FIRST LOOK: Inu x Boku SS

Inu x Boku SS has some fantastic art. That much I can say. As a matter of fact, that is the main reason why I even shortlisted this series from the 2012 Winter anime. However, other than that, there's not much going on.

A summary: Inu x Boku SS is the story of Shirakin Ririchiyo, a seemingly harmless-looking girl with tsundere tendencies. At the beginning of the series, she moves into the highly exclusive Ayakashi Apartments, the popular residence of the social and financial elite. Although each tenant of the Ayakashi Apartments receives a secret service (SS) agent to act as their bodyguard, Ririchiyo had opted out of this when she signed the lease contract. Nevertheless, on the day she moves into the apartment, Miketsukami Soushi introduces himself to her as her SS agent. Ririchiyo initially denies Soushi's services, claiming she doesn't them, however, soon changes her mind as Soushi's response to her rejection is to try to end his life, saying that Ririchiyo is his raison d'etre. Ririchiyo soon meets another tenant in the Ayakashi Apartment, Sorinozuka, who seems to know Ririchiyo when they were children, as well as other SS agents. As Ririchiyo begins to settle into her new surroundings and even get used to Soushi, a threat arrives in the form of would-be robbers. The incident leads to the revelation that the Ayakashi tenants are in fact half-demons and the reason they need bodyguards is not to protect them against humans but against much more powerful entities.

Majority of the episode was pretty meh. It was not until the twist towards the end that I actually sat up and started paying attention. This could be interesting. Or not. I don't know. This show by the way is by David Production and this relatively new animation studio has done some pretty unusual (in a good way) stuff in the past. Just for that, I might give this series a three-episode run before I give my final verdict.