History Main / AsianFoxSpirit

* The extended ''Manhua/OldMasterQ'' epic, "[[https://kknews.cc/zh-my/comic/lzg23rz.html Master Q and the Fox Spirit]]" have the titular character randomly befriending a millennia-old Fox Spirit (who spends the entire story disguised as a human) who decides to bestow Master Q superpowers in return for ''breakfast''. But then ''another'' fox spirit, one assuming the form of a gorgeous young woman, starts stalking Master Q and blackmailing him as an accomplice to help her steal an enchanted diamond. [[spoiler:Turns out the second, gorgeous fox spirit is the ''wife'' of the first, who's tasked with arresting her after she escapes from her prison heaven, but is unable to do so and thus manipulates Master Q into completing the job for him]]. Which Master Q isn't too happy about to say the least...

* AsianFoxSpirit/WesternAnimation

* ''Animation/WhiteSnake2019'': The owner of the Precious Jade Workshop is a fox-demon named Baoqing, who appears as a child-sized woman with [[TwoFaced a human face on one side of her head and a fox face on the other]]. She returns in the sequel as a more prominent character, and at one point even transforms into her true form -- a colossal pink eight-tailed fox.

* ''Film/PaintedSkin'' stars a malicious nine-tailed ''huli jing'' named Xiao Wei, who maintains her youthful human form by eating men's hearts, but who falls in love with a human general who saves her life. She conspires to take the place of his wife, [[spoiler: and nearly succeeds, but ultimately sacrifices her power in order to undo the damage she caused.]] In the sequel, set 500 years later, she escapes the glacier she was [[SealedEvilInACan imprisoned in]] and conspires to [[HumanityEnsues become a human]] by getting a human to willfully give her their heart during [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot a solar eclipse]], initiating a love triangle between herself, a RebelliousPrincess with a [[PhysicalScarsPsychologicalScars scarred visage]], and the princess' BodyguardCrush to accomplish this.

* ''VisualNovel/PleaseBeHappy'': The protagonist Miho is a Korean fox-spirit who is searching for a traveller who once showed hr kindness, ending up befriending the aspiring novelist Aspen and the vampire librarian Juliet when her travels take her to New Zealand.

* From ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'':

%% Plaigerism - please reword ** From Wiki/{{Wikipedia}}:

** ''Film/{{Ran}}'' is an adaptation of ''Theatre/KingLear'' for Japanese audiences. One of the three sons of the elderly Great Lord has a wife who is [[HoneyTrap clearly manipulating him to his downfall]]. She has her husband send his right-hand man off to kill a rival woman and return with her head encased in salt. The would-be assassin [[UsefulNotes/TheThirtySixStratagems takes a page from Zhuge Liang]] and returns telling a tall tale about how he beheaded a kitsune. He opens his satchel and reveals the head of a kitsune statue, then curses the "demon" who got away, likes to disguise itself as a beautiful woman, and seeks to corrupt and ruin men. The wife reacts with fury. Sadly, the [[TooDumbToLive son does nothing]]. [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready It doesn't end well.]]

In behaviour, their activities vary from divine servants (or even [[OurGodsAreDifferent gods of a sort]]), through Shapeshifting [[ShapeshiftingTrickster Tricksters]] and [[ShapeshiftingSeducer Seducers]] -- to bringers of ruin and eaters of men. Or, as mentioned above, they might fall in love and marry, and live happily that way. (And in that last case, their children -- while not foxes themselves -- will inherit magical powers.)

In behaviour, their activities vary from divine servants (or even [[OurGodsAreDifferent gods of a sort]]), through Shapeshifting -[[ShapeshiftingTrickster Tricksters]] and -[[ShapeshiftingSeducer Seducers]] -- to bringers of ruin and eaters of men. Or, as mentioned above, they might fall in love and marry, and live happily that way. (And in that last case, their children -- while not foxes themselves -- will inherit magical powers.)

Physically, they have a few distinguishing features: as already mentioned, they have multiple tails (up to nine). They may also have squinted eyes or EyesAlwaysShut (which is called "''kitsune no me''", meaning "fox eyes" or "shifty eyes").

* In China, they are called ''huli jing'' ("fox spirit") or ''jiuweihu'' ("nine-tailed fox").

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[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''Manga/{{Aria}}'': Akari encounters a kitsune wedding procession in a recreation of the Fushimi Inari Shrine on Mars.
* ''LightNovel/BeyondTheBoundary'': Ayaka Shindou is revealed to be a very powerful kitsune in disguise.
* ''Manga/BusterKeel'' has one of the four greatest evils, Dakki, a seven-tailed fox-demoness with elemental powers (one for each tail, themed after a color), taking the form of a gorgeous buxom woman with blond hair who secretly manipulates an entire kingdom from the shadows as the unseen queen, gathering powerful adventurers to turn into her minions. Showing some knowledge of classics, her two main minions, Gold and Silver, are based on the demons Kinkaku and Ginkaku from ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'', themselves sons of a Huli Jing.
* ''Manga/CellsAtWork'': One type of Opportunistic Bacteria is depicted as a hybrid-form kitsune with a gem in the middle of its chest. Quite fitting, since Opportunistic Bacteria side with the immune system when the body's healthy and make trouble when unhealthy, representing the Kitsune's trickster nature.
* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'':
** [[Anime/DigimonTamers Renamon]] and her evolutionary line are all based on ''kitsune''. Her rookie form is a humanoid fox ninja, her champion forms (Kyuubimon and Youkomon) are nine-tailed foxes, her ultimate forms (Taomon and Doumon) are humanoid foxes in onmyōji robes, and her mega forms (Sakuyamon and Kuzuhamon) are humans in Shinto-themed fox armor.
** [[Anime/DigimonDataSquad Kudamon]] is a white elongated weasel-like fox Digimon coiled around a holy cartridge, and is based on the ''kudagitsune'' variant of ''kitsune''.
** [[VideoGame/DigimonReArise Rasenmon Fury Mode]] is a feral bipedal beast-man clad in purple and black armor, with nine spiralling tails it uses to impale its opponents.
* ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'': Liquiir, the God of Destruction of Universe 8, is a humanoid fox with nine tails.
* ''Manga/TheFoxAndLittleTanuki'' is about a [[GrumpyBear grumpy]] ''bakekitsune'' named Senzou who, after wreaking havoc across the land with his considerable powers, is sealed away for several centuries and then freed by the Sun Goddess so that he can raise a {{Tanuki}} pup to become a servant of the gods, on the grounds that his powers be restored if he succeeds. His backstory involves FantasticRacism between black kitsune like himself, and the white kitsune who are chosen to serve gods as well - one such white fox named Koyuki serves as his caretaker in the modern day.
* ''Manga/GaRei'': The Nine-Tailed Demon-Fox is said to have been a powerful kitsune who laid waste to India and China before attacking Japan, where it became the Spirit Beast of the evil exorcist Tamamo-no-Mae. After Tamamo was killed, the Nine-Tailed Demon-Fox's crystalized soul formed into the [[ArtifactOfDoom Bane Stones]], which the protagonists spend most of the plot recovering to ensure it doesn't come back. It's eventually revealed that the Nine-Tailed Demon-Fox is actually [[AnimalisticAbomination a giant singularity of hatred]] and DestroyerDeity meant to cleanse the Earth of all life and is more [[DraconicAbomination draconic]] than vulpine in appearance. [[spoiler:Kagura uses its power to revive Kensuke after he's killed (and, subconsciously, Yomi too) at the cost of most of Tokyo, nearly killing her in the process.]] NiceJobBreakingItHero.
* ''Anime/GAROCrimsonMoon'': The fox deity Inari, depicted as a trio of black-haired women wearing fox-themed uniforms, give orders to Raikou (the wearer of the Garo armor) and a female Makai Alchemist named Seimei; occasionally using kitsune to deliver orders.
* ''Manga/GeGeGeNoKitaro'' often features Youko as the many Yokai featured, especially the Kyuubi no Kitsune or Tamamo-no-Mae, a recurring antagonist. Tamamo reaches her peak of danger in the 2018 anime, where not only she's the last of the [[FourIsDeath Four Treasonous Generals]] to appear, but also using her "clones" (avatars physically resembling her human form but with only a fraction of her power and a single tail each) to brainwash various world leaders into declaring war on Japan. [[spoiler: Her main body manages to turn the Oni of Hell against Enma and devour the Hell King, gaining a huge boost in power]]. Notably, she lets out a loud vulpine cry as she transforms into her giant fox form.
* Gintaro and Haru of ''Manga/{{Gingitsune}}'' (''Silver Fox''). As Heralds, they are the spirits of dead foxes given new names after death. Haru, being [[ImmortalImmaturity relatively young]], doesn't have as much skill or power as Gintaro does.
* ''Manga/GugureKokkurisan'': The titular Kokkuri is a kitsune summoned by the main character, Kohina Ichimatsu. More specifically, he's who the Kokkuri divination game is named after, as it's often believed that playing Kokkuri summons a fox spirit.
* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'': The Ninja-themed manga ''Hidden Shadow of G'' features the Bound Fox, a Kitsune-themed variant of ''[[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Zeta Gundam]]'''s Bound Dog TransformingMecha with a conveniently placed array of rear-mounted drop tanks.
* ''Manga/HellTeacherNube'': Nube gained a rival who was a kitsune in human guise; later, Nube went to confront the nine-tails kitsune.
* ''Manga/TheHelpfulFoxSenkoSan'' details the story of Senko, a 900-year-old ''inari'' kitsune, descending from the divine realm to act as the caretaker for Nakano, a regular human {{Salaryman}} working at a "black company" that pushes him hard enough that his stress and depression physically leaks out and starts affecting the world around him. What follows is Senko doing her best to pamper him in order to relieve his stress, one major method being him fluffing her soft tail, which she [[FantasticArousal reacts in an interesting way to]]. There are also several other kitsune in the story, such as Senko's co-worker Shiro and their boss Sora.
* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'': [[TheStoic Japan]] dresses in a kitsune costume, complete with ears and tail, for [[http://img14.deviantart.net/fc1d/i/2013/289/a/9/all_hetalia_halloween_costumes_by_heta_lolia-d6qpdgs.jpg one Halloween]].
* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'': Kunou and her mother Yasaka are kitsune. The [=ORC=] works with Kunou to find Yasaka after she is kidnapped, and Kunou becomes a LoveInterest to Issei.
* ''Manga/HozukisCoolheadedness'' has several kitsune among the recurring cast.
** Gon is a lazy kitsune running a HostClub in the RedLightDistrict. The club is staffed entirely with other kitsune who used to take the form of PrettyBoy hosts thanks to their shapeshifting powers, but eventually realised that they get more customers by staying in their animal form and turning it into a fox café.
** Daji the nine-tailed fox is a recurring character and the owner of the aforementioned cafe. Gon is working there because Daji is the only thing that scares him enough to put him to work.
** [[IdolSinger Miki]] act like a CatGirl as part of her stage persona but is actually a fox.
* ''Manga/HyperPolice'': Sakura the ''kyuubi'' is a fox-spirit who has eight-and-one-fifth tails.
* ''Manga/InuXBokuSS'': Soushi Miketsukami is a HalfHumanHybrid variant of ''kitsune''.
* ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'' has Shippou, an orphaned ''kitsune'' child who tags along with Inuyasha and Kagome (and she herself was momentarily accused of being one at the beginning of the story). The group doesn't entirely take Shippou's abilities seriously because he is a child, although they do take his heart and will to help seriously. Much later in the story, a small arc focuses entirely on the group's stay at an inn that turns out to be a testing ground for a group of youthful Kitsune who are going through examinations (in field testing, as it were). Due to the accidental encounter with the testing grounds, Shippou is forced to sit the exams as well. Despite having made no preparation (and not even known his kind had to take exams on a regular basis) and being one of the youngest examinees, Shippou quickly proves to everyone that when he's compared to his own kind, his abilities are leagues ahead of a child his age, and even far in advance of most of the older students as well.
* Tomoe from ''Manga/KamisamaKiss'' is a kitsune, typically appearing as an attractive young man with a fox's ears and tail. He has [[CunningLikeAFox all the typical slyness of a fox]], as well as the ability to shapeshift.
* Ukon from ''Manga/KamiSamaNoEkohiiki'' is a small talking fox who's also the attendant of a [[NoNameGiven nameless]] Shinto god, similarly to how foxes are traditionally viewed as attendants/messengers of the god Inari.
* ''LightNovel/KakuriyoBedAndBreakfastForSpirits'': One of the main characters is a nine-tailed fox named Ginji.
* ''LightNovel/{{Kanokon}}'':
** Chizuru Minamoto is a 400-year-old kitsune who tries to seduce the protagonist, Kouta Oyamada, and can [[FusionDance merge with him]] by kissing him. [[spoiler:She's eventually revealed to also be a reincarnation of the [[{{Orochi}} Yamata-no-Orochi]], a DraconicAbomination slain by the storm-god Susanoo, who Kouta is the reincarnation of, making both of them the targets of a cult seeking to unleash the Orochi and an organization dedicated to preventing the Orochi's resurgence at all costs.]]
** Tamamo Minamoto, Chizuru's [[spoiler:adoptive]] mother, is stated to be ''the'' Tamamo-no-Mae of ancient Japanese folklore, nine tails and all, and frequently gets into mischief whenever she turns up.
* ''Manga/{{Kekkaishi}}'' features an ailing kitsune as the leader of the Kokuboro that serve as the antagonists for much of the anime adaptation.
* ''Manga/KitsuneNoYomeiri'': In addition to the main character [[YamatoNadeshiko Kyouka]], the White Kitsune Princess, a number of other kitsune turn up. All of them exhibit magical powers and are tricksters to some extent but only the upper-class kitsune take on human form for any length of time.
* ''Kyubi no Kitsune to Tobimaru'': An ill-fated 1968 anime adaptation of a novel by Okamoto Kidō based on the legend of Tamamo-no-Mae, wherein the young Emperor Tobimaru meets and falls in love with a beautiful girl named Tamamo, who turns out to be an evil nine-tailed fox.[[note]]The film was only screened in one theatre due to the studio, Daiei Film, mismanaging it, resulting in it becoming a box-office bomb. The original negatives disappeared after the director/producer, Gentaro Nakajima, committed suicide; while the theater print is kept at the Tokyo Metropolitan Library, which occasionally screens it but has made no effort to restore and release it to the general public.[[/note]]
* In ''Manga/LoveHina'', while she's not a true kitsune, Mitsune Konno is nicknamed "Kitsune" partly as a pun on her name, partly because she looks sort of like a fox (especially since her [[EyesAlwaysShut eyes are usually closed]]), and mostly because she's a gossip and trickster who loves being a tease to Keitaro.
* One of the yokai in ''Manga/MononokeSharing'' is a kitsune named Yooko. She's the resident LovableSexManiac of the group.
* ''Franchise/{{Naruto}}'':
** The Nine-Tailed Fox is introduced as a calamitously powerful [[FoulFox evil nine-tailed kitsune]] that attacked the village of Konoha without provocation before being [[SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan sealed inside the protagonist]], Naruto Uzumaki, by the Fourth Hokage. However, the Nine-Tails [[OurMonstersAreDifferent isn't]] a traditional nine-tailed kitsune; it's the strongest of the Tailed Beasts, nine [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever colossal monsters]] made of living sapient chakra, and describes itself as a "[[MadeOfEvil living mass of malevolence]]" consumed by hatred for humanity. [[spoiler:It turns out that [[NotEvilJustMisunderstood "evil" isn't quite the right term]], just very, very angry at humans for generations of using him as a living weapon. [[TheHero Naruto]] slowly gets the Nine-Tails to let go of his grudge, at least in regards to him, and in a shout-out to ''Yu Yu Hakusho'' the Nine Tails' name is eventually revealed to be Kurama.]]
** Naruto himself has a few fox-like attributes, such as [[LittleBitBeastly marks on his cheeks that look like whiskers]] (likely because [[spoiler:his mother was the previous host of the Nine-Tailed Fox]]), a tendency to close his eyes making him look like a fox, being CunningLikeAFox, and the [[DistractedByTheSexy Sexy Jutsu]]. By tapping into the Nine-Tails' power, he can wreathe himself in a vulpine AnimalBattleAura, which initially serves as his SuperPoweredEvilSide.
** In the ''Manga/Naruto1997'' pilot Naruto was the son of the Nine-Tailed Fox demon. His father was killed years ago and Naruto was taken in by a human. Naruto lives in human form but his "true form" is a fox. In the pilot, Naruto is much brattier and more of a trickster than he is in the final manga.
* ''Manga/NatsumesBookOfFriends'' features a small kitsune child who follows Natume home from his class trip.
* ''Manga/NekoMusumeMichikusaNikki'': Kokkuri-san is a lesbian kitsune who works as one of TheSevenMysteries of the elementary school and takes a liking to Chika, one of the students.
* ''Manga/NuraRiseOfTheYokaiClan''[='s=] BigBad is Haguromo Gitsune, a nine-tailed fox, who is about to give birth to a monster. She wasn't always quite so evil, since she was willing to [[spoiler: ''reabsorb and rebirth her grown son so he'd be immortal''... and then she was killed and her son (Abe no Seimei below) vowed revenge.]]
* ''Manga/OmamoriHimari'' has the budding BigBad as a Nine-Tailed Kitsune and her [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Shuten-doji]] spokesman.
* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Kitsune are introduced, appropriately enough, in the [[{{Wutai}} Land of Wano Arc]]:
** It's revealed that exists the mythical Zoan Dog Dog model Nine-Tailed Fox, which allows the eater to turn into a nine-tailed fox or a HalfHumanHybrid and even shapeshift at will. [[spoiler:It was eaten by Catarina Devon, of the Blackbeard Pirates.]]
** Komagitsune (large foxes with flame-like tuffs of fur) are among the fauna of Wano. One of them, named Onimaru, was the pet of a Daimyo, Shimotsuki Ushimaru, and guarded its master's grave after his demise. [[spoiler: He befriended Kawamatsu the Kappa and helped him gather weapons for the rebellion against Orochi, taking human form and the alias of Gyuukimaru of Oihagi Bridge.]]
* ''Manga/OtogiMatsuri'': Yomogi's fox-like spiritual companions, who can be seen and heard only by her (and later, Yousuke.) They mainly serve to assist her with menial tasks such as cleaning and to warn her of impending danger.
* The heroines of ''Manga/OtomeYoukaiZakuro'' are artificially-created half-kitsune hybrids created from female fetuses being magically mutated with the blood of natural kitsune.
* Kuugen Tenkou and Gyokuyou from ''LightNovel/OurHomesFoxDeity''.
* In ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'', this is Kuyou's true form. As the main villain of his own arc he has four tails, while when he returns in the Fairy Tale arc he's gained a fifth tail to demonstrate that he did ''not'' [[VillainForgotToLevelGrind forget to level grind]].
* ''Manga/SengokuYouko'':
** The main character Tama is a 200-year-old pacifistic kitsune who appears as a young girl and is the travelling companion -- and later wife -- of the temperamental and initially misanthropic sage Jinka.
** Tama's mother Kuzunoha is a hedonistic and wicked kitsune who ran rampant in the past, causing chaos wherever she went, until she fell in love with the evil Buddhist priest-turned-MadScientist Yazen, and desired to become human.
** Jinka is able to temporarily transform into a kitsune by drinking Tama's blood and seeks to permanently become one due to his misanthropy. After being tricked by Yazen into thinking he killed Tama, he goes berserk and devours the flesh of a god to become a thousand-tailed fox-god, and even after his sanity is restored he remains a kitsune.
* ''Manga/SoulHunter'': So Dakki is a nine-tailed fox-monster in human guise, though the power to assume a human form is not reserved to Kitsune in this setting and is a common trait of Youkai in general. Considering that the story takes place in ancient China and is inspired by the Chinese classic ''Fengshen Yanyi'', she technically counts as a Hu Li Jing.
* ''Manga/{{Tactics}}'': Youko is a kitsune whom the protagonist has bound to his service. She doesn't seem too upset about this.
* ''Manga/TamamoChansAFox'': The protagonist is a fox spirit from Kyoto's famous Fushimi Inari shrine who poses as a high school girl out of curiosity about human life. While her human disguise has almost all the adults perfectly fooled, [[OpenSecret all her classmates can see right through it]], though they don't let on so she doesn't get in trouble.
* Yako from ''Manga/ToiletBoundHanakoKun'' usually appears as a human woman, but her true form is a small white fox. This is because she was originally a fox statue that guarded a shrine gate before she became one of TheSevenMysteries of Kamome Academy.
%%ZeroContextExample * ''VisualNovel/TriangleHeart3SweetSongsForever'': Kuon
* ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'' features a kitsune-like fox with a crush on Shinobu as a RecurringCharacter.
* ''Anime/PomPoko'': While Creator/StudioGhibli's film focuses mostly on tanuki, it's noted by there were once shapeshifting foxes in the area [[spoiler:who chose to live among humans]].
* ''Manga/UshioAndTora'': The legendary monster [[BigBad Hakumen no Mono]] -- inspired by the legend of Tamamo-no-Mae -- takes the form of a colossal nine-tailed fox with a shark-like face. Compared to most other examples, it's more akin to an EldritchAbomination, as it's an OmnicidalManiac entirely made of [[MadeOfEvil Yin]], and took the combined strength of all the youkai and humans of Japan to drive it away. Despite having been sealed away, it is still as powerful as ever. Furthermore, it originally lived in China and India but later moved to Japan [[spoiler: to escape the only thing it fears: the Beast Spear.]] The series also has a more benevolent example in the Kudagitsune Izuna, a BoisterousWeakling who, along with his unseen brothers, excel at DemonicPossession and helps Ushio and Tora when they have to enter a person's body to remove the demons possessing said person.
* ''Manga/XXXHolic'': Kudakitsune is a pipe fox in her transformed shape. Watanuki also runs into a kitsune family who runs an oden stand in the spirit world.
* ''Manga/{{Yaiba}}'': Shiro Amakusa is one of Onimaru's seven swordsmen revived in an animal body, and he got to be reincarnated into a fox. Even when he's in human form, he sports whiskers, ears, and sometimes the tail.
* ''VisualNovel/YamiToBoushiToHonNoTabibito'': Meirin is a three-tailed fox-spirit and Tamamonomae is a nine-tailed fox-spirit, though they [[MindScrew may be the same person]].
* ''Anime/YokaiWatch'':
** Kyubi from the games is [[CharacterizationMarchesOn given a deal of portrayal]] as [[TheCasanova a casanova]] who in [[AbortedArc a short story arc]] must harvest 100 heart orbs in order to get promoted and fixates into Katie to get the last one, unsuccessfully. This trait was carried in the games, most notably Yo-kai Watch 2, Blasters, and 3,
** The sequel ''Anime/YokaiWatchShadowside'' features his return with both Lightside and Shadowside forms, and adds a Fangirl Kitsune Yo-kai as well, Inari (Lightside)/Tatarigitsune (Shadowside). [[Anime/YokaiWatchShadowsideTheReturnOfTheOniKing The movie prior to the series]] marks his first appearance in Shadowside-related material, and his Shadowside form is more feral, and quadrupedal.
** ''Anime/YokaiWatchForeverFriends'' sets Tamamo-no-Mae as one of the BigBadEnsemble.
* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'': Kurama is a kitsune who was gravely injured, and inhabited his spirit into a [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas female human's womb, where she would eventually give birth to him in human form while he recovered]]. Possibly Koto (seems fox-like but meows occasionally in the manga; could just be that the translators didn't know either).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* In ''Fanfic/TheBridge'', a gumiho features as an ArcVillain. [[ShownTheirWork Lifted almost exactly]] from the Korean fable "The Fox Sister", she's a cannibalistic sadist who stalked an immigrant across the ocean to Equestria after murdering her fiance and his family.
* In ''Fanfic/{{Constellations}}'', a pair of twin kitsunes appear to cause mischief, and a young one adopts Assault as her father after he buys some fried tofu for her.
* ''Fanfic/{{Kitsune}}'': References the concept by title, and is a reference to the fox-girl nature of its protagonist.
* In ''Fanfic/MakeAWish'', Harry Potter finds a young kitsune that attempts to prank him. Harry puts her in touch with the Weasley twins.
* ''Fanfic/NihonversePocketville'':
** Kitsune are prominent characters in the series, one of the most important being Amaterasu, the High Priestess of Onmyou.
** Kyuubi Emiko, who was eventually revealed to be the identity of [[UsefulNotes/HMTheQueen Queen Elizabeth II]], is a nine-tailed kitsune gijinka who is one of the most important Otherworlders who stepped foot onto the queendom. Yes, apparently the Queen herself is one of those foxes.
* In ''Fanfic/ThisBites'', in order to keep up with the rest of the crew, Su, the cloud fox, decides to gain kitsune-like powers by finding "the Children of Inari". [[spoiler:It's implied that this will be the training she undergoes during the two-year TimeSkip]].
* In ''Fanfic/TurningANewLeaf'', Chairwoman Kannazuki Shizuka has fox-like characteristics that evoke the kitsune.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
!!Authors
* Creator/MercedesLackey's works:
** Foxtrot X-Ray and Lady Ako in ''Chrome Circle''. FX has three tails and is pretty weak (though he eventually earns a two-tail upgrade for extreme valor). Ako has nine tails. She's also "the bearer of some of the most noble blood Under- or Above- Hill." Her half-kitsune/half-dragon daughter also has nine tails in her kitsune form.
** One makes a brief (yet important) appearance in the ''Literature/TalesOfTheFiveHundredKingdoms'' series in ''Fortune's Fool'', giving the female lead a magic paper crane that comes in handy.

!!Specific works
* In ''Literature/AmericanGods'', also by Creator/NeilGaiman, some background characters are implied to be kitsune; during the battle between the old gods and the American Gods, two Asian women are killed and upon dying they turn into foxes.
* ''Literature/BookOfImaginaryBeings'': Chinese foxes can live for a thousand years, start fires by striking the ground with their tails, see into the future and take human shape. They are sometimes born from the souls of the dead taking on a new form and will cause no end of mischief to those who cross them.
* ''Literature/CradleSeries'': The Wei clan follows Elder Whisper, a sacred five-tailed fox. Specifically, he is a snow fox who lived long enough and grew powerful enough to gain human intelligence. He is a master of light and dream [[{{Mana}} madra]], and the Wei clan follows in his footsteps, practicing the Path of the White Fox. Elder Whisper acts as a StealthMentor for Lindon early on, pushing him to improve himself despite the rest of the clan telling him he's worthless.
* The ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'' short story "Ode To Joy" is a conversation between a kitsune and the Fourth Doctor about the changing face of Japan.
* ''Literature/DragonPearl'' stars the Korean variant, gumiho. They're shapeshifters who can use a magic called Charm to manipulate people, and they tend to stay in human form because other species find them untrustworthy. Most of them choose to be female.
* ''Literature/FengshenYanyi'': One of the main antagonists is the spirit of a 1000-year-old white fox who's sent by the goddess Nu Wa (alongside the spirits of a female nine-headed pheasant and that of a jade pipa) to hasten the corruption and downfall of King Zhou, who offended her in her own temple. The spirit does so by killing the innocent Su Daji and taking over her body to seduce the emperor of Shang and cause mischief and chaos all around. Unlike popular depictions though, the number of her tails isn't mentioned, just her age.
* ''Literature/FoxDemonCultivationManual'': The titular fox demons are ''huli-jing'', the Chinese equivalent of kitsune. Rong Bai is a nine-tailed fox spirit, and through drinking his blood Song Ci also becomes a fox spirit (though he has fewer tails than Rong Bai).
* Kij Johnson wrote a [[http://www.kijjohnson.com/fox-magic.html short story about a Japanese fox spirit]] and it was so popular that she later expanded it into a full novel, ''Fox Woman'', after doing extensive research to make it historically accurate.
** In ''Fudoki'', another novel by Johnson, a male kitsune plays an important role as part of a warband that the main character joins. Despite actually being named Kitsune, no one except the main character seems to realize his true nature.
* In the ''{{Literature/Goosebumps}}'' book "Literature/ReturnToGhostCamp," the snatcher is a fox-like ghost that murders one camper from Camp Full Moon each year and can shape-shift into a human to fool its victims.
* Creator/AndreNorton used fox spirits in both ''Imperial Lady'' (co-written with Susan Shwartz) and ''The White Jade Fox''. In the former, Silver Snow's maid is a kitsune, while in the latter it's left ambiguous as to whether any of the characters are literally kitsune, but the trope is at least toyed with.
* In ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' there are two notable fox demons, and one of them is even a nine-tailed vixen. They're the uncle and mother of the two demon kings Kinkaku and Ginkaku, making them half-''huli jing'' demons (though they're usually depicted as massive oni-like monsters). In a case perhaps of UnbuiltTrope, the mother is actually an old crone, while the uncle Hu Aqi isn't much of a trickster but rather a ferocious warrior who fights with a halberd. A more classical vixen demon reappears later as the mistress of Niumowang, the Ox Demon King. Additionally, another fox spirit appears near the end in the form of the concubine of a human king secretly making him sick and then manipulating him to order the creation of a fake medicine using the hearts of children.
* One of the ''Literature/JudgeDee'' stories has a Huli Jing show up (sort of): a priest explains that he was always sort of shunned because his father had been tricked into marrying a fox-woman, who turned back into a fox some time after he (the priest) was born. The judge (and everyone else) stare at him in silence for a while, because it's blindingly obvious that the wife ran off with another man, the father passing it off as the fox spirit going back to the wild.
* In Creator/ErinMorgenstern's ''Literature/TheNightCircus'', one of the figures on the carousel. Celia persuades Poppet to ride it, rather than the gryphon, by telling its story.
* ''Ito guruma kyūbi no kitsune'' is an early 19th-century Japanese novel written by Santō Kyōden, wherein the evil kitsune Tamamo-no-Mae's vengeful spirit repudiates her redemption and conversion to Buddhism, making a pact with the {{oni}} hag from the noh play ''Adachigahara'' to seek revenge on their enemies.
* In ''Literature/TheMachineriesOfEmpire'', a nine-tailed fox - called a ninefox or an eyefox[[note]]it has eyes on each of its tails[[/note]] - is the symbol of the Shuos faction, comprised of assassins, spies and saboteurs with love of games.
* Eva Mayer, the titular 'Mail Fox' of ''Literature/MailFoxTales'' being turned into a Kitsune through the gift of a dying goddess is the start of many headaches for her.
* In ''Literature/TheNightMothersHeir'' Ink Drop is a Kitsune, he has the ability to transform ito different things depending on how many tails he has.
* A Kitsune appears in ''[[Literature/OctoberDaye Rosemary and Rue]]'' by Creator/SeananMcGuire.
* Creator/NeilGaiman's novella collaboration with Creator/YoshitakaAmano, ''ComicBook/TheSandman: The Dream Hunters'', centers around a kitsune who falls in love with a monk.
* In Creator/JulieKagawa's ''Literature/ShadowOfTheFox'' series, the main character, Yumeko, is a young kitsune. Technically she's half human, but she has the same powers and abilities as a full-blood kitsune and is treated as one by everyone else.
%% Zero-Context Example * Winkle, from Creator/GeneWolfe's ''Literature/TheSorcerersHouse''.
* In Paul Kidd's series ''Literature/SpiritHunters'' Sura is a kitsune. However she has only one tail, nine-tailed fox-spirits are mythological in that world [[spoiler: though at one point she casts a shadow that seems to have multiple tails]], and can only assume three specific forms: a TalkingAnimal fox, a [[HalfHumanHybrid "fur"]] form halfway between fox and human, and a third that looks almost human save for her [[LittleBitBeastly pointed ears and tail]]. Other animal spirits seen can assume similar forms.
* Creator/BrandonSanderson's ''{{Literature/Starsight}}'' has the kitsen, talking foxlike aliens that were the origin of Earth's kitsune myths, when some of them with the ability to teleport between planets ended up in medieval Japan.
* ''Literature/StrangeStoriesFromAChineseStudio'' contains 86 tales of Chinese fox spirits, most of whom assume female form to deceive humans. Though there's also a few stories with wise elder foxes, and one where a male fox seduces a magistrate.
%% Zero-Context Example * In Creator/WenSpencer's ''Literature/{{Tinker}}'' series, one of the oni's {{Servant Race}}s.
* ''Literature/UnderHeaven'': The characters discuss ''daiji''- "fox women"- several times on the way back to the capital. Shen Tai especially suspects that Wei Song appears to believe they exist, more than he does. In one case, he ends up asking a governor's daughter if she has a ''daiji'' within her, after an attempted seduction to convince him to assign his [[CoolHorse horses]] to her father. (She does acknowledge, "I am flattered you think me fair enough to be a ''daiji'' spirit, but it is an error.")
* ''Literature/WearingTheCape'': Officially, Japanese superspy Kitsune is a [[TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening Breakthrough]] with powers that perfectly mimic the mythological ''kitsune''. Or maybe he's a delusional Breakthrough who truly believes he's a ''kitsune''. Or maybe he's a projection produced by another Breakthrough, a self-sustaining supernatural entity that sprung out of a dying man's wish for a guardian ''kitsune''. Or maybe he really is a ''kitsune'', centuries old and only returned to the world recently, and magic is real after all. The one thing that's clear is that he finds it hilarious to [[AmbiguousSituation keep people guessing]].

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/ForbiddenLove'' has a race of nine-tailed fox-people, one of whom falls in love with a human.
* The Fuchsbau Wesen in ''Series/{{Grimm}}'' are very similar to Kitsunes. There is also a type of Wesen known as Kitsune, and according to legend, are one of the very few Wesens to have a tail--nine, in fact.
* ''Series/GumihoTaleOfTheFoxsChild'' is a Korean {{Thriller}} tv miniseries about a gumiho who has to endure 10 years of marriage to become human. On the eve of her 10th anniversary, her husband breaks his vows, leaving her and the 9-year-old daughter who has inherited her abilities. Oddly, the gumiho in this story is sympathetic, only wishing a normal life as a human. It is only when her daughter is lynched that she becomes vengeful.
* Several kitsune show up among the various fae in ''Series/LostGirl'', though it's constantly mispronounced as "kit-soon".
* ''Series/LovecraftCountry'': [[spoiler:Meeh Ji-Ah]] is a Korean woman possessed by a kumiho/nine-tailed fox, and she must kill 100 men and absorb their souls through her tails during sex to become a human again. She's convinced to stop at 99 and learn to accept herself as she is.
* ''Series/MyGirlfriendIsANineTailedFox'' involves an IdiotHero freeing a trapped gumiho spirit from a painting. It goes about as well as one would expect. In this version, however, the stories of her eating men's livers in order to become human are deliberate slander, intended to discourage human menfolk from pursuing her beauty and thus leaving the local human women bereft.
* ''Series/MyRoommateIsAGumiho'': As evidenced by the title, Woo-yeo is a gumiho. He spends most of the show in his human form but will occasionally transform into the full fox-spirit form. He takes the life force from women and absorbs it in order to slowly become human. Dam has swallowed his fox bead and the two need to work together to get it out of her.
* The ''{{Series/Supernatural}}'' episode [[Recap/SupernaturalS07E03TheGirlNextDoor "The Girl Next Door"]] features a kitsune with the alias [[Series/DoctorWho Amy Pond]]. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the portrayal of the creature is [[SadlyMythtaken almost wholly inaccurate]]. Here, the kitsune is presented as a being of human appearance with the ability to transform its hands into deadly claws. Amy and others like her must [[BrainFood feed on human brains]] in order to survive and can only be killed with a stab to the heart. About the only thing the show's kitsune have in common with the mythical creature is their foxlike eyes.
* ''Franchise/SuperSentai''
** Kyuemon Izayoi from ''Series/ShurikenSentaiNinninger'', who fits the trickster archetype because he's extremely secretive, manipulative, and you never really know where his loyalties lie [[spoiler:until late in the series, where it turns out he's BigBad Gengetsu Kibaoni's firstborn son]].
** Kitsune have appeared as a MonsterOfTheWeek in certain series:
*** ''Series/KagakuSentaiDynaman'': Fox Evo, while nominally based on a normal fox, possesses many of the magical powers associated with kitsune like shapeshifting and illusions.
*** ''Series/NinjaSentaiKakuranger'' featured a nine-tailed kitsune who wrapped most of her tails around her body like feather boas. She appeared in ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' as Katastrophe, the result of Rita Repulsa turning Katherine, the second Pink Ranger, into a monster.
*** ''Series/SamuraiSentaiShinkenger'': The ayakashi Isagitsune is based on kitsune (and InUniverse is the basis for them), which is exemplified by the array of magic spells that he uses to befuddle and overpower the Shinkengers. He appeared in ''Series/PowerRangersSamurai'' as Vulpes.
* ''Series/TaleOfTheNineTailed'' features a whole bunch of Korean fox spirits. The protagonist is an ancient and powerful former deity (he resigned), but the more common "liver-eating monster pretending to be a beautiful woman" also appears.
* On ''Series/TeenWolf'', the second half of the third season deals with kitsune mythology. Kira Yukimura is revealed to be a kitsune and possesses a golden spiritual aura in the shape of a fox. In keeping with the idea that the kitsune can create fire or lightning by rubbing its tails together, Kira has the ability to [[ShockAndAwe manipulate electrical currents]]. Her mother has these powers as well. There are said to be 13 different types of kitsune, including the nogitsune -- a trickster spirit that feeds on chaos, strife and pain. [[spoiler:The latter comes into [[DemonicPossession possession]] of Stiles' body for the remainder of the season.]]
* ''Series/UltramanTaro'': Appropriately for a series inspired by Japanese fairy tales, had a kitsune kaiju called Miegon as a MonsterOfTheWeek. While its appearance was rather reptilian for a fox, Miegon possessed all the qualities one would expect, like nine tails, illusory tricks, and various fire-based abilities.

[[folder:Manhwa]]
* ''Shin Gumiho'' retells the myth of the Gumiho who wanted to become human.
* ''Manhwa/{{Laon}}'': The eponymous Laon is a mischievous -- and occasionally malicious -- gender-bending nine-tailed ''kumiho'' who was stripped of all but one of their tails as punishment for losing a bet, and departs to the human realm; allying with amnesiac journalist Taeha Gwon to get them back.
* ''Webcomic/NowhereBoy'': The gumiho, who is actually one of the thirteen people who have to save the world. She still has her cravings when her [[WhatYouAreInTheDark animalistic side gets tempted]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* Music/{{Babymetal}} uses kitsune as a recurring motif, especially as the main theme for the song "Megitsune", which compares women to ''kitsune'' -- specifically, how women can disguise their appearances with makeup, much like how ''kitsune'' can disguise themselves with illusions.
* "Kitsune" by O'Hooley & Tidow is a rare western example that has the narrator falling for a girl who turns out to be a Kitsune and disappears in fox form every now and then. Until she gets run over by a car while in that form. The ending is somewhat ambiguous as to whether she survives or not.
* In Music/AkikoShikata's song "Otoshimono" (from her album ''Wokashi''), a girl speaks of her brother who was taken by foxes as a child, and apparently turned into a kitsune himself.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/AdventureQuestWorlds'': The fourth lord of Chaos, the Chaos Shogun appropriately named Kitsune, can shapeshift into a giant purple seven-tailed kitsune.
* ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'': The fox Crazy Redd is a traveling merchant and conman who occasionally sets up a tent in town and sells not only both rare and common furniture, always at disgustingly inflated prices, but also artwork that has a high chance of being forged. In the most recent main series installment, ''New Leaf'', he instead sells four pieces of artwork, at least one of which is legitimate (the rest being forgeries). This contrasts Tom Nook, the reliable {{tanuki}} shopkeeper who sells an ever-changing selection of common goods with the occasional rarity.
* ''VideoGame/ArenaOfValor'': Liliana is an elegant magical-attuned nine-tailed fox that either throws fox fire blasts or becomes a literal fox that claws her way through her enemies. Perhaps as a ShoutOut to [[VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends Ahri]] (the game was made by Tencent, which acquired Riot Games in 2015), Liliana gets a Gumiho skin, despite being overall not at all malicious or conflicted, she's more of a curious type.
* ''VideoGame/{{Arknights}}'' has little Suzuran, the Vulpo [[MafiaPrincess daughter of a Higashi Priest and a daughter of a certain Family from Siracusa]]. She has Fennic Fox-like ears from her mother, the kitsune-style nine tails and Arts abilities of her father, and pretty much everyone in Rhodes Island likes her. To protect her from Siracusan Mafia politics, her family name is omitted from her profile.
* Toichiro Yuri from ''VideoGame/AyakashiRomanceReborn''. He has the typical trickster attitude.
* ''VideoGame/CookieRun'' has Kumiho Cookie, a marshmallow fox who learned a spell to turn into a cookie after eating only flour and butter for 999 days. She can shift between a fox and a cookie, and her powers revolve around charming either bear jellies for more points in Ovenbreak or enemies in order to stun them in [[Videogame/CookieRunKingdom Kingdom]]
* ''VideoGame/CrushCrush'': DLC girl Suzu is one, represented as a LittleBitBeastly girl with fox ears and a tail. She's portrayed as a ShrinkingViolet guardian spirit who the player encounters after accidentally destroying her shrine.
* ''VideoGame/Disgaea5AllianceOfVengeance'' introduces Nine-tailed Foxes into the series. Party member Izuna is one of these, and recruiting her unlocks the class for regular use.
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'':
** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'': You come across one early on in Chapter 3, along with some of his other vulpine cohorts who are keeping the King of Ballymoral's personal architect hostage.
** The various platypus enemies in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestHeroesRocketSlime'' are obvious parodies of this, as the more powerful they are, the more tails they have.
* ''Franchise/FateSeries'':
** Tamamo-no-Mae appears as a Caster-class Servant in ''VideoGame/FateExtra'', ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'', ''VideoGame/FateExtellaTheUmbralStar'', and ''VideoGame/FateExtellaLink''. [[spoiler:It turns out she is an incarnation of [[Myth/JapaneseMythology Amaterasu]], with her malevolent original divine form being known as ''Konjiki Hakumen'' or "Golden White Face".]] She claims to be more-or-less completely innocent of the crimes for which she was executed, and [[DoNotCallMePaul takes offence to being "mistaken" for]] the evil nine-tailed fox Daji. After Tamamo underwent a millennium of training to attain divinity, she cut off eight of her tails, returning to her original single-tailed form. Each of her tails was left a portion of her divinity, turning them into Heroic Spirit kitsune like herself, with each a different class. Collectively, the original Tamamo and her tails are known as the Tamamo Nine; they don't get on, either with the original or each other.
** Suzuka Gozen, from ''Fate/Extra CCC Foxtail'' and ''Fate/Grand Order'', has a fox's ears and tail, but isn't a kitsune; she tried imitating Tamamo's look using shapeshifting because she thought it might get her moe points with her Master.
** Osakabe-hime from ''Fate/Grand Order'' has a [[AnimalMotifs bat motif]], but true to Japanese folklore she's actually a kitsune who attained human form. She goes with the bat motif instead so she won't [[SuperheroSpeciation overlap with Tamamo]], both as a favor to a friend and so she won't piss Tamamo off. The "Lady Foxy" Craft Essence shows her in her true form, with a fox's ears and tail.
** Koyanskaya from ''Fate/Grand Order'' shares Tamamo-no-Mae's fox motif and initially claims to be an AlternateSelf of Tamamo, [[spoiler:but is revealed to be a nature spirit born from the Tunguska event -- having assumed Tamamo's appearance due to empathizing with her having been persecuted by humans and admiring her original self. Koyanskaya eventually succeeds in becoming a [[AnimalisticAbomination Beast]] resembling a colossal five-tailed fox with an enormous fang-lined maw, three eyes on its head, eyes in its ears, and eyes on its tails.]]
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'': The Fabled Kamuy -- aka the Kamuy of the Nine Tails -- is a [[WhiteAndRedAndEerieAllOver white-and-red]] nine-tailed canine that looks far more monstrous than the other Kamuy, who are more wolflike.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'': The Kitsune are fox folk (obviously) living within the kingdom of Hoshido who normally look like ([[PrettyBoy rather pretty]]) humans who happen to have a tail and fox ears, but are capable of transforming into full-fledged giant foxes, with the promoted form bearing nine tails. Because humans have a bad habit of killing Kitsune for their fur, the Kitsune have largely isolated themselves to a small hamlet deep within Hoshido's southern mountains and will kill any trespassers on sight. Apart from the shapeshifting, [[MyRulesAreNotYourRules enemy]] kitsune can create illusions that prevent the player's army from attacking them.
* The Inazuma region in ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'' is home to the Kitsune, a supernatural species of Fox Spirits. Because of their close association with the Electro Archon and the region's faith, foxes have a special place in Inazuma's culture and cannot be hunted by the player like other animals. The head priestess of the Grand Naruakmi Shrine, Yae Miko, is [[BlatantLies absolutely not a Kitsune]] and ''most definitely'' [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial does not have a tail]].
* In ''VideoGame/GhostOfTsushima'', foxes will approach Jin Sakai and make him follow them to their dens, which will have shrines to the goddess Inari. Praying at the shrines allow Jin to carry more charms, and occasionally, he can pet the foxes afterwards, making them bounce with joy.
* ''VideoGame/HiddenCity'': Kitsune appears as a monster the player can trade with during the Japanese events. One of the Japanese-themed locations also features the shapeshifting fox as a possible search item, and they can either appear as a many-tailed fox or a young FoxyVixen that basically reuses the Kitsune monster asset.
* The boss of the ''VideoGame/HonkaiImpact3rd'''s 3rd storyline of Sakura Samsara mode is Hellmaru, a Honkai Beast in the shape of a Kitsune.
* In ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'' the Forest Shadow and her fox-spirit servants look like six-foot-tall anthropomorphic fox women with two tails. They're said to take human form to test humans with tricks, and Forest Shadow does manipulate you into meeting with her in her realm and into slaying a demon she bound centuries ago, [[spoiler: even if you decide to kill her first.]]
* In ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand3'', Pon and Con appear as the game's DualBoss, appearing as a Tanooki and a Kitsune respectively. They later reprise their role in ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'', though [[DefeatEqualsFriendship they are befriended after defeating the duo.]]
* The 2008 adaptation of the ''VideoGame/KnightsOfValour'' series introduces a kitsune named Inugami as a playable character, who assumes a human form during gameplay.
* ''VideoGame/LaTale'': There are several {{Palette Swap}}ped fox girls. One variety is even called Gumihos. They were so popular the company later added them as a pet.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', a complicated sidequest earns you the "Keaton Mask", which is the face of a kitsune; wearing it at the right time and place means you can meet a kitsune who quizzes you about the world in which you live. The same mask also played a minor role in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', though no actual kitsune appeared in that game.
* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'': Ahri (archaic Korean for "Beautiful") draws on Myth/KoreanMythology's description of Gumiho. As a spellcaster, her main attacks resemble Yeowoo-bool('fox fire'), and her 'Orb of Deception' skill seems to be based on Gumiho's yeowoo-gusuul. Plus her backstory explains that after she achieved semi-human form, she began seducing and killing humans to complete her transformation, but as she became more and more human she developed a human conscience.
* ''VideoGame/LoveNikkiDressUpQueen'' has the Moon Vixen of Heart outfit from the Star Secret event. She has nine tails, and the item descriptions describe her as a shapeshifter. Poppy Fox is also a fox spirit.
* Cubit Foxtar in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero3'' is themed around the Kitsune. He can materialize nine purple-flaming discs that trace you and can turn into fire or move around the battle arena.
* A series of optional bosses at the end of ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission'' are themed around the Kitsune. A group of thieves who were locked away because of their powers. You start off fighting 1-Tail, then 2, 3, and so on.
* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'': The Mizutsune, debuting in ''Generations'', is a fox-like leviathan heavily inspired by the Kitsune. To further this, it returns in the very Japanese-themed ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterRise'' alongside a cast of other {{Yokai}}-inspired monsters.
* Sutsune from ''VideoGame/MonsterSanctuary'' is named after the kitsune, but its behaviours are more similar to the gumiho; it can take the form of a non-anthro fox or a beautiful woman, and mainly targets men.
* Kongiku and Yuzuruha from ''VideoGame/MuramasaTheDemonBlade'' are a pair of kitsune who help the protagonists on their quests.
* Xiaomu in ''VideoGame/NamcoXCapcom'' and ''VideoGame/EndlessFrontier'' is a 765-year-old Chinese werefox, while her nemesis Saya is a Japanese werefox.
* In ''VideoGame/TheNightOfTheRabbit'' Kitsune is one of the characters that you encounter during your travels. You meet her in several forms: a fox, a statue, a woman, and a girl.
* ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'': Demon Lord Nine-Tails is based on Tamamo-no-Mae and is a powerful nine-tailed demon-fox who is the ruler of Oni Island.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Vulpix and Ninetales are based on kitsune, complete with multiple tails, supernatural powers, and the tendency to curse people who tick them off.
** The [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Generation V]] Pokémon Zorua and Zoroark are based on the darker side of kitsune legends, and are even capable of shapeshifting. The Hisuian variants are vengeful undead specters of the species and are closer to a gumiho on the personality end, as they are extremely aggressive, violent, and hateful and will attack the living on sight.
** Fennekin and its line from [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Generation VI]] are based on fennec foxes rather than red foxes, but their typing and abilities are very similar to Vulpix and Ninetales. Especially in its evolved forms Braixen and Delphox, who represent the kitsune's humanoid form.
** The Eeveelutions also resemble foxes to a degree, except for Espeon (based on a [[{{Youkai}} nekomata]]).
* ''VideoGame/{{Onmyoji}}'': Set in the Heian period and has many elements of Japanese mythology, fox demons are bound to appear in this game, the most prominent examples being [[TeamPet Kohaku]], Yōko, [[MsFanservice Sanbi-no-kitsune]] and Kudagitsune. Of course, the king of all of them is the SSR Tamamo-no-Mae (given a GenderFlip from how she is normally portrayed from a woman to a [[WholesomeCrossdresser cross-dressing man]]), a ''nine''-tailed kitsune capable of unleashing destructive power akin to that of a PhysicalGod. Also, protagonist Abe-no-Seimei, being the child of the kitsune Kuzunoha.
* A nine-tailed kitsune is featured as the BigBad of ''[[VideoGame/OtogiMythofDemons Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors]]''. What's notable about this is that one of the main characters is based on Abe no Seimei (see above), and it seems like the two [[GenderSwap switched genders]]: The Kyūbi is now a male, while Seimei is a female, and they're not related.
* The protagonist of ''VideoGame/PsychoFox'', who can use shinto sticks to shapeshift into three different animals and has to save the world from the evil Madfox Daimyojin.
* The GameMod ''VideoGame/RidgesideVillage'' features Raeriyala, also known as "The Lady with the Red Tail", or the Spirit of the Mountain. She's a magical fox lady who is worshipped by some villagers, the player can make offerings to her and get [[EnigmaticEmpoweringEntity her blessing]], she is also the protector of VideoGame/StardewValley in the mod.
* [[KidHero Riki]] and the Lummox race from ''VideoGame/SagaFrontier'' are pretty clearly based on them. With vulpine appearances in their true form, shape-shifting, multiple tails seeming to designate age or seniority, and even a trademark attack, "Elfshot", resembling Kitsune-bi.
* ''[[VideoGame/SengokuSNK Sengoku 2]]'' combines the kitsune myth with that of the tale of Fusehime and Yatsufusa. It reinterprets Fusehime as a kitsune and Yatsufusa as her {{hellhound}} partner-in-crime.
* The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin appropriately-named]] Kitsune in the {{UsefulNotes/SNES}} version of ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}''.
* Played with in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf''. The boss of the World of Greed is one of these, but whose power is directly tied to the traveler's own greed - SuspiciousVideogameGenerosity will provide a massive trove of treasure just before you reach him. Ignore the treasure and go straight to him, and he will be nothing but a pathetic fox that can be easily kicked into oblivion. Take ''all'' of the treasure and you will be facing a titanic EldritchAbomination of fog.
* There's a kitsune as boss fight in ''VideoGame/ShinreiJusatsushiTaroumaru''. They look like a pretty woman when the room is entered, then turn into a huge kitsune with laser-shooting tails, and after that body horror kicks in. This leads to the kitsune shedding their body except for their and four of their tails to form a giant furry shuriken. Upon defeat, the head serves as the mode of transportation to the next area.
* ''VideoGame/{{Smite}}'': Da Ji the Nine-Tailed Fox is an evil TortureTechnician taking the form of an attractive woman with bladed metal claws and nine fox tails. Her lore states that she was sent by the goddess Nu Wa to drive Emperor Zhou into madness for his lecherous blasphemy, but managing to escape and go into hiding. She resurfaced when the war among the gods broke out, intending to savor the screams of her enemies as they burn and bleed.
* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'': Miles 'Tails' Prower has [[GadgeteerGenius mechanical abilities]] rather than magical ones, but his two tails are a clear reference.
** In [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics the Archie comics]], he ''did'' have a mystical destiny to him and was (briefly) trained in magic by his sorcerer uncle. His EvilCounterpart was more adept at magic and at one point called him out on his abandoning his training.
* ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' features a large statue of a kitsune in Inkopolis Plaza, right across from one of a {{Tanuki}}. Both statues are decorated during Splatfest celebrations, with the kitsune being decorated in the color of Callie's team. This played into the second Japanese Splatfest, whose theme was Red Fox vs. Green Tanuki.
* ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasonsTrioOfTowns'' features a Kitsune named Inari (named after the god that commands Kitsune) that can be married. Their gender is always opposite of the player character, similar to how they could take any form in the original mythology. (S)he is a [[ShrineMaiden keeper of a shrine]] and [[NeatFreak loves keeping her shrine clean.]]
* If Luigi grabs the leaf in ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand'', he now turns into a kitsune, instead of a tanooki.
* In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioFusionRevival'', Peach can acquire a Kitsune Suit as an equivalent to Mario's Tanooki Suit.
* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'', which already features many different types of {{Youkai}}, has several:
** Ran Yakumo from ''VideoGame/TouhouYouyoumuPerfectCherryBlossom'', who is of the nine-tailed variety, making her very old and powerful. The fact that she's the [[UsefulNotes/{{Onmyodo}} shikigami]] of Yukari Yakumo demonstrates how powerful Yukari is, while the fact that Ran has her ''[[NestedOwnership own]]'' shikigami, [[CatGirl Chen]], demonstrates how powerful ''she'' is. She's also incredibly good at math, being able to calculate the width of the Sanzu River...which is quite a feat, considering the Sanzu's width changes depending on how sinful one is[[note]]Yukari, in the meantime, can apparently calculate its depth, which is again quite a feat since the Sanzu is supposed to be bottomless[[/note]].
** The official manga ''Manga/TouhouIbarakasenWildAndHornedHermit'' has a chapter where Reimu catches a ''kudagitsune'' (pipe fox spirit) attending one of her parties while disguised as Marisa. The spirit offers to pay Reimu back and does so by encouraging the villagers to visit the shrine, making her prosper... and also running her ragged with how busy she's become. Kasen catches it and explains that ''kudagitsune'' eventually eat their owners' health and prosperity. In a later chapter, Reimu thinks she's found a kitsune artifact called a foxball, and the Marisa-Fox returns to give some exposition...as well as to reveal that whatever the object is, it's ''not'' a foxball.
** Another official manga, ''Manga/TouhouSuzunaanForbiddenScrollery'', has a two-part story where a kitsune is writing on the doors of the local school, which worries the parents. After Reimu makes some failed attempts at repelling it, Kosuzu uses her {{Omniglot}} skills to figure out what's going on: [[spoiler:it's repeating the day's lessons, meaning that the kitsune is a child that's trying to learn]]. She ends up resolving the situation by giving Reimu some special {{Paper Talisman}}s...[[spoiler:that are actually advertisements for Suzunaan. When the kitsune-child comes to the store, Kosuzu gives it a blank book to write in and offers to give new blank books in exchange for trading in the old ones when they fill up, meaning she gets a steady supply of youma books.]]
** ''VideoGame/TouhouKouryuudouUnconnectedMarketeers'' introduces Tsukasa Kudamaki, a pipe fox who supposedly works for the {{tengu}} Megumu Iizunamaru but is secretly playing all sides in the game against each other. Unlike the pipe fox in ''Wild and Horned Hermit'' who's depicted as a small fox, she's depicted as a girl with [[LittleBitBeastly a fox's ears and tail]].
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'':
** Corrine, a small, rainbow man-made summon spirit who resembles a three-tailed fox.
** Verius, the summon spirit of heart. It is rainbow like Corrine, but much larger.
* ''VideoGame/{{Toukiden}}'' has Mitama based on the legendary Tamamo-no-mae and Kuzunoha that the player can equip to gain special powers. Interestingly, they are [[TheMedic Healing type]] instead of Deceit.
* ''VideoGame/WarioLand3'' has Wolfenboss/Kezune, the boss of the Pool of Rain, a flying Kitsune wearing a sorcerer's robe. He creates and fires wisps/magical energy balls that bounce off the floors and walls and levitate you out of the arena if they hit, and giant spiked balls that turn you into Puffy Wario (Causing you to fly out of the arena) if they hit and provide the enemies needed to attack him. He is usually considered ThatOneBoss. ''VideoGame/WarioLandII'' also has the Flames/Flame Kitsunes, small red foxes in pirate outfits wielding torches, but unlike Wolfenboss above they don't fly and use magic, instead walking around and trying to light Wario on fire with their torch.
* ''VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi'':
** Orochi's right-hand woman is Daji, the infamous consort of the last Shang emperor who was vilified as a ''huli jing'' (malevolent fox spirit) in Chinese folklore. She appears mostly human, but has [[LittleBitBeastly pointed ears, animal feet, and six ornamental ribbons which symbolize her tails]]. Like the mythological kitsune, Daji is unable to outright lie, though she loves to skirt around truths.
** The third game introduces Abe no Seimei, who carries a kitsune on his shoulder, and Tamamo no Mae. The latter is later revealed to be Kyubi, the nine-tailed fox herself, who shapeshifts into a beautiful woman to trick people to help her. Notably, she was the one who set the dragon god Yinglong into a path of darkness, [[GreaterScopeVillain turning him into Orochi]].
* The "Mage Fox" boss in ''VideoGame/WildArms1''.
* The Fox Noise from ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou''. Most notably, the [[BonusBoss Progfox]].
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfFinalFantasy'', Tama is a diminutive white fox who accompanies your party, but her true form, Tamamohimé, is this. She has nine lives and one point [[spoiler:sacrifices all remaining lives to rewind time for the party, though a loophole allows you to bring her back and doing so is part of the requirements for the game's true ending.]] Her name is a reference to the ''hoshi no tama'', a magical ball that the kitsune keeps in its mouth or carries it on its tail, and the legendary kitsune Tamamo-no-Mae.
* ''VideoGame/YokaiWatch'': "Kyubi" is a fox {{yokai}} whose human form is a slightly androgynous PrettyBoy. There's also an ice-based variant, Frostail (called Inugami in Japanese), a dark-themed one named Darkyubi (starting from ''Yo-kai Watch 2 Psychic Specters''), a robotic counterpart dubbed Kyubot (from ''Yo-kai Watch 3 Sukiyaki''), and a rain-and-frog themed variant named Tsuyu Kyubi (only appearing in the Japanese ''Yo-kai Watch Puni Puni'' in an event).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/HellboyAnimated: Sword of Storms'', a kitsune is pretty much the only youkai on Hellboy's side when he is transported to a Japanese folklore-inspired MagicalLand.
* ''WesternAnimation/LoveDeathAndRobots'': One of the main characters in the episode "[[Recap/LoveDeathAndRobotsGoodHunting Good Hunting]]" is Yan, a young ''huli jing'' who befriends Liang -- the son of a demon-hunter who kills her mother. As the English colonize China, Yan loses her magic and gets [[ShapeshifterModeLock stuck]] in human form as the world is [[MagicVersusScience taken over by technology]]. When she's victimized and turned into a steampunk cyborg, Liang builds her a new body with the ability to shift back into a nine-tailed fox-like form so that she can seek revenge.
* In ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'', Volpina is a fox-themed supervillain who has illusionary abilities and is known for lying. She is based on a real fox-themed superhero empowered by the incarnation of Illusion which is a fox-like spirit.
[[/folder]]

->''"The kitsune is multitalented, appearing in local folklore, historical records, literary texts, theatrical performances, and contemporary popular culture. It can be a dangerous shape-shifter and it can possess people; but it is also a standard feature in Inari worship, and stone statues of kitsune are stationed at shrines throughout the country. With so many different incarnations and meanings, it is fair to say that in Japan today the kitsune--a charming and cunning deceiver that emanates an aura of danger and malevolence--is admired, worshipped and feared."''

And likewise, differences exist in the depictions of such beings--for example, the Korean ''gumiho''/''kumiho'' is more often presented as outright malevolent than is the Japanese ''kitsune''--often killing humans in order to [[ToServeMan eat their hearts and/or livers]]. The ''kitsune'', on the other hand, is depicted as sometimes marrying with humans, in which capacity they prove to be devoted spouses and parents.

But it should not be thought that these foxes begin their lives as supernatural beings. Instead, in many depictions they start as normal foxes. As they grow older, they grow too in power (and number of tails). Eventually they gain human-level intelligence (or greater), as well as various powers: VoluntaryShapeshifting (in particular to [[HumanityEnsues human form]]), [[DemonicPossession possession]], [[HypnoticCreature enchantment]], [[TheOmniscient supernatural wisdom]], and more.

In behaviour, their activities vary from divine servants (or even [[OurGodsAreDifferent gods of a sort]]), through Shapeshifting -[[ShapeshiftingTrickster Tricksters]] and -[[ShapeshiftingSeducer Seducers]]--to bringers of ruin and eaters of men. Or, as mentioned above, they might fall in love and marry, and live happily that way. (And in that last case, their children--while not foxes themselves--will inherit magical powers.)

One particular variety, the small, weasel-like ''kuda-gitsune'' or "pipefox" (sometimes known as ''kanko'', ''izuna'' or ''osaki'') is employed as a {{Familiar}} by human families. In most depictions they follow commands faithfully, but are capable of slowly bringing their masters to ruin (most often by [[ExplosiveBreeder multiplying until they run out of food]]).

See also {{Youkai}}, LittleBitBeastly, BeastMan, TheFairFolk and GhostlyAnimals. Compare {{Tanuki}}. FantasticFoxes is the SuperTrope. See FoxFolk for other fox people. The FemmeFatale kitsune is automatically a FoxyVixen, and evil examples fall under FoulFox.

* ''Manga/GaRei'': The Nine-Tailed Demon-Fox is said to have been a powerful kitsune who laid waste to India and China before attacking Japan, where it became the Spirit Beast of the evil exorcist Tamamo-no-Mae. After Tamamo was killed, the Nine-Tailed Demon-Fox's crystalized soul formed into the [[ArtifactOfDoom Bane Stones]], which the protagonists spend most of the plot recovering to ensure it doesn't come back. It's eventually revealed that the Nine-Tailed Demon-Fox is actually [[AnimalisticAbomination a giant singularity of hatred]] and DestroyerDeity meant to cleanse the Earth of all life, and is more [[DraconicAbomination draconic]] than vulpine in appearance. [[spoiler:Kagura uses its power to revive Kensuke after he's killed (and, subconsciously, Yomi too) at the cost of most of Tokyo, nearly killing her in the process.]] NiceJobBreakingItHero.

* ''Manga/GeGeGeNoKitaro'' often features Youko as the many Yokai featured, especially the Kyuubi no Kitsune or Tamamo-no-Mae, a recurring antagonist. Tamamo reaches her peak of danger in the 2018 anime, where not only she's the last of the [[FourIsDeath Four Treasonous Generals]] to appear, but also using her "clones" (avatars physically resembling her human form but with only a fraction of her power and a single tail each) to brainwash various world leaders into declaring war on Japan. [[spoiler: Her main body manages to turn the Oni of Hell against Enma and devour the Hell King, gaining a huge boost in power]]. Notably, she lets out a loud vulpine cry as she transform into her giant fox form.

** Daji the nine-tailed fox is a reccuring character, and the owner of the aformentioned cafe. Gon is working there because Daji is is the only thing that scare him enough to put him to work.
** [[IdolSinger Miki]] act like a CatGirl as part of her stage-persona, but is actually a fox.

* ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'' has Shippou, an orphaned ''kitsune'' child who tags along with Inuyasha and Kagome (and she herself was momentarily accused of being one at the beginning of the story). The group don't entirely take Shippou's abilities seriously because he is a child, although they do take his heart and will to help seriously. Much later in the story, a small arc focuses entirely on the group's stay at an inn that turns out to be a testing ground for a group of youthful Kitsune who are going through examinations (in field testing, as it were). Due to the accidental encounter with the testing grounds, Shippou is forced to sit the exams as well. Despite having made no preparation (and not even known his kind had to take exams on a regular basis) and being one of the youngest examinees, Shippou quickly proves to everyone that when he's compared to his own kind, his abilities are leagues ahead of a child his age, and even far in advance of most of the older students as well.

* ''Manga/KitsuneNoYomeiri'': In addition to the main character [[YamatoNadeshiko Kyouka]], the White Kitsune Princess, a number of other kitsune turn up. All of them exhibit magical powers and are tricksters to some extent but only the upper class kitsune take on human form for any length of time.

* ''Manga/OmamoriHimari'' has the budding BigBad as a Nine-Tailed Kitsune, and her [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Shuten-doji]] spokesman.

* ''Manga/OtogiMatsuri'': Yomogi's fox-like spiritual companions, who can be seen and heard only by her (and later, Yousuke.) They mainly serve to assist her with menial tasks such as cleaning, and to warn her of impending danger.

** The main character Tama is a 200 year-old pacifistic kitsune who appears as a young girl, and is the travelling companion -- and later wife -- of the tempermental and initially misanthropic sage Jinka.

** Jinka is able to temporarily transform into a kitsune by drinking Tama's blood, and seeks to permanently become one due to his misanthropy. After being tricked by Yazen into thinking he killed Tama, he goes berserk and devours the flesh of a god to become a thousand-tailed fox-god, and even after his sanity is restored he remains a kitsune.
* ''Manga/SoulHunter'': So Dakki is a nine-tailed fox-monster in human guise, though the power to assume a human form is not reserved to Kitsune in this setting, and is a common trait of Youkai in general. Considering that the story take place in ancient China and is inspired by the chinese classic ''Fengshen Yanyi'', she technically counts as a Hu Li Jing.

* ''Manga/XXXHolic'': Kudakitsune is a pipe fox in her transformed shape. Watanuki also runs into a kitsune family who runs a oden stand in the spirit world.
* ''Manga/{{Yaiba}}'': Shiro Amakusa is one of Onimaru's seven swordsmen revived in an animal body, and he got to be reincarnated into a fox. Even when he's in human form, he sports whiskers, ears and sometimes the tail.
* ''VisualNovel/YamiToBoushiToHonNoTabibito'': Meirin is a three tailed fox-spirit and Tamamonomae is a nine-tailed fox-spirit, though they [[MindScrew may be the same person]].

** Kyubi from the games is [[CharacterizationMarchesOn given a deal of portrayal]] as [[TheCasanova a casanova]] who in [[AbortedArc a short story arc]] must harvest 100 heart orbs in order to get promoted and fixates into Katie to get the last one, unsuccesfully. This traid was carried in the games, most notably Yo-kai Watch 2, Blasters, and 3,
** The sequel ''Anime/YokaiWatchShadowside'' features his return with both Lightside and Shadowside forms, and adds a Fangirl Kitsune Yo-kai as well, Inari (Lightside)/Tatarigitsune (Shadowside). [[Anime/YokaiWatchShadowsideTheReturnOfTheOniKing The movie prior to the series]] marks his first apperance in Shadowside-related material, and his Shadowside form is more feral, and quadrupedal.

* In ''Fanfic/TheBridge'', a gumiho features as an ArcVillain. [[ShownTheirWork Lifted almost exactly]] from the Korean fable "The Fox Sister", she's a cannibalistic sadist who stalked a immigrant across the ocean to Equestria after murdering her fiance and his family.

* In ''Fanfic/ThisBites'', in order to keep up with the rest of the crew, Su, the cloud fox, decides to gain kitsune-like powers by finding "the Children of Inari". [[spoiler:It's implied that this will be the training she undergoes during the two year TimeSkip]].

** ''Film/{{Ran}}'' is an adaptation of ''Theatre/KingLear'' for Japanese audiences. One of the three sons of the elderly Great Lord has a wife who is [[HoneyTrap clearly manipulating him to his downfall]]. She has her husband send his right hand man off to kill a rival woman and return with her head encased in salt. The would-be assassin [[UsefulNotes/TheThirtySixStratagems takes a page from Zhuge Liang]] and returns telling a tall tale about how he beheaded a kitsune. He opens his satchel and reveals the head of a kitsune statue, then curses the "demon" who got away, likes to disguise itself as a beautiful woman, and seeks to corrupt and ruin men. The wife reacts with fury. Sadly, the [[TooDumbToLive son does nothing]]. [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready It doesn't end well.]]

* ''Literature/BookOfImaginaryBeings'': Chinese foxes can live for a thousand years, start fires by striking the ground with their tails, see into the future and take human shape. They are sometimes born from the souls of the dead taking on a new form, and will cause no end of mischief to those who cross them.

* In the ''{{Literature/Goosebumps}}'' book "Literature/ReturnToGhostCamp," the snatcher is fox-like ghost that murders one camper from Camp Full Moon each year and can shape-shift into a human to fool its victims.

* In ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' there are two notable fox demons, and one of them is even a nine-tailed vixen. They're the uncle and mother of the two demon kings Kinkaku and Ginkaku, making them half-''huli jing'' demons (though they're usually depicted as massive oni-like monsters). In a case perhaps of UnbuiltTrope, the mother is actually an old crone, while the uncle Hu Aqi isn't much of a trickster but rather a ferocious warrior who fights with an halberd. A more classical vixen demon reappears later as the mistress of Niumowang, the Ox Demon King. Additionally, another fox spirit appears near the end in the form of the concubine of a human king secretly making him sick and then manipulating him to order the creation of a fake medicine using the hearts of children.

* ''Manhwa/{{Laon}}'': The eponymous Laon is a mischievous -- and occasionally malicious -- gender-bending nine-tailed ''kumiho'' who was stripped of all but one of their tails as punishment for losing a bet, and departs to the human realm; allying with with amnesiac journalist Taeha Gwon to get them back.

* "Kitsune" by O'Hooley & Tidow is a rare western example which has the narrator falling for a girl who turns out to be a Kitsune, and disappears in fox form every now and then. Until she gets run over by a car while in that form. The ending is somewhat ambiguous as to whether she survives or not.

** ''Huli jing'' are thought to form the template for the Japanese ''kitsune'' and Korean ''kumiho'', transmitted across East Asia by Buddhist monks. First described in the ancient text called the ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'', the specific traits of ''huli jing'' have evolved over time, but they generally start out as regular foxes who cultivate spiritual power through Taoism. As their power and knowledge grows, they sprout up to nine tails that serve as a marker of their wisdom and power, develop shapeshifting abilities (sometimes by placing a human skull on their heads), and practise Taoist sorcery to cast curses and illusions. ''Huli jing'' can be good or evil -- often seeking to gain power by draining yang energy via sex -- and nine-tailed ''huli jing'', or ''jiuweihu'', were sometimes said to ascend to become celestial beings akin to the gods.
** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daji Daji]] -- featured as an antagonist in the ''Literature/FengshenYanyi''-- was a woman possessed by a sadistic nine-tailed fox who became the favorite consort of King Zhou of Shang and brought about the downfall of his dynasty to the point that fox cults were outlawed in China. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokusai Katsushika Hokusai]] and other Japanese artists expanded the narrative by drawing from the Hindu legend of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalmashapada Kalmashapada]] and stating that after her plot was uncovered, Daji fled China for India, where she resumed her activities under the name Lady Kayō, concubine of Prince Banzoku--who she corrupted into a cannibalistic tyrant. She later returned to China as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bao_Si Bao Si]], becoming the concubine of King You of Zhou, before fleeing to Japan as Tamamo-no-Mae.

** Tamamo-no-Mae was a beautiful fortune teller who could answer any question, and whose [[BeautyIsNeverTarnished beauty was never tarnished]]. The Emperor Konoe fell in love with her and made her one of his courtesans, but after several years the Emperor fell seriously ill. Eventually, Abe no Yasuchika, an [[UsefulNotes/{{Onmyodo}} onmyoji]] descended from Abe no Seimei, told him that Tamamo was a powerful ''kitsune'' -- in later versions the same fox-spirit as Daji from the ''Literature/FengshenYanyi'' -- that had been poisoning him, though whether she was doing so willingly or on the orders of an evil daimyo hoping to usurp the throne depends on the version being told. Her identity exposed, Tamamo fled, and the Emperor sent Kazusa-no-suke and Miura-no-suke, the two most powerful warriors in Japan, to kill her. Kazusa-no-suke and Miura-no-suke tracked Tamamo to the Nara plains, but she evaded them for 108 days. Tamamo appeared to Miura-no-suke in a dream, prophesying he would kill her and pleading for her life, but the following day Miura-no-suke shot and killed her. In the original narrative Tamamo's body was taken to Edo and miraculous treasures were found inside, but in later iterations it [[TakenForGranite became a cursed stone]] called the ''Sessho-seki'' (Killing Stone) and Tamamo's spirit an [[StringyHairedGhostGirl onryo]] who haunted it. In an addendum to the tale written in 1653, Tamamo-no-Mae was eventually exorcized by a Buddhist monk named Genno, allowing her to pass on in peace. In some versions, the ''Sessho-seki'' was shattered and its pieces scattered across Japan, manifesting as lesser ''kitsune'' called ''kuda-gitsune'' and other ''yokai''.

* In ''Podcast/ResidentsOfProserpinaPark'' Mirai encounters a kitsune, whom she names Fox Ears, while ridding on a bus in Japan. Fox Ears, true to her name, takes the form of a woman with fox ears and a tail. She is haughty and high-strung, but also provides helpful information to Mirai.

* ''TabletopGame/RuneQuest'': Fox women are magical shape-changers, spend most of their time in their animal forms and occasionally change into their human forms. As humans, fox women are legendary for their beauty and lust, and they often seduce human males.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'': The Kitsune are fox folk (obviously) living within the kingdom of Hoshido who normally look like ([[PrettyBoy rather pretty]]) humans who happen to have a tail and fox ears, but are capable of transforming into full-fledged giant foxes, with the promoted form bearing nine tails. Because humans have a bad habit of killing Kitsune for their fur, the Kitsune have largely isolated themselves to a small hamlet deep within Hoshido's southern mountains, and will kill any trespassers on sight. Apart from the shapeshifting, [[MyRulesAreNotYourRules enemy]] kitsune can create illusions that prevent the player's army from attacking them.

* [[KidHero Riki]] and the Lummox race from ''VideoGame/SagaFrontier'' are pretty clearly based on them. With vulpine appearances in their true form, shape shifting, multiple tails seeming to designate age or senority, and even a trademark attack, "Elfshot", resembling Kitsune-bi.

** The official manga ''Manga/TouhouIbarakasenWildAndHornedHermit'' has a chapter where Reimu catches a ''kudagitsune'' (pipe fox spirit) attending one of her parties while disguised as Marisa. The spirit offers to pay Reimu back and does so by encouraging the villagers to visit the shrine, making her prosper... and also running her ragged with how busy she's become. Kasen catches it and explains that ''kudagitsune'' eventually eat their owners' health and prosperity. In a later chapter Reimu thinks she's found a kitsune artifact called a foxball, and the Marisa-Fox returns to give some exposition...as well as to reveal that whatever the object is, it's ''not'' a foxball.

* ''VideoGame/YokaiWatch'': "Kyubi" is a fox {{yokai}} whose human form is a slightly androgynous PrettyBoy. There's also an ice-based variant, Frostail (called Inugami in Japanese), a dark-themed one named Darkyubi (starting from ''Yo-kai Watch 2 Psychic Specters''), a robotic counterpart dubbed Kyubot (from ''Yo-kai Watch 3 Sukiyaki''), and a rain-and-frog themed variant named Tsuyu Kyubi (only appearing in the japanese ''Yo-kai Watch Puni Puni'' in an event).

* In ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' Lari the ninja mistakes Molly the Monster for one of these, and becomes infatuated with her. He's a little {{squick}}ed out when he realizes that she can't actually change into a regular human.

* ''WebAnimation/MysterySkullsAnimated'': Mystery is a kitsune disguised as a dog; in the past he was a trickster spirit that led samurai to their deaths, but after a fateful encounter with a particularly strong one, he became a guardian spirit to her family and stayed that way since.

* In ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'', Volpina is a fox-themed supervillain who has illusionary abilities and is known for lying. She is based on a real fox-themed superhero empowered by the incarnation of Illusion that is a fox-like spirit.

%%ZeroContextExample* ''Manga/KamisamaKiss'': Tomoe is one.

But it should not be thought that these foxes begin their lives as supernatural beings. Instead, in many depictions they start as normal foxes. As they grow older, they grow too in power (and number of tails). Eventually they gain human-level intelligence (or greater), as well as various powers: {{Shapeshifting}} (in particular to [[HumanityEnsues human form]]), [[DemonicPossession possession]], [[HypnoticCreature enchantment]], [[TheOmniscient supernatural wisdom]], and more.

* ''Anime/TheGodOfHighSchool'': Legends speak of a kumiho that once served God but He feared its power and ordered its execution, and it retaliated by rebelling against Him and destroying half of Heaven before swearing revenge. [[spoiler: In the present day, Ilpyo is able to draw on its power through his [[SupernaturalMartialArts Charyeok]] and take on a sort of hybrid form vaguely reminiscent of Naruto's.]]

* In China, they are called ''huli jing'' ("fox spirit") or ''jiuweihu'' ("Nine-Tailed Fox").
* In Japan they are called ''bake-gitsune'' ("[[LostInTranslation changed/changing/monstrous]] fox") or ''youko'' ("{{youkai}} fox"), though both are often localised simply as ''kitsune'' ("fox")

* In Japan they are called ''kitsune''--which is both simply the word for "fox" and specifically the term of these particular foxes.[[note]]"''bake-gitsune''" ("[[LostInTranslation changed/changing/disguise/monster]] fox") refers to this variety in particular, but the term hasn't picked up much outside Japan.[[/note]]

* ''Manga/GugureKokkurisan'': The titular Kokkuri is a kitsune summoned by the main character, Kohina Ichimatsu.