically executed, not even the target audience will be interested for long and will forget it as soon as the next fan catering anime pops up.

Do not be deceived by the "seinen" tag, 'Otome Youkai Zakuro' ('Girl Demon Zakuro') has everything that makes it a shoujo anime.

The story is centered around newly formed Ministry of Spirit Affairs where Zakuro, along with other half-demon operatives and militants settle youkai-related problems around the city. Zakuro has a mysterious background, and slowly learns her own dark past through encounter with various antagonists. Hmm... the plot synopsis and setting sure sound like shounen. However, the story, character, and animation have such strong resemblance to typical shoujo material that no one in the right mind can possibly claim this is targeted toward the male demographics.

Story: 6/10
The story is set in 19th century alternate Japan, where Westernization had just begun. It actually looks like colonization because the army consists entirely of Caucasian-looking guys while half-demons and civilians are dressed in traditional Japanese attire, but it is not clear exactly how the government functions or how the civilians are reacting toward Westernization. This show is certainly not about politics or realism, and that's just fine. The central theme of 'Otome Youkai Zakuro' is romance. Members of Ministry of Spirit Affairs are separated into 3 pairs (I'm going to count the twins as one), and basically they instantly fall in love and overcome numerous romantic predicaments, forming stronger bond after each incident. The romance really kicks in through mid-latter part of the show. Now, most shoujo series are about romance, but that doesn't automatically make it one. What does make this a shoujo series is that the girls keep ending up in the arms of princes through most improbable circumstances, and the fact that 90% of the time it was the girl whose heart "skips a beat" after a guy spews out an incredibly corny line. Another major theme of this show is coexistence of youkai (demons) and human beings. This is also set up so that it's the girl who's in the receiving end of the discrimination, and the handsome prince comes to the rescue.

The story does have a very good flow, as we learn more about Zakuro's past in every episode, which piques our interest for new episodes without apparent cliffhangers. On the other hand, there are so many plot holes with the setting and turn of events that completely defies logic.

Character: 5/10
Zakuro is by far the strongest operative in Ministry of Spirit Affairs, but being a shoujo anime that it is, she's mentally weak and constantly requires the big, tough prince to protect her, even though Agemaki is very weak and thus never putting up a real fight (he just offers moral support).
Susukihotaru is a typical fragile chick who needs protection, and he gets it from the strongest and honorable human warrior Riken.
Ganryuu is a shoujo-equivalent of a loli, and gets the twins Bonbori and Houzuki to constantly pamper him.

I have to admit the characters did have very good backgrounds that made them interesting and contributed to the story, but this setup makes the show predictable as hell.

The character abilities also do not make a good shounen show, because men are completely hopeless, and all girls other than Zakuro are nearly equally useless, not even having any support ability than singing (why does it even raise Zakuro's spirit level?). All their skills are for reconnaissance rather than actual battles, and it's always Zakuro showing up and defeats the enemy in 1 hit to advance the plot.

Animation: 7/10
The style is decidedly targeted toward, and typical of shoujo series. All the guys look so feminine that I was surprised there was no BL. A lot of flowers blooming to express emotion (obviously done as a joke, but still...). The demons are rather friendly looking, 'Inu Yasha' types, and very little gore or blood.
I personally hate this art style, but technically it was above average. Characters have high consistency in appearance, and detailed. Backgrounds set nice atmosphere, and it's usually clear sky or indoors with few objects, but detailed when it needs to be. Action sequences are short, but quite watchable as a shounen.

Sound: 7/10
Everyone sounded like they should. Very emotional when needed to be.
BGM was pretty ordinary and did not play a crucial part in the show.
OP was somewhat catchy, but too intense for the mood of this series, and ED was outright horrible.

Value/Enjoyment: 5.5/10
'Otome Youkai Zakuro' is like a shoujo version of 'Inu Yasha'. It does have some shounen and seinen elements mixed in, but predominantly a shoujo anime. The story structure and premise are messy, and I don't know what the author was trying to do with this series.
Needless to say, I'm not into corny shoujo stuff, but I found the story to be more engaging than most shoujo series I've seen before despite its flaws. The ending was quite satisfying and sums up everything well.