The ability to see spirits or ayakashi runs in Aoi Tsubakis family and with her grandfather recently deceased shes aiming to avoid them and just finish her college degree. Plans change when shes kidnapped to the supernatural Hidden Realm: told her grandfather used her as collateral on a debt shes to marry an ogre Appalled Aoi negotiates to work in the ogres inn to earn the money pay off her grandfathers debt and earn her release. Sometimes I look at a show and go thats for me and sometimes I am correct about that first impression. And here I was correct. Supernatural. Bright colors. Action/activity but not a fighting show. Mysterious and kind supernatural man. Opening themes that I need to acquire for permanent ownership. Aoi is a likeable protagonist: firm while kind. Thrown into another world both literally and figuratively she has to deal with the disadvantage of being a human weak deliciouslooking among a variety of supernatural beings most of which are strong and many of which think shed make a good meal. No blushing schoolgirl her standout trait is pragmatism: oh Ive been taken to the spirit realm? I can work with this. You expect me to marry you? Dont be ridiculous there are other ways to pay off a debt. Youre the master of the land and want to help me cook this bigdeal meal? Sure but youre not allowed to touch anything until you trim those claws. You want to quit your job as an apology for something you did? Seems stupid then wed have to hire someone else. Shes not crotchety and shes very kind but shes also practical. Its refreshing. The ability to see ayakashi runs in her family and apparently being able to see them attracts them. To help Aois grandfather taught her how to cook food ayakashi like giving her a valuable skill when dealing with the supernatural. And thats the route Aoi takes at the inn: stumbling across an empty restaurant building and a friendly fox man they partner up to open a restaurant setting the stage for the rest of the series. There are a lot of deliciouslooking food shots which is to be expected and a lot of the tone surrounding it will be familiar to anyone whos watched a foodfocused anime before: lots of care and thought going into food pairings delight at finding a rare ingredient food that helps bridge interpersonal divides etc. IDK I guess thats probably common in any media that revolves around food but I watch a lot of anime OK? But its not solely a foodfocused show. The food is a tool Aois way to survive and then thrive as well as a way to connect with ayakashi. Food as medicinelike when a snow woman collapses and needs chilled foodand food as connectionlike when a tengu searches for a replica of his mothers cooking. And food that plays a big part various Big Story Plot Things but I try to avoid spoilers. Aoi also gets to explore the world taken on day trips by her fox friend or the mysterious master ogre who quickly settled down into a friend and much less of a jerk than youd expect from the initial abduction+marriage proposal. Theres the big story Aoi in the Hidden Realm Aois growing relationships the other big story the second half of the series leading up to a big magical ritual and then the multiple little stories: bits of Aois or her grandfathers pasts backstories of other characters the lives of other Hidden Realm denizens the weird and charming stuff that happens when an inn caters to the supernatural. Sure sometimes an episode might have a fight with flaming arrows raining down on the flying boat where Aoi and company are then other episodes will just be about Aoi making a new friend and having conversations. I hesitate to call something slice of life when that life involves giant spiders fighting in the hotel or assassination attempts but many episodes are less actionoriented and theres a kindness and domesticity that appears throughout. It was the kind of show I looked forward to watching actively watching not just having on while I did other stuff. Plus the main characters are enjoyable. Verdict English Dub? Yes Visuals: Average on average but it avoids highlighting its issues by focusing on fantastic food shots and by having a decent amount of movement/action and multiple characters in frame fairly frequently. Worth Watching? Yes. This was the perfect balance between engaging with plot and cannot make me feel tense during a plague and I portioned the 26 episodes out as a reward for finishing work each day completing the series in a month. I loved the world based in folklore and how we get to see more of it as the show progresses. I wish there was more although what we have ends nicely. The light novels its based on are still ongoing the 11th was published at the end of 2020 the anime apparently adapts the first 5 so Aois story clearly hasnt ended but the main storylines events wrap up so youre left wanting more without a cliffhanger.
81 /100
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