Guest Review: Etotama

Another guest review by our friend Waldo, this time here is a look at...

Etotama

First, the plot hook: The animals of the Chinese Zodiac have entered the 12^th festival, where any of the animal clans that didn’t make it to the Zodiac can choose to fight all 12 members to earn a spot on the Zodiac, kicking a member off. To fight, they need to gather Sol/Lull, which is generated by human appreciation/worship. Nyaa-tan, the cat, comes through a “fuzzy space” in the house that Takeru Amato is renting. Upon discovery that his Sol/Lull is unusually pure, takes up residence at this house and attempts to finagle enough Sol/Lull to fight the members of the Zodiac.

I had no idea what to expect from this when I watched it and I’m still not sure why I continue to watch it. That being said, it is by no means a bad anime, simply way out of my preferred genre of anime. The characters are quirky enough to continue coming back to watch and the motivations of each character go beyond background character tropes. Yes, there is a cow on the zodiac and yes, she fits the stereotype. The cow (Moo-tan) also has a crush on Nyaa-tan. Despite this, there isn’t that much in the way of fanservice and the show does have a more serious side later in. Because this is out of my typical show, I don’t have a comparison.