Tickle Attack

Saimaru was far too serious, Princess Meibei always thought. Sure, he was a powerful God-Fox who had been cast out and forced into human form for a year to learn humility and honor from those humans he so despised… but still…

What he needed was to loosen up. And what better way to loosen someone up than with a surprise tickle attack? At least Pom-poko felt the same way, though Yim objected to his feather being used as an instrument of laughter and in the end Ichiro was the only one who really got a kick out of it.

Still, Princess Meibei thought, it had been worth it just for the expression on Saimaru's face.
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The principal cast of my future manga (i.e. post-Angeldevil) Year of the God-Fox. I did this mostly as a color test, since the whole comic was in color and I wasn't sure how the characters would look until I painted them.

They are (from left) Ichiro (a mysterious ronin), Princess Meibei (a runaway princess), Saimaru (exiled God-Fox), Pom-poko (tanuki magician in training) and Yim (Meibei's bodyguard).

Watercolor on illustration board. Started this one aaaaages ago, and it somehow never got finished until yesterday. XD
Enjoy!