The Demon Prince of Momochi House 12 episodes - based on manga
Himari Momochi inherits a house but finds it inhabited by a young master, Nue and his two attendants: Yukari and Ise.
This is a mix of my first impression here on the blog and mini-impressions and mini-review from Patreon. And with some new insights.
The cohabitation and the setting is like Fruits Basket meets Kamisama Hajimemashita. But I spoke too soon in the First Impression when I thought Aoi's past was sad. The rest of the characters' backstories are sad, one after another. But it's a kind of sad that makes you want to protect them all. And it always leaves you with hope and living in the present and moving forward. It has a slice-of-life feel in the countryside albeit with supernatural twists at the end of the day. Among the three winter 2024 anime (with 7th Loop and Doctor Elise), this is the one that I was most satisfied with the ending.
The anime versions did not do such beautiful characters justice. And I didn't like the jewel-like eyes, eyelashes, and somber autumn-ish palettes even though the colors go perfectly with the story's supernatural and melancholic themes. The animation and the colors in the opening credits are way better.
Momochi OP
Momochi ED
The show is far from lacking beautiful men but I had reservations at first about its reverse harem-ness because the reviews from the grapevine are mixed. But when the key visual above was released it made me forget all about my doubts and went on believing it was a reverse harem with all my heart. Plus some of Aya Shouoto's other works are filled with bishonen with: SLH, Kiss Of The Rose Princess, Super Darling, and He's My Only Vampire. But the two guys are like retainers for Aoi and have zero chemistry with Himari. Then we have Aoi's rival, Kasha and maybe her Himari's classmate, Hayato. But nada. The gatekeeper seems to be interested in her but that's it. Filing under "kinda reverse harem" where the beautiful men gravitate behind the male lead like with Bibliophile Princess. I also didn't particularly relate to Himari. I mean, I don't hate her. My concern for Aoi overpowered my feelings for Himari. Ise is easily my favorite but as I mentioned earlier zero chemistry so there. I was also expecting more from Kasha...And as reverse harem evolves I have also made a slow realization of reverse harem turning into found family tropes in the long run like with Yona of the Dawn and The Monster's Bride.
The Demon Prince of Momochi House evokes so much shojo nostalgia that's why even if it's not reverse harem I'm still glad it was animated. There's something about seeing a manga from 2010's finally seeing the light of the day and not a straight-to-Jodrama adaptation. It's like a harbinger of more shojo and more reverse harem titles to come. The last manga adaptation was in 2016 with Kiss Him, Not Me. Ooku ended the great reverse harem manga-to-anime six-year drought in 2023.
Let me know your thoughts on the anime or manga in the comments.
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