Ranked #1350

Kannazuki no Miko

I don't even know why I liked this series. It's another "we have to save the world with giant robots" anime, with anime staples such as catgirls, bishounen, and panty shots, all spiced up with some blatant lesbianism. It's a joke in premise alone, but the follow-through makes it a surprisingly capable tale of forbidden love.

As you can probably tell, I wasn't expecting anything overreaching with Kannazuki. I wasn't disappointed. The anime sticks to a giant robot battle formula for the first half with just the slightest hints about where Chikane and Himeko's budding relationship is going. Fortunately for viewers, a huge twist awaits and the redemption goes full-throttle to the very end. So why sit through the first half? Chikane.

Chikane is the center of this guilty pleasure. Himeko, Souma, the bishounen priests and the Orochi are all dull as dishwater. Chikane is the ray of light that shines on this series for six episodes. Her inner turmoil between being Himeko's friend and her growing desire to be her lover are intriguing enough to warrant the rest of the crap the series throws at you. This is where they payoff comes though, as Chikane's personal anguish becomes the center of the story before long and thus Himeko's character becomes much more interesting. Everyone else though... yeah.

The animation itself has its ups and downs. The sharp hard lines turn me off a little, but the flow and detail are all good. It's a solid production but nothing remarkable.

The music has a subtle but distinct air to it, coming from the (personally) underrated composer Mina Kubota also responsible for the score of Kaleido Star. The great BGM is sandwiched between a techno-flavored OP and a less dancy but equally energetic ED, both of which are sung by the prolific KOTOKO.

I enjoyed this anime far, far more than I probably should have. It's melodrama will not be to everyone's tastes and a few will probably abandon ship somewhere in the ridiculous first half, but those that carry a flag for Chikane and Himeko or yuri anime in general will hardly be let down.

Overall, Kannazuki no Miko gets a 8 out of 10.
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My goodness, what an interesting show this was to watch. Had many good qualities and bad qualities and plenty of fan service. I can't say that I am disappointed in the slightest, especially with the great ending it had.

Acting for the most part is quite mixed, decent and mediocre at the same time. Now Himeko's voice sounds a little spacey and a little scratchy at times as well. Almost like the VA's is trying to do a high voice. While Jennifer Sekiguchi certainly makes for a lovable Himeko acting skills is something to be desired for her. However her co-star Michelle Ruff does wonders with Chikane. Ruff brings out Chikane's many characteristics in the best way. The sweet as honey Chikane, the elegant Chikane even the dark and evil Chikane. Ruff once again proves her self to be a voice actress of many talents, and as I said before she did wonders with this character. The other cast is also fairly mixed, decent and mediocre at the same time. With some notables such as Sandy Fox, Melissa Fahn, Kate Higgins, and others, they shine in their roles as the evil orochi. Steve Staley makes for a great Souma Ogami, who brings out the words of compassion for Himeko.

The musical score was one of the finest scores for an Anime series of this genre that I have heard. With all the places it could have gone including ditching out altogether, it was refreshing to see a lovely score. However there were some minor problems with it. The cues were a tad predictable and like some of the dialog made it feel very melodramatic. But really that was the only flaw to it, so non the less it had a wonderful feeling to it. The themes I think were somehow fitting. The opening was a very heavy techno-j-pop style and it just seemed to work. Overall my hat's off to Mina Kubota for writing a wonderful score.

The animation and style was very beautiful in this. Dark tones and bright tones all mixed together splendidly. The giant robot to each character (with the exception of Miyako and Gorochi) are beyond wonderful. Chikane's eyes also stand out to me, they are like two deep pools full of thought.

Overall this is a worthwhile series, so give it a shot. Romance lovers, yuri lovers, you may just like this. As crazy as it is. read more