Yuuki Ray’s Tamamo-Chan’s a Fox is the cutest, most wholesome thing I’m reading right now ~ I’m happy I gave it a shot!

I saw this pop up months ago on the preorder form from my Local Comic Shop, but I was on the fence. Recently, I decided that, given the current status of (non) on-time deliveries for most of the series I’m reading, I’ll give this a shot, as it was available. And wow!

Generally speaking, I’m not a huge fan of yonkoma (4-koma) comics. There’s a few on my shelves, but they’re generally not in my “return to and re-read” lists. Tamamo, however ~ just wow!

MCs & Setup: Our primary protagonist is Fushimi Tamamo, one of the legendary Komagitsune White Foxes (actually, Invisible, but invisible would make it hard to see her in the comic, so she’s portrayed as a ‘white fox’) from the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. Our supernatural Fox heroine serves as messenger / familiar to her shrine’s goddess (Inari Okami, aka: Uka no Mitami Okami-Sama), but *REALLY* wants to give school life a chance. So she transforms (poorly) into a human girl and joins a Tokyo high school as a ‘transfer student from Kyoto’.

Tamamo has a fun cast of characters with her, including her new BFFs Nakki, Mikki, and Chicchi; assorted classmates and teachers; and a few guests from her past life, including her older sister Tenko (also a White / Invisible Fox from the shrine) and their goddess Okami-Sama. For the most part, her fellow students see her as a fox, while most adults and cameras capture her as a pretty typical young woman, albeit one always wearing heavy mehajiki (aikyoubeni ~ a style of makeup that serves as a ward against evil spirits).

Early on, Nakki is visited by the goddess Okami-Sama and asked to look over Tamamo prior to her entering school, which she agrees to, and happily runs interference for Tamamo as she tries (with varying degrees of success) to navigate her new world. Okami-Sama arranges for Tamamo and Nakki to be seated next to each other for their three years of school, solidifying their proximity and friendship.

The Art & Story: Yuuki Ray does an incredible job with both, drawing and story telling, and it brings Tamamo-Chan and her world to life in ours. The little details that are captured in the backgrounds and settings make Tokyo feel alive on the pages, and ready to be explored and discovered by the reader. The story, despite being a 4-koma / slice of life – comedy, has a very comforting narrative thread through it. Tamamo’s history, her sister, her goddess, and the relationships she has in her new life are all well-thought out and feel very ‘real’ (other than the obvious part about everyone just agreeing to not call attention to the fact that she’s a fox-girl).

Notes: One item that really impresses me throughout this volume are the notes in the margins, footers, and end of chapter. Different from occasional translation notes, the margin notes are often musings of Tamamo-Chan providing historical / cultural notes and clarifications or her thoughts on the page’s topics. Footers are usually of the ‘and then X happened’ variety and add a bit of humor to what happens as a result of Tamamo’s and her friends’ actions. The end of chapter notes usually provide more detail on the references that would be quite unfamiliar to a non-Japanese reader (more inline with most end of volume translation notes I’ve seen in other works.

Rating Time! I really want to go high with my rating based on the art and story, but there’s something about the lighter topic and general comedic atmosphere that has me holding back to the 7 – 7.5 range. Like I said earlier, this is adorable and one of the most wholesome things I’ve read in a long time; it’s cute, well-drawn, a solid story, and just a very chill experience.

• Strengths
  • This world is beautifully drawn and captures a very light, clean environment
  • The copious notes are amazing and intersperse a serious (though somewhat high-level / superficial) glimpse into Japanese culture and history
  • It’s not overly fan-service-y
  • Focus on platonic relationships among the classmates and how they see Tamamo-Chan
• Weaknesses
  • It’s very 4-koma in the sense that it relies on stand alone strips / chapters and gags
  • There’s a thread of a plot, but it’s much more a slice of life comedy series and focused on the relationships and vignettes in the lives of our characters
  • I’m not sure how Yuuki Ray is going to address the passage of time (or not) as we move through Tamamo’s story (this could be a weakness or not, depends on how it’s handled)

I encourage you to support the author and purchase from your Local Comic Shop or an authorized retailer for Seven Seas. (Official Seven Seas series page HERE.)

A/N | Technical Aside: Still dealing with the software / scanner issues and using 3rd party software, but I think I’ve worked most of the stuff out. I stopped scanning in 24bit color and went with the grayscale option, which I think makes it look a little sharper. I also set the scan resolution to 300dpi, which seems to be the sweet spot with the grayscale. Hopefully, these scans look better for the review and do a much better job capturing the quality of the original work!