About:
Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series Fox-Colored Jealousy. While the manga may vary slightly from all other forms of media, it may have similar story elements and could be considered spoilers.
Content Warning: There may be references to sexual assault, possession, incest, religion, gossiping, perceived cheating (not between the main couple), and manipulation, as they appear in the manga.
Synopsis:
Akiha has never been able to live the average life of a child, a teenager, and not even a college student. Unfortunately, his family line has been cursed by a fox spirit. The fox spirit waits until Akiha’s heart is weak, usually when he is scared, angry, or feeling some other intense emotion, and then takes over his body. This leads to many situations where Akiha “awakens” in a place he doesn’t recognize or outside, having ruined someone’s garden. Akiha is completely aware of what is happening when the fox takes over, but he has no control until the fox lets him go.
But maybe more troubling than the possession, the fox almost always manifests ears and a tail, which makes it impossible to go out in public without exposing his secret. As a last-ditch effort, Akiha signs up for a college in the city where his distant relatives live and manage a shrine. There, he hopes they will be able to help exorcise or at least put a leash on the fox spirit inside of him. On the way there, he ends up being groped on the train. Worried he might expose the fox if he reacts, Akiha is at a loss of what to do until an attractive stranger rescues him.
As it turns out, the stranger is his cousin, and while he isn’t the sibling who’s a priest, he does seem to have some control over animals. Perhaps he’ll be the one who can help Akiha control the beast inside him. Regardless, the fox does seem to be attracted to him for some reason.
Review:
The art style in this is very interesting. I love Akiha’s design. I love the overall style. It’s very soft and clean, not necessarily unique, but your standard BL manga style, which I appreciate. Our top, though, looks like he’s in the wrong manga. Yukuri is very square and just seems out of place to me. It’s unfortunate since he is the main love interest, meanwhile our “rival,” if you can even call him that, looks so much better to me and like he’s part of this world. It’s pretty disappointing. On the other hand, Akiha is so freaking cute. His reactions are so expressive and endearing that they make up for a lot. If Yukuri looked better, the art would’ve been solid.
For my fellow degenerates, it’s worth noting that while this does have a mature and explicit warning, it only has one sex scene, and it isn’t until the very end in the bonus story. So, if you’re hoping for lots of sexy, foxy fun, you will be disappointed. I didn’t find it to be that disappointing for this title, as the whole point of them refraining from being intimate is because Akiha made it clear that he doesn’t want to do those things while the fox is in control. He’s not so bold to do those things when he is in control, so Yukuri never goes too far while the fox is out. I appreciate how considerate Yukuri is, even as the fox tries to seduce and lure him into various intimate situations. Tops with self-control are rare, but Yukuri is one, which I appreciate. It’s refreshing.
Now, while I understand that Akiha is aware of what’s going on while the fox is in control, I find the growth of the romance between Akiha and Yukuri very superficial all the same. A majority of the time spent at home, in the evenings, it’s Yukuri and the fox, not Yukuri and Akiha. I can totally see how Akiha would fall for Yukuri since he’s aware of the conversations and what’s going on, but I’m not so sure it makes as much sense how Yukuri could fall for Akiha. Akiha’s in class mostly while he is in control, but the moment they are at home, when Yukuri and Akiha can be alone together, the fox is in control. It sort of feels like Yukuri fell in love with the fox rather than Akiha. Granted, they do go out together eventually, but I still feel like more time should’ve been given between Akiha and Yukuri to help establish the attraction on Yukuri’s side more, but that’s just me.
It’s a bit contradictory, but I wish we knew more about the fox. The fox is an integral part of this story, but we don’t know much about them. I would’ve loved to have seen why his family was possessed by a fox and more of the fox’s intentions. It’s clear from how he’s portrayed that he just does as he wishes and is prone to following his whims, but that’s the extent of the characterization we get from the fox. I get the feeling the fox does embody some of Akiha’s deepest wants based on the bonus story at the end, but that’s just my assumption. There’s really not a clear explanation of why the fox does what he does and if he’s even that acutely aware of what Akiha thinks and feels. Their relationship is another one that just feels underbaked to me.
Results:
This was much more mid than I was expecting. I’m not sure why, but I had pretty high hopes for this one (I guess the art on the cover got me, I’m a sucker for pretty covers). The entire thing feels underbaked in one way or another. Yukuri doesn’t match the rest of the art style, which is disappointing since he is the top. The relationship between Akiha and Yukuri doesn’t feel sincere, and I was left wanting regarding the fox’s role in all of this. There is a sequel/spin-off to this that I already have and plan on reading, but I’ve got to say, I’m a bit wary at this point.
Have you read Fox-Colored Jealousy? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!