Kamichama Karin

Thirteen-year-old Karin Hanazono feels like her life can't get any worse, Her parents died when she was younger, leaving her with an aunt who doesn't hesitate to call her stupid and useless over her poor grades. Her only friend, her cat named Shii-chan, passed away recently, leaving her completely alone. All she has left of her parents is a ring given to her by her mother, which she treasures dearly as the sole thing left of her past.

Kamichama Karin begins the moment her life takes a turn for the better, when she is approached by Himeka Kuujou, a cute girl who has also lost her parents, and Kazune Kuujou, her cousin who finds girls to be troublesome, both of whom are searching for a goddess. Her mother's memento ring shines brightly in their presence and fills her with its radiance, making her smarter, faster, and capable of granting wishes. It turns out that her ring allows her to become the very goddess they were looking for, and now that she has awakened that power, others will come after her for it…

Kujou, Kazune Main

Sawashiro, Miyuki Japanese

Hanazono, Karin Main

Nakahara, Mai Japanese

Kujou, Himeka Main

Shitaya, Noriko Japanese

Suzune Supporting

Koyama, Kimiko Japanese

Nishikiori, Michiru Supporting

Ishida, Akira Japanese

Shii-chan Supporting

Katou, Nanae Japanese

Kuga, Jin Supporting

Suzuki, Tatsuhisa Japanese

Karasuma, Kirio Supporting

Asanuma, Shintaro Japanese

Karasuma, Rika Supporting

Yoshizumi, Kozue Japanese

Kazusa Supporting

Miyazaki, Ui Japanese

Takahashi, Tomoko Producer

Yoshino, Aya Producer

Takahata, Yuuichirou Producer

Annou, Takashi Director

Reviews

Jun 24, 2008

Mantret

Recommended

Well well well, what is there to say about Kamichama Karin? A lot, actually. I was skeptical about this anime at first, because I thought from the picture/description it was for little kids, but I was so so so wrong. Kamichama Karin is a confusing anime, with many twists and turns, and by the end of it you're going to have your eyebrow raised and your mouth hanging open, saying "...WHAT???" But above all else, you're going to love it. Kamichama Karin is about a young girl who is given the power of a goddess through a magic ring. I won't give any spoilers away, ... but this is the first anime I've ever seen where if you don't know the spoiler, then you'll look at this anime and think "This really doesn't look worth watching." Trust me, it is. This isn't your typical magical girl fluff.

Story
CONFUSING. But I liked it. Like I said, I don't want to spoil it for anyone. I love Karin's "I AM GOD!" and I read that the author started Kamichama Karin as a joke to the magical girl genre. But nonetheless, the story turns pretty serious, even though this anime started out as a joke.

Art
I LOVED the art. The characters are adorable, with huge eyes and sweet faces. Their outfits are so cute, especially their Lolita-esque school uniforms. The art is quite good, overall.

Sound
Well for sound. I loved everyone's voice except for Himeka. Karin's is just adorable and Kujyou's is great!

Character
Here's my main complaint. HIMEKA. I cannot STAND Himeka's character. She starts off really cute in the first episode, but you'll soon find that her voice will drive you crazy. She talks so slowly, and ends all of her sentences with the same breathy, high pitched noise. Plus, her character is very annoying because you can never guess if she is good or bad, what she means to Kujyou, etc. Take Himeka out of this (or at least fix her personality/voice) and you get a fantastic anime.

Overall, if you're like me and you've just finished watching Wedding Peach and Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch, and are a huge Sailor Moon fan, but don't know what to watch, this is the anime for you.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Mar 25, 2016

GingerMuggins

Mixed Feelings

Sorry if this seems long, I have a lot of personal back story with this puppy.

I grew up with anime ever since I was five years old and saw my very first episode of "Sailor Moon" on TV. I also grew up with Studio Ghibli films. Anime was always there, but I didn't realize what it truly was until I was about 10 years old. My older sister was starting to get into anime, and so naturally I followed in her footsteps, because older siblings were cool, yo. We got into reading manga, but there was a problem: my parents were a bit strict ... on ratings. My sister could read manga that said "for 13 and older", because she was 13, but I couldn't, because I was 10. Thus, for the first couple of years of my anime and manga life, I was mostly stuck with magical girls and stuff intended for younger audiences. I didn't really mind, though, because it was anime and manga and to me, that was all that mattered.

My very first manga was volume 1 of "Di Gi Charat", characters created by Koge-Donbo, and I loved it. Being a big fan of "Di Gi Charat", I searched for more of Koge-Donbo's works. I begged to get the "Pita-Ten" manga (I wasn't 13 yet) because it was by my goddess Koge-Donbo! For Christmas I got the first three volumes and was so excited I thought my eleven-year old mind would implode.

Imagine my excitement when Koge-Donbo released "Kamichama Karin". I ate up that manga like Ponyo ate up ham. Mmm. It also pleased me because I was REALLY into Greek Mythology. Our class in seventh grade spent a whole month on Greek Mythology and to this day was one of the most interesting and entertaining subjects I have ever learned in a classroom. I told my teacher about "Kamichama Karin" and how it had references to Greek Mythology! I was so pleased!

When they announced a "Kamichama Karin" anime, I'm pretty sure I almost peed my pants. I watched it over and over, and even made "Kamichama Karin" AMVs in the eighth grade *cringe*. For the longest time, "Kamichama Karin" was the greatest thing to happen to me in my entire life.

So what the hell happened? I grew up.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love magical girl anime to death. And I'm not just talking about using the magical genre for social commentary like in "Puella Magi Madoka Magica", but the legitimate magical girl stuff. "Sailor Moon", "Cardcaptor Sakura", "Princess Tutu", "Saint Tail", I love these shows! They told girls like me that I can be super feminine and still kick ass.

"Kamichama Karin" tells me that, sure, you can have all of these cool powers, but you're going to really suck at them and constantly need help from guys to save your hiney.

Looking back on "Kamichama Karin" as an adult, it's really upsetting. I looked upon this anime so fondly from sixth to eighth grade, and it's like it was all meant for nothing. The things I liked about it during those days suddenly seemed meaningless.

Like the Greek Mythology. How cool of an idea is that? Anime characters harnessing the power of the gods and goddesses? Well, they don't really do much with it. They just kind of say "Karin, you have the power of Athena", and don't really do anything with it. Imagine how cool it would be if they dove into the history of Greek Mythology and tied that to the story, but there is no point to having Greek Myth in this story. You could've replaced the gods and goddesses with "the guardians of the tundras of CandyLand" and it would've made as much sense.

Also, magical girl anime is supposed to be where female characters shine. So why is Karin so useless? She hardly uses her power, and when she does, it either doesn't work or doesn't have a big payoff. It's usually Kazune who does all the work (and by all the work, I mean say what his power is, shoot a beam of light, and the bad guy going "oh no, you got me, i'll get you next time!").

Karin is such a disappointing character. I don't mind that she doesn't get good grades, I don't mind that she's awkward and clumsy, and I don't mind that she butts heads with Kazune. What I DO mind is how her character is portrayed as weak because she is feminine. Like I said, she never uses her powers. And instead of seeing character progression and seeing her become stronger (like Usagi Tsukino in "Sailor Moon"), she learns nothing. What's the point of a protagonist in a magical girl anime that doesn't learn anything or gain anything? Instead we just see her fawning over Kazune and Kirika.

I also think the anime didn't adapt the manga very well. While I'm not forgiving the manga for its share of flaws, taking out important plot points and characters is just a big mistake for an adaptation. Yuuki is actually supposed to be a more important character in the manga (even if that plot point isn't written very well at all), but in the anime his character is "boy who plays violin that Miyon likes". Also, there was a character in the manga named Ami who appeared. She's no where in the anime. Granted, she wasn't the most important character ever, but it would've been nice to include her. I'm not saying manga-to-anime adaptations have to follow every single thing, but maybe they could've been used to improve the anime.

Also, one of my absolute biggest pet peeves was the voice acting for Himeka. Everyone else was fine, but Himeka was so annoying. I have never heard a character speak so slowly in my life. This is the voice that I imagine if you gave drying paint a voice. You know when the teacher called on that one kid in class to read and it takes ten minutes for them to get through a sentence and you're sitting there trying not to squirm from the pain? That's Himeka's voice.

So, uh, what do I like about the show?

Believe it or not, I do like some of the characters. Some. I like Kirika and Kirio. I don't think Kirio is one of the greats in anime villain history, but I wish we had more focus on his relationship with Kirika and Himeka Karasuma. I feel like more people would've sympathized with him. I also like Michiru. Except when he gets rapey and decides to randomly kiss people. Eh. I've also always really liked Kazusa and wish both the manga and the show had more focus on her, because she's kind of like, "hello, it is I, a character that is said to be important", and proceeds to not really do anything important. But I would've loved to see an episode focused on her instead of six more scenes where Karin punches Kazune and calls him a sexist pig.

I also thought the anime did a better job with some relationships. While I was just saying how I wish it showed Kirio's relationships more, I really liked how Karin was able to see how important Himeka Karasuma was to him. I even liked the moments between both Himeka's, because we never saw anything like that in the manga.

The animation is OK, but is pretty infamous for its "quality". If you google "anime quality" in images, one of the very first things you'll see is the very infamous "Karin fish eye" screenshot from episode 4. And yes, it's hilarious. Luckily the rest of the show looks better and they did fix up some of the mistakes for the DVD release, but it still has its share of hiccups, like some more fish eyes, some anatomy errors, hair looking too long or too short, or clothes looking too big or too small.

Ok, I think it's about time to wrap this up. I've spent most of my time criticizing, so you would think I would give this anime a lower score. And yeah, maybe I should've given this a 3 (I give 4's to anime I find laughably bad). But I'm not going to, because I can't forget how "Kamichama Karin" was a big part of my life at some point.

I adored the manga, and I did watch the anime almost religiously. My "Kamichama Karin" AMV's and fanfiction were cringy and not very good, but it did help me understand good writing and good editing. Now that I've grown up, I can see the flaws pouring out. But I can't deny that once in my life, it was one of the few things I clung onto with such passion.

So, to finally wrap this all up, would I recommend this to anyone? I think magical girl anime fans will like it well enough, although it might not be the greatest thing ever. I think beginner anime watchers might enjoy it too, the same way I enjoyed it when I was beginning to really get into anime. Eventually, though, I think when you grow up you can understand that, no, maybe it really isn't all that great as it seemed.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Apr 8, 2018

LogenGT

Not Recommended

Kamichama is a magical girl anime starring a magical boy, Kazune. There are additional slice of life elements centred around the titular magical girl Karin, but she plays a surprisingly small role in the story despite claiming most of the screentime. Additionally, Himeka plays one half the part of a moe-crippled McGuffin, and a perfectly ordinary student council president Glasses Guy will fill the role of antagonist for the 24 episodes we have to wait until the real characters show up. Finally a boy named Mikorin will provide fanservice in his role as a heterochromatic pretty boy.

# How Does it Work?

Karin, an orphan, is struggling ... with loneliness and emptiness within her life. Enter fellow orphan Kazune, who along with his cousin Himeka introduces Karin to the fantastical world of being a magical girl. Despite the abuse Karin receives from him on account of her gender, the lure of a glamorous and meaningful life proves irresistible. Karin enters the conflict between Kazune and his arch-nemesis Glasses Guy as something akin to a chess piece within a larger conflict. That conflict is resolved with the intervention of characters introduced only within the final two episodes, victory abetted more or less by the power of friendship.

The animation art style excessively oversizes some cast member’s eyes as a kind of signature, to the point where I felt an uncanny valley-like effect at times. Voice work is average, although the male cast sound generally older than their implied middle-school age. Himeka stands out by employing a speaking style so slow that I feared she might suffocate if given too long a sentence.

The fight scenes possess extremely little choreography. There is no problem solving or thought exhibited, instead they appear to be merely endurance exercises punctuated by yelling at each other. Nothing materially occurs as a result of them until the final one. And then only with the sense that the writers felt like they were running out of time.

The slice of life elements work well. They concern Karin's struggle to get her needs for connection, acknowledgement, and validation met. These feel like what the show was made to do, the middle episodes which focus on Karin's life attending an exclusive private school representing the best of the show. They are a time of lightly absurdist comedy, romantic worries, and expressive reaction faces. What I liked best however was that even complete shock reaction faces (O_O) had smaller eyes than when drawn normally. It's perhaps unusual that the heart and soul of a magical girl show is found in the times when the eponymous character is trying to be a normal girl. But maybe that's the point of it all: One chooses the extraordinary in order to protect the ordinary because that's what matters most.

# Kazune as Emcee

Kazune is one half the driver of the plot (with the antagonist being the other). He acts as a patron towards Karin in exchange for enrolling her as a pawn on his side of the conflict. Representing an interesting take on the usual anime hero of his age, being a legit magical boy, more or less fine with wearing a dress, and having no objection even to implied homosexuality, he's kinda refreshing. However, aside from his desire to protect Himeka and to a lesser extent Karin, he hates girls and will explain why by method of insulting Karin throughout the series. By the end all I can really say in favour of him is that damn, he looks good in a dress.

Together he and Karin live with Himeka in a seemingly impractical 3-orphans-and-a-butler arrangement, tidally locked in a hidden conflict with the antagonist Glasses Guy. The plot of the first 24 episodes basically exists because Kazune and Glasses Guy refuse to talk about anything save fighting with each other (Karin suggests an entente, to be dismissed by both). They both seemed to be living in denial, using the fantastical situation as a refuge to avoid dealing with the grief and meaninglessness that awaited the orphans in the ordinary world. This situation remains static until the end where a new character is introduced to forcibly displace Kazune and Glasses Guy’s tired roles. After 26 episodes, I found this unsatisfying.

# Karin's Life vs Insignificance

Bereft of caring family and by the graveside of her only source of emotional support, Karin does not begin the series in a good state of mind. She responds with anger towards Kazune's constant disparagement, but lacks the confidence to disregard his opinions. I believe she comes to enjoy the attention from him because she simply has no other source of acceptance or acknowledgement within her life. Simply put, she is vulnerable, and despite appearances this is not a story about her gaining the strength to withstand this. It is a credit to Kamichama that she has such depth of character, even though the show sometimes cares little for her.

I do have to say it’s disappointing in a genre renowned for women being heroes for Karin to not rebut statements from Kazune that women need to be protected by men because they are incapable of doing so themselves. As a show notionally about a magical girl, why even introduce such statements to begin with? They have no place here.

There is a daydream sequence early in the series that is telling of Karin's desire for attention and significance. She grasps the glamour of being a magical girl because it is preferable to her experience in the real world. And this is the show's greatest fault: There is nothing for Karin but escapism. The ending doesn't provide any development for her, beyond the stultifying implication of her becoming the lead of a three-man harem.

# Romance and Frustration

Karin's relationships with women are an interesting facet of the series. However they are left unresolved, and any tension is handwaved away by the end. To the point of simply deleting and forgetting a character! These provided the most frustrating moments for me. Karin seems to be trying to escape the negative dynamic that she lives with, but avoids further developing relationships with people who care about her without also demanding from her. It's like she's inured to disregard of herself, and goes on to reject the unfamiliar. I wish the series dealt with the invalidating environment and emotional neglect that likely led her to act like this. I know it's a show about middle schoolers, aimed at grade schoolers, but there's a surprising depth of character here that the show neglects to explore.

Finally, there's a lot of titillation in the show. Kazune gets close and intimate in bed with another man, is publicly kissed by him, and gets the tired public bath treatment with Karin. She falls for both men and women, is the unwilling recipient of kisses from different men, is propositioned for a threesome, and then abducted via helicopter for an intended shotgun wedding. The show simply oozes desire and relationships, but it’s all swept under the rug by the end. And I'm not sure if any of it was ever intended to be more than fanservice.

# See Also

- Madoka for a more compelling take on Kamichama's methods and themes.
- Princess Tutu for a deeper exploration of love and sacrifice, with the contrast of an introverted main character.
- Sekai Seifuku for a more detailed and oddly more realistic story of orphan children struggling to build a home for themselves.
- Samurai Flamenco (perhaps tangentially) for being more concerned about rejecting the real world for the fantastical.

# Bonus: Moments I Loved

*Kazune emerges wearing a dress*
Karin: Kazune... kun? O_o
--
Himeka: Kazune-chan. ^^
--
Fried eel and ice cream.
--
Almost every reaction face because even utter shock was drawn with smaller eyes than normal.
--
And finally, when Himeka puts a pot on her head and marches off to war like a lone moe samurai.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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