Stark700

Ah kamisama, why doesn't money grow on trees especially when I'm in debt? Ah kamisama, where are you when I need you the most? Ah kamisama, why can't the world be perfect? In a nutshell, Kamisama Hajimemashita (also known as Kamisama Kiss) is based on the manga of the same name written by Julietta Suzuki. She is known for several other lighthearted shoujo manga that involves supernatural elements such as Karakuri Odette. The series debuted in Fall of 2012 along with many other shuojo titles. The series tells the story of a young girl named Nanami Momozono, who is alone..abandoned, and helpless. The innocent little lamp makes aninteresting encounter with a strange man (Mikagi) and from there, her life changes forever. But wait, it doesn't stop there. She also encounters the big bad wolf (or rather familiar) Tomoe. Along with him comes the package of two other spirits (Onikiri and Kotetsu). After a contract sealed by a kiss, the two forms as peculiar relationship. This series details their relationship and what's to come from it because the world is never fair. It's not perfect. Furthermore, this series is quite a strange one if you look on the surface. We have a normal human with no experience of the supernatural in a strange relationship with strange being with strange ears and a strange personality. Did I mention strange? The relationship between Nanami and Tomoe is one of the most strange, amusing, and interesting part of the series. A human and a familiar relationship has trouble written all over it especially the gap of difference between the two. Nanami is a normal human girl who has normal skills in life with normal friends attending a normal school. On the other hand, Tomoe is a supernatural being with supernatural abilities and able to accomplish feats with supernatural degrees. This is like trying to get a cobra and mongoose to be best friends... From the beginning, Tomoe is very frustrated at Nanami's lack of progress in what she's trying to become and adjusting with her new life. He becomes increasingly annoyed at home, at school, and almost whenever he's around with Nanami, or precisely whenever he feels nothing is getting done. This example can be seen early in the series as result of Nanami's lack of progress with her new responsibilities. Yet at various times, there are sweet and tender moments where Tomoe feels empathy, care, and even jealousy for her. Wait a minute..is that a male tsundere I see in Tomoe?? Being a shoujo series adapted from a shoujo manga, expect shoujo themes and elements. That typically transits in to the romance part of Kamisama Kiss. Even from the second word of the title and the pilot episode, one can expect romance in it. It's not one of those love at first sights though or a helpless crush but rather a strange one to say the least. To add to the mix, there are other characters such as the highly popular idol at school Shinjirou Kuram. He's the narcasstic type who causes trouble and tension between the duo but at the same time can be a fun guy to get to know with. There are other characters who occasionally adds in their own spotlights to the series as well such as the snake familiar Mizuki, Nanami's friend Mei, and later on a more dramatic entry of Ryuuou. This series is overall quite lighthearted. There is virtually no fan-service except “maybe” the beach episode in the latter half. It's more of a series where its comedy outshines its romance aspects especially the strange relationship between Nanami and Tomoe. Other characters adds in the comedy even during scenes where action is presented. So, if you're looking for some serious mindfuck, ecchi fan-service, or a dynamic story exploring serious themes, then you might be disappointed. Still though, the romance part does begin to blossom later on in the series especially after a pleasant date (maybe not entirely for Tomoe) and some tender moments. The artwork of the series is lighthearted as well. The art seems to be a bit pale and plain at most times that reflects the nature of this shoujo series. Most of Julietta Suzuki's artwork balances between romance and comedy and that is presented in Kamisama Kiss as well. The series focuses more on the characters rather than anything else with its artwork thus it's just ordinary; nothing too special to be honest. Soundtrack and music applies here as well of being lighthearted. There is no intense or techno music rhythm even during some of the more dramatic and action scenes. Kurama's entry is often accompanied by his own soundtrack theme that brings out the inner fan girls at school so in some ways, it can be considered a little rock on added to the mix. The OP and ED songs are also lighthearted with one half of the title “Kamisama” being echoed for the latter. Once again, it seems to just be in the background with a pleasant melody rather than anything special. Overall, I found Kamisama Kiss to be a charming little gem but nothing too special. It doesn't shine much as the series is shoujo with lighthearted themes. It's not mainstream compared to a few of the other shoujo series in the industry today (especially this Fall Season of 2012). But what it does have is a relaxing way of presenting romance mixed with comedy especially with the strange duo of Nanami and Tomoe. It's one of those series where you can sit down, watch it, and then tell yourself “well, that was cute”. And of course, cute is another word to describe Kamisama Kiss especially with the supernatural elements mixed in. Some of the episodes does seem a bit dry with a lack of flavor but it can still be a fun watch especially if you enjoy its shoujo themes.

angelsreview

A young girl is abandoned by her father who owes money and is left to fend for herself. This sounds like it’s an excuse for the parents to not care what happens to their child while strange things are around them. It’s cliché but I can’t think of any other way they could have walked around this. The fact of the matter is that they had to get rid of the parents one way or another and they picked one of the two ways they could have done it. That or make them dead and have her an orphan but that one is used evenmore often then the person leaving their child. I only wonder where the mother is. Nanami is well… not my favorite heroine although she is actually rather strong willed. I don’t like how she is always saying pretty much anything that’s on her mind rather quick, sometimes she ends up going on these rants like one that I talk about later on. On the other hand, I love how sweet a spirit she is in that she wants to help anyone she comes in contact with. She has had a hard life so it would have been so easy to make her selfless like Honda from Fruits Basket but she isn’t. She acts selfish many times though she never does it to get on someone’s nerves (Unless it’s Tomoe). Well, like normal romance, she is taken in by someone and falls in love with the person even if he is not of this world. It would be fine if this was a normal romance with the man being a human but in this case, we have a fox spirit who has a really bad temper at times. At first glance, I guess you could consider Tomoe a muli-personalitied demon. He will fix Nanami dinner after telling her he despises being her familiar; call her a idiot when he is trying to save her; and things similar of that nature. With all the whining he seems to do about her, you would think he would just up and quit when he got a chance, right? Well, that’s what I thought when he was free of his duties at one part but then he reinstates his position as her familiar again. That is not a real spoiler as it happens really early in the show but it’s a good example of just how split this guy is. The opening is a bit, I don’t know. It’s just a bit confusing. It’s all images of her with a song about being a girl and just starting to be a girl? I’m confused as to what the opening was supposed to do as they don’t really do anything but show this young girl. It didn’t fit the show at all making me want to skip it every time. Other then that, the animation and everything reminds me of a lot of other shows out there with a supernatural spoof. It’s dark in a colorful atmosphere. It’s hard to explain as the darkness is just the addition of dark purples and blues but then the brightness of those colors pop. In artist terms, the supernatural part of the show is dark hues and the brighter everyday parts are more of lighter shades of pastels and such. Now let’s talk about the voices. I love the how comical the narrator is and she helps bring a bit more life to the story. She doesn’t pop up at any old time, only when it seems like it’s supposed to be a comical part of even when some sort of hardship is happening like in the beginning. Sadly, every once in a while, she does come in at a wrong time when talking about what happen in the last show. Nanami talks way too much. She seems to want to be as good a narrator as the narrator is. When she first wakes up from her dream, she talks on and on about what she thought was a dream. This happens a lot it seems. Her voice is a bit annoying as she still seems rather stuck up, a very good contrast though to the rather gentle voice of Tomoe. Well, gentle might not be the right word for him as he is rather stuck up and rude to Nanami but he is voiced by one of my favorite voice actors J. Michael Tatum, the same voice as Sebastian from Black Butler. It’s a very calming voice and it is fun to see him sort of freak out at some parts because of Nanami’s mistakes or his own. I think that’s what sets Tomoe apart from the others that Tatum has voiced before. I really thought it was a cute show although a bit to short. The ending was a ok ending but there is so much more that could of happened both before and after that I feel it falls a bit flat. I really did love watching it non the less.