#myreview

I am Emperor Comatose. Kneel before me.

All right, genius brain: come up with something! ...I'm hungry. You have failed me, brain.

I have a date with a cylinder.

Usually you not stupid. Why stupid, question?

You are leaky space blob.

Your face is leaking.

"Sample device radio signal strong. Getting closer. Be ready."

"I'm ready."

"Be very ready."

"I am very ready. Be calm."

"Am calm. You be calm."

Diversity and Social Commentary:

First, lets talk about a key facet of this - its selling point, if you will: representation. (I’m not saying ‘selling point’ as a derogatory thing - I myself picked up this book because I really wanted to read a MC who’s trans and Latine.)

The author themself is trans and Latine, and goes by they/them pronouns as far as I can tell. As far as rep goes, I couldn’t see any red flags, nor did I expect any (although I’m not trans and can’t say for certain - I’d love the input of both trans and Latine people on the rep in this book!). To me, the main character, Yadriel, is a fairly straightforward portrayal of a trans, teenage boy, struggling to deal with his family’s short-sighted behaviour while maintaining faith and pride in his identity. 

The parts of the story dealing with Yadriel’s trans identity are sympathetic and heartwarming, managing to address serious topics while keeping the overall tone of the book uplifting and hopeful. As can be expected from a trans author, Yadriel’s journey wasn’t riddled with unnecessary angst or torture, nor did it gloss over the shit that Yadriel had to deal with, being trans in a hetero-and-cisnormative community based in strict tradition.

Side note: I like how the book doesn’t euphemize topics such as classism, American commodification of Dia de los Muertos, etc. 

Style, Tone, and Voice:

The story is written in an unassuming 3rd person past tense, and it’s within the author’s writing style and voice that my first issues with the book arose. There’s nothing wrong, per se, with the way Thomas writes, but just as it doesn’t elicit a harsh negative response, it doesn’t inspire me either. It’s very readable, very digestible, and it would be a great book for a younger reader, but if you’re looking for writing that’s more complex or thought-provoking, this probably isn’t it. 

Similarly, I found the character voices to be...not flat, but not noteworthy either. I’d have enjoyed this book much more if the dialogue and overall language was more unique and less cliché.  

Plot:

Like with other aspects of the story, my reaction to the plot was lukewarm. There were definitely parts I liked much better than others. Overall, I’d say the plot was decent but also fairly predictable on its own. The worldbuilding, which while not outstanding, was solid and interesting, is what gave the plot the unique and intriguing spin that it so needed.

I felt that the plot of this book was more a device by which the characters could be explored, more like a B-side to the characters’ growth, and in that sense, it did its job effectively. I don’t think that this is a bad thing, but if you’re like me and you prefer heavily plot-driven stories, you may find it lacking. I will say there there was a twist at the end that I personally did not anticipate, which delighted me. Other parts of the ending were more lackluster, but that particular reveal, for me, was very enjoyable. 

There is also gay romance within the book, which like most of the story is predictable but cute.

Conclusion

WHAT’S UNCONVENTIONAL ABOUT IT?

This story does not focus on romance, but there is a special and deep relationship between a 15-16 year old girl and a centuries old fox spirit who is a herald for her family’s shrine. As the true successor who is to inherit the place, Makoto is the only one in her family with the ability to see him and other heralds.

THE MAIN CHARACTERS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP

Saeki Makoto

Makoto is a cheerful girl who lives with her dad at a Inari Shrine. She knows she loves Gintarou and the community surrounding the place, but she’s not sure about what she’s going to do in the future.

She’s a kind hearted girl, a bit of an airhead, and I love how she treats Gin as family since she could see him since she was four. Meaning that you can see a nice contrast between how other heirs treat Gin (Gintarou-sama) and how Makoto treats him (he is her friend, confident, pillow, source of knowledge, and most importantly, her equal partner).

It’s not clear in the anime whether she really means her teasing about going on dates with him, and how exactly her “I love you’s” mean, but she seems very serious every time she says she wants to be with him forever and help around the shrine in one way or another.

Gintarou

He is initially the sole herald of the shrine (his partner left many years ago). He is very lazy, grumpy and in wise in some ways.

It’s great to see how he’s not used to be so close with an heir like he is with Makoto. He’s the kind of character who blushes easily when someone (or maybe just Makoto) expresses their love, and I love that about him. He is not a wallflower without vulnerabilities.

It’s very interesting to see his perspective on humans and how things are separate between heralds and them. He encourages the humans to spend time with other humans and not lose their lives talking only with supernatural beings. He is very aware of his position and the distance they should be keeping to avoid drama.

OVERALL OPINION

I have a tremendous soft spot for slice of life, so even though this anime never focuses too much on the Makoto and Gin pair and never outright points anything romantically inclined (it has its subtexts though), I still adored every second of it. Some of it was for personal reasons: the portrayal of the religion reminded me too much of my own attendances and devotion during my childhood and early teenagehood to a Japanese temple that was a mixture of Shinto, Buddhism and Christianism. Some traditions and sense of community through religion lined up exactly with many things I did and experienced, so it grabbed right on my nostalgic heart.

The characters were all likable and their struggles and behaviors never stopped being interesting to me. There were some seeds that were planted that we never got to see much of it before the end, which is understandable considering it’s following the manga which right now is so far ahead (15 vols). I only wish the adaptation got far enough to include more development of our main duo’s dynamic, which I can only guess is a very slow burn or forever implicit in the manga.