Kannazuki no Miko

Kannazuki No Miko is one of those anime that's so powerful it demands an opinion. When it gnaws at its budget and the impressive writing, it is a truly outstanding anime. But it throws so much into the mixture that it's often hard to focus on these moments of wonder.

At it's heart is a slice-of-life romance; a love triangle that you'll remember forever. Even the show's detractors cannot take away the power of this show's beating, complex heart.

Chikane Himemiya, the grace of Otoachibana academy, the perfection of the town Mahoroba and only daughter to its ruling family, underpins this show with a demeanour few anime ... can claim. Stereotypically, her archetype isn't uncommon: rich, perfect, flawed. Tall, beautiful, dark. However, she is struggling with her sense of identity, dominated by her sexuality.

In the show's most touching moments, we see a girl struggling to accept that she is homosexual; that she's imperfect; that she can no longer blend in with everybody's perception of her.

At the show's most darkest moments, we see a girl broken by her undying love for somebody, that she feels will never see her the way she wants to be seen.

It's heartbreaking seeing a character so easy to sympathise with; so easy to root for.

That's not to say that you root against the object of her affection's male-crush, however. Souma is a brave soul, and shares a cute romance with Himeko. He cares for her deeply, and you cannot stand to see him lose.

It's heartbreaking to see him succeed.

It's also heartbreaking to see the rest of this show.

Kannazuki no Miko focuses on a complex plot, drawing on ideas of Japanese folklore, rebirth and... mecha.

In short, the priestess of the sun (Himeko Kurusugawa) and the moon (Chikane Hmemiya) must revive The God of Swordsman (Ame no Murakumo) to defeat the Orochi, who will, if unstopped, destroy the world. To prevent this from happening, Orochi chooses 8 necks to kill the priestesses before they can revive Ame No Murakumo.

And the 8 necks use mecha.

It's a crying shame that the series couldn't afford longer to build on these aspects more, because the plot is fairly simple but often attempts to deepen itself and fails. The necks actually have strong chemistry with each other, sharing witty banter - but at times, they fall prey to simply being goons and out-of-place comic relief, and they simply don't get enough screentime to be explained. The mecha are very generic and again, unexplained. The animation is often very average with long-distance shots of faces looking particularly uncomfortable.

But thankfully, the show spends most of it's time at it's strongest points, the slice-of-life aspects. The love triangle, as aforementioned, and the relationship between it's characters which are truly heartwarming to see unfold.

The show seems to have spent most of it's budget on it's strongest points, too. The OP and ED, courtesy of Kotoko, are fantastic. Agony, the ED, features a piano ostinato intro that plays atop the ending of each episode, and sends shivers down the spine as it captures the melancholy perfectly. Bonus fact: the Agony art, featuring a romantic embrace between Himeko and Chikane in their miko outfits and wrapped in red string, is more famous than the show is. I've seen parodies with hundreds of other characters.

Produced by Mina Kubota, the gorgeous classical backing music steals the show. The piano hooks are iconic; describing characters, locations and scenery beautifully. Even when the show delves into it's weakly choreographed mech-battles, you can guarantee that beautiful ballroom music will accompany it. I implore you to watch this show for the music alone.

When Kannazuki no Miko comes to its final handful of episodes, it focuses its sights strictly on the strongest aspects. The script might be a little flowery, but it's poetic to no end, and the ending serves as one of the most beautifully tragic finales that can be experienced in anime. The ending of Chikane's story is more heartwrenching and more touching than I could have ever expected.

But in the end, it's hard to say Kannazuki no Miko is perfect. It could have been, but it needed to either strengthen it's weak aspects or ditch them altogether. Regardless of how perfect characterisation and romance is in this show, it carries a lot of unnecessary baggage.

This is a cool anime... back then i was watching Strawberry Panic but they are some similar of this anime to Strawberry Panic but for SP is yuri full of girls no boys... XD

I thought of it though like... i thought its Shoujo alone but other terms for it its called Yuri but for me i didnt know what Shounen means.. ahaha~ i forgot though

Kannazuki No Miko has a kick back action of the anime... they have robots in the actions and Priestesses (Lunar and Solar) but the similarity is that the girl and girl relationship like a lesbian stuff

but Kannazuki no miko is my ... most liked anime than Strawberry Panic because as i watch this anime this one has a kick back action while SP is bunch of girly stuff that makes us cry... :) i'll look forward more to sad animes i could watch but this anime didnt make me cry but hurts me a bit about them... how sad about the kawaii girls in the anime... :D

Kannazuki no Miko probably one of the rather dramatic shows I've watched, so much suspense, excitement and the fact that you feel the same way as the character is just thrilling. The soundtrack was on point on every moment used especially the ending theme, total builds it up to the next episode. though i did not watch this show straight, had a lot of pauses in between but the last few episodes really got me into it. Considering it was aired in 2004.
(If the remake it with better graphics and less mecha i would give it 10)
Chikane & Himeko For The Win!!

P.S. ... listening to the ending theme while i doing this review haha. time to get the feels on!!

I have watched this over 10 years ago, but it is still fresh in my head. While it was something new to me back then, some of the aspects that make it great still show in other series. It has a great opening and ending theme, the latter being played occasionally due to sad mood. If I have to say which it relates to in some way, that would be Inuyasha(well depends on who side you take).

For those who don't know already what this is about. This is a yuri anime (romantic relationship between 2 female characters). It is not necessary lesbian, but it shares ... some aspects to it. Another is the tragedy which plays throughout that is repeated over and over again.

Throughout the series, the two mikos are to work together in order to take down mech robots. What they do not realized is that there is something sinister behind sending them in, which relates to their past. I have to admit the beginning half of the series is sort of bland, in which it gives you a "Power Ranger" structure of a story. Suddenly at the very end, it just moves you through tears due how the anime was weave to set up for that moment.

The ending was very joyful, in which, despite things not being the same anymore, the two female protagonist still reunite in the future(something that I wish the Inuyasha series did).

Overall, doesn't matter what gender, if you are willing to try a yuri theme out and able to overcome some of the emotion aspects in it, it something well worth watching.





P.S. I know I have reference to another anime, but can one guess what I wanted to happen based on how "Kannaduki no Miko" ended. If you finish watching him, please feel free to send a response to my profile. Hint: I believe it was the saddest moment in Inuyasha.

When I first watched this anime, I was a little disappointed. The story line was somewhat predictable and hard to follow in some places. The characters were had very little depth and were not very likable at all. The animation was jerky and overloaded with flashy visual effects. So this may not be the best anime ever, but it wasn't that dreadful.
In spite of being poorly-written and incredibly cheesy, I actually thought that this anime was actually pretty funny. In fact, it's one of the funniest shows I've seen in my life! Some scenes in here are just flat out pee ... your pants funny. What it lacks in story line and character development it makes up for in comedy.
So it may not be a masterpiece, but if you're craving something funny to watch, look no further than Kannazuki No Miko!

Kannazuki no Miko had the potential to be something great. Unfortunately, the result was not so great. Kannazuki no Miko, is a teenage love story/triangle centering around Himeko. Oh and I forgot to mention, there's also mechs, and lots of them. Honestly, I thought that the show would've been a lot better if they got rid of the mech battles, or at least made them a little bit more interesting to watch. I had to force myself to stay awake during the fights.

The plot was actually pretty good and had me entertained through all 12 episodes. Although, the fanservice and boring mech battles got ... tiring after a while, the story and characters really reel you in. I can't really get to much into the story without spoiling anything but, the twists keep you entertained for a while.

The art and music were fantastic. The background music sets the mood perfectly, and the OP/ED were truly outstanding. The art was nice and clean and you can easily tell the difference between all the characters. The voices were nice to listen to, although Himeko's voice can get annoying after a while, Chikane's voice makes up for it. The VA for Chikane did a really excellent job, the way she portrays all of Chikane's many different, for lack of a better word personalties, was great if not perfect. I honestly, did pay attention to any of the other character's voices aside from Chikane and Himeko.

Which leads me to talk about the characters, aside from Chikane, Himeko and Souma, everybody else were merely background characters. I found all of the antagonists, to be terribly boring and uninteresting. I loathed when the story switched over to see what the antagonists were doing. Half of them were downright annoying while the other half of them were just boring. Honestly, I think the only reason why they were there in the first place was so that Souma had someone to mecha battle with.
Himeko, can be very annoying at times. She always needs someone to protect her, and hardly does anything useful by herself. Throughout the story, she's always leaning on either Souma or Chikane.
The one big problem I had with Chikane and Souma was that, they were to perfect. Souma, despite being the weakest of the 'necks' was still able to beat all of the antagonists. I believe he only lost once, and when he tried again he was able to beat him. I would've liked it more if Souma lost a few battles, and either Chikane or Himeko, helped Souma out and they won the battle together. Souma's character was also annoying at times. It seems that every episode, he has to have a speech about how he's going to protect Himeko until the very end. It was annoying, to say the least.
Chikane's character is what really saved the show. Her inner struggle between being Himeko's best friend and her growing desire to be more than that with her, was mainly the only reason why I kept watching. At times, it was just plain downright depressing to watch, I might've even shed a few tears.

If you like yuri romances with few mech battles sprinkled in between, this is the show for you. However, if you don't like yuri, mechs and don't have the patience to wait until the last few episodes, for the show to start picking up, then I recommended you stay far away from this show.

PROS:
Animation
Characters
Story

CONS:
Lesbian themes may be a turn-off for some people

STORY:
I liked the story, the mix of Yuri and mecha was very intriguing to me. Things get complicated but the show manages to explain just about everything.
...
ART:
The character and mecha designs are great and I liked the colors used.

SOUND:
The voice work was excellent, Stephanie Sheh's performance as Himeko was very well done, she does an amazing job of conveying her determination and courage along with her timidness.Michelle Ruff was a perfect choice for Chikane. She makes it easy to sympathize with her.

The music is very well done and sets the mood perfectly.

CHARACTERS:
The characters were a little stereotypical but not to the point were it becomes annoying. I was satisfied with the way they developed throughout the series, but I was a little disappointed with how the antagonist were handled. They were beaten to easily sometimes and there past was only vaguely hinted at.

OVERALL:
Kannazuki no Miko was a very satisfying series. There was no filler or dragged out episodes.

Ugh, another toxic couple gets together. Very gross and do not recommend.

STORY:
3/10
Two girls are born to kill a big baddie. Unfortunately for those girls, the big bad is the childhood friend of Himiko's, the blonde one, and thus an enemy of them. But it's fine, he decides not to kill them after the first night and instead goes out with Himiko. That's cool. Yuri is not very there and it spends more time building up Himiko's and Soma's(That's the big bad) relationship. I liked them together, Himiko and Soma that is, and was rooting for them to get together despite it being a Yuri. Beyond ... the romance, there isn't much else there besides some bad fight scenes and a lot of trauma. I do feel like the show handled the trauma part really well. It was hilarious when you got to see the bad guys' pasts and the writer lady's trauma, and the reason she became evil, is because she couldn't get her manga published or whatever. Meanwhile, one of them was experimented on to become a weird cat girl, another was put on a casting couch(bed), the two siblings were in a war torn place, and the last killed his abusive father to protect his brother. That part was hilarious. Oh, that's how the bad guys are made, they become so mad at the world that they want to destroy it and then they get to pilot some big mechas. Anyway, the story isn't that great and the romance is shit, especially for the two girls considering one of them abused the other. And the ending is shit and there's some reincarnation mumbojumbo.

ART:
4/10. Nothing good but nothing that bad. Animation sucks.

SOUND:
4/10. Ed and Op are good. Cicadas are loud and the rest of the soundtrack is meh.

CHARACTER:
7/10.
For the characters they actually gave screentime to, they did a good job with. Himiko and Soma are pretty great and they are great together. Then the black haired girl turned into a rapist and they didn't give screentime to anyone else... So yeah. Maybe a 4/10 instead of a 7.

ENJOYMENT:
4/10
Watched this whole playing a game and it was okay most of the time. Had some good parts but wouldn't be something I would give all my attention to. Better to let it play in the background while doing something else because the visuals are not good and the story is pretty bland.

OVERALL:
Shit/10. I hate it, thanks.

I don't know why I enjoyed this peice of yuri as much as I did. Maybe it was the fan service. Or maybe it was because it was just something very new to me. I mean I didn't think that mecha and yuri could compliment each other so well and yes I was hesitant because of that fact. But I'm glad I watched it because it was very interesting. Even though I dislike the concept of a male being included to compete for Himeko's love..

I liked the voices but I think that Himeko's voice suited her image very well. A bit squeaky but there are ... flaws in everything you watch. I enjoyed Chikanes voice very well though. She can sound evil and concidede yet loving and pure. Great acting I gotta say.

The characters were very enjoyable. They developed quickly throughout the 12 episodes and I feel that you could easily get attached to them. There were a lot of surprises and twists and turns throughout this anime, but that's one of the things I found pleasurable.There were parts where their personality was twisted from " red to black ", but it would just fall into place with the plot.

Overall I thought this serie was amazing to watch. Although I won't watch it again, a lot of the scenes that took place will probably stick in my mind for a while. A solid 9/10 wooh.

I'd first like to say that I can recommend this show, however, I should warn you that you may find yourself feeling a variety of emotions, from anger to sadness to relief to happiness.

If you're in it for the yuri like I was, it may be worth watching. There are several kiss scenes, but that's about as far as it goes in that aspect and they mostly happen at the end. It's very emotional, there are plenty of cute scenes but also plenty of sad scenes and you're likely to tear up at least once during this series.

This next line is a spoiler; IF you're ... in it for the yuri, you should know there is a het kiss scene and it may or may not leave you feeling some type of way. It definitely did me. In the end, though, it is a happy-ish through and through yuri ending.

Spoilers----

Honestly, I enjoyed this series but I can't say it didn't piss me off multiple times throughout the latter half of the show. Many people might complain of the characters and how they were the pinnacle of their respective cliches, or how the action portion of the story was borderline unnecessary and/or badly done, but my peeve with the series was the relationships between the characters.

At first it was all good yuri, but issues quickly develop with the male main character. I think a part of me embodied all the negative emotions that Chikane was constantly put through and I really empathized with her, which is why I got so mad at the show.

Basically, Chikane, though obviously unknowingly in love with Himeko, encouraged and supported her becoming intimately engaged with Oogami, despite the suffering and sadness it caused herself; simply to make Himeko happy. No good deed goes unpunished, and Chikane ends up suffering heavily as a result, directly witnessing them share a kiss. This and a continued chain of unfortunate events lead to Chikane becoming a broken soul, turning to evil. By this point I was furious. How could they put her through all of that and have the audacity to make her evil? The rape esque scene... That was just so out of character. They did her so wrong here and I honestly thought about dropping the show all together, but remained diligent in hopes that by the end, there would be a happy ending.
Despite all the anger I had towards the show for putting Chikane through all that, the last episode managed to turn it all around and it did so in such a way that it addressed all the issues I was having revolving around Chikane. Honestly, this was REALLY well done imo. I wasn't sure it could be turned around, but this heartwarming scene really did hit all the notes.

Chikane expresses her weaknesses and all of her shortcomings, ready to give up, but Himeko comes forth with a revelation. She describes how Chikane had always been there for her, that she had done everything for her, and Himeko selfishly went along with it all, never truly understanding that despite how strong and capable Chikane appeared, she was the one who was suffering the most, and she did so all for the sake of Himeko. She never understand how she felt, and never cared to ask. Only, now she knew. As Chikane is about to go off on another self-deprecating rant, Himeko, this time, is the one to embrace and kiss her, putting a nail in the coffin of doubt. It continues on with more heartfelt conversation, but everything by this point was mostly wrapped up.

As I said, this scene, though short, managed to clear everything up and untangle all of the knots that had formed through all the shit they were put through. I can't forgive what happened to Chikane, but I can respect this outcome.

This series was a roller coaster of emotion for me, but I am ultimately satisfied with the ending. Though it is a bit sad that I won't get to see more of the couple; all the shit aside, they were pretty cute together. At the end, we learn that Chikane will in fact die, and there is a very sad but optimistic scene where as she is passing, they swear that nothing will get in the way of their feelings for each other. Not death, not time nor space, not even God. Can't say I wasn't teary eyed along with them watching this part, and their promises are briefly shown to hold true. I loved the scene; Oogami confesses to Himeko, but she declines not knowing exactly why or for who she held feelings for, only that she did. This was just a great way to wrap things up and show that what they said would hold true. There is also a brief little teaser where they probably meet up in the after credits scene. I'm pretty sad I don't get to see more, but it is what it is.

All in all, despite the negative emotions I felt watching this, by the end I was pretty satisfied. I wished there was more, I would love to see what comes of their relationship, and how exactly it is that they met up again.

Let's start,

STORY: 9
ART: 9
SOUND: 7 ( x_x )

(This is a amazing anime really good, I never seen a history like that...)

The history is around Himeko and Chikane (lovely girls), i spent hours and hours watching this anime because... IT'S AMAZING!!

...
"Kannazuki no Miko is the story of Himeko and Chikane, the reincarnations of the Solar and Lunar Miko, respectively. They are two high school girls going to the prestigious Ototachibana Academy of Mahoroba, Japan. When an ancient evil rises once more, the girls are plunged into destiny as their long-sealed personas awaken to defend the world against the eight Orochi, who are the eight heads of Yamata no Orochi of Japanese folklore. When the Orochi awaken, it is the first day of October (called kannazuki, lit. "the godless month," in the traditional Japanese lunisolar calendar), which just happens to be Himeko and Chikane's birthday. The first Orochi who tries to kill the Miko is Sōma Ōgami, the boy in love with Himeko. However, after a blinding flash of light brings him to his senses, he rejects his fate and vows to defend Himeko against the other Orochi. The Miko must awaken Ame no Murakumo in order to combat the threat while Sōma repels the Orochi efforts to kill them."

This is a little preview /\

Where do I begin saying about this anime? Well. This anime started off with great promise but got ruined on the following episode. It is all about Himeko & Chikane, both solar priestesses defend against the 8 Orochi.

Himeko has 2 love interests, one for Chikane and the other for Soma. She chose Chikane in the end because she understood her situation well.

I don't mind the art and the sound, it was ok. My only problem with this show is the main character, Himeko. When something terrible happened, Himeko just cries and screams like a baby and hugs Chikane. She couldn't do anything without Chikane's ... help. Himeko always use Chikane to survive.

If anyone says that Himeko develops as a main character, I highly disagree. This is because in episode 11, when she fights Chikane, she never whole heartedly fought her and she cries and hugs her without knowing her intentions. Himeko becomes more of a crying mess. Himeko is more of a side character and in fact, Himeko really made Shinji Ikari a great hero and a great man. I always keep mentioning Shinji Ikari when I see crybabies.

Soma for one hand, he is not so much a crybaby but at least he puts in effort in what he does. Chikane is also likable because of her calm and sweet personality.

As I have mentioned, I really dislike crybabies in anime. I haven't seen enough pathetic anime characters in my life. Crybabies always annoy me to no end. So I gave it a 4. I cannot stand Himeko at all.

Every now and then, I watch old anime, hoping that some day, we can ever uncover a rare gem. I think we've found one of our first gem in a while. I'm not saying it's flawless, but it's certainly better than I expected it to be.

As short trigger warning: This anime and review depicts an instance of sexual assault.

---

Story & Characters: Destiny of the Shrine Maiden starts us out in a small village where our characters reside. They go to an academy for school where life goes on, just like for any other teenager. Himeko isn't particularly special in all this, ... but is our main character in this short series. Chikane is the popular girl in school and she is looked up to by many around the campus grounds. As it so happens, they share the same birthday. However on this same day, the village is attacked by a sinister organization known as the Orochi, who pilot powerful mechs, and aim for planetary destruction. The attack occurs when the girls' priestess powers awaken, with Himeko being the solar priestess, and Chikane being the lunar priestess. Souma, another academy student, has mysterious powers awaken in himself that also allow him to power a mech of his own, and he vows to keep the girls safe until they can complete a prophecy that is said to save, not just the town, but the world. Throughout the series, we essentially see that outside of the main story, there is another story going on - a love triangle between Himeko and both Souma and Chikane - and is where the story shines.

This series absolutely nails down just about every romantic aspect that it could, including the near ten minute speech that we see on the final episode. Every romantic interaction between our characters couldn't have had a better setup and execution. Chikane has long had a pretty hard crush on Himeko, but she finds it extremely difficult to sum up the courage to tell her. However, she always wants the best for Himeko and we see throughout the entire series how she does everything in her power to make sure she remains happy, even at the expense of possibly becoming Himeko's girlfriend. As the audience, we can clearly see how she feels and rare do we see a character go through with risking their own relationship, that could result in another. You are completely watching the first half of this series for her. Himeko has an extremely strong heart, in that she is constantly seen doing what she can to appease others. She's incredibly kind and follows her instincts until the very end. She isn't much on the surface, but she goes through on her words. Souma, who asks Himeko out various dates, acts as a bit of a bodyguard throughout most of the series, but they give him an excellent background, even if it does get confusing at times.

Side characters, similarly, don't seem like much on the surface, but do have minor backstories that we get to see on the very last episode. While these, by no means, play into their character as a whole, it is nice to see what kind of backgrounds these characters come from. Tsubasa is likely the most confusing of the bunch, but even his actions sprout from his past, and I later related him to a bit of a 'cool guy' character. We do see the Orochi members banter with each other on multiple occasions and this light-heartedness added a nice mix. All of the characters in this group have a grudge against humanity and it's nice that there was a reason for the entire "destroy the earth" story.

Where this series misses, and this is likely where this anime gets most of the hate from, is the final bunch of episodes where we see a bit of a plot twist coming at us. Do we see it coming? No, that's why it's a plot twist, but story wise, I feel like it was executed really poorly. They leave out most of the explanation until the end, and by then, I still feel like there were still a few plot holes. You also have to give a small laugh when you see members of the Orochi coming after the priestess, who essentially have no power on their own, with these gigantic mechs. It seems pretty over the top, and it is the entire time. Speaking of over the top, we do also witness a sexual assault, and anime series really have to be careful about these kind of inclusions these days. They explain the reason for this happening shortly after, and I honestly didn't mind the reason - crazy to hear, I know. So while this kind of thing is usually included in any for more cringy reasons, I didn't hate it here. (Story: 6/10, Characters: 9/10)

Art: This anime is a fine watch, considering it's almost twenty years old. You always have to ask yourself how well an anime ages, and the graphical work done here seems fine. The mech designs are unique from mech or mech, but the fighting sequences really weren't anything too impressive. You never expect anything in Gundam-quality, but the quick back and forth sequences just looked a little too crude at times. That being said, like the romantic aspect, they really did display the times between Chikane and Himeko beautifully. Unrelated, there are random moments of fan service, usually revolving around minor panty shots, but there's only a handful of them and can mostly be ignored. (7/10)

Sound: The OST was a bit up and down with some tracks that were great, and others that really didn't work for me - mostly anything that contained trumpets. However, most of the rest of the sound was impressive. Kotoko did the OP, ED and an insert song, and all three were really good tunes (Re-sublimity, Agony and Suppuration -core- respectively). VO work was impressive here as well. Stephanie Sheh (Himeko) seems to have a habit of being cast as a happy-go-lucky teenager for some of these older shows, but she performs really well here. Michelle Ruff (Chikane) is another really old name that I didn't expect to go so well, but she was fantastic - she isn't really cast in many romantic roles. Steve Staley (Souma), Liam O'Brien (Tsubasa) and Kirk Thornton (Girochi) around out a very impressive cast. (9/10)

Overall Enjoyment: If some of the details revolving the supernatural elements weren't so rough, Destiny of the Shrine Maiden probably would have been a top 10 anime for me. It just felt like they weren't completely ironed out and the back half story elements revolving around Chikane could have been a little cleaner. That being said, the romantic aspects were done so well that it still remains a strong series. I could recommend this series to anyone who likes the girls' love genre and doesn't mind some weird mech battles in between. (8/10)

Ah yes, anime with horribly chosen target audience. Almost everything go wrong because of this.

They chose Shinto as main base (rituals, prayers, symbolic, Mikos, etc.), but slapped Mechas on top of this. You can say sure, there are examples of that like Kyoukaisenjou no Horizon (to a lesser degree). But then you realize that plot revolves around girls love, and it can be indeed called Yuri because there are a lot of such relationships happen. And you think - Oh, how cool, at least Yuri fans can rejoice... yet then anime introduce male MC, and they form a love triangle. And boy, it is bad. ... Let me summarize what we have so far:

Mechas - check, but there are better series with only Mecha setting;
Shinto and related to it stuff - this is one of the strongest points of anime because it makes unique setting;
Yuri - check, but it was slammed down by introducing male MC, so it's not pure Yuri, be wary of this;
Hetero romance (?) - but this one was unneeded and got rid of halfway through anime

So as you can see, there are mix of all things that interacted very poorly in practice. In the end, there is nothing in particular that turned out good. Maybe Shinto setting alone because it had some deep lore, but this alone is not enough to make viewers happy. Romance turned out quite bad, mecha fights were lackluster and there are anyway better options, yuri was ruined with male MC that somehow persisted to the end even when anime again turned to the yuri moments. In the end, it is hard to enjoy this mess of things.

Sure, art is beautiful, and character designs are diverse and gorgeous in some cases. But honestly, it is just good-looking (for 2004 anyway) candy, with nonsensical story and poor explanation. What I mean by poor explanation? Anime starts from a point where nothing explained, and you struggle to understand unraveling events. And this kind of persists through the whole anime. There are some explanation near the end, but overall it's just not enough to make the story solid. I would never recommend this to anyone, since it appeals to no one in particular, as I described above.

It looks like a bad anime experiment if you ask me. Failed one, as user rating shows.

I loved this anime, it was my first openly yuri anime ever watched, I just wish it was longer!!! I liked how much romantic tension was pent up in the characters without notice, and I loved the yuri fanservice at end, but I was a bit confused at parts in the beginning because of time skips suddenly.

Take a fanfiction written by a fourteen year old who thinks rape is love and you get this anime.

This show was okay till it decided to go the I love you so I have to push you away, so I'm going to rape you. Of course the rape victim, I mean love interest, forgives their rapist after a whole bunch of crap. I usually see this written by fanfiction writers, but nope this was written by an older japanese man. I would like a show that doesn't have a doormat as a female lead, who thinks obsession, rape, and possession are alright ... in the name of love.

In my oppinion, this anime has it's ups and downs, and it's really close to another story "Ga -rei Zero" because of the characters, in both anime's you can easily see the same basic principle, the mentor becomes the evil one while in the end the love story becomes intense.

Artwise, it's excelent, though there is one little problem, the mecha style here looks like in the 90's anime and it moves really fast unlike what you would expect from 1000 year old robots.

The bad guys really don't exist, they only show up to die, and be resurected in the end... they aren't really good ... at fighting, maybe it's because of the script, but they seem to be lacking the badass character.

The yuri is probably the reason of this story but, I think the author made a grave mistake by combining all styles, Shinto, Samurai, Mecha, High-school, combining all of these while noting the Yuri as beeing the highlight makes it look like he had no imagination, he could have easily made a shorter 6 episode series like Bastard, and it would have been alot more enjoyable.

The sound is awsome, both themes come on like a glove to the story, I find them as beeing the element to compromise the laking of the author's imagination.

I am a man who loves to see an awsome lovestory, though the feelings are intense, they get overboard and then they end in tragedy. Unlike "Strawberry Panic!" this anime isn't about a succesfull love, it's more about a love that was denied by the gods. In "Koi Kaze" the love is natural, it's surprising, and it get's fullfiled in the end. This time here it gets denied, close to Ga Rei Zero.

I would give it a 8/10 because of the lack of fantasy on the author's part, and a 9/10 for the lovestory. If you are like me and like a great lovestory, than this anime may not be to your likeing.

I love the plot of this show- the art is wonderful as is the story. I can't say I truly loved it though, because there WERE some plot points that I absolutely hated. However, with the writing it couldn't be left out or else parts wouldn't make sense.
However, I don't recommend this to those without a strong stomach. There are some themes that will leave you twitching.
I do wish this had gone on longer, but the ending was great. The art and the music was as well, the characters had depth.
Just... certain points proceeded to freak me out, and wish I hadn't had to see.

there are many other reviews that more or less say the same thing.


would i recommend this? to someone who likes yuri yes, to someone who doesn't no, to someone who likes anime with deep seated feelings to an almost psychological level- yes


this anime starts of slow (but you push yourself through because.. its only 12 eps..)

it gets juice in the second half though.. which is sufficient to wash the bad taste from your mouth.. elevating it from a 5 or 6 to a 7

i've never watched yuri, i saw this anime as a cover for a youtube video .. possibly an AMV or ... something and thought why not. my future recommendations are as above.

the thing this anime did really well though is the concept of forbidden love... which manifests in a different way in the way the story is told.... it very much mirrors life in that regard... 2 people like each other and cannot be with each other.

also after you have heart breaks in life... there is a vast chasm you fall into... and cataclysmic response... if it is true love of course. this applies to all forms of loss... death of a spouse or parent even...

when you understand these things and watch this anime... you really marvel at the technical abilities of all involved... to manufacture what are usually indescribable feelings.. into an anime...

this perhaps is what the other reviewers allude to in their comments about the "good elements" the anime has... and its "potential" to be something greater.

it really is.. fascinating.

finally...
if you have ever been in and out of love with anyone... a parent.. a sibling.. a friend/ lover/spouse... then it may be worth the effort .. purely because you are equipped to understand the subtle skillfulness of this anime...

apart from that though, Tekkaman Blade aka Teknoman might be a better choice (albeit non-yuri choice)

Kannazuki no Miko is a combination of every generic anime trope that you could ever think of: there’s everything from mecha to shrine maidens to cat-girls to idols to slutty nuns to lesbians to the evil older brother trope to ojou-sama; there’s even a screaming, “ore wa”-saying male protagonist that could have been from Mazinger Z, G Gundam, or any other mech show with an overly eager, manly-man protagonist. This series is a blurred chiaroscuro of morality; an exhausting tale filled with soap-opera grade storytelling.

• The beginning, and nearly every opening to each episode, is filled with the protagonist—Himeko Kurusugawa—melodramatically narrating about the tragedy that is ... to come. This addition to this series makes it tiresome to watch most of the time; the slow-paced narration combined with the rapid pace of the series is horrible and ill-fitted to the mood of the show. I was not a fan of Fushigi Yūgi’s narration either, but, in that case, that slow narration ACTUALLY fit with the slow progression of the story AND the aesthetic—seeing as Fushigi Yūgi takes place in book!

• The characters are really terrible. Himeko is one of the most glaring examples of a Mary Sue that I’ve seen in my life; she’s clumsy, not particularly good at anything, and unpopular—despite her design being the most beautiful in the series, along with her love interest, Chikane Himemiya. With how ordinary and plain everyone in the show perceives her to be, it’s strange that most popular guy and girl in school both happen to be crazily obsessed with her. Himeko’s best friend even goes into a expositional babble about how Chikane is wealthy, talented, beautiful, and gets marriage proposals from billionaires on a daily basis; also adding how the male protagonist, Souma Oogami, is the most athletically gifted and the school’s prince.

• Contrary to her popularity in the show and her breath-taking design, Chikane is actually a HUGE pervert. She was so creepy, in fact, that I kept imagining her as a hairy, mouth-breathing pedophile instead of a voluptuous sixteen-year-old girl. An example of this: in the first episode, Himeko is knocked out after being grabbed by a giant robot hand and Chikane isn’t even sure if she’s still alive—she resuscitates her after this scene—but, despite that, she then continues to rip open her blouse and grope her barely covered chest while blushing! She then continues to kiss Himeko while she’s unconscious. In the next episode, Himeko wakes up to Chikane watching her while she’s sleeping. There’s even more troubling things that happen later in the series, including a “justifiable” rape.

• The mecha fights are episodic—coming and going like you’re typical monster-of-the-week series. That—combined with silly, over-the-top drama—is entirely this series. The characters’ motivations are all based on their thirsty desires for someone else and Himeko is just a naïve Mary Sue with no common sense; the defiers of this logic are some of the followers of the Orochi (a demon in Japanese lore)—most of them being generic otaku staples that have no depth further than a catch-phrase or basic personality trait.

• Overall, the series banks on the shoujo-ai romance that is incredibly off-putting rather than genuinely romantic, and every other plot point in the series is there as a means to insinuate more drama. The only two positive points in this series, that I could think of, is that the designs are pretty and KOTOKO’s music creates hype around an anime full of bland characters and exhausting plot conveniences. Kannazuki no Miko, Destiny of the Shrine Maidens, or Priestesses of the Godless Month is something that I hope that normies don’t reference when they casually mention to their friends how anime is garbage. I give this series a 2/10 and hope that nobody watches it.