Okami-san and her Seven Companions: First Look

Okami-san and her Seven Companions is one of those quirky series where you don't quite know what you are getting into. At first I thought it was a spin-off of the popular folktale Little Red Riding Hood. Turns out, it is very loosely based on this, and more so through analogies and slight references then anything else. Basically you have quite a tsundere (plays hard to get, her emotions really on guard) female lead who is cast amongst a mirage of other characters who help those in need at their school. The premise seems really similar to Sket Dance, come to think of it.

Okami-san (Ryoko) often works with her sidekick, Ringo, who is quite the reference to Little Red Riding Hood. She's petite, helpless, and has red hair, that fits the bill. The one analogy I did not quite understand was how Ryoko was referred to "The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" (the wolf from Little Red Riding Hood). Hmm, but now that I think back on it, the story does explain itself in due time (I just would hate to give spoilers here).

I was contemplating whether or not to cover this particular series, but when you look at things as a whole, I believe it could roughly fall under our guidelines. If you look at the transformations that Ryoko and Ryoshi (main male lead) undergo over the course of the story, one could deem that as being inspirational, emotionally touching, and an overall experience one could relate to. That is one appeal of anime. We love the art, the characters, and I personally (hopefully most people) want my viewing experience to be a worthwhile one. A story where I can feel motivated and inspired to do something, compelled to go outside of my bounds. Many of the anime on this site can be compared to a typical soap opera; there is a lot of drama sometimes, our emotions get torn. Of course, the connection I make between the two is very loose but there are some similarities. With anime, I fell in love with the art, and the story was just icing on the cake, combining together to form this irresistible package.

Now with most (if not all) anime, there has been this long-standing debate about sub vs. dub. (Watching anime with subtitles in its original language, vs. watching it dubbed over in English for those who are unfamiliar). I must say that I appreciate and have come to love both formats, and I definitely don't discriminate when it comes to one or the other. In regards to Okami-San and her Seven Companions, I did actually watch the sub earlier, so I feel the dub is worth checking out. In similar cases, watching in each of the formats is bound to provide a new experience, so I definitely encourage it, even if you may or may not be biased towards one or the other.

Brina Palencia plays the role of Okami-san, and the role I most recently remember her in is the rather soft spoken Honoka from Suzuka (though she is all over the place in Funimation casting). It will be interesting to see how she performs in this title as the loud and boisterous Ryoko, but overall, she is quite the talented voice actress with an incredible range.

Video previews and more after the jump, courtesy of Funimation