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Nabari no Ou is the first long-term work of x-gendered author Yuhki Kamatani who's most recently found some notoriety in their most recent work as of the writing of this review Shimanami Tasogare, a far cry from what Nabari no Ou is.

It's very easy to write off Nabari no Ou upon its first few chapters and synopsis. It sets out with decent art and semi-interesting characters among a fairly over-done plot. So, you may wonder, why I say this and give it a ten. That's simple; it improves.

Story-wise, as before stated, it starts rather typical of shounen series from the era. As a ... review, I refuse to get into spoilers, but characters drive a series and as the story goes on the characters and their loyalties are put to the test in increasingly interesting and straining ways. Bonds are severed, trust is broken but the same can be said in reverse. At first glance it may not seem anything more than a simple action series about ninjas- and maybe it's not underneath it all- but it's full of heart and it is, underneath it all, a character-driven story.

With that little about the story said, time for the characters. As a character-driven story while also being a 2000s shounen action, the cast is initially as you'd expect. Spontaneous with lots of quirks that play off each other well. As the series goes on, the characters become much more grounded and you feel much more for them and the way that they deal with the many roadblocks that end up in their paths feels increasingly believable in a way that it makes it hard for you to not understand where they're coming from. That being said, talking characters is hard to talk without talking spoilers so this will have to be kept brief as such. Design-wise, every character is unique as so that you should be able to recognise their core trait(s) from a glance and, following common practice, should you see a silhouette you'll likely be able to tell who it is.

Kamatani, as you may have noticed if you've read their following works (Shounen Note, Shimanami Tasogare) is very visual in their storytelling method. As previously stated, this is their first long-term manga and the art style at the beginning is almost entirely unrecognisable when compared to what they draw now. Even so, it improves very radically over the course of the run of the series in a way that's reflected as you start to see a lot of their common art quirks shine through such as spreads, visual symbolism and so on so forth. Aside from what's to come, even at the beginning Kamatani uses a lot of visual gags as a way of portraying humour alongside speech. Show not tell becomes increasingly prevalent as their skills improve.

For some people, this may not be their cup of tea. Even as charming as the initial chapters are, some people may not be able to stomach it. And that's fine. For those who are, you're in for a ride. Nabari no Ou, in the end, is a heart wrenching tale with many twists and turns; a must-try for anyone.

Tsuki ga Kirei, as of the date of its finishing episode, seems very much to be a sleeper hit.

Now, I don't watch a lot of romance shows but I decided at the start of the season 'hey this looks cute, I'm sure this'll be a good way to pass time' and then, lo and behold, it became what will probably be my favourite show of the year, possible even my favourite show ever.

The story has a simple premise, first love high school romance but it's all in the execution. The story is focused on the characters, as a romance should, and talking about ... a character driven tale without actually mentioning the characters, sound or animation would be nigh impossible. The story, as stated, is simple but relatable and the way it presents itself seems very refreshing especially with the two main characters hooking up before the end of the series which isn't all too common in romance series.

The art/animation is probably the worst part of the series but it's in no way bad. The backgrounds are very detailed and the animation is at its best when there are two characters, typically the main ones, talking. It has a look to it that makes it seem like it was made with the thought of it looking like a movie which did, at least to me, wonders in ways of production. The worst part of the animation would be the CG background characters in many scenes. They don't look outlandishly bad and there's never any focus on them so don't worry about this too much. The general animation, with the exception of the above mentioned, is what you should expect from a TV anime.

The character designs are very simple yet they remain distinct from each other. They're very realistic and they don't break the immersion of the story. The characters, as per usual, change clothes as the seasons continue and they all go together well. There's also the occasional hairstyle change.

There's a decent amount of characters in general but the main focuses here will be Azumi and Akane, our protagonists. Let's start with Azumi. Azumi comes across, especially at the beginning, as a very awkward kid among his peers who's often very passive at the way people act towards him and gets embarrassed easily. Among his friend group though, he is a bit more open and often yells (softly) at them when they tease him and give him grief over something. He also has his fair share of quirks, interests and friends outside of Akane. Firstly, he has two friends both of whom he is seen interacting with and talking to at various points throughout the series, both with distinct personalities and designs that make the world feel that much more real. A quirk that's often made a point of showing up his when he shadow boxes with the chord to his bedroom lights, which joins with the roughhousing of his friends. He has a deep interest in literature and seems to love the works of Dazai Osamu, a famous Japanese author, often quoting him during separate parts of the series. His family is also present throughout the show, giving him grief over his studies and future alongside encouraging him at several points in the show.
Akane, our other protagonist, is very much similar at the start of the series as she is shown to be rather awkward, although a bit more loudly spoken than Azumi, and she's easily embarrassed. Among her peers she's shown to be very open with her emotions, especially more so as the series progresses, and she seems to have a bigger friend group than Azumi. Her friend group consists mainly of girls, with one male who serves as a minor block in the road for her and Azumi's relationship alongside one female within her friend group that serves the same purpose. At school she's shown to have above average grades and she's the ace of the track team. One of her quirks includes using a beanbag creature to relieve her stress. Her family life consists of her parents and a sister, all of whom serve as a driving force and give another layer to her character as she interacts differently with her parents compared to her sister compared to her friends and so on.
I mentioned a male and female road in the block that are within Akane's friend group and I think that they deserve notable mention for the purpose they serve. Despite largely seeming to exist for a specific purpose they're given enough personality and interactions outside of the specific purpose to make them seem more integrated into the world and more as if they could actually exist. A lot of people don't seem to like them for how they end up going about things but I think otherwise and I think it's important to note that they're just kids that do what they do to give themselves peace of mind and are great characters in their own right.

The sound is one of the things that makes the series. It's not that the soundtrack is particularly amazing or memorable, though it is very nice, but it's in the use of sound. There are many times in which there is no sound, just visuals with the main purpose to make you stressed or to make you worried. There are moments when the music is playing then stops or the opposite happens and it's all used very effectively to play with how you feel at that moment.

Tsuki ga Kirei, at its core, is a heart warming (and sometimes heartbreaking) coming of age romance story with realism highly valued and characters used fully to the advantage of the plot.

As of now seventy chapters have come out with the next one days away. Noragami is a wild ride and it's riddled with life lessons for many a person, no matter your age.

Story- 9/10
So, Noragami's premise isn't something you'd think too impressive. A god, his shinki (a human spirit that died unnaturally and has been granted new life. Can turn into an object to the god who holds their name), and a human.
Delivery is everything though!
The first arc deals with very human problems and it's in a way that I must warn could be triggering to many with a few mentions of ... suicide. It mainly focuses on how being ignored or feeling alone can lead to someone go to extreme lengths to gain some attention including crime.
Afterwards there are many other forms of this but a lot of it is coated through family issues, dealing with death, child abuse (a driving theme), abandonment just off the top of my head.
The story itself is for the first arc and many side arcs set in Tokyo. Not in the main part but in what I assume to be the outskirts. The other settings it is held in are, to put it in terms easy to understand, hell and heaven (though not exactly...).
Noragami is a very finely weaved plot, you have no idea whether a small detail is a small detail or a huge plot point for later in the series and everything seems to have been laid out beforehand.


Art- 10/10
The art in Noragami is detailed but not in a way that it becomes messy and hard to look at. The backgrounds are specifically detailed and you can tell that the mangaka truly loves drawing their characters. The characters all have unique designs and even characters who look similar will have at least one detail that'll make them stand out. Some characters are flashier than others and very often that's because they're meant to stand out more. Even if you're a side or one off character the designs are very important.

Characters- 10/10
Characters in Noragami are very well rounded, even the side characters. They all fit very well and the dynamics you'll experience between each character and the way they interact with the world will feel very real. Even if you don't directly relate to all the characters there will be at least one that you do. They all have a very subtle development that happens in a way that you won't realise it's even happened until you compare the character from before an arc to after it and you could be amazed that you never noticed it before. The main trio is made up of Yato (a god), Yukine (Yato's shinki (explained above) and Hiyori (a human).
Hiyori is the person who keeps Yato and Yukine grounded and despite being antagonised by Yato at first, after sticking around out of obligation for Yukine she starts to warm up to both of them, becoming a staple in Yukine and Yato's lives who care for her as much as she cares for them. We see glimpses from her family life as to how she ended up the kind of person she is and the details are very important to her character.
Yato is an aspiring god of fortune, a delivery god at the start of the manga. He himself has went through some serious stuff that I will not get into for the sake of spoilers. He starts off with a lack of human understanding having never really having a friend or someone who treats him as an equal. He finds that person in Hiyori and after getting more acquainted with her more, he starts to open up and change, maturing a lot along the way. His personality is different at the beginning from what it develops into after being taught that he isn't useless, he can change and he can protect people.
Yukine is a very interesting character. Yukine is a shinki which, if you missed it before, is the spirit of a dead human who died of means unnatural and out of their accord. They can't remember their past life and neither should they, once named by a god they will be bound to said god and can turn into an object, often a weapon, for the god that named them. Yukine died at the young age of fourteen and as a teenager he has heightened emotions. He is the course of the whole first arc. He faces problems from being dead and unable to properly interact with people like he wants to and after getting to a very low point he goes through a rigorous, painful lesson and he changes.


Enjoyment- 9/10
I feel the need to specify the word 'enjoyment' denotes that you gain pleasure from reading the manga and it's amazing and all but some times are so heart wrenching that it's painful. Noragami knows when to use humour and how to use it. There are manga who like to interrupt moments with humour but Noragami isn't like that. Sad moments stay sad and they have a lasting affect on both you and the characters for ages, even forever, it may even shape them in who they are. Happy moments may be interrupted however and Adachitoka is ruthless with no mercy. The depressing moments never feel forced, they flow naturally, almost scarily so sometimes.


Overall- 10/10
No surprise after the above ratings. I would recommend Noragami to almost anyone and it's worth it to stick around. You don't get the boring parts, in a manga published monthly you can't afford to have boring parts and every single page is used effectively to build up hype, tension, foreshadowing, you name it.