Synopsis
This is the story of Aoi, a female college student who holds pride in her cooking and has inherited her deceased grandfather’s ability to see ayakashi. While feeding some ayakashi one day, an ogre demon suddenly appears before her and spirits her away.
He informs her that her grandfather owed him a debt and in order to pay for it, she is to become his bride. Aoi refuses this and instead declares that she will pay off the debt by working at the Tenjin-ya a bed and breakfast for the ayakashi and has the ogre as its master.
First Impression
What stood out with the series out of everything is the way that it introduced the relationship between the main couple. Usually with this kind of set-up you expect either a rather explosive couple or a demure protagonist. So having a pair that shifts from the usual are just a refreshing change of pace. Another plus of the episode is that it didn’t have the expected dark or exaggerated tones that were expected and the episode set up a nice slice of life and mystery tone for the series. In terms of issues, the most prominent would be that it takes on the whole protagonist being judged by what their relative did. It’s an old trope. Other than this, the protagonist doesn’t really stand out as much as they should
General Impression
As the series progressed, Aoi showed a rather interesting development. The way that she connects to different characters in each episode sets a solid tone for the series and the way that things don’t focus on her struggles but rather on how she adapts to things is also a nice point of the series. Still, it would be nice to see more than her weekly meetup with different spirits and learning what her grandfather did. More episodes like the third where it showed more development between her and the owner would be nice. On that note, the relationship development between her and Oodana is rather subtle but had a low-key sweetness to it.
Conclusion
As a whole, the series so far has two strong points, the relationship development, and the world building. There are a number of unique points to enjoy with the series even with the tropes, but the pacing could be done just a tad better. While there is some interesting development with Aoi, it would be nice to see more development on her outside of her cooking and adapting to the world she’s been dumped in. Overall, it’s a nice fantasy series that shifts from the usual but has the usual tropes that could be worked on.
Rating: 7.5/10