Hot springs are a staple of Japanese culture and regularly feature on slice-of-life anime. At one point or another, a show's core cast will take a trip to their local inn to spend an evening bathing in the steamy liquid. While hot springs are a common excursion, anime focusing exclusively on the daily happenings of one of these inns are quite rare. Konohana Kitan serves as a unique example.

A youthful fox girl with a zest for life, Yuzu joins the crew of a traditional hot spring inn called Konohanatei. Initially, Yuzu's clumsy behavior proves more of an annoyance than anything else, but the fox girl's earnest nature endears her to the other workers. Assisted by a nurturing head attendant and a slew of other quirky foxes, in due time, Yuzu starts to recognize Konohanatei as her new home!

Extremely sweet and heartwarming, Konohana Kitan focuses on the daily grind that comes with running a popular hot spring. While there are no humans to be seen, Lerche's anime is very similar to Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi, just with a hot spring replacing the latter's restaurant. Due to the female-only cast, romance is really not part of the equation, but Konohana Kitan's spirit world is beautiful and worth exploring!

Based on Julietta Suzuki's manga with the same name, Kamisama Kiss is a shoujo series that centers around a potential romance between a human high schooler and a spirit fox. Homeless due to her absentee father's massive debt, Nanami Momozono's kind personality continues to shine through despite her predicament. After aiding a man when he is attacked by a dog, she is offered to stay at his home, which happens to be a shrine. As tends to be the case, things are not what they seem and Nanami ends up serving as the town's new god.

Kamisama Hajimemashita's main tension arises from Nanami's relationship with her familiar, Tomoe. The spirit fox detests the idea of having to work for a human, but accidentally signs a contract tying him to the high schooler. Constantly at odds, the duo forms a love/hate relationship, as Tomoe cannot seem to decide if he wants to act as Nanami's guardian or romantic partner. While there is only one central couple, many other potential suitors are presented.

Kamisama Kiss and Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi both share the common premise of a young human girl working with spirits. In the former's case, Nanami's shrine is located in the human world, but her new position makes her an easy target for demons. Similarly to Aoi and Oodanna's relationship, Nanami and Tomoe need quite a bit of time before they can even start to accept each other.

While Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi sees Aoi literally teleported to a village of demons, Natsume's Book of Friends remains grounded in the human world. Even if the setting might be different, Natsume spends the majority of his time interacting with the supernatural. Similarly to Aoi's backstory, Natsume inherited his grandmother's ability to see yokai and was left with a debt to pay.

Unlike Aoi's literal financial commitment, Natsume received his grandmother's Book of Friends. Possessing the names of hundreds of yokai, the owner of the book exhibits control over any demon who happens to be listed on one of the pages. Introverted and subdued, the last thing Natsume wants is to wield this kind of power, as it makes him an easy target for every monster yearning to move up the social ladder.

Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi hints at the loneliness resulting from Aoi's special ability, but Natsume Yuujinchou focuses specifically on the eponymous character's struggle to balance these two realities. The anime's lethargic pace and sense of humor should be a perfect match for fans of Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi. Even if Natsume's Book of Friends can occasionally get quite intense, most episodes deal with the protagonist's everyday life rather than some grand adventure.

Certain people are magnets for spirits. Gugure! Kokkuri-san follows Kohina Ichimatsu, a self-proclaimed doll who is addicted to noodles. One random day, Kohina decides to summon Kokkuri-san, a spirit rumored to be able to answer any question. While the incantation proves successful, in recent years, Kokkuri's powers have degraded and he relies on the internet to answer trivia. While she no longer wants him around, Kokkuri becomes concerned over Kohina's insistence that she is a doll and decides to stay around to act like her mother.

Gugure! Kokkuri-san is a straight-up comedy! As the human doll, Kohina's deadpan delivery is absolutely hilarious and compliments Kokkuri's obsessive behavior. Similarly to Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi's reverse harem roots, Kohina ends up surrounded by a slew of male spirits desperate for her attention. As the protagonist is quite young, any potential romance is played for laughs, but the anime deals with a human trying to co-exist with yokai.

With a couple of exceptions, Gugure! Kokkuri-san's episodes generally take place within Kohina's house. Even if the characters are not employed or dealing directly with the public, most of the humor arises from Kokkuri's attempts to carry out chores. A supernatural anime where the human is the weirdest person in the cast, Gugure! Kokkuri-san should leave viewers rolling on the floor with laughter!

How the mighty have fallen! A conqueror of worlds with plans to add another continent to his collection, Demon Lord Satan marched his vast army onto the land of Ente Isla. Alas, even the best-laid plans often go awry, as Satan is defeated by the heroic Emilia. In a last-ditch effort for survival, Satan escapes to Earth to regroup. Unfortunately, the Demon Lord finds that he is powerless when stuck on a planet that does not believe in magic and, to make matters worse, Emilia seems to have followed him to Earth. As a result, Satan starts a new life as Sadao Maou and joins the ranks of a fast-food restaurant.

As the reverse of Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi, Hataraku Maou-sama! sees a demon dropped into the human world with no escape. In some ways, Sadao's yearning to grow his strength serves as the equivalent of Aoi's debt, as both are striving to work their way out of trouble. Aiming to rule Earth by moving up the corporate ladder, Satan believes he could eventually amass enough power to return to his own reality.

For the most part, White Fox's anime is a laugh-out-loud comedy with a touch of romance. While we would not go as far as to classify Hataraku Maou-sama! as a harem, Sadao's relationship with Emilia shares quite a bit in common with Aoi and Oodanna's slow-burning romance. In both cases, the girl slowly realizes there is more to the male lead than just their species.

In some ways, Inu x Boku SS is a groundbreaking series that introduced an entirely new personality type. The lonely but vicious protagonist, Ririchiyo Shirakiin, is classified as a tsunshun. After putting on an uninterested front, the girl gets depressed rather than modest. Ririchiyo is merely the tip of the iceberg, as David Production's anime features a fantastic cast of well-developed characters.

Petite and rich, Ririchiyo has been protected her entire life. As a result, she has struggled to build any lasting relationships and grew dependant on her family. Wishing to be left alone, the 15-year-old girl moves to Maison de Ayakashi, a high-security apartment complex packed with strange inhabitants. Also, Ririchiyo and everyone else is a yokai.

The Secret Service is a group of servants tasked with protecting Maison de Ayakashi's residents. The submissive but well-mannered Soushi Miketsukami is assigned to the resistant Ririchiyo, who tries to shake him off with her usual conceited attitude. Surprisingly, Soushi seems immune to her insults and the young girl soon warms to his company. With comedy and a fair amount of romance, Inu x Boku SS is an emotional journey with a supernatural edge!