Foxes, kitsune in Japanese, are common for Japanese folklore. They are depicted as intelligent beings possessing magical powers. Kitsune are a type of youkai, demon or spirit in English. Sometimes the word kitsune is translated as fox spirit.They can take a form of human. Sometimes they are portrayed as guardians, but sometimes also as mischievous creatures. The more tails kitsune has, the wiser it is. If you have played or watched Pocket Monsters, you must know Ninetales, right? He has nine of them, as the name says. And nine-tail-kitsune are regarded as the most powerful one and their fur becomes gold.Kitsune are also associated with the deity of rice and harvest, Inari, thus they are very significant. They were messengers of Inari, originally, but the bond between them has resulted in junction and Inari itself is now often depicted as kitsune. If you would like to know something more about this part of Japanese folklore, go to Wiki.In anime, most of kitsune are depicted in their human form and it is hard to find some in their fox form, so I will go through kitsune youkais in human form, too.Rosario to VampireKuyouLet's start with kitsune I have seen recently when watching Rosario to Vampire (quite nice ecchi anime with nice girls). He is a youko (fox demon) and is very sadistic. Kuyou can perform very strong fire attacks, and his ultimate form, which you can see in the picture, is a hybrid combining his human and youkai appearance.Yuu Yuu HakushoKuramaYouko Kurama from an old anime, Yuu Yuu Hakusho. It's a great stunning anime, even though it's more than 15 years old. Kurama used to be a well-known thief in youkai world. Due to reasons I won't tell you so I won't spoil the plot he has become a human. Later, he helps a spirit detective, Urashima Yuusuke. Kurama can control any plants and uses them also as deadly weapons. His main weapon is Rose Whip. When some conditions are met, he can transform back to his demon form and in his demon form he is much more powerful and has better control over demonic plants.Wagaya no Oinari-samaTenko KuugenKuugen is a fox deity that was sealed away because of her behavior. She can also become he. I mean, Kuugen can take a form of woman or man. She refers to herself with pronoun "ore", which is mainly used by men. She has blonde hair that attract attention and there is no need to mention her ears.KanonSawatari MakotoI believe a lot of you know Makoto from Kanon. It's quite popular anime based on visual novel by my favorite Key productions. Makoto is a fox that has assumed a form of a human girl. Most of the time she is in her human form and her true identity is revealed near the end of her arc. Her fox form is very cute and if you look at my previous review of cats in anime, you will definitely find a certain similarity between Makoto and Shima, not mentioning that both Kanon and Clannad are made by Key and animated by KyoAni.InuyashaShippoShippo from well-known series Inuyasha. He is very young and his shape-changing is not perfect yet. His transformations can't last long and his tail is often left unchanged so it reveals him. But he can perform various tricks and is very energetic.KanokonMinamoto ChizuruChizuru, a 400-year-old fox spirit from Kanokon. In her fox form her hair becomes gold and she gets a tail and ears. She is in love with one boy and is constantly seeking some erotic acts. I found somewhere that she is even fond of masochism, but since I have seen only one episode of this anime, I don't know whether it's true or not.Minamoto TayuraChizuru's brother and a kitsune spirit too. I haven't found a picture with him in his fox form (has he transformed in the anime?) so if you know about one, I would appreciate if you could give me a link.Inukami!YoukoYouko has a fear of dogs, which is comprehensible because she is a fox spirit, and foxes and dogs are enemies. Her yellow tail is a thing that gives away her true identity.
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