Tactics



Tactics is a manga and anime series by Sakura Kinoshita and Kazuko Higashiyama following a spiritually sensitive folklorist (did we mention he's an exorcist? And has a scar and bells that throb/ring anytime anything evil comes around?), his enthralled servant fox Yoko, a bratty little girl who's in love with the fourth member, a demon eating goblin/tengu who has been named 'Haruka', and their...various escapades all throughout demon country, until the major Genre Shift in the anime kicks in and everything gets a whole lot depressing.

The anime is produced by Studio Deen.

Not to be confused with Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre, or other strategy games.

"(talking about Haruka)"He's so...pretty. Maybe I can whore him out!""
 * Ahoge: Kantarou has one, although it's curled and isn't very noticeable.
 * All Just a Dream:
 * Anti-Gravity Clothing
 * Anyone Can Die: In the anime, at least.
 * Ax Crazy: Haruka, when he feels another youkai disrespects him.
 * The Barnum: Yoko.

""Welcome to hell, Haruka-chan. Even a badass like you will crumble under that guy.""
 * Bad Boss: Kanatarou. To again quote Yoko on this:

"Haruka: Underclassman? How old does that make Kantarou? Yakko: ... ... ... Haruka: ... Why aren't you answering, Yakko?"
 * Batman Gambit: Kantarou is quite good at these...
 * Bishounen: Hooo boy... Where to start?
 * Kantaro and Sugino probably take the cake, though - If it weren't for their voices, they could easily be mistaken for girls.
 * Even Kantaro's voice could be mistaken as a girl's, if he tries hard enough. See episode 4.
 * Berserk Button: Do NOT try to take Haruka's rice bowl.
 * Biting the Handkerchief: Well, biting his robes; Sugino does this when he sees Muu-chan clinging to Kantaro.
 * Bleached Underpants: Kinoshita and Higashiyama are also a doujin duo that have notably done Yaoi based off the series.
 * Bob Haircut: Youko.
 * Bratty Half-Pint: Suzu could classify, depending on character interpretation.
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer: Kantarou.
 * Butterfly of Death and Rebirth: Done with 's death.
 * Chick Magnet: Haruka. There's even a hilarious sound effect played when another girl falls for him.
 * Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Kantarou.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Haruka.
 * Dude, Where's My Reward?: Frequently, seeing as Kantarou is a grade-A money grubber.
 * Elegant Gothic Lolita: Rosalie
 * Emotionless Girl: What Rosalie appears to be at first.
 * Expy: Kantaro and Suzu look like adult Loki and Reiya from Matantei Loki Ragnarok. Of course, since Sakura Kinoshita is the artist, it's hardly surprising.
 * Fan Girl: Basically every female character on the show, save for Yoko is like this towards Haruka.
 * Fan Service: Female fanservice at that.
 * Festival Episode
 * A Fool and His New Money Are Soon Parted: Somehow, Kantarou's newly earned cash always runs out quickly...
 * Gender Blender Name: When Kantarou names Haruka, he specifically states that his name is to be spelled with the kanji for "spring flowers." (As Haruka can be alternately said as "being distant")
 * Genre Shift
 * Glamour Failure: Despite being humanized by Kantarou, Haruka is a powerful youkai.
 * A God Am I: Kantarou gets like this when a religion is devoted to him.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Nana Mizuki voices Suzu, Tomoko Kawakami voices Yoko and Sakupyon voices Haruka.
 * I Know Your True Name
 * I See Dead People
 * I'm a Humanitarian: Haruka is a demon-eater, so...
 * I'm Taking Her Home with Me: Kantarou can get like this with certain youkai...
 * Improbable Weapon User Averted. Kantarou uses scrolls and beads and such, but then you realize he is an exorcist.
 * Ill Girl: Miyabi, and later on.
 * Jerkass: Hasumi.
 * Large Ham: Kantarou, hoo boy Kantarou...
 * Let's You and Him Fight
 * Miko Kantarou dresses like one.
 * Meaningful Name: Youko's entire name is Kantarou's way of making an Incredibly Lame Pun: Youko is also the name of a type of fox demon, which is what Youko actually is, she is a youko named "Youko", a play on the female name Youko/Yoko.
 * Meido Yoko, though her outfit is a rather odd combination of a traditional kimono and French maid apron.
 * Obake
 * Older Than They Look: All of the youkai, obviously, but also our White-Haired Pretty Boy. At first glance, you think Kantaro must be eighteen-years-old, nineteen at most. But then you read volume three and learn that Hasumi is actually his underclassman, and one has to wonder just how old the money-grubbing priest really is...


 * Only Sane Man: Despite being the show's resident Barnum, Yoko seems to be the one with the most amount of sense in her...
 * Parental Obliviousness: Hasumi doesn't really seem to get that Rosalie can hold her own.
 * Powers Via Possession: Rosalie.
 * Plunder
 * Purple Eyes: Suzu.
 * Psycho Lesbian / Yandere: The yuki-onna in the first episode (When she's possessed by an aradama, anyway.)
 * Rapunzel Hair: Sugino; his hair goes at least down to his butt.
 * Really Seven Hundred Years Old: Haruka.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning. Subverted. Kantarou is the only one who has them, and he's one of the only humans.
 * Refuge in Audacity: Used in the earlier parts of the storyline, before it went for a startling Genre Shift.
 * Second Law of Metafictional Thermodynamics:
 * Shallow Love Interest
 * Shirtless Scene: Both Kantarou and Haruka get one in episode 3. Granted, it was the Hot Springs Episode, so it's to be expected.
 * Shout-Out: Episode 15, in which the main characters are drawn to the house of a former friend of Suzu's, in rural Japan, everyone gets picked off one by one, Suzu goes bonkers, ...and the episode title is called "The Fading Song of Summer Cicadas."
 * Sitting on the Roof
 * Ten-Minute Retirement: Yoko.
 * Tsundere: Yoko
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy
 * Youkai