The thing that struck me right away when watching Noragami was it's setting. It's setting is very simple yet very captivating. The world of Noragami isn't packed with so many mechanics to the point that it makes the viewer confused, but gives it enough depth to make me immersed in the world Noragami presents. The thing is, like many elements of Noragami, it doesn't get expanded to the level that I would like it to be.
One thing that I really liked about the setting in particular, as well as other aspects of this anime, was how it portrays sin. For example, I liked how the phantoms were more than just random creatures for the MC's to kill off. They themselves symbolize sin, as they cause the humans in the anime to do sinful things.
Other than the setting, however, the story barely stands up to be anything above average. A lot of this is due to the fact of this being a 12 episode series. Other than Yukine's story arc, which I found to be the best part of the entire anime, almost all of the other plot points are not given much focus, to the point where I am left with more questions than answers. Why did Yato turn from being a god of calamity to a delivery god? Why did he kill one of Bishamon's regalia's? Why does Kazuma, one of Bishamon's other regalia's, feel like he owes Yato? These, along with so many other points of interest, are left with no conclusion, making the viewer gasp for a second season that we may or may not get.
Furthermore, we have the less than exceptional bad guy arc that takes up the last three episodes. The main antagonist has nothing much to him other than the usual "I do bad stuff because I'm evil" motive, which could have been solved with a better explanation of his backstory. Also, he gets introduced way too late into the series, giving him even less of an impact that he already had. That, coupled with the fact that the main herione is, once again, the damsel in distress, and you have the recipe for failure.
Speaking of, let's start off the characters with the main herione, Hiyori Iki. For a good majority of the series, she is actually a good female lead. Before the shit bad guy arc, she had a strong presence in the anime, even if the presense slowly depleted as the anime chugged along. She is shown to be a very compassionate, selfless character who will do what she is able to do to help her friends, namely the two male leads, through the problems they face. I do wish she kicked some more ass like she did the first few episodes, because my god, that drop kick on that phantom's face was badass.
Next, we have Yato, the peniless, shrineless, god. Yato is a bit of a mixed bag for me. Although he did grow on me as he started to develop as the series progressed, I really did not like him during the first half of the series. He just kind of came off as an asshole for the most part, talking about how people should die if that's what they want, even knowing full well that the phantoms were the main cause of the characters problems. However, this was also the fact that made me like him later in the series. He believes that doing all the work for others to face their sins leaves little impact, and he rather gives them the incentive to face their sins, while the person with the problems has to face the brunt of their problems themselves. I know I didn't explain this very well, but I hope you get what I mean.
A prime example showing this side of Yato is Yukine, Yato's regalia. Yukine, while not the most likeable character by a longshot, has the most character development out of anybody else in Noragami. He is someone who is more driven by his emotions rather than common sense (which makes sense considering he is a young teen at a "dangerous age", something that the other characters bring up every so often). This makes him do some reputable things, tying back to the whole theme of sin mentioned earlier. Yes, his whining was annoying at times, but it was justified to an extent, and his stellar development and climax of his arc more than makes up for it.
So, the main cast of Noragami is good, but really not anything special. Each character has positive and negative points about them, but at the end of the day, they are at least enjoyable to watch. I can't say the same about any of the other characters, however. Like the many unexplained plot points, the side characters had enough personality to get me interested, but little development or even screentime to get me emotionally attached to them. I would love to know more about Nora and why she is so attached to Yato, and I crave for more depth into Bishamon's character and her and Yato's bitter relationship, but I didn't get any of it. Once again, another aspect of the show ruined by lack of time.
Animation-wise, there isn't much negative I can say about it. Bones has always had a nice mark of quality both art and animation wise, and Norigami is no exception. I personally liked the use of more dimmer colours to emphasize the season of winter to the fullest. And even if the character designs didn't have many different colours used, especially in Yato's case, everything else design-wise was easily above average. Also, the explosions created after a death of a phantom looked extremely cool.
The soundtrack, while nothing too spectacular, was refreshing while keeping the tone of whatever scene it was used in. More electronic music was used, which was very different to what we normally hear when watching battle-shounen, and it worked quite nicely.
And of course, I can't write a review of this show without mentioning the absolutely phenomenal opening theme. If I had the chance, I would totally see Hello Sleepwalkers perform. It was just that good. The ending was very good as well, even if not to the level of the opening.
As far as battle-shounens go, Noragami was a cut above the rest. But, there are far too many problems with the show for it not to be much more than an enjoyable watch. If there were to be a second season to this show, it has the possibility to tie up all the loose ends that were left at the end of this anime. Still, it has enough value to be recommended to people who like more action-related content, and I know that there will be people who like this show more than I do. But when looking back, all I wanted was a fun, action anime get my mind off all the romance shows I have been watching as of late, and for that purpose, it did just fine.
