Kannagi exemplifies how brilliant humor and characters may polish even the most cliched plot devices into a worthy gem. The premise of Kannagi is almost capable of inducing many facepalms. A magic girl/god (Nagi), due to some ridiculous circumstance, lands into the house of some teenage guy (Jin), who despite his complete lack of experience with the opposite gender, manages to score himself a harem within the next 6 episodes. By now, you can probably fill in the rest of the plot.
Its the details that make Kannagi special.
Almost every joke in Kannagi appeared somewhere, but few of them have ever been executed so well. From the sheer hilarity of an Otaku who gets offended when anyone assumes that he loves anything remotely anime, to the Art class seniors who speak of forming a `balanced party' of adventurers (artists) to to a boss (cleaning the antic). While the animation and voice acting isn't spectacular, it support the humour perfectly. Its enough to get you drunk with laughter, enough to forget, and forgive, the rather contrived circumstances that make up Kannagi's plot.
Kannagi major weakness is in Episode 11, as it sets up the drama for the final arc. Suddenly that shield of humor is removed. The experience is akin to screaming with an excitement on one of the best rollercoaster rides you've had, only to have it suddenly slow down to 5 miles/hour and transform into a museum tour of ancient Greek literature. The drama isn't bad per se... but the experience is so discontinous that you begin to wonder if you're still watching the same anime.
In the end, Kanaggi isn't without faults. The plot is thin, the situation cliched, and the final ending, while heart warming, leaves many questions unexplained. Yet, you're unlikely to care given that it is a show that will certainly make you laugh.
Kannagi may not be perfect, but it is a perfect execution of an imperfect story.
