In the beginning we are introduced to Iki Hiyori who, while searching for a stray cat, jumps in front of a car trying to save our other hero, the tracksuit clad god Yato. While she sustains no serious injuries her spirit sometimes escapes her body and can move around independently. While she is still in the hospital she catches Yato checking up on her, who then explains to her that he is a barely known god without a shrine and does work for anyone prepared to give him a contribution towards building a shrine. They hit it off quite well and she hires Yato to help her stop escaping her body.
The story itself starts of in a unbelievably lighthearted manner, it just oozes this positive energy. Then we witness the gradual descent into darkness as the story becomes darker and darker, but manages to transition so seamless that I managed to forget that this was ever a comedy until the very end. This transition is not uncommon in anime but the transitions are rapid and normally seem forced because of that like in Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica, while it was a great show I never managed to enjoy it as much as I enjoyed Noragami. There are some problems in the story and a few questions go unanswered, the ending could be executed better but overall the storytelling is exceptional.
The characters are positively awesome. First tracksuit wearing god Yato, who has to be one of the most original and funniest characters I have seen. His shameless upfront personality, his reactions on the ridicule of others and his extreme enthusiasm for doing meaningless jobs. I just cannot forget him spray-painting his adverts for his “divine” assistance. This is how he is in the beginning but later on the story starts to slowly get darker and darker and he changes appropriately and some of his dark secrets start coming out. Hiyori is this average playful high school girl without a care in the world before meeting up with Yato. Her personality would be best described by that of a young cat and even the animation emphasises that as her spirit form features this nice tail. Through the anime her personality remains the most static, but we can get to know her caring side while she is worrying about Yato and Yuki. This brings us to Yuki, Yato’s divine instrument. He is a untainted spirit who Yato can make transform into a sword with which he can use to fight evil spirits. Yuki is a young boy who is extremely stubborn and selfish in the begging but later on changes into a respectable character. We also have several other side characters all of which are at leas interesting if not amazing, my favourites have to be the god of poverty Kofuku and her divine instrument Daikoku. She has the form of a young girl while he is this gruff middle-aged man who is completely devoted to her.
Noragami also deserves praise in the art department as the animation is just beautiful if not particularly original. The characters look great and feel distinct, the animation is smooth and the backdrops detailed and lively, the fights beautifully choreographed, so all in all I have to say I was really impressed by the look of the anime. I would have to point out just how beautiful eyes the individual characters have and that manages to make Noragami stand out of the crowd. I haven't even noticed the soundtrack, which is in my opinion great, as that means that there was never a moment where it felt out off place. The opening was exceptional and quickly made it’s way into my iTunes library while the ending is pretty great as well.
Noragami is not perfect but it manages to get pretty darn close, the balance of seriousness and comedy is about as close to perfection as you can get and while there were a few problems and a mediocre ending it still deserves a 9 out of 10. I can wholeheartedly recommend this to everyone and I am already waiting for the second season to come out.
