ALRIGHT, NOW THAT SAID, Let's begin my mediocre review.
I. Story/ Plot & Pacing:
Like many others I watched the anime first. Yes, I liked it. And Yes, there were plenty of things I didn't understand AT ALL. The reason being that the manga takes good time explaining various things (it has excellent pacing btw, the manga) but the anime is just 12 episodes. 12 episodes of 25 minutes each, no, not even that will do justice to something the manga explains in 12 chapters. This might sound unbelievable, but... well, that's the truth. The anime is rushed, especially with regards to Yukine's Arc (which is the first arc) and because of this, I think, Yukine's character doesn't develop as well as it did in the manga. More of that later.
II. Characterization:
While the manga brings out the very best when it comes to character development, the anime doesn't do so good a job. Again, this is because it is only 12 episodes. I enjoyed the anime when I saw it, but after reading the manga later on I understood what the anime had missed out on. Yato, Yukine, Hiyori, Mayu, Kofuku, Daikoku, Bishamon, Kazuma... they all have spectacular characters but the anime doesn't do them justice. Well, not as well anyways. For example you see Bishamon in season 1 and she's depicted as a revenge-hungry, Yato-blood thirsty villain - when in reality that's not what she is at all!
This would probably be the anime's biggest flaw - in twelve episodes there's only so much you can do.
III. Art & Animation:
BONES always delivers when it comes to this, and Noragami is NOT an exception. The art and animation is SPECTACULAR in my opinion and this is no surprise - BONES is famous for its high quality production team.
IV. SOUNDTRACK:
YES, IT IS IN CAPS. It's because Noragami's soundtrack is SO EPIC on SO MANY LEVELS that it's impossible to put it in words! Noragami's soundtrack defines the show's entire personality - something you don't find a lot of other shows having. Taku Iwasaki is a genius! After getting the CD and playing it on repeat for something like a month (I still do LOL), I find that I cannot watch OR read Noragami without this soundtrack playing in my head. IMPOSSIBLE. SPECTACULAR. ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT.
V. The Ending:
The only qualm I have is that the anime veered off at the end. After Yukine's arc, theoretically it is supposed to be Bishamon's arc. But to conclude as an ending to season 1, they decided to put in a subplot (Yato vs. Rabo) which isn't even in the manga, to be honest. It's a side story special instead. Integrating this minor story with the original was not... um, a very good choice, but I don't blame BONES because Bishamon's arc is a hefty piece. You need a minimum of 10 episodes for that alone, and I suppose BONES wanted to see how season 1 goes before going any further. Which is why the anime abruptly ends the way it does.
Hey, but then we have Season 2 which looks like it will stay true to the manga adaptation of the second (Bishamon's) arc! :D! Woohoo!
VI. Overall:
The anime was decent. I liked it enough to get into the manga (which I should mention at this point is ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT, SO GO READ IT!) and therefore, I am now obsessed with Noragami. With this show you will find yet another quality anime - I guarantee that.
I'm pretty sure that the a few of the low ratings for Noragami (like 5, 6 and 7) are because of the rushed-12 episode factor. If not for that, the ratings would've been pretty high - like the manga (and even season 2, yes!) has ^^/
