|
|
||||||||||
| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watch | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
 Ggultra2764
|
[series:2628#1552] |
|
Kamisama Kiss is a shoujo rom-com focused on an orphaned and homeless teenage girl named Nanami who gains a home at a shrine when she becomes its god and gains a demon familiar named Tomoe as her servant. Throughout the course of the series, Nanami encounters other deities and demons as she learns more about the supernatural world. To a good extent, Kamisama Kiss milks cliches typical of shoujo titles with the situation faced by Nanami as she is an impoverished girl suddenly whisked into a grand lifestyle and surrounded by attractive guys that get drawn to her throughout her title's run. The series mixes romance, comedy and drama as Nanami gets used to her rather unusual lifestyle and tries to better understand Tomoe, whom she starts developing romantic feelings for throughout the show's run. Dramatic elements brought up include Tomoe's villainous past and the possibility he might have loved another human girl during that time, but the series never fully explores these elements and they aren't properly incorporated into the tensions that develop with Nanami and Tomoe's relationship. The series also lacks a proper resolution as we never got to see Tomoe acknowledge any love he might have for Nanami that enough hints are dropped for nor do we get any answers over elements to his past. On the plus side, a number of the supporting characters in this series get a reasonable amount of fleshing out and we do get to learn of any past connections they have to Tomoe. Also, the artwork is good enough to show off beautiful scenic shots and drawing its characters to be as pleasing on the eyes as possible. Otherwise, Kamisama Kiss is fairly cookie-cutter with its shoujo elements in what it has to offer. This doesn't necessarily make it bad as it does have do well with fleshing out much of its cast and makes good use of its elements to Japanese folklore for its story. But after seeing enough shoujo titles that milk character types and story setups like this series, I've become mostly indifferent to titles that deliver this style of story. Last updated Saturday, March 15 2014. Created Saturday, March 15 2014. | ||||||||
| Rent |
 Stretch
|
[series:2628#628] | ||||||
|
(All episodes watched): One of the first things I noticed about Kamisama Hajimemashita was that the show seemed to ooze cuteness in a pleasing manner. The set-up by a narrator was amusing; and the show as a whole was funny. It had a wacky, over-the-top tone which, while not hilarious, was fun. Both Nanami and (maybe) Konoe seemed like likeable characters. I'm guessing that while he dislikes her at first, he will come around and they will fall in love, or at least be good friends. I was a little confused about what exactly being a 'God' entailed; is it just a title which can be applied to anyone? Maybe Japanese Gods don't necessarily have any unusual powers. But at the end I had a solid idea of where this show was going, and it seemed like it ought to be fun. Enough writing effort seems to have been applied to make this odd premise into an interesting story. The show has a definite wit to it--episode two kept me grinning throughout. The clever tricks Konoe employs are a joy in comparison to the simplistic stunts in most shows. Each episode so far has introduced a new deity or semi-deity which takes an interest in Nanami for one reason or another. For instance, there's the deity that appears as a teenage celebrity that girls would gladly die for. Not all of them are hot bishonen guys. While Tomoe tends to use force to solve problems, Nanami takes a more diplomatic approach, sort of like Natsume Yuujinchou. However, while that show took a laid-back approach, Kamihaji has more of a focus on both comedy and drama/emotion. The romance between Nanami and Tomoe develops slowly but steadily, until in episode seven they realize what's happening between them in a neat episode. Can a demon and a human girl really fall in love? Will anything good come of it? This show has a lot of class and wit, and intriguing questions like these come up often. I was pleasantly surprised by the expansion of Tomoe's personality that took place when we learned about an ill-fated love with a human girl which he took part in centuries ago, and the measure that was taken to heal his broken heart. You can understand why he would be both inclined and reluctant to risk the same thing today. The series ends on a heartwarming note, as all the characters come together to rededicate the Mikage Shrine, which the locals had assumed to be abandoned. This was a fun show from beginning to end. It just goes to show what can be accomplished if some serious effort and talent is applied to a one-season anime. Last updated Monday, February 18 2013. Created Monday, October 15 2012. | ||||||||
