It’s time for the new shoujo romance series, Kimi to Koete Koi ni Naru (With You, Our Love Will Make It Through). I didn’t grow up watching shoujo, but I still feel nostalgic toward it and I love its unique, sparkly charm. And this isn’t just any typical romance aimed at young Japanese girls – it’s also a furry fantasy.
The male love interest one of the beastfolk, a minority species that resemble bipedal, humanoid dogs. As a furry, I couldn’t be more excited to watch a series that has an anthropomorphic animal as a love interest. I’m not energetic enough to recap the whole episode, but let’s go over some notes on the first episode of this fluffy love story.
Episode 1
Episode Rating: 8/10
The pilot was solid! I am already keenly invested in the character of Tsunagu, as well as the main premise, setting, and themes of this story. Tsunagu is so sweet and altruistic! The visuals and voice-acting were highly enjoyable. In addition, I like the protagonist, Mari Asaka, so far. She is the cute human girl who falls for the beast boy when he begins attending her highschool. I think a character who falls in love with a member of another species is fascinating. I also find it poetic and rich in symbolism that she invited him to climb over a wall with her. (More on that a bit later.)
It’s too early to tell if the character writing for Mari is really great. But as far as this episode was concerned, she seemed like a fine main character. She’s a little awkward, shy, and spacey but still has friends and family with whom she’s deeply bonded. Mari also possesses a strong sense of justice, a desire for peace, and a tendency to be impulsive. (For example, she even put herself in danger trying to save a classmate.) I believe Mari has the makings of a fantastic heroine of the type who is quietly passionate, surprisingly brave, and deeply loving toward others.
One thing that caught my attention was the origin of the beastfolk. According to the homeroom teacher, the beastfolk came about through human experimentation in the distant past. I think it’s creative and unusual, from a narrative perspective, that this species was “bred” into existence rather than always existing alongside humans. I have a lot of questions about the nature of the beastfolk and I’m excited to learn more.
The world-building is really interesting and good so far. The beastfolk are their own species, but only about 3000 of them exist. Those few thousand live in their own town surrounded by walls that separate them from the outside world of the humans. However, it’s now becoming more accepted for Beastfolk to mingle in human society. Thus, some schools started taking beastfolk as special students. Tsunagu Hidaka is one example. All of this lore is greatly intriguing to me.
As you can see, beastfolk are second-class citizens who are discriminated against. They literally live inside walls like a concentration camp. It’s possible this is a loose metaphor and the beastfolk could be an allegory for any mistreated minority in society. However, it won’t work to try to find direct analogues, because the beastfolk are fundamentally a different species. Homo spaiens are one species. Plus, obviously it would be problematic to compare queer people or ethnic minorities to nonhuman animals.
Though it’s a fantasy with no bearing on reality, I’m a social justice advocate even in fiction. Thus, I love the themes of hope, equality, and fighting prejudice in this anime. As I mentioned earlier, climbing the wall with Mari was hugely significant. It was a literal action as well as well as a symbolic one. I’m hopeful that this anime will continue perpetuating positive themes and small moments of victory like that.
While we’re talking about the positives, I think the romance in this anime is so cute! There were several adorable moments, like when Mari thanked Tsunagu and his tail started wagging in response. Mari and her blushing faces were also precious. However, the pilot episode wasn’t only comprised of wholesome romance, but also some spicy sexual elements. The sexual tension between Mari and Tsunagu is tangible. Mari also finds Tsunagu’s body and physical abilties very hot.
To be honest, despite enjoying furry sexual fantasies, I’m not here watching this anime for that reason. The characters are both canonically sixteen, so I’m not going to be gooning over some teenage boy even if he does look cool as hell. Speaking of sexuality, it seems this anime is a bit similar to Beastars in that the beastfolk sometimes blur the line between sexuality and literal hunger for flesh. That brings us to the last scene in the episode, when Tsunagu loses control and pins down Mari, sniffing her intently and then licking her throat. Mari feared she was about to eaten.
The episode leaves off there. I expect Tsunagu is going to be interrupted by Aida next time. Once he gets a hold of himself, Tsuanagu will probably feel terrible. I wonder if he really felt tempted to eat Mari or if it was some misunderstanding. (Maybe she ate bacon for breakfast and got the smell all over her, lmao.) I had a few other thoughts – mostly about the Japanese voice-actors – but I’m too tired to flush them all out right now. This will have to suffice for my review of the first episode.
~Thanks for reading~
Written by 7Mononoke at Anime Rants
Anime Rants 