Just like Sakurasou, a sell-out episode. Where Sakurasou came with the sister, Kamisama Hajimemashita treats us to a beach episode. The big difference is that where Sakurasou got lost in its own cliches, Kamisama Hajimemashita used those clichés to achieve some really good character development.
And the simple reason for this was something major that Tomoe did in the sea 526 years ago. This was back when he was still completely different from who he used to be, and stole one of the eyes of someone called the dragon king, who is very strict with debts, to the point where it gets hilarious. This episode danced around the issue, but this seems to have been a major defining moment in Tomoe’s life. The biggest hint for this was that he was practically baited into it by that tramp: the issue had to be solved somehow, to the point where he felt that it was worth risking Tomoe’s life for.
What made the beach part of this episode enjoyable was how fresh it was. Rather than just showing the female cast parade in swimsuits, they really added stuff that was personal to the cast: Tomoe being unable to enter the water, Nanami unable to buy a swimsuit, to that one girl skipping along while just being dumped by her boyfriend. This episode really made sure to spice up such a clichéd set-up, and made it fun again, and it was the school example of how to do such an episode right.
Plus, the guy with the scarf just lost all of his dignity with that speedo of his. I burst out laughing there, but at the same time I really like the mystery around him and the irony of how he has basically been watching Tomoe from behind without him noticing it. I really want to see Tomoe’s face when he finds out. The creators already managed to create this expectation that it will be awesome just from the few times he has bene in the picture. Now that is good storytelling.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)
Well…there’s no reason for the female cast to parade in swimsuits…when this is a shoujo after all…
Mikage took a backseat in the manga until much later. It seems that they’re setting up for the anime-original ending this way, somehow.
Well I’m glad I never watched this knowing now that they are going to deviant for the source material. Shame because psgels was making me curious with his rave reviews.
It isn’t too different so far. They switched Himemiko and Kurama’s introductions around for some reason (idol tengu will probably attract more viewers than catfish princesses, I guess), but Mikage’s appearances are the only thing that’s different otherwise.
But judging by the DVDs, this is probably a 1-cour show and won’t get anywhere with the story thanks to that.
Yes, they did deviate a little from the manga but they still included the imprtant parts..
An anime has no duty towards a manga.
It’s like asking an opera to stick to the original novel…
It seems to me that the purpose of this anime is to sell the manga rather than to sell itself. It’s definitely not going to be able to get anywhere with the manga material and there isn’t a good cutoff point, so while an original ending is understandable, they’re cutting out a lot of important stuff. I can’t see that going well…
Little Busters dropped? Oh man…
psgels, you’ll continue watching the series right?