Inu × Boku SS

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
(Shirakiin Ririchiyo..and her dog..)

Ririchiyo Shirakiin, scion of an influential family, has an issue -- she has No Social Skills. She resolves to get rid of this by moving out and living on her own in the "Maison de Ayakashi", a mansion housing Half-Human Hybrids who pass a very strict examination, each resident coming with his/her own Secret Service (SS) agent, also a Half-Human Hybrid. Ririchiyo refused to have an SS accompany her, but eventually finds out that her assigned SS -- Soushi Miketsukami -- was a fox spirit she helped as a child. Now, whether she likes it or not, she has to start living with the protective Soushi and her fellow tenants and their SS Agents.

Inu × Boku SS (妖狐×僕SS, Inu Boku Secret Service, Dog and I Secret Service) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Cocoa Fujiwara. It was adapted into an anime television series for the Winter 2012 Anime. The anime has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks for streaming on Crunchyroll.com, and home video release in North America.

Tropes used in Inu × Boku SS include:
  • Absolute Cleavage: Nobara.
  • A-Cup Angst: Ririchiyo, when meeting Maid #1.
  • Affectionate Nickname: Zange has one for each of the main characters.
  • Always Save the Girl: Soushi cares more about Ririchiyo than anything else.
  • An Ice Person: Nobara.
  • Asskicking Equals Authority: The genetic atavists (for certain definition of "genetic") are close in Power Level to their supernatural ancestors, so their family members respect and fear them. Theoretically they can do anything they want as long as they are on their clan grounds... theoretically, that is.
  • Awesome McCoolname: The entire cast can be said to have them, since most of their names reflect their demonic heritage, making them double as Meaningful Names.
  • Badass Crew: All of the residents, clients and SS alike, are this, which is made especially apparent every time anyone's in danger and everyone else steps in to help.
  • Battle Butler: The whole SS crew apparently, but Soushi takes this Up to Eleven.
  • Battle Couple: Soushi and Ririchiyo.
  • Beach Episode: Chapter 25.
  • The Beautiful Elite: All of the main residents and their SS are not only gorgeous but also apparently filthy rich.
  • Berserk Button: Harming Ririchiyo in any way will earn you a one-way ticket to Hell courtesy of Soushi.
    • Watanuki's is being called "cute."
  • Big Eater: Karuta. Just... Karuta. [1]
  • Big Fancy House: We see the Shirakiin residence at the start of episode 3, a fancy traditional Japanese home. In addition, all the half demon families are supposedly inexplicably very wealthy.
  • Big No: Ririchiyo makes one when she realizes that she accidentally sent the wrong letter to Soushi and pretty much just confessed her feelings for him.
  • Bishie Sparkle: Soushi, every time he's talking about how much he adores Ririchiyo, and they're mostly black.
  • Bishounen: Soushi, Sorinozuka, Zange, Watanuki... Basically all the main male cast. And their casual outfits do not help.
  • Bland-Name Product: One of Karuta's many snacks (seen in episode 8) is a box of Picky.
  • Blatant Lies: Yeah Ririchiyo, you definitely wrote that long letter of apology just to practice your penmanship.
  • Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Nobara, Ririchiyo, and Karuta. Soushi, Kagerou, and Zange are the male, childhood friends version.
  • Bodyguard Crush: Soushi has one on Ririchiyo. It's the reason he wanted to be her body guard in the first place.
  • Bodyguarding a Badass: 23 years later, Zange ends up being Kagerou's SS, who, as far as we have seen, is much more competent in a fight.
  • Boke and Tsukkomi Routine: Zange and Watanuki. Soushi and Ririchiyo end up in this as well sometimes, especially when Soushi is going off on a stalker-ish tangent.
  • Bokukko: Ririchiyo.
  • Bratty Half-Pint: Ririchiyo seems like one at first, but it is soon revealed that she actually feels really guilty about her behavior and wants to change.
    • Watanuki is another example, being the shortest of the male cast and easily irritated.
  • Break the Cutie: Happens to Karuta.
  • Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Watanuki and Karuta.
  • Bunny Ears Lawyer: The Secret Service people are all odd in some way, and one of them actually wears a set of bunny ears.
  • Bullet Catch: Soushi, in the first episode, though not without (minor) consequences.
  • Cannot Spit It Out: Ririchiyo with her feelings for her SS, even though it's painfully obvious that Soushi likes her back, a lot.
  • Cape Swish: Kagerou uses his cape as scene transitions in Episode 5, and it is hilarious.
  • Captive Date: Kagerou pulls this off with Ririchiyo twice in the anime, though both are Played for Laughs.
  • Childhood Friends: Most of the atavists had known each other since childhood.
    • Soushi, Zange, Kagerou, and Watanuki.
    • Karuta with Watanuki.
    • Ririchiyo with Renshou.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Karuta.
  • Cock Fight: Between Soushi and Kagerou, over Ririchiyo.
  • Cool Sword: Soushi has a katana in his youkai form. Kagerou has a big sword when transformed as well.
  • Crazy Prepared: Ririchiyo when shopping for her first cell phone. Apparently she does the same for everything she buys.
  • Crossdresser: Maid #2.
  • Credits Jukebox: Each episode gets its own ending theme.
  • Cursed with Awesome: All of the characters, really.
  • Cute Monster Girl: All of them. Karuta zig-zags this: she's adorable in her human form, but her Demon form on the other hand, not so much.
  • Dead Person Impersonation: Reincarnation!Soushi tries to emulate the previous Soushi to please reincarnation!Ririchiyo because he knows about their past relationship.
  • Delicious Distraction: Karuta perks up whenever anyone mentions food.
  • Design Student's Orgasm: The opening.
  • Despair Event Horizon: All of the characters felt this when Karuta got attacked. Later, the same perpetrator targeted all of them, which ultimately caused all but Renshou's deaths before the timeskip.
  • Died in Your Arms Tonight: Soushi dies in Ririchiyo's arms. Whether he got better is YMMV.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: Soushi mentions that he would've had to "get rid of" Ririchiyo's classmates if they had any physical evidence of Ririchiyo, Karuta, and Watanuki's youkai forms.
  • The Ditz: Maid #1. Often reined in by Maid #2, who usually ends up being her Minder.
  • Do-It-Yourself Theme Tune: Except Episode 1, which played the opening, succeeding episodes end with a theme song befitting the focus character:

Episode 1: "Nirvana" by MUCC
Episode 2: "Rakuen no Photograph (Paradise of Photographs)" by Soushi/Yuuichi Nakamura
Episode 3: "Kimi wa (You are)" by Ririchiyo/Rina Hidaka
Episode 4: "one way" by Zange/Mamoru Miyano (with cameos by Banri/Takuya Eguchi)
Episode 5: "SM Hantei Forum (S&M Judgment Forum)" by Kagerou/Tomokazu Sugita
Episode 6: "sweets parade" by Karuta/Kana Hanazawa
Episode 7: "Taiyou to Tsuki (Sun and Moon)", by Nobara/Yoko Hikasa and Renshou/Yoshimasa Hosoya

Kagerou: This elevator sure is making us wait, huh. S!!

  • Instant Seduction: Any interaction between Soushi and a female usually involves this in some way.
  • Intergenerational Friendship: The relationship between Renshou and the others becomes this after everyone except him died and got reincarnated.
  • Interspecies Romance: All of the atavists are a result of this. Technically, any relationships involving the atavists themselves could be considered this as well.
  • I Owe You My Life: Reincarnated!Soushi certainly feels this way towards reincarnated!Ririchiyo, even going so far as to research the behavior and personality of past!Soushi, choosing to impersonate his past self as he felt that past!Soushi was the most important person to Ririchiyo.
  • Irrational Hatred: Watanuki's ire towards Soushi is revealed as this.
  • It Doesn't Mean Anything: Ririchiyo tries this excuse when she accidentally confessed to Soushi via letter but stopped after Soushi honestly believed her.
  • It Got Worse: Inu X Boku SS took a sharp swerve in this direction in chapter 18 of the manga.
  • Jerkass: Kagerou, though Played for Laughs.
    • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As the series goes on, Kagerou's more like this. I mean, he folded 1000 cranes for Karuta by himself in an effort to help her return to normal in Chapter 17. And reincarnated Kagerou's the one who gave Ririchiyo a wake up call by telling her not to confuse the reincarnated Soushi with the past Soushi. He's actually kinda sweet, albeit in a more... twisted way.
  • Jerkass Facade: Ririchiyo has this in order to protect herself from others, and it's been on long enough that it's almost a case of Becoming the Mask.
  • Kappa: Kawasumi Jyoutarou, the cook at Ayakashi Kan.
  • Kids Are Cruel: They bullied Ririchiyo because she was rich, causing her to put up a Jerkass Facade.
  • Kitsune: Soushi.
  • Lack of Empathy: Soushi believed that he had this until Ririchiyo remarked that he "finally showed her something about himself" to her in their letter correspondence.
  • Lady and Knight: Ririchiyo and Soushi.
  • Lazy Bum: Renshou, according to Nobara.
  • Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone: Zange, being as Genre Savvy as he is, leaves with Ririchiyo when Karuta comes to see Watanuki in the infirmary.
  • Leeroy Jenkins: Watanuki tries to save others when it is beyond his ability to do so, which often causes complications in fights
  • Little Boy Seeks Big Girl: Watanuki to Karuta after the timeskip.
  • Lonely Rich Kid: Ririchiyo, it's why she's so abrasive now.
  • Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Zange. Kagerou as well.
  • Loony Friends Improve Your Personality: For Ririchiyo. Staying at the Ayakashi Kan has undoubtedly helped her with her bottled-up problems.
  • Love Before First Sight: Soushi towards Ririchiyo. The other direction is likely as well.
  • Love Bubbles: Appear whenever Watanuki gets the heartbeats for Karuta.
  • Love Epiphany: Played around with in the case of Ririchiyo.
  • Major Injury Underreaction: Soushi didn't feel the bullet at all after he blocked it. When Ririchiyo directed his attention to it in worry, he simply extended his other hand to her, believing that she just didn't want to get her hand dirty with his blood.
  • Male Gaze
    • Subverted in episode 7; we get what would be a classic Male Gaze shot of Chino's cleavage, except the POV character is Yukinokouji.
    • Also completely played straight in virtually every episode with the girls, especially Ririchiyo.
  • Manipulative Bastard: Soushi always gets what he wants by exploiting other people, even Ririchiyo.
  • Meganekko: Yukinokouji. Ririchiyo also sometimes wears glasses.
  • The Men in Black: The Secret Service.
  • Mismatched Eyes: Soushi.
  • Morality Pet: Ririchiyo serves as one for Soushi, to some extent, as he basically has no qualms about doing anything bad as long as he doesn't hurt her.
  • The Mourning After: Implied after Soushi died.
  • Muscles Are Meaningless
  • Nice Guy: Renshou. He has to be one to put up with Ririchiyo's lip for so long.
  • Nice Hat: Zange gets one after the timeskip, along with an Eyepatch of Power.
  • Nobody Calls Me Chicken: Watanuki.
  • Nosebleed: Nobara gets one when Ririchiyo offers to let her slip a finger in her socks.
  • No Sense of Personal Space: Zange towards Soushi.
  • Obfuscating Disability: Zange always wears bandages over his right eye, but reveals in Chapter 18 that not only does he have two working eyes, he also has dozens of eyes all over his body that can let him see virtually anything.
  • Official Couple: Soushi and Ririchiyo. The anime ends with the beginning of their relationship. Watanuki and Karuta count too.
  • Oh Crap: Renshou and Zange have one when Nekozuki finds out about the hole they dug in public property for the time capsule. He just wanted to write a letter too.
  • Older and Wiser: Renshou after the timeskip.
  • Parental Neglect: Due to having more demon blood than her sister, Ririchiyo was set aside as her family's lucky rabbit's foot and given next to no attention by her family save for some attendants who tend to everything but her emotional needs. She recalls the only time her father hit her: Ririchiyo complained that her parents were doting on her sister but paid her no mind, and saw that all of her father's feelings were for her sister. Couple this with the bullying she received in school and you've got her Freudian Excuse.
  • One Head Taller: Taken to extremes with Ririchiyo and Soushi, but the height difference between genders is pretty blatant for all the characters.
  • One True Love: The manga makes this seem the case with Watanuki and Karuta.
  • Past Life Memories: After the whole death and reincarnation thing, everyone but Ririchiyo, Soushi and Watanuki has recalled his or her past life memories.
    • Zange also reveals earlier that the atavists often remember figments of their past lives along with being carbon copies of their previous incarnation.
  • Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Karuta and Watanuki, at least with eye colors.
  • Playing Against Type: Even though she's done it twice before, Yoko Hikasa is still not what comes to mind when one imagines the voice of a Loveable Sex Maniac.
  • Poisonous Friend: Soushi shows signs of this for Ririchiyo. He is astoundingly loyal to Ririchiyo but has no qualms about hurting others if they're in his way.
  • Power Dyes Your Hair: Both Ririchiyo and Soushi have different hair colors in their youkai forms.
  • Power Strain Blackout: Zange uses his power to find Karuta in Chapter 16, but it takes a toll on his body and he collapses.
  • The Prankster: Zange.
  • Ragtag Bunch of Misfits
  • Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Ririchiyo.
  • Rebellious Spirit: Watanuki.
  • Reincarnation: A recurring theme. 23 years later, and we get this.
  • Reincarnation Romance: Ririchiyo and Soushi after the timeskip. Also Watanuki and Karuta.
  • Rich Bitch: Ririchiyo acts like one, but in actuality is more of a Shrinking Violet.
  • Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: Karuta and Ririchiyo.
  • Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: The maids, though the guy is an okama.
  • Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Zange and Watanuki, respectively, though Watanuki isn't exactly what you'd call "manly".
  • Shana Clone: Subverted with Ririchiyo. Aesthetically, she has all of the characteristics that place her firmly in the category, but her attitude shows that she hates her rudeness to outsiders and wishes to get along with people.
  • Sharp-Dressed Man: All of the characters really, except Renshou.
  • She's Got Legs: Much of the fanservice by Ririchiyo focuses on her ridiculously long and full legs.
    • Characters in this series in general have pretty nice legs.
  • Shout-Out: Karuta and Renshou try to draw Ohmu.
  • Sliding Scale of Beauty: Ririchiyo, Nobara, and Karuta are often mentioned to be beautiful or cute by other characters, making them World Class Beauty. Their youkai forms push them into Uncanny Valley territory however, especially Karuta's.
  • Smart People Wear Glasses: Frequently used. Even characters who normally do not wear glasses, such as Ririchiyo and Soushi, are shown with them in their spare time to illustrate their studious sides.
  • Sole Survivor: Renshou Sorinozuka was the only person to survive the events that occurred 23 years ago, and the only person who has yet to reincarnate. In Chapter 19, we see an older Renshou, who's about 41 years old.
  • Something About a Rose: Roses appear in the background when Zange hits on Soushi in Episode 4.
  • Spell My Name with an "S": Riricho vs Ririchiyo.
    • The different spelling is mainly a confusion by fan scanlators between "ちょ" and "ちよ" while translating. It's confirmed in the anime, however, where her name is definitely pronounced as Ririchiyo.
  • Spoiled Sweet: Ririchiyo, even though she tries really hard to hide it.
  • Stalker with a Crush: Ririchiyo says Souchi's devotion is stalker-y.
    • And she's right. He even has a shrine dedicated to her in his apartment, covered in her photos, though it's Played for Laughs.
  • Straight Man and Wise Guy: Watanuki and Zange, respectively.
  • Super-Deformed: Often.
  • Superpowerful Genetics: All of the atavists. More or less a case of Lego Genetics.
  • Surreal Theme Tune: Both the opening and endings to the anime are pretty strange.
    • The opening is an abstract version of how Ririchiyo and Soushi first came into contact, though this is something only manga readers would understand. They wrote letters to each other, with Soushi pretending to be Ririchiyo's fiance, Kagerou.
    • The first ending showcases Soushi's obsession with Ririchiyo by having him be constantly surrounded by her photos, and even recording himself like this in public.
    • The second ending has Ririchiyo wandering a grayscale landscape all alone (probably symbolic of her loneliness) until she sees a brightly colored sakura tree.
  • Taking Advantage of Generosity: Soushi.
  • Taking the Bullet: Ririchiyo does this for Soushi in chapter 34. Oh Crap.
  • Team Mom: Nobara for the girls, albeit a perverted one. Zange plays this for the younger residents with Renshou as his counterpart Team Dad after the timeskip.
  • Technician Versus Performer: Soushi is the technician while Kagerou is the performer, at least in terms of personality.
  • Theme Tune Cameo: In episode 3, a girl has one of the endings, "Rakuen no Photograph", as her cellphone ringtone.
  • The Three Faces of Eve: The 3 main female characters exhibit traits that place them in these categories: Karuta is the innocent and sweet young girl, Ririchiyo is the mentally older and sensible one, and Nobara is the mature and sexy adult of the trio.
  • Three Amigos: Ririchiyo, Karuta, and Watanuki.
  • Time Skip: Chapter 18 ends with a 23-year time skip, where everyone but Renshou has died and reincarnated.
  • Token Lesbian: Nobara.
  • Tsundere: Ririchiyo, bordering on Kuudere-type.
    • Ririchiyo arguably deconstructs this, as she is thoroughly aware of her status as a Tsundere and its negative affects on her and the people around her, and she hates herself for it.
    • If you want to be technical, Ririchiyo is a Tsunshun - abrasive and then depressed. It's a slight difference, but big enough for the author to point it out in an omake [dead link].
  • Transformation Sequence: Both Ririchiyo and Soushi get one when changing into their youkai forms.
  • True Companions: Everyone.
  • Undying Loyalty: Soushi for Ririchiyo.
  • The Unfavorite: Ririchiyo is an interesting case of this. Due to her strong youkai blood, she had been treated as a treasure back at home, while her sister was largely ignored. To compensate, her parents showered her younger sister with love while rejecting Ririchiyo, believing that she didn't need them anyway.
  • Vapor Wear: Ririchiyo is always braless under her dress shirt when alone in her apartment.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Watanuki and Zange.
  • With Friends Like These...: Watanuki doesn't need enemies.
  • You Are Not Alone: Soushi to Ririchiyo, and vice versa.
  • Youkai
  • Zettai Ryouiki: Ririchiyo is Grade A and Roromiya is Grade C.
  1. ↑ Her supernatural lineage is gashadokuro, or giant skeleton many times bigger than a human, created from the gathering of bones of people who died of starvation. No wonder she's always hungry.
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