Senpai Is An Otokonoko Ep. 9 “Christmas”: Bittersweet Holiday [Review]

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 9 “Christmas” is not quite as happy as the title would have you believe. Oh, there is some cheer in this episode, make no mistake. It is Christmas, after all. However, it’s a noticeably bittersweet Christmas in this anime.

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 9 “Christmas”: Details

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 9 “Christmas” is the ninth episode (you can read my reviews of Ep. 1, Ep. 2, Ep. 3, Ep. 4, Ep. 5, Ep. 6, Ep. 7, and Ep. 8 here) of this LGBTQ+ romantic comedy anime series. Said anime is the anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Pom. Project No.9 (Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!, Love After World Domination) is the animation studio behind this anime. Crunchyroll is the company licensing this anime in NA region.

Production Cast

Keisuke Gouda is the director behind Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 9 “Christmas”, with Seiko Takagi as the writer, Zi Hao Xuan as the storyboarder, and Shōto Shinkai, Eri Ogawa, Yuta Masaki, and Tae Inotsume all sharing credit as the chief animation directors. As for Senpai is an Otokonoko as a whole, Shinsuke Yanagi is the director behind the anime. Yoriko Tomita is the writer behind the same, with Yukari Hashimoto as the composer for the music you hear in that anime.

Speaking of music: the opening theme song is “Wagamama” (我がまま, “Selfishness”) by Kujira. Meanwhile, “Are ga Koi Datta no kana” (あれが恋だったのかな, “I Wonder If That Was Love”) by Kujira feat. Nishina is the ending theme song.

Voice Cast

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 9 “Christmas” features the voices of Shūichirō Umeda as Makoto Hanaoka, Akira Sekine as Saki Aoi, and Yuma Uchida as Ryuji Taiga. Other notable voice roles in this episode include Kaori Maeda as Konatsu Taiga and Ai Satō as Masako Aoi.

When and Where to Watch

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 9 “Christmas” made its airing and streaming debut (read: simulcast) on September 5, 2024. You can watch this episode only on Crunchyroll. In fact, you can watch the anime as a whole only on Crunchyroll due to it being an exclusive there.

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 9 “Christmas”: Synopsis

Alas, Senpai is an Otokonoko is an ongoing anime series. In fact, Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 9 “Christmas” only just made its debut five days ago as fo this writing. Thus, I will present to you Crunchyroll’s official synopsis for this episode instead of a spoiler-filled plot summary. You can read that synopsis below:

On Christmas Saki happens to see a certain person get in a taxi. While she desperately chases after the taxi, Makoto is on the way to Ryuji’s. Two people who weren’t meant to meet still run into each other…

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 9 “Christmas”: The Good

Okay, longtime readers would’ve noticed by now that I rate the story of this anime very highly. That said, Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 9 “Christmas” continues that tradition. There’s just so many layers to the story here. From Makoto dealing with Saki’s psychological issues and feelings of abandonment to some very new and raised tension in Makoto’s relationship with Ryuji due to a misunderstanding, this episode has it all. It’s not all serious drama though. There’s still quite a bit of romantic comedy and silliness to balance out that drama. I still make the comparison with dark chocolate here. The best dark chocolate is milk and sugar combined with the right amount of bitter cacao. This episode is the case for me. All thanks to Pom’s excellent writing, no less.

Adding to that wonderful story is the ever-wonderful animation from Project No.9. I feel like they’re getting more into the high quality animation trend lately due to all the serious moments in the anime. As you can see in the screenshot above, the ice skating scene is quite lovely thanks to them. Still, if you long for the adorable chibi scenes to cope with the drama, then fear not. They’re still present in this episode in fairly copious amounts. All to add some sweetness to the bitter drama.

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 9 “Christmas”: The Bad

Alas, Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 9 “Christmas” is not an episode for action junkies. There’s a tense scene of Saki trying to chase down a taxi on a borrowed bike, but it’s not really action so much as it is drama. If you want high-energy action scenes, then you might want to check out Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Solo Leveling, Kaiju No. 8, and/or The Elusive Samurai? Those anime series should have more than enough action to satisfy any action cravings.

Also, I will once more add in a reminder that this anime is still being review bombed by an uncouth group. If you like this anime, then please do your part, and rate it highly to fight back against them.

Tune back to THS to learn more about Senpai is an Otokonoko and other anime series when we do.

Keep Reading:

Senpai Is An Otokonoko Ep. 8 “Wound”: Melancholy Of Saki Aoi [Review]