A Girl & Her Guard Dog (お嬢と番犬くん) is a 13 episode romance based on the manga of the same name by Hatsuhara. The anime originally aired during the Fall of 2023.
Senagaki Isaku lost her parents in a car accident when she was a small child. She was taken in by her grandfather but the circumstance weren't the best for a young girl who just lost her parents. He grandfather is the head of a yakuza clan and has little time or interest in raising the lost child. Instead he appoints one of his underlings, Uto Keiya, to act as her parent. Keiya is only ten years her senior but take son the role of caregiver with dedication and respect. Growing up, it was hard for Isaku to hide her grandfathers occupation from the neighborhood and classmates. This lead her to be isolated and lonely during her formative years, with only the stoic and obedient yakuza footmen as her only normal contact. She decides to enroll in a high school far enough from home to remain anonymous, yearning for a normalized high school life. She desires to fall in love and enjoy her time as a student, without the trouble caused by her connections to the underworld.
To her horror, she can't escape the grasp her grandfather has on her life as she enters high school. Her guardian, Keiya, has bribed his way into her school as well, posing as a first year student in order to keep an eye on the young lady. Isaku begins to dwell on her relationship with Keiya, concerned that she is falling in love for the man who has been her guardian for the past ten years. She tries to reject these feelings, wanting to be free from the yakuza when she is old enough. Her dreams of living the life of a normal high school student seem to be a fantasy as she has to content with her guard dogs constant presence and her growing feelings for the older man. To complicate her emotions, Keiya has become more open about feelings for her. Isaku is uncertain if he is being truthful with his subtle confessions, or if they are coming from a place of duty towards her grandfather.
The biggest issue with this story is the ick factor of a 26 year old man showing physical desires for a 16 year old girl he has been raising for years, even if that was more out of duty to his boss and his dedication to the yakuza family. He shows an uncomfortable level of physicality with the much younger girl. Its really a case of the inexperienced and naive girl who is in a position to be taken advantage of and used by the experienced and world older man, a bit creepy in my mind, regardless of your modern cultural position. While the primary focus of the story is the evolving relationship between the two main characters, there are other layers involved. There are moments in which Usaku's life is in peril, due to rival gangs identifying her. This is the main reason Keiya is around her all the time, to act as a bodyguard. Keiya was made a reliable and trusted underling long ago and her grandfather wholly trusts him with his granddaughters safety. Keya does his best to keep the unsavory sides of his personality hidden from her, acting the roll of the cool prince while around her, only resorting to his unrepentant side when absolutely necessary. In reality he is a ruthless gangster, who doesn't hesitate to take extreme physical action when needed. Surprisingly, he is honest with her about his frequent sexual partners, of which he states he has no real connection with.
Beyond the uncomfortable aspect of their age difference, the story isn't bad over all. It is a modern shojo romance that blurs the line between the genre's standards and the influence K-drama's have had overall with programs aimed at female audiences. The hallmark of K-drama's is quite noticeable with the story and character design. Speaking of which, the production on this particular adaptation was less then stellar. Character animation wasn't it consistent and at times poor quality. Movements seemed unnatural in many segments and over all the artwork lacked depth and attention to detail. Sad really, but it feels like the C team were called in to do this series, paying it little attention.
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