Gugure! Kokkuri-san

Episode 5

Gugure! Kokkuri-san episode 5 is consistently amusing, although it doesn't quite get to spit take-inducing levels of humor. The weakest segment is the short cold opening in which sexual harassment abounds. Inugami does what Inugami does best, which is fondle an elementary schooler (this time in female form), and Shigaraki, who's never seen Inugami's female form, wants her to visit his bed. While there are a few laughs, the segment pushes the boundaries of taste, or depending on your own personal boundaries, surpasses it.

Thankfully, both of the primary segments carry the episode well. The first introduces a girl at Kohina's school—actually, it never properly introduces the girl, which is part of the joke. "Jimeko," as Kohina dubs her because she can't remember her name, lives to bully Kohina. (Her nickname is a play on the Japanese word for "bullying.") Come rain, shine or snow, she gets to school early to unleash her terror: anonymously placing a fresh vase of flowers atop Kohina's desk. Jimeko's utter daftness combined with her bizarre personality make her a great addition to the series, although she may not make it into the regular rotation. (Shigaraki isn't doing much other than drinking and being lecherous in the background.)

In the second segment, there's not one, but two transfer students to Kohina's classroom, and they both want to sit next to Kohina. Surprise! They're Kokkuri and Inugami in human form, making no attempts at all to resemble anything but the adults they actually are. In fact, they hardly do anything to mask the fact that they're magical, borderline insane spirits. It's not quite as amusing as the relationship (or lack thereof) between Jimeko and Kohina, but this segment also brings across the show's consistently outrageous tone.

After Inugami's break from the spotlight in the last episode, he/she's back in focus in Gugure! Kokkuri-san episode 5. It seems as good as time as any to point out that while Inugami's fluid sexual identity makes for compelling situations, it does get repetitive if characters must remark on her female form each time it shows up. (Now that both Shigaraki and Kohina's classmates have seen it, though, there's a chance Inugami can change without the change itself being the focus of the joke.)

What's definitely gotten old is Inugami's predilection for guns. At every turn, he/she's pulling one or two out and shooting (mostly at Kokkuri) indiscriminately. It's not that gun violence is always inappropriate in anime, nor is it the only deadly tool used for blood-spurting comic effect in Gugure! Kokkuri-san. It just seems so incongruous—what does a dog spirit have to do with guns? Is it because he/she's dressed as a bodyguard? Still, there's a little more menace in brandishing a gun at someone constantly than there is in brandishing a frying pan (Kokkuri's weapon of choice), making it yet another example of this show's thin balance between edgy humor and questionable taste.

Rating: B+

Gugure! Kokkuri-san is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Amy is a YA fantasy author who has loved anime for nearly two decades.