Kitsune no Oyome-chan is first and foremost a wish fulfilment slice of life romcom. The chapters are primarily episodic but creates an overarching progression. The main focus of this series is definitely Oyome-chan and the funny antics she gets into as a decently adjusted alien in a modern human world, and her cute and wholesome relationship with her husband. Tl;Dr if you like cute fox girl doing cute fox girl things, you'll enjoy this series. The comedy and theme of Kitsune no Oyome-chan is very similar to that of Shikimori-San isn't just a cutie, where the protagonists cute relationship mishaps and the comedic and dramaticmoments of every day life takes the centre stage. Dates going wrong, misunderstandings between partners, and taking care of the one you love are some of the central elements of the series themes, with a roster of wacky and comedic characters that provide absurd but fun scenarios. The series also doesn't take itself too seriously, but somehow manages to balance wholesome romance with wacky humour.

The humour of the series is fairly standard for slice of life manga with adult characters, but adds the twists of having a nonhuman protagonist, which opens up for jokes about animal behaviour, "aliens on earth", and having to conceal your otherworldly self when it's an open secret. However, unlike series that feature kitsune characters, such as Tamomo-chan is a fox, religion and spiritual themes don't take up much space in this series, which is to me a breath of fresh air. The comedy around Oyome has more to do with who she is as a person and her flaws, than specifically being a kitsune.

The romance in this series is nothing innovative, but follows the tried and true "cute couple moments" theme that many slice of life romcoms follows. Oyome is a cute, loving, and diligent character with a childlike wonder and excitement for the world around her that often leads her into trouble which requires her husband to often bail her out, to which she's eternally thankful for. Her language is also old fashioned and antiquated, which greatly adds to her feeling misplaced in the modern world, but also adds a charm that really pops when she's being caring towards the people she loves.

You can tell that the author has worked on doujinshis before, with the characters physique being well designed and something the author doesn't shy away from showing. Oyome in particular gets some more questionable panels where she's portrayed in a slightly more sexualised light, which is by no means a bad thing. The entire first chapter also closely follows the themes presented in the original doujin this series evolved from, but further develops the theme and the characters. There's no actual sex in the first chapter, but it is by far the least appropriate one I've encountered so far.

Overall, this series is cute, funny, offers great jokes about foxes and kitsune, and is very wholesome. It doesn't dwelve into deep themes like religion, history, or relationship issues, and holds a lighthearted tone of humour and romance. It's surprising to me that it's not more popular than it is, as it offers a good (but basic) slice of life story with a lovable kitsune character that isn't just "your daily life" like Senko-san can feel, and doesn't have the heavier and overdone religious and historical themes often incorporated into any story with a kitsune character.

The sixth volume of the manga just got crowd funded for a physical publication in Japan, and with enough attention I hope to see it translated and published one day in the west.