It is great to finally see such a likable shoujo lead female again. Don’t get me wrong: the leads in Tonari no Kaibatsu-kun and Sukitte Ii na yo are good too with the focus on their flaws, but the energy and optimism that she has finally are done right again. After watching so many dull and bland female leads, this is so refreshing! For once we have a lead again who isn’t bound by angst, but rather by optimism.
Her flaw, her naivety is also used quite well. Rather than using it for her to run into all sorts of trouble, the creators use it to get her try try out things, even though they might not be the smartest. She actually does things herself, rather than wanting to be protected all the time or having males fight all over her.
The humour in this episode was different from the previous episodes. Strangely enough, it lacked the hyperactivity and instead was more conventionally paced, or a bit more conventional than usual for this series’ standards. It still was full of well-timed jokes though, and the way in which it portrays the emotions of its characters still rocked and was hilarious to watch.
The story of this episode seemed nothing special, just a random love story. There are a few interesting things to say about it though. First of all it used its own simplicity quite well. It’s not as good as in the first episode, but the way in which it combined humour and drama together still was excellent. It’s to the point where you don’t know what to expect and where it’ll move to, wihch is the sign of a great direction. Also the ending of the episode worked really well. Instead of the usual cheesy aftermath, the creators decided to end with just a push in the right direction. Nothing really got resolved, but we could all see where it was going and there was no need to show more of it. Plus, the ED works brilliant for these conclusions.
Rating: 5/8 (Great)
I suppose they didn’t want to show poor Kotarou getting beaten up by those delinquents…. 😀
Ah, Himemiko~ She’s one of my favorite characters and this *hopefully* won’t be the last we see of her. She becomes a very good friend to Nanami and her and Kotarou’s story is expanded on later in the manga (though I doubt they will animated that far).
I love Nanami. I thought she was a bit bland when I began the manga, but after she begins getting into the whole goddess thing she got much better, imo. She pretty much runs on optimism and determination.
I’m looking forward to Mizuki in the next episode~ I love him to death!
I actually like Nanami and Tomoe’s personalities. Nanami is indeed optimistic, and what I like the most is that she’s not presented as extremely stupid or crybaby as other shoujo anime characters in the past. If anything, I see her as an average girl you can see in real life. By episode 2, we saw her fangirl just like any other girl in real life. By ep 1, we saw her making a decision that was impulsive yet quick thinking in her part towards self-preservation. She gets angry, gets thoughtful, and becomes compromising.
Tomoe too is a character who is likable. Besides his bishie-ness, he’s not the super cynical or outrageous personality. He can be cold in appropriate situations. He can be compromising, and he’s not as rough towards Nanami as in other shoujo anime. I can somehow relate him to someone I know in real life too (minus the youkai bit lol), and it somehow makes him a believable character for me.
I agree on what you say about the ED. It is brilliantly used in every ep.
It is a shame that the anime only has 13 episodes. Many had said that the manga has gone so far and has gone deeper than the simple story arcs (the chara intro arcs). Some had said also that every character that was introduced firsthand actually gets a role in the development of romance between Nanami and Tomoe–which would have been great to see.
Thanks for your post psgels. I always read your posts, but I didn’t have time to comment. So now here I am. ^^
Chapters 70-80 something of kamisama have strong developments for a main plot.
It kinda sucks that it’s only going to be 1 cour. The main story is actually fairly interesting, but from judging the episodes aired so far, it looks like the main purpose of the anime is to boost manga sales.
Can’t get anywhere with just 1 cour.
the first half was a bit slow but once they revealed nanamis first mission i started to get into it more. I’m slowly starting to like this series.
I really enjoyed when the music started with the pink hand at the end
Yes…I’m being intentionally vague..
Yeah, I’ve never heard of the manga of this before, but by watching these episodes I’m kind of warming up to reading it. It’s seriously only going to be one series? What a waste 🙁
I love this series and I’m happy that you’re blogging it, psgels! Nanami is indeed super likable and lovely. The princess of the lake was cute in her own way and I so much hope the story ends well for her and the guy she loves.
Have to agree that for each episode so far they’ve really known how to kick in the ED, works perfectly each time.
I loved the “chomp” joke lol, and himemeko is so cute as human, and i liked her catfish yokai design too.
there was a rather touching moment when Tomoei clings to Nanami when he remembers his old master leaving.
I do like some of the comedy faces, like the bit where has to make friends with the fish yokai in fish form!
Slow start to the episode but it picked up well. V. enjoyable
I love Kamisama hajimemashita as well, it’s been a long time since I liked a shoujo series so much, this season is so amazing.^^ I found the romance/comedy aspect to be refreshing than most of the other ones I’ve seen. The Characters are definitely a joy to watch for this series so far.
WHY 13 EPISODES ONLY!!!!!! I BECAME SOO OBSESSED WITH TOMOE! DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW I CAN SOMEHOW CONTACT THE BASTARD DIRECTOR???? (an email would be appreciated!) THANX! AND AS U CAN TELL IM IN LUV WITH THIS SHOW, I HATE READING MANGAS BECAUSE I CANT FOLLOW AND GET THINGS IN MY HEAD. IM A VISUAL PERSON. <3