To be totally frank, I'm not usually one for the typical shounen, and tend to like the dark more gritty animes. I usually watch these sort of shounen ones when I just can't find anything worthy of my tastes. But oh boy, was I glad to have picked up Noragami. This anime really sets in the terrifying mind set of being forgotten by all the people around you, and what one must to do be remembered and to feel wanted by those people. I found each time Yato struggled to maintain himself, through being remembered and worshiped, my heart would go out to him and I felt the pain of being lost and old and forgotten.
-I'm not going to rewrite a synopsis, so if you really want to know all the nitty gritty details, read it at the top-
The story revolves around God names Yato, his regalia and a half phantom, Hyori. I learned to love each and every character in this series - each having good character and executing realistic choices int he plot of this anime. The blend of Japanese folklore was very visually interesting, and I always seem to enjoy those types of anime with underlying subtexts and messages.
I tend to dislike when Main characters are treated badly by the rest of the cast, just because they seem to give off a weak or annoying sort of aura ( even if us viewers know how bad ass they really can be) So i was very cautious with Noragami. It seemed like everyone thought Yato, the protagonist, was your typical bum and purposefully exclude him for only that reason, even if he was a god. But that soon turned around, in about the second episode. Sure, they still liked to tease the protagonist about his habits and how poor and helpless he was - but there was still a sort of underlying respect that each character had for him, and they grew to cherish Yato. Hyori for example, explains her dislike and annoyance in yato, yet still respects him and wants to be with him. Hyori is a typical female lead, who can actually hold her own and has a decent personality. I have a thing with helpless female leads that pisses me off to no end, so seeing a female character, strong and willing like Hyori, is a breath of fresh air.
The art is stellar. I tend to be quite nitpicky with art and Noragami was outstanding. The character designs were realistic, clothing appropriate and animations amazing. The colours used for the fight scenes and phantom deaths made you want to stare at the sequence for hours, analyzing the design of the star that seemed to explode out whenever Yato killed a phantom. The phantoms themselves were drawn organically lovely - but still gave a sort of creep atmosphere. The blights and eyes were done marvelous, showing the disgusting of infection. The blue hue all over yato gave him a godly aura, yet he still looked human from the blend of his modern clothing. I could go on but I wont. Just that the art of this anime seemed to never cut loops and always keep me interested.
The OST is absolutely amazing, bringing in traditional Japanese music with a sort of modern rap and hip hop themes. The opening fits extremely well, though it changes three times throughout the series. I didn't mind it at all, and actually enjoyed seeing the variety. The ending was cute, not that memorable but I did actually watch the ending, which I never do so that's saying something. The music during the fight scenes was intense, and got you into the mood of traditional style, not unlike the Yato god himself. The music for the phantoms was down right creepy, and suited the atmosphere to a T. And finally the music played for yato's silliness... was down right hilarious. The funky off tones of the beat made me giggle every time even if the situation wasn't that funny.
Yato in particular is a very interesting character to follow. Development wise, he didn't really change much outwardly form what originally saw. I would almost call it a sort of backwards character development, because we got to see how he developed into the Yato god he is now. Throughout the anime I found myself gaining respect for the god, seeing his struggle and triumphs. He mirrored it through Yukine, his regalia. Yukine had the most character development in this anime. We see him rise, to fall, to slowly rise back again. His personality was bitchy, yes, but with good reason. Characters who lash out for no reason, and all the cast seem to be okay with it is just plain bad writing, but Noragami gives Yukine a damn good reason for it and has the characters react to it positively, because of particular a reason as well. Forget about a hollow anime, this one actually bothered to give good, concrete reasons for a melt down, which I find animes recently have been lacking severely. The interaction between Yato's extravagant character and Yukine's major attitude was very interesting to see. Both grew closer together throughout the anime making me yearn for more scenes of Yato and Yukine interacting.
This anime gives a perfects blend of action, comedy, supernatural and mystery that will have you itching for more every episode. The anime is well spaced, even though it diverges slightly at the end from the manga (if you bothered to read it) - but still keeps it fresh and fulfilling. I would recommend this anime to anybody, and hope you enjoy it as much as I did - this anime will always have a special place in my heart.
