What’s better than watching anime? Reading a book that reads like an anime! Because reading is fun, kids.

I’ve wanted to read Shadow of the Fox since it came out and I learned that it was full of Japanese lore and culture. Mostly because I’m both a simple person and an anime fan, so really, that’s all it takes to grab my attention.

Kagawa weaves a world full of supernatural creatures and half-humans and danger and romance and talking swords.

Which let’s be honest, no fantasy world is complete without talking swords.

❧ Shadow of the Fox reads very much like an anime … and have I mentioned how much I enjoy anime?

I confess, I’m one of those weirdos that pictures books in their head like movies, even though we aaaaall know that the book is better than the movie. It’s just a thing I do. And it was so incredibly easy to do while reading this book.

The scenes aren’t overly descriptive, but they’re just enough to give a clear image of what’s going on. Plus, the tropes that are used are common anime tropes, rather than the traditional YA tropes. Which is … refreshing?

Don’t get me wrong—tropes are tropes for a reason. They persist because people love them. But there was something incredibly nice about no love triangles, no insta-love. That being said … tropes are still tropes, and anime tropes are no different. You have the naive, innocent (chosen one) female lead, the disgraced alcoholic ronin who is clearly a master of sarcasm, the sociopathic loner who has to protect the chosen one, a grandiose quest to save the world, a bad guy who is Totally Evil™ just because.

Of course, this can be a double-edged sword (and not the talking kind) because if you know anything about anime, you know there’s a ton of filler, and it tends to be episodic.

Which Shadow of the Fox is, on both accounts. It can work well if you enjoy that sort of thing, but if you don’t … well, you’ve been warned.

For me, I loved it. The characters fit very neatly into anime tropes, and they played well off each other. By the time the whole group was formed mid-book, I definitely got Inuyashavibes character-wise, which dragged me in and kept me reading.

❧ THERE’S A TALKING SWORD!

By now, I feel like we’ve all established how I feel about this. I hope to come back in the next life as a talking sword. Probably an evil one. You’ve been warned.

I was actually on the fence about this one, though, because this sword isn’t sarcastic and witty. I mean, is that even a thing people can do?!

I’m sorry, but if you’re a talking sword and you can’t muster at least a few bits of witty, sarcastic dialogue to earn your keep, I’m leaving you at the nearest temple so you can think about what you’ve done.

❧ Now this is a world I could live in!

I would probably die. I mean, the odds are, like, 90%. Maybe 95%. Eh, it’d be worth it.

There’s folklore and magic and half-kitsunes and ronin and warring samurai clans and a scroll that, you know, can sort of casually destroy the world and stuff. No big deal.

What Kagawa does a particularly good job with, though, is incorporating various Japanese mythology and creatures into the story. And if you’re not familiar with these adorable little things, Google the crap out of them. Because Edward Scissorsquirrel may sound kind of silly while reading, but I promise, Kamaitachi are a force to be reckoned with.

❧ Tatsumi and Okame embody the popular anime trope of enemies who grudgingly become allies … and I am all for this. ❤

I mean, this trope is basically life for me. Sasuke and Naruto. Goku and Vegeta. Sanji and Zoro. There are tons of examples of this in anime, and it’s one of my favorite tropes. Mostly because it always accompanies sarcasm and witty barbs, and that is basically what keeps me alive at this point.

Okame is a complicated person, I’m sure. Unfortunately, his personality dongle seems to have broken in the “sarcastic drunkard” position. And let’s face it, we all prefer him this way.

Because he’s funny. And Tatsumi is so serious and hellbent on his purpose (which is being a weapon, so, I mean, I get it. It’s a rough life.) They get some really good quips back and forth, though, that had me giggling.

❧ Remember that thing I said about it being episodic? Yeah, well … I sort of forgot the plot existed for a while.

I’m not entirely sure whether this is due to my terrible memory or the fact that the story is, essentially, a really long quest story, but there were times when I actually forgot what the characters’ main goals were. Not in a bad way, necessarily.

The episodes are entertaining, and each had its own charm. But the characters would bring up their destination or their quest, and I’d be like, oh, yeah, that was a thing, wasn’t it?

Because of this, the story felt a bit disjointed to me, in some ways. There was so much going on that a bit of cohesiveness was lost in the process.

❧ I’m not sure why Suki even exists.

Which, wow, sounds really harsh. Don’t get me wrong, she seems like a marvelous character. I’m sure she should exist somewhere. But why is she in this book?

I’m assuming she comes into play in later books, but for now her only purpose seems to be to die (which isn’t a spoiler because, ha, it’s the very first thing that happens in the dang book) and to give insight on what the bad guys are up to. That’s pretty much it.

It’s a sad purpose for what seemed like a pretty sad life. And an extremely sad death. It’s just all sad. I was just confused about what exactly she was adding to the story, aside from a glimpse at the bad guy. Speaking of which …

❧ I don’t understand the villain. Or their motives. Or … anything. I’m just confused.

Coming from a person who 85% of the time actually roots for the bad guy. The villain can make or break a book for me. If I’m not feeling it or don’t get a good sense of them as a person, I’m much less likely to enjoy the book, which is what was happening here, to some degree.

I realize this is just book one of a series, but I was expecting more from the antagonist, I guess. Maybe I missed something that was there. I don’t know. But I just didn’t connect.

❧ I’m not a big fan of the romance, which should come as a surprise to no one.

I’m very picky with romance in books. This one just happens to tick all the boxes of tropes that make me want to grrrrr.

✦ Super obvious these characters are going to get together.
✦ Even though they have no chemistry or reason to be attracted to each other.
✦ Emotionally unavailable guy falls for weak, naive girl.
✦ While denying his feelings (duh) because he’s complicated and dangerous.
✦ Girl is just … oblivious.
✦ Girl changes obviously “broken” guy with the power of existing.

Now, I will say that these are very common anime tropes, so do they fit well into the setting Kagawa seems to be trying to establish? Sure, probably. But I am an equal opportunity complainer, and I complain about the same things in the anime I watch, so nyah.

Have you read Shadow of the Fox yet? What did you think? Do you picture a movie in your head when you read? TELL ME I’M NOT ALONE. *cries*