Tanto, tanto tempo fa gli Dei concessero grandi poteri agli animali… Ma non tutti gli animali usarono le loro abilità magiche per il bene. Senzo, lo spirito volpe, in particolare, divenne troppo sfacciato e arrogante, abusando della sua forza fino a che non venne imprigionato per il suo pessimo comportamento. Dopo 300 anni, gli Dei decisero finalmente di liberarlo, ma a una condizione: Senzo sarebbe rimasto senza poteri fino a che non avesse aiutato un piccolo cucciolo di tanuki, Manpachi, a diventare un assistente delle divinità. E così, l’ex “Grande Spirito Volpe” Senzo ora deve capire come fare da… babysitter a un tenerissimo (e malizioso) piccolo tanuki, o rischiare di rimanere senza poteri per sempre.
The Fox and the Little Tanuki spins a new story based on the Asian pantheon. Senzou is a fox spirit who abused his power 300 years ago and was locked up for it by the other powerful animal gods. Now out of jail he’s tasked with raising an orphan tanuki named Manpachi so that he’ll become a servant of the gods. They aren’t trusting his word though but have powerful beads that punish him when he makes the wrong choice.
This is totally a family friendly manga, perfect for kids who enjoy comics and graphic novels. The art really draws you in with its slight cartoonish feel and manga sensibility. There’s a lot of explaining at first so the reader can get a grasp of Senzou’s history with the goddess and wolves. Once that’s done we get rolling fast.
The first little god they help is perfect for Manpachi to start his career and Senzou to start his caretaking. The fox and tanuki have some unusual connections that make you hope for Senzou in the future. The white fox and the two shapeshifting wolves also were fun. It made me laugh how this naughty fox seemed boxed in by all of these “good” characters.
The foxes and wolves are called bakemono, a word I hadn’t heard before, meaning shapeshifting beings. I really loved learning this bit of Japanese folklore. This is a great little series start! I can’t wait to pick up the next volume.
I appreciate learning about Japanese lore with Senzu's story and the other animals involved with Japanese Pantheon. I felt really bad for Manipachi and the Sun Goddess does seem to be on a power trip. Overall very interesting but not a fave and I probably won't continue the series.
Me ha gustado mucho tanto el dibujo como la historia, la cual bebe del clásico chino "Viaje al oeste", pero llevada al terreno de la mitología japonesa.
Tanuki é fofo. Fofo, fofo, fofo. A Raposa malévola, que foi malévola, malévola, malévola, bem se lixou, que foi neutralizada. Despertada mas destituída de poderes, tem por missão de auto-salvação zelar pelo pequeno Tanuki, que naturalmente despreza. Mas esta é uma história em que a fofura se adivinha o poder maior...
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE ** Copy received through Netgalley
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The Fox & Little Tanuki, by Mi Tagawa ★★★☆☆ 175 Pages
When I picked this one up, I saw it was a Tokyo Pop production and assumed it was a manga. However, there was no warning when I opened it to begin reading back-to-front, as with most Japanese manga's, so I thought I'd been mistaken and it was a regular comic. Then it took me two pages to realise it *was* a Japanese manga, just in a way I wasn't used to – it wasn't read back-to-front, but the panels were arranged in the same order as most other manga's. It would have been nice to get some clarification on that before I began reading, because it wasn't immediately clear what order the panels were meant to be read in.
Then came the story...while the illustrator has some serious talent, and the artwork was beautiful, there were serious issues with the plot. The story didn't always make sense, or flow, so that you could follow one page to the next or even one panel to the next sometimes. There were a lot of instances where things happened and there was no explanation of *what* had happened or how, until about 2 pages later, or not at all. There was one point where Manpachi “transformed” and we see the result in Senzou transforming instead, but we never actually got to clearly see or understand what that transformation was because it was so confusingly written. The world building, to explain this world of Japanese mythology needed much more work, and the random pages to explain one creatures' place in the mythology weren't enough to help figure things out. In fact, I ended up skipping them because they gave little weight to the story at all.
Then the story ended abruptly right in the middle of a scene. It's one thing to end on a cliffhanger, but it felt like someone had ripped out the last few pages and left 15 pages of adverts in its place.
For me, it's an interesting story, with really beautiful artwork, but the plotting and writing let it down. (I also had an issue with my app crashing every 40 pages, which I can't explain.) It might be better for younger kids, with its strong moral and family-centred plot, but it would still need some work to make it much less confusing.
Je meurs d'amour. 🥺❤️ C'est beaucoup beaucoup beaucouuup trop cute!!! J'ai tellement hâte de voir la relation entre Senzo et ce cutie pie de petit tanuki évoluer. De voir comment ce grand méchant renard va indéniablement finir par découvrir qu'il a un cœur. Et côté graphismes c'est tout ce que j'aime dans un manga: de la douceur et des traits ronds qui rendent tout bien trop chou.
3.5⭐ Для знайомства з жанром "манга" обирала щось просте та миле. Вибір пав на історію про духів-перевертнів в подобі тварин (бакемоно). Загалом історія непогана. Однак забато "трям-бум-клац" і не завжди розуміла зміст малюнку. Можливо це моя недосвідчість? Друга частину читатиму (коли вийде).
I really enjoyed this! Manpachi is very adorable sometimes it hurts to see how innocent he is. I love to see how Senzou is slowly warming up to him too 💕
The Fox and the Little Tanuki was the first volume of a Japanese series featuring a fox-spirit Senzou who is being punished by having to bring up a little Tanuki, and teach him how to serve the gods. Something that is also lacking in Senzou himself. Together they have all kinds of cute little adventures.
The artwork is very cute, I can not describe it in a different way. It was what first drew me to the book. The story is nice too, but maybe a little bit simplistic at times, probably aimed at a young(er) audience. The one thing I didn’t like was the extreme cliffhanger the book ends on. I always hope that volumes are also able to be read individually, which is difficult in this case.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Longer review: Okay, so the story is about animal spirits, bakemono, that live alongside the human realm, and are typically shunned by their families at a young age, and often abandoned. Senzou, a black kitsune, was quite infamous, and was punished with a 300 year sleep by the sun goddess, and now has been awakened for the next stage of his punishment - having to take care of a young tanuki, who he names Manpachi. He is to raise him to be 'a servant of the gods', which means taking care of problems that arise in their world. Their overseers are from the Wolf pack - which includes wolves as well as spirit dogs (there are intros to these characters, and their categories sprinkled throughout), and one is Tachibana, who also happens to be my favorite character in this series!
The dynamic of a grumpy ex-evil fox taking care of a cute tanuki kid is just too adorable. He complains about having a kid as a tag-along but his actions show how much he cares for the kid, and softens as the story goes on. And they both are living with a kitsune who loves to cook (she changes to human form for that). Still, Senzou finds the concept of family false, and is quite aggressive when it comes up. He also has a lot of resentment against the gods, and the bakemono who serve them. Manpachi, meanwhile, is an adorable baby, who clings to Senzou, and loves him. They both also have an unexpected bond, in that Senzou's ability to use magic is tied to Manpachi, who himself is a powerful user.
In this volume, they take on their first case - helping a zashiki-warashi recover something lost. Later, as Manpachi is missing his family and after getting scolded by Senzou for remembering the family that abandoned him, comes across an old acquaintance of Senzou's. While it also has themes of child abandonment, and death, as well as the sad sides of the relationships between ayakashi and humans, the tone of the book tends more towards humor. Tachibana especially is a delight! The character design is also excellent, with cute animal designs and cute anthropomorphic designs as well. Overall, it is interesting, cute and I can't wait for more!
Sous l'apparence d'être un manga tout mignon, ce manga est une histoire truffée d'enfances dramatiques et de souvenirs de guerre traumatisants. Grâce aux relations amicales compliquées qui créent de nouvelles familles, les personnages apprennent peu à peu à faire confiance. Il y a donc plusieurs moments très émouvants à travers la série (j'en ai lu six tomes).
J'ai beaucoup apprécié les références aux dieux et aux animaux mythiques du Japon. L'un des plus vieux sanctuaires du Japon, le Isonokami-Jinja (石上神宮) garde des coqs en liberté sur les lieux en hommage à Amaterasu. La représentation et les personnalités des animaux (les coqs, les renards blancs d'Inari, les tanuki, les blaireaux) sont basés sur de bonnes recherches par la mangaka, qui vient de terminer cette série (pour un total de 7 tomes).
De cette mangaka, j'ai préféré la série Père et fils, parce qu'il y a moins de personnages à retenir, et qu'on s'attache donc plus facilement à chacun. Mais j'ai beaucoup aimé aussi les merveilleuses images de Le renard et le petit tanuki, et Mi Tagawa a le don de transmettre l'émotion engendrée par le retour de la confiance et de l'espoir.
*ARC received from Netgalley in return for an honest review*
The first thing I noticed about this manga was the adorable cover and characters. I just had to pick it up. And I wasn't disappointed in the cuteness department. It is almost cuteness overload. The artwork was the best part.
I loved learning about Bakemono lore and seeing Manpachi's and Senzou's interactions. But the plot is rather simplistic and if I was younger, I probably would have loved. It is a great read for a younger audience, say middle grade to young teen.
C'était très très très mignon 🥰❤ mais l'histoire en elle-même ne m'a pas non plus semblée folichonne, et le seul perso féminin (à par la déesse) sert à rien à part faire à manger et être une figure maternelle 🙄
Rating: 4 Stars ★★★★ (maybe 4.5!) The Fox & Little Tanuki is a charming and entertaining manga debut filled with so much heart, following an evil fox spirit whose been awakened by the sun goddess and given another chance, which means raising a cute tanuki to be a servant to the gods!! The fast-pace, great artwork, and compelling story steeped in Japanese mythology make this a fantastic manga series worth checking out!
What first drew me to this manga was the beautiful cover and once learning more about the summary, I knew I had to read it! I actually started this one last year, but never got back to it but what really sticks with you is how the various character's personalities (Senzou and Panpachi's especially) just bleed through the page. I just had to learn more about them and finish up this first volume and now I am OBSESSED wow this was so good!!
Senzou, an evil fox, has been asleep for 300 years only to be awakened with his powers gone, he must now take care of a little tanuki and raise it to be a servant of the gods. To ensure he's on track, a pearl necklace has been placed on him to inflict him with the pain he caused in his past life. Whether he's too far from the tanuki, tries to avoid the goddess's orders or tries to harm others, the pearls will bring pain.
This first volume is not only an introduction to the otherworld, but also features a quest and introduces us to a cast of characters sure to be present in future volumes.
The Fox & Little Tanuki is steeped in Japanese folklore and mythology. There's various bakemono we are introduced to, which are yokai in the form of animals that trek around the otherworld which looks to be sprawling with nature, forests, etc. I loved learning about the different bakemono, spirit dos, wolves, etc. and seeing how they all interact within this world.
This is the literal definition of a grumpy x sunshine dynamic that is just so fun to read. We learn that the tanuki (called Manpuchi) and Senzou have something in common, they were both abandoned at a young age. Though there's still much mystery surrounding their pasts, I can't wait to see how they bond and grow closer.
There's a lot of interwoven messages about family, correcting mistakes, moving on, and allowing oneself to grow/trust that I think are subtly woven into the narrative in such a beautiful way. Both Manpachi and Senzou are in completely new territory here and they still have a lot to learn about each other, but you can see how these important themes are present in their trials and triumphs throughout the first volume!
The artwork is very crisp and reads almost like an anime adaptation, it's so immersive, fast-paced, and very detailed when it comes to the characters. The artwork is incredibly expressive where you can even see all those subtle emotional moments from the cast as the story progresses. The covers especially are like works of art, done in such a beautiful watercolor style!
I think however, despite the great pacing and interesting story, there's just a lot of the world that's just rushed into a bit too quickly. The story is an absolute page-turner, but there's just a lot about the world and mythology that it can be a it overwhelming at first with how fast the pacing is, but the further you get into the story it's an absolute treat start to finish.
The Fox & Tanuki Vol. 1 is a wonderful manga series you should definitely check out!
Für mich war es echt eine Umstellung von hinten nach vorne und rechts oben nach links unten zu lesen - zum Glück ist es aber im Buch erklärt worden. Als ich mich dann darauf eingelassen habe, wurde ich belohnt mit einem Buch voller wunderschöner Zeichnungen, vielen Informationen und einer süßen Geschichte! Der schwarze Fuchs Senzou muss sich nach einem 300jährigen Schlaf um den kleinen Tanuki Manpachi kümmern. Er gibt ihm den Namen und erlebt einige Abenteuer mit ihm. Dabei erfährt der Leser - die Alterszielgruppe wird mit 8 Jahren angegeben - viel über japanische Mythologie, wie Hausgeister und Opfergaben an diese. Auch werden weitere Informationen in Form von Fußnoten zur Verfügung gestellt - was das -san am Namen bedeutet und ähnliches. Da ich sehr wenig über die japanische Mythologie weiß, hat mich das auch sehr interessiert und die Geschichte mit den wirklich toll gezeichneten und teilweise sehr niedlichen Figuren hat mir Spaß gemacht! Eine echte Horizont-Erweiterung!
Мила гарно намальована дитяча манга. Таке можна сміливо давати дітям років так з 7-8. Але ну Наша ідея, на перших же сторінках "зупинЕмо", ну! ["br"]>["br"]>
So I'm reading this, and it's cute and adorable and fluffy like cotton candy, really sweet, y'know? But then there's all these feels going on too, the ones that clutch your heart and make you all teary eyed, so this isn't just a piece of warm fuzzy, it brings the heartache and the happy cry too. And the art is sooooo pretty! The characters are really good, they feel real and complex and not one-dimensional at all. But ahhhhhhh! Cliffhanger!