Welcome, one and all, to another weekly anime review post! This time around, I wanted to pick up something at random that looked like it may be outside my usual tastes. So, I’ve gone with Murenase! Seton Gakuen aka Seton Academy: Join The Pack. I knew nothing about this show going in. But the animals ear theme worked well with The Helpful Fox Senko-San for me. Was this any good? Let’s talk about it.
Animal Instincts
The story set up is simple. Jin has joined Seton Academy, where animals of all sorts gather. There are kemonomimi animal girls, and anthros. He and a girl called Hitomi are the only humans, and he has a crush on her. But he’s harassed by a pink wolf girl called Ranka, who wants him to join her pack. Oh, and he hates animals with a passion.
Really, this is looking like a basic harem set up with an animal twist. It’s fine as a plot. The twist that Jin tried to save Ranka from bears when she was puppy and the beating he took is why he hates animals was good. I liked that they fed that back in at the end too with Ranka trying to return the favour. So far, it’s entertaining enough as a tale.
Surprisingly Educational
Okay, so this surprised me. The episode actually did let loose some animal facts throughout, such as explaining wolf body language and how zebras are closer to donkeys than horses. The point that wolves in packs can best Kodiak bears is true too. An ex-girlfriend took me to one of those safaris that you drive through once, and there was part that housed bears and wolves. The bear’s food was dropped in and two wolves distracted all the bears while the rest of the pack snuck in and stole the food. So yeah, it’s an interesting touch. We shall see if that continues.
Characters
We don’t know too much about the cast yet. The introductions to the main members were what you’d expect though. Hitomi is pretty much the typical nice girl that male characters fawn over, and that certainly plays out with Jin. Ranka is cute enough as a main animal girl. She’s tiny, full of energy, and is really just a big ball of emotion. The pink colouring is a good addition too.
Jin…I’m mixed on. He does the right thing in the end, and there’s a justification for his hatred of animals (which I expect to fade as it goes along). At the same time though, he is kinda portraying the ‘women need men to stand up for them’ role. And there was the scene with Kuroe the zebra girl. I mean, he just hauled her up, flashed her panties, and grabbed her tail. While she did demand proof of her donkey heritage, I can’t imagine that’s actually consent for that. The only upside to the scene was that it showed Kuroe has some internal strife, marking her as more than just a brash bully.
Terano-sensei made me smile though. Who wouldn’t want a T-Rex as a teacher, right?
Overall
This is not as instantly likable for me as The Helpful Fox Senko-San, or my other current series, Beastars. It’s not entirely horrible though. The story is an interesting twist on a standard story, and the characters are fine. I suspect we’ll go full-on harem soon, and the more girls we add, the more the fan service will ramp up too. I’m hoping I’m wrong, or that it doesn’t prevent it from telling a story, but we shall see.
So, those were my thoughts. But what about yourselves? Did you enjoy this episode? Do you agree or disagree with any of my observations? Let me know in the comments below.
Matt Doyle Media 
I saw the screenshot of the panty shot and decided to steer clear. I like my fan service like I like my incest in an anime: Nonexistent.
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It was definitely the low point of the episode. How long I last with the series will depend on how much that gets ramped up. As it is, that was – bar the opening credits – the only bit on show. If they can keep it rare like that I’m more likely to reach the end.
I’m not opposed to fan service if it doesn’t derail things. Black Lagoon for example I find to be fine. Absolutely agree on incest though. Unless it’s a review disc, it’s a theme that makes me turn off a show.
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