Oinari-sama, the seal is broken.

The story follows two boys of the Mizuchi family and the patron Deity that protects them. Tooru and his older brother Noboru are called out to the family shrine because a demon is after their lives. Fortunately, the brothers are as clueless as us, which opens up for a some exposition of the plot for our sake.

The Mizuchi family worships the Water Ki, unfortunately, their power is wavering over time. It’s also interesting that the brothers are the first males to be born to the family.  The boys are introduced to Kou, the shrine maiden of the family. Kou tells them that their enemy is a snake controlling the Wood Ki, which water doesn’t work very well on. So, the decision is made to entreat the family’s fox spirit, Tenko Kuugen, for aid.

If she’s the family’s spirit, why does she need convincing?  Well, she did a lot of bad things and had to be sealed away, and she’s not to happy about it. At first she refuses, but when she finds out who exactly the target is, she decides to lend her support. The newly nicknamed Kuu-chan takes on the form of a female human, and the group prepare for the incoming assault.

Kuu-chan comes up with an extremely effective strategy for defeating her opponent. Afterwards, it’s up to Noboru to determine whether Kuu-chan should be sealed away or allowed to go free. He decides to make her his guardian spirit, which means she gets to return with them to the city.  Grandma sends Kou to watch over them as well. Comedy is bound to come knocking here in some form.

At this point I could go either way. I like Kuu-chan a lot, and Tooru and Kou are okay, but I’m concerned on where they might be headed with Noboru. It’d be easy for him to get left behind in the shuffle, since it appears that enemies are only going to be interested in his brother. The story’s going to need a bit of work too.

Episode Score: 8/10 Foxfires

Objectionable content: Magic-based violence, no blood though.