is a Japanese

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a '' wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language ...

series written by Mamizu Arisawa, with illustrations by Kanna Wakatsuki. The series originally started serialization in volume seventeen of

ASCII Media Works ASCII ( ), abbreviated from American Standard Code for Information Interchange, is a character encoding standard for electronic communication. ASCII codes represent text in computers, telecommunications equipment, and other devices. Because ...

' now-defunct light novel magazine '' Dengeki hp'' on April 18, 2002. Four more chapters were published until the first bound novel of the series was released, though more chapters were later serialized in the magazine. Fourteen main novels, plus two additional bonus novels with illustrations by Mari Matsuzawa, were published by ASCII Media Works under their '' Dengeki Bunko'' label between January 10, 2003 and December 10, 2008. The series revolves around a dog goddess named Yōko and her master Keita Kawahira as they fight against various troublesome spirits. Several more inukami besides Yōko also play an important role, most notably the inukami of Kaoru Kawahira. A

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is use ...

adaptation by Mari Matsuzawa was serialized in MediaWorks' now-defunct ''

Dengeki Comic Gao! , also known as ''Dengeki Gao!'' was a Japanese shōnen manga magazine that primarily contained manga and information about series featuring bishōjo characters. It was published from December 1992 to February 2008 by MediaWorks. The ''Gao'' in ...

'' magazine between October 2005 and February 2008. The manga has been licensed by

Seven Seas Entertainment Seven Seas Entertainment is an American publishing company located in Los Angeles, California. It was originally dedicated to the publication of original English-language manga, but now publishes licensed manga and light novels from Japan, as w ...

for distribution in North America; the first volume was released in November 2008. A twenty-six episode

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

adaptation of the series produced by

Seven Arcs is a Japanese anime production company and former studio, established on May 31, 2002, by former Pierrot staff. The studio made its first animated television series, ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha'', in 2004. Since then, the company has produced ...

aired between April and September 2006 on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certif ...

in Japan. An

Internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitte ...

show was also produced, along with a

visual novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...

released by ASCII Media Works, and a twenty-five-minute-long film released in Japanese theaters in April 2007. Another light novel entitled ''Inukami Special Edition'' was only released as a promotional gift for the animated film. The word appears to be a corruption of the word , a type of Japanese spirit that literally means "dog god". The only difference between the two words is the lack of a ''

dakuten The , colloquially , is a diacritic most often used in the Japanese kana syllabaries to indicate that the consonant of a syllable should be pronounced voiced, for instance, on sounds that have undergone rendaku (sequential voicing). The ...

'' in "inukami". A possible reason is that traditional inugami are considered dangerous spirits, more likely to cause harm than help, and are sometimes used to invoke deadly curses.

Plot

''Inukami!'' revolves around Keita Kawahira, a descendant of an Inukami-tamer clan and considered a failure by the clan due to his attitude towards his duty and being unable to find an Inukami to bond with. Inukami, literally "dog god", are benevolent creatures that possess spiritual powers. They are a type of demon with the appearance of a dog who can transform into a human form. Along with a partner from the historic Inukami-tamer clan, they act to obliterate evil and proliferate righteousness. Keita is initially unable to find an Inukami to bond with, but eventually finds a beautiful Inukami named Yoko that decided to become his Inukami, causing Keita to become overjoyed. However, his joy is short-lived when he discovers that she is a very problematic and uncontrollable Inukami. At first Yoko is shown to be selfish and just thinks of herself, to help with this problem Keita's cousin Kaoru sends one of his Inukamis, Nadeshiko, over to help. Keita becomes attracted to Nadeshiko. However, Yoko is thrown into a jealous rage, this is subdued when Keita's grandma's Inukami Hake calms Yoko down stating that Nadeshiko's visit was short and was only here to help Yoko. After Nadeshiko leaves, Yoko grows even closer to Keita although she is annoyed by Keita's flirting with the rest of Kaoru's inukamis when they go to visit. Things later get heated up when Keita fights a shinigami in order to save the last heir of a wealthy family from death. Yoko ends up beating the shinigami. However, Keita sees what appears to be a large fox where Yoko was fighting, but in the end he blacked out. Towards the end everyone is getting ready to celebrate Keita's grandma's birthday, a special guest who is a giant frog appears looking for Keita, Yoko mistakes him for a perverted frog but learns that the frog's name is Hakusan Meikun. Hakusan, a fallen wizard tells Yoko how he was chosen by Keita and thus became free from a sentence he was serving after making a contract with Keita, in return Hakusan gave him magic abilities. After hearing the story, Yoko becomes jealous and worried that she might get replaced something that is noticed by Nadeshiko. Yoko has a secret hidden and feels guilt, to help with this Nadeshiko suggests confessing to her like she would to Keita with her eyes closed, Yoko agrees and as she is confessing; Nadeshiko slips away and is replaced by Keita who overheard Yoko talking to her. Stunned by seeing Keita by her side which Yoko apologizes to Keita that she did not tell him sooner, something Keita does not care about. Keita states he likes Yoko for Yoko, reminds that he chose her and asks to stay by her side. Overjoyed by what Yoko heard, but takes the confession of love to her, she also confesses that she scared away the other Inukamis who were in fact interested in him when he was looking for one in order to have him all to herself and confesses her love to Keita.

Media

Light novels

''Inukami!'' began as a series of

s written by Mamizu Arisawa, and drawn by Kanna Wakatsuki. The series originally started serialization in MediaWorks' now-defunct light novel magazine '' Dengeki hp'' with the release of volume seventeen on April 18, 2002. ''Inukami'' continued to be serialized in ''Dengeki hp'' for another four initial chapters until the release of volume twenty-one of the magazine on December 18, 2002. The following month on January 10, 2003 the first bound volume of the series was published by

under their '' Dengeki Bunko'' publishing label. Volumes continued to be published until December 10, 2008 with the release of the sixteenth novel. Of the volumes, the first fourteen were of the main series, and the fifteenth and sixteenth books, entitled ''Inukami! EX Wan!'' and ''Inukami! EX Wanwan!!'' respectively, were bonus novels of collected short stories with illustrations provided by Mari Matsuzawa who also drew the ''Inukami!'' manga. Another novel entitled ''Inukami Special Edition'' was only released as a promotional gift for the animated film. Additional chapters were also serialized in ''Dengeki hp'' volumes twenty-three through thirty, thirty-two through thirty-four, and thirty-eight through forty-two. A ten-part original short story compilation is posted online at the anime's official website.

Manga

adaptation illustrated by Mari Matsuzawa was serialized in the now-defunct shōnen

manga magazine Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is used ...

'' between October 27, 2005 and February 27, 2008, published by MediaWorks. The manga chapters were collected into six bound volumes released by

under their ''

Dengeki Comics is a manga publishing label affiliated with the Japanese publishing company ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks) and is aimed at a male audience. Aside from the main Dengeki Comics label, there is the related Dengeki Comics EX label, which wa ...

'' publishing label between March 27, 2006 and May 27, 2008. A single-volume anthology titled ''Inukami! Anthology~'' was released by ASCII Media Works on September 27, 2006. The anthology was a collaboration between sixteen artists and manga authors, some of which include: Yukari Higa, Mari Matsuzawa, Suiren Shōfū, Keiichi Sumi, Kanna Wakatsuki, and

Yasu Yasu may refer to the following: *The name for Jesus in some languages including Arabic and Swahili (the language spoken around East and Central African Countries) as spoken by Ahmadis and Christians (Yasū' or Yesu (يَسُوعَ)) and Malayalam ...

. The manga has been licensed by

for distribution in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

in North America; five volumes have been released, the first one being in November 2008. Two omnibus collections were also released in November 2010 and March 2011.

Anime

adaptation produced by

and directed by

Keizō Kusakawa is a Japanese anime storyboard artist and director who has mainly worked as a director with works from Seven Arcs and Diomedéa (from 2013 onwards). Anime involved in *'' Petite Cossette'' (2004) – 3D Cinematography *'' Tsukuyomi -Moon Pha ...

aired on

in Japan between April 6 and September 28, 2006, containing twenty-six episodes. The episodes were released on nine

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

compilations released between August 9, 2006 and April 4, 2007 in limited edition versions, and between October 4, 2006 and June 6, 2007 in regular versions; the first volume contained two episodes, while each of the subsequent volumes contained three episodes. The series is licensed for a February 26, 2019 North American Blu-ray release by

Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles f ...

. Shortly after the anime's premiere, a scheduled episode of ''Inukami!'' was interrupted by TV Tokyo extending live coverage of the

2006 World Team Table Tennis Championships The 2006 Liebherr World Team Table Tennis Championships was held in the AWD-Dome of Bremen, Germany from April 24 to May 1, 2006. It is the 48th edition to be contested. Medal summary Medal table Events Results Men's team Final Place 1 ...

, which lead an incensed fan of the show to send cremated human remains to TV Tokyo's headquarters. Four pieces of

theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances ...

were used for the anime: one opening theme and three ending themes. The opening theme is by

Yui Horie is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with VIMS and Starchild. She has been affectionately nicknamed by her Japanese fans. She debuted as a voice actress in 1997, releasing her debut single "''My best friend''" on . Since then, sh ...

and the

maxi single A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, " In the Summertime" was t ...

for the song was released on May 24, 2006. The main ending theme is by Aice⁵, and the single was released in limited and regular editions also on May 24, 2006. Episode twelve's ending theme is by

Nana Mizuki is a Japanese voice actress, singer and narrator from Niihama, Ehime. She is represented by the agency StarCrew. Mizuki was trained as an enka singer, releasing one single under her birth name, Nana Kondō, in 1993 and made her debut as a voic ...

, and episode eighteen's ending theme is by Super Zō-sans & Rice⁵. Seven character song albums were released between January 25 and August 23, 2006, and an additional character vocal album entitled ''Paradiso'' was released on December 21, 2006. The anime's first original soundtrack was released on September 21, 2006, and the second followed on November 22, 2006. An animated film titled was produced by

, and directed by

. The film, which only has a runtime of twenty-five minutes, premiered in Japanese theaters on April 21, 2007 as one of the three films released at Dengeki Bunko's Movie Festival, the others being ''

Shakugan no Shana , also known simply as , is a Japanese light novel series written by Yashichiro Takahashi with illustrations by Noizi Ito. ASCII Media Works published 26 novels from November 2002 to November 2012 under their Dengeki Bunko imprint. ...

'' and ''

Kino's Journey , shortened to ''Kino's Journey'', is a Japanese light novel series written by Keiichi Sigsawa, with illustrations by Kouhaku Kuroboshi. The series follows a traveler named Kino and her talking motorcycle named Hermes, as they explore ...

''. The DVD was released on September 26, 2007 by King Records.

Internet radio show

show to promote the ''Inukami!'' anime series called was released through Starchild Net Radio between May 12, 2006 and May 25, 2007 every week on Friday. The program had fifty-five episodes and was hosted by

Kaori Nazuka is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer. She played Nunnally Lamperouge in '' Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion'', the eponymous character in '' Eureka Seven'' and Cosette in '' Les Misérables: Shōjo Cosette''. She announced her m ...

who played Nadeshiko in the anime, and Shizuka Hasegawa who played Tomohane in the anime. The show's theme song was called "Puppy's clock", and the show also used three theme songs from the anime: "Hikari", used as an opening theme in the twenty-seventh broadcast, "Yūjō Monogatari: Danshi (?) Version" used as an ending theme in the twentieth and twenty-seventh broadcasts, and "Yūjō Monogatari" used as an ending theme in all the other broadcasts. The show contained six corners, or parts to the show, and had several guests to the show who were related to the anime's production who include: Mamizu Arisawa,

Jun Fukuyama is a Japanese voice actor and singer. He played Lelouch Lamperouge in '' Code Geass'', Koro-sensei in ''Assassination Classroom'', Ichimatsu in '' Osomatsu-san'', Yuta Togashi in '' Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions'', Kraft Lawrence in ''Spice ...

Rika Morinaga is a Japanese voice actress and singer represented by Mausu Promotion. She is best known for her role as Souseiseki in '' Rozen Maiden'', Makoto "Mako-chan" in '' Minami-ke'', and Rita Mordio in '' Tales of Vesperia''. Morinaga is also the lea ...

. A CD containing some of the broadcasts was later sold on January 24, 2007.

Visual novel

sound novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...

, with

card game A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). A small number of card g ...

attributes, based on the series was released in limited and regular editions on December 6, 2007 by

playable on the Nintendo DS; the limited edition version came bundled with a

drama CD Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

. The game is titled ''Inukami! feat. Animation'', and like the title implies, parts of the game are

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

. ''Inukami!'' is one of the few light novels originally published by ASCII Media Works that has been made into a sound novel under DS Dengeki Bunko, a section of ASCII Media Works which produces sound novels playable on the Nintendo DS based from light novels published under ASCII Media Works' '' Dengeki Bunko'' publishing label, and was the third such release.

References

External links

''Inukami!'' (Archived)
at

Anime official website

''Inukami!'' anime
at

Film official website (Archived)

''Inukami!''
at

* {{Seven Arcs Book series introduced in 2003 2003 Japanese novels 2005 manga 2006 video games 2007 anime films Anime and manga based on light novels Bishōjo games Dengeki Bunko Dengeki Comic Gao! Dengeki Comics Discotek Media Kadokawa Dwango franchises Fantasy anime and manga Fantasy video games Japan-exclusive video games Light novels MediaWorks games Nintendo DS games Nintendo DS-only games Romantic comedy anime and manga Seven Arcs Seven Seas Entertainment titles Shōnen manga Television shows based on light novels TV Tokyo original programming Video games developed in Japan Visual novels Paranormal romance novel series