Etotama

えとたま（干支魂）

6.8(29,125)

MAL Score

Ranked #6041

Popularity #2739

Action
Comedy
Fantasy
Gag Humor

Episodes: 12
Duration: 24 min per ep
Aired: Apr 9, 2015 to Jun 25, 2015
Status: Finished Airing

Synopsis

Every 60 years, the heavens hold ETM12, a sacred rite that chooses promising Eto-musume—animal-themed celestial beings—to join the Chinese zodiac as Eto-shin. Yet ever since the inaugural ceremony two millennia ago, the same original Eto-shin have remained in power, with no one managing to take their place.

Nyaa-tan, a cat Eto-musume, throws herself into the current ETM12 with the goal of earning a spot among the zodiac. To succeed, she must collect twelve seals—one from each Eto-shin—by prevailing in a variety of battles fueled by Sol/Lull, divine power born from people’s positive feelings. Outmatched by the strength of the Eto-shin, she needs a steady supply of that energy, and finds it unexpectedly when she crosses paths with Takeru Amato, a new tenant in the building where she’s been secretly living. Takeru’s unusually strong Sol/Lull becomes her lifeline, drawing him into encounters with the Eto-shin and toward hints of a hidden past.

Otaku Consensus

Etotama lands as a niche comic-action experiment whose clean Encourage Films/Shirogumi presentation, quick gag pacing, and CG 'pretty mode' battles give its Zodiac cast more energy than its lightweight reputation suggests. The verdict is sharply audience-dependent: viewers praise the fight direction and comedic timing, while the recurring complaints target thin story depth, limited character development, and Nyaa-tan’s intentionally grating verbal tic.

Why You Should Watch

Watch Etotama if you want mascot slapstick and bite-sized tournament combat without the lore homework of a long shounen or the romantic obligations of a harem setup. Its best hook is formal rather than narrative: the everyday gag chaos stays fast and noisy, then the fights snap into a glossier CG 'pretty mode' that reviewers repeatedly noticed as the production’s visual peak. The gag density and animal-themed voice performances make it closer to the frantic comfort-food lane of Binbougami ga! than to a serious fantasy campaign. It is especially easy to recommend to viewers who like a full ensemble of themed rivals, quick punchlines, and battles that can win over people who usually skip fight-heavy anime.

Key Characters

T
Takeru Amato(VA: Hiro Shimono)
Takeru Amato functions as the deadpan human anchor, a role that helps the show dodge the straightforward harem reading its setup might suggest.
N
Nyaa-tan(VA: Rie Murakawa)
Nyaa-tan is the series’ pressure test: Rie Murakawa’s relentless cat-girl delivery powers the gag rhythm, while the repeated 'nya' tic is also the complaint most often raised by detractors.
U
Uri-tan(VA: Yumiri Hanamori)
Uri-tan rounds out the central trio with a softer mascot presence, giving the combat-heavy comedy a warmer counterweight.

What Makes It Stand Out

1
The production pairs Encourage Films with Shirogumi, and reviews repeatedly single out the shift into CG 'pretty mode' fights as the point where the animation becomes most distinctive.
2
Etotama is structured as a comedy-first action show rather than a lore-heavy fantasy; multiple reviews describe the story as light, but note that the timing between serious tension and punchline release is often the series’ real craft.
3
Its reception is unusually split around the same elements: one viewer credited the battles with changing their mind about fight-heavy anime, while a mixed review praised the Zodiac cast but found Nyaa-tan’s constant 'nya' exhausting.
4
The 12-episode Spring 2015 run gives the show a compact weekly rhythm, airing from April 9 to June 25 rather than stretching its tournament-style premise across multiple cours.
5
A notable English-language review framed the show with the line 'It isn't a harem. I swear.', reflecting how the series plays near harem-anime packaging while emphasizing ensemble gag combat instead.

Fun Facts & Trivia

Fun fact 1: Etotama finished with a MAL score of 6.79 from 29,120 votes, placing it at rank #6036 while still reaching popularity #2739; that gap fits its status as a visible but divisive curiosity.
Fun fact 2: The anime is officially tagged as Action, Comedy, and Fantasy with a Gag Humor theme, but web reviews tend to treat the comedy as the main event and the story as deliberately lightweight.
Fun fact 3: The main credited studios, Encourage Films and Shirogumi, mirror the show’s hybrid appeal: standard gag-anime looseness paired with more conspicuous CG spectacle during battle presentation.
Fun fact 4: Fan reception in the supplied reviews ranges from a 10/10 recommendation that specifically praises the fight scenes to a 5/10 mixed response that likes the premise and Zodiac characters but finds the lead frustrating.
Fun fact 5: The principal trio is voiced by Hiro Shimono, Rie Murakawa, and Yumiri Hanamori, giving the show a cast built around high-energy comic delivery rather than restrained fantasy drama.