Back to hina-himex3's Profile hina-himex3's Profile

We all dream big. Whether it's wishing to have a huge house, the nicest car available, or even for that special someone to make an entrance into your life, nobody is an exception. In fact, even Gods do. Take Yato, the main character of Noragami. For example, he dreams of being the most revered deity in the world. But, he's a broke, minor god - the far opposite of what he hopes to be.

The story kicks off, when, while walking in the middle of traffic, Yato is almost hit by a bus, but is saved by a high school girl named Iki Hiyori. Her act ... of bravery and civil responsibility (though pointless because he wouldn't have died anyway) put her in a rather odd predicament; whenever she's knocked out, her spirit leaves her body for a period of time. And so begins Hiyori and Yato's journey of trying to return her back to normal (while also trying to make some money), along with Yato's shinki, Yukine.

The beginning part of the story reminded me a lot of the anime Yu Yu Hakusho. Both Hiyori and Yusuke (the main character of YYH) try to push someone out of the way of an incoming vehicle, only to end up out of their physical bodies, though in Yusuke's case he's dead. It's not a bad way to start a series, but it's not the most original way to begin. While the story seems promising, it ends up being a little more lackluster than it should be. It dragged on with Yukine's arc, taking up most of the episodes, while it could have just been condensed to 2 or 3 at most. The story left a lot to be desired, as in there were many questions at the end that weren't explained.

The designs of the characters in Noragami were simple and not overwhelming. The art and animation was done well, and the colors looked nice - especially with the phantoms and Yato's insanely bright blue eyes. Yato's character design was pretty cool, as in he looked like a really chill guy. Hiyori's design was average, as was Yukine's. A few of the other characters did stand out though in terms of design, while others did not. It's not the most spectacular art ever, but it was good enough. The action scenes were pretty fun to watch, especially Yato's moments. It was fluid and done well most of the time, which was also highlighted by eye catching colors. Backgrounds were average, nothing too noteworthy except for one setting at the end of the series.

The sound of Noragami was fantastic. The opening was catchy (my favorite opening of this Winter anime season), and the OST was great too. The battle music was memorable and it really enhanced the action itself. It made it more interesting to watch and was engaging. The ending was nice too. It provided a more relaxing atmosphere as compared to the fast paced opening. While the opening seemed to focus more on Yato and his struggles, the ending was Hiyori oriented and focused on her own struggles. The opening song definitely reflected Yato, while the ending reflected Hiyori. Both were interesting contrasts to each other, and they even seemed to foreshadow future events in the series.

The characters were probably the weakest aspect of the series. None of them really see much character development, except for Yukine who sees the most. Yato and Hiyori had a little bit as well, but not nearly as much as Yukine. Yukine starts off as a character most people hated, but toward the end he becomes decent, maybe even likable for some people. Most of the focus is on the main three characters, which leads to a craving of getting to know the supporting cast. Sure, quite a few of the minor characters got a decent amount screen time, but it generates even more questions about some of the other character's arcs because there's so much left unexplained. It would have been nice to learn more about some of the others, but since it's only 12 episodes, it's understandable that there's obviously not enough time to develop and flesh out the other characters.

As said before, Yukine had the most character development, but his character was still bland. Nothing much stood out about him except that he's highly emotional. Hiyori in some ways was pretty generic. There wasn't much interesting about except for her having a fascination with wrestling, but that was hardly talked about except for the first episode or two. It was mentioned, and then swept under the rug. Yato was the most interesting out of three. His personality's laid back, and his past was intriguing. He was also surprisingly caring toward others despite how fixated on money and fame he may have seemed in the beginning of the show. His character made me want to learn a lot more about him because of how amusing he is.

The enjoyment from this series was surprising. I didn't think I would enjoy the series as much as I did, even with some of the flaws it had. It did make up for its blemishes in aspects such as its above average art and astounding music. It was also entertaining to watch, even when the characters were being frustrating or even at the parts where it dragged on and became slightly boring. The enjoyment derived from it even came from the characters themselves, despite some of them being vapid. One can relate to Yato and his ambitious dreams, or maybe even Yukine and all the pain he went through. Or, perhaps even through Hiyori, where one might identify with her as being an average person for the most part, but weird events happen in one's life.

Overall, Noragami was an above average anime for the most part. It exceeded my expectations in many ways, and I think it was one of the better Winter animes that was airing. It was an interesting anime that I wouldn't mind seeing a season 2 of. It had more positives than negatives, and it presented itself very well the majority of the time. It's an anime that may not be for everybody, but it's still worth checking out, in my opinion.

Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha is a sort of feel good anime. After every episode I watched, I just had this feeling of content that felt very relaxing. But of course, that doesn't mean this anime doesn't have any exciting moments. It very much does.

Inari is a normal middle school girl that lives in Koyoto's Fushimi ward. Like many girls her age, she has a tough time liking herself, which leads to her envying her good looking and friendly classmate Sumizome. Inari has a crush on her other classmate Funbabashi, but she can't seem to work up the nerve to talk to him, as compared ... to Sumizome who has no problem with that. The plot picks up when, after seeing Sumizome give Funbabashi a love letter, Inari finds herself at the Inari shrine, a shrine for the god Inari.

There, she meets Uka-no-Mitama-no-Kami (or simply Uka-sama for short). As thanks for saving a fox earlier, Uka-sama grants just one wish for Inari. Her wish is to be Sumizome, which leads to her acquiring powers to change her form at will.

The story sounds weak, and even starts out a bit weak, but with each episode the story grows stronger with the series of morals and life lessons it presents with each segment. The show itself sounds like it's a shoujo, but love and romance isn't heavy, contrary to what the synopsis says. It may seem like the main part of the story in the first few episodes, but the romance takes a back seat to the rest of the plot once the show gets going. Plus, it's middle schoolers primarily, so the romance shouldn't be too overbearing to begin with.

A lot of people seem to think the art is decent or average at best, but I actually enjoyed it a lot. The character designs were slightly plain when it came to the human characters, but the designs for the gods were unique and quite nice, even beautiful when it came to Uka-sama. The art is rather easy on the eyes, as in it's soft and colorful. The backgrounds were pretty and had amazing detail put into them.

As for the sound, I don't remember much of the OST, so it's pretty easy to forget and doesn't leave that much of an impression. The OP was nice, but also forgetful and lacking when compared to the ED. The ED, on the other hand, was a beautiful song. I think it's the best ED of the 2014 winter anime season.

At first, Inari acts just how she's supposed to act for her age: prone to crying and whiny all around. It's easy to see how many would become annoyed with her in the first few episodes. But, her character development is truly remarkable! At first she starts off as an insecure girl that wants to be like her classmate, but at the end she's learned to appreciate herself for who she is. It was very sweet seeing her go through this transformation. Even a few of Inari's friends went through some character development, as well as her older brother Touka. This series had a surprising amount of character development for only having 10 episodes.

Overall, Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha was an interesting take on the deity concept. It didn't need romance as the main idea, unlike a lot of other deity themed anime. I would even argue that the love between Inari and Uka-sama was the main relationship. They formed a loving friendship that was very pleasant to see and experience. The characters were all fun to watch, and I truly enjoyed all of them. The moral behind the series was refreshing as well.

So if you're looking for an extremely pleasant anime that also has exciting moments in it, then this is for you. If you're looking for an anime with a nice amount of character development, then this is also for you.

Well, this is my first review, but I'll try to make it worth reading. What brought me to this anime is that I really enjoyed the anime Higurashi no naku koroni and Shiki was one of the recommended animes that was supposedly similar to Higurashi.

Story: (9/10)

So basically, the story is set in a small village called Sotoba. People start dying mysteriously and it's mainly told through the point of view of Yuuki Natsuno, Ozaki Satoshi, and Muroi Seishin, as well as a few other characters. The viewer knows what's going on, but the characters don't know of the existence of Shiki until a little bit ... later into the anime. I thought the story was pretty unique, except the whole small town setting seemed some what cliché to me, so that's why I give it a 9.

Art: (9/10)

The art is a bit strange, as in the hairstyles are a bit weird. When I watched the first episode, I was actually really put off by the hair, even to the point to where I considered dropping the first episode because it bugged me so much. But I decided against it. Once you get used to it, the art is actually very unique, which I really like. The hair isn't just the standard long, flowing girly hair you typically see, it has character to it. It almost gives characters their own individuality. So don't be too put off by the art, you'll come to appreciate it more as the series progresses. The backgrounds, too, were done nicely. They weren't sloppily done and actually looked really good. I give the art a 9 only because the art style wasn't something I was used to at the beginning of the series.

Sound: (10/10)

The sound was fantastic. I thought it went along very well with the theme of the anime. Some of the songs on the soundtrack had a creepy, gothic feel to it which I thought went along great with the vampire genre of this anime. The music was also played appropriately with certain scenes. During comedic scenes, there would be a more upbeat song to match the mood. I also enjoyed the opening and ending songs a lot.

Character: (9/10)

The characters were damn cool. For once, in an anime, there weren't any characters I hated. At first Megumi kind of pissed me off, but in the end I thought she was pretty cool. The main characters in this anime and even some of the reoccurring characters have nice background stories, nobody was really left out save for a few people. The characters also had awesome and different personalities. No two were the same. I give it a 9, though, because even though their back stories were explained, I still thought they could have gone into a bit more detail with them.

Enjoyment: (10/10)

I can guarantee you that if you enjoy vampire stories or the whole vampire concept in general, you'll like this anime. It's not too bloody, which was kind of disappointing for me, but it has just enough blood in it to satisfy you. I loved this anime and it is definitely an anime I will come back to in a few years and watch again. It is re-watchable.

Overall: (10/10)

The characters, story, art, and sound were all incredible. This was a damn good anime. If you like Higurashi or anything like it, you'll love this anime. It has mystery, vampire, and even religious themes to it. Even the few comedic moments it has you'll love. I found them to be hilarious. Also, this anime has a bit of a gothic feel to it, especially the way Sunako dresses. It's cute. So give this anime a try, and I'm sure you'll fall in love with it!