Story: 9/10
I was really looking forward to Noragami Aragoto from the moment it was announced, and I started counting down the days until the premiere.
I'm going to say right off the bat that I have read the manga--I read it shortly after season 2 was announced and have reread it since Aragoto began to refresh my memory. I am going to be judging the anime based on adaptation quality since it's only fair to do so, but I'm going to do my best not to let my biases get in the way.
Season 1 adapted only the introduction arc and the Yukine arc, so with this season we get to the really good stuff.
Aragoto starts right off with adapting the Bishamon arc of the manga, which has a storytelling style like a high-stakes action thriller, and is, as a friend of mine said, a bit like a Western in some of the things it does. As the first major arc of the manga, finally anime-only fans get to see the real power that Noragami's story has. Cliffhanger after cliffhanger makes this arc what it is, as well as a lot of shock value added in. I don't mean shock value in a bad way at all, by the way. Noragami's really good about using it at appropriate times without making it seem overbearing or coming out of nowhere.
I've also seen some people commenting that this arc is more like a "standard shounen" formula, but I have to disagree on that because of the structure of the story. Sure, there's fighting going on, but it's not all about the big fight. There's plenty of time for character development and backstory, as well as a lot of exposition to set up said fight.
Anyway, the Bishamon arc was perfectly done, really. Very few things were dropped from the manga (and those that were weren't anything major), and certain scenes I'd been so excited to see animated were done PERFECTLY. One episode in particular was so beautifully done that I had chills the whole time, not to mention that it also happened to be the best part of the arc. Seeing it fully animated was surreal to say the least.
Overall, Bishamon arc is a solid 10/10.
The second half of the show is where we start to run into some problems. I was under the impression they wouldn't be able to adapt the Underworld arc due to how long I thought it was (in hindsight, it's only slightly longer than the Bishamon arc and nowhere near the monster that is the current manga arc). As it turns out, they had just enough time to adapt everything in the arc. Or, they would have, if they hadn't started to severely rush things at some parts, and drag other things out too long. They did end it at the best possible spot thankfully, but took some very roundabout routes to get there.
There's also the issue of the first season OVA's. Without going too much into detail, those silly chapters that connected the Bishamon and Underworld arcs weren't just throwaway comic relief. Both ended up being important in this arc, and thus Bones had to deal with their mistake. I thought they'd incorporate clips from the OVA's to sum up the events without making it seem like you NEEDED to watch them to understand what was happening. But instead, Bones had to come up with all-new reasons for why that character was doing that, resulting in some messy cutting and replacing. Some parts felt a little weak, due to this error.
At least there was no anime-original this time, though. My friends and I were quite worried they were going that route near the last few episodes where things were going too fast, but Bones fixed their mistakes for the most part. There's some pretty important details that got cut, and by changing some other things for no real reason they created plot holes. There was also something they added which felt like a deus ex machina, and once again there was no need for it to be there.
Why did Bones make these changes? Most likely, they did it so that they could rearrange the brief fight near the end of the Underworld arc to be right at the end and thus have an action-packed finale. However, in doing so, they ruined the dramatic irony that plays a BIG role in this arc and very nearly screwed themselves over to the point where season 3 would never be possible. Thankfully, they fixed it, but there's still the matter of some big things being cut and rearranged for the sake of having a fight near the end. I really don't think adapting the Underworld arc faithfully would have felt underwhelming at all though. The arc is plenty strong on its own and I doubt it would have left audiences unsatisfied, like "That fight should have been at the end!" It has a solemn and humbling ending, and there's also the major use of dramatic irony I mentioned earlier.
There was one scene in the Underworld arc though, that was so perfectly animated I actually started crying while watching it. That's what an adaptation should be: Taking the original idea, transferring it perfectly, and maybe adding a subtle touch that doesn't seem overbearing. Unfortunately not the whole season was so, but on the other hand all my favorite scenes were kept intact. Said scene should also have been the end of an episode because of the mood of it, but the way they rearranged things, there wasn't much of a choice in it.
Art: 9/10
The reason the art section gets a 9 rather than a 10 is because of some weird animation slip-ups. I am glad they saved the budget for the fight scenes though, because it's pretty worth it to see the battles with such nice character animation. Other than that, there's moments where the characters move less than they probably should, or where their faces are blank despite not really being in the background of the scene. I also felt the colors got duller as the season drew on, whereas the beginning had really vibrant ones.
Speaking of vibrant, the ED this time around has very bright colors. It works really well in contrast to the muted colors of season 1's ED. A great thing about this one, too, is that the animations are perfectly synchronized down to the last frame. If you watch the ED's side by side, the running animation of Yato and Hiyori line up perfectly so they appear to be running toward each other. It's a really nice and subtle detail that almost made me cry when I first saw it.
The opening also has better animation than the first season's, and it also uses the same color scheme--monochrome characters, with the eyes colored in, and really bright blue and orange backgrounds. There's also a few parallels animation-wise with the first OP, but not as much as the ED. Bones also cleverly slipped in some foreshadowing (I recommend rewatching it if you finished this season), as well as a subtle frame you're only going to see if you hit pause at the right moment.
Sound: 10/10
The opening for this season, Kyouran Hey Kids, is probably my top favorite anime opening for anything ever. Never have I hit repeat on a song so much, and it doesn't get old. This opening was pretty much love at first sight too--from the moment I first heard it in one of the trailers, I thought it sounded good, and actually seeing the full thing was instant love. The lyrics also have the added bonus of matching up to the opening sequences, thus making it seem pretty ship-teasing.
The song has an extremely catchy chorus, and also features heavy electric guitar. Stylistically, it's quite similar to the first season OP, but Kyouran Hey Kids has all the verve that Goya no Machiawase lacked, and now that opening seems tame in comparison.
This band hasn't done any other anime openings or endings, but judging by the work they did here, I see a bright future ahead of them.
The ED, Nirvana, is performed by the same girl who did Heart Realize for season 1. I think I like this one better too, because it's a more upbeat song that fit for this season, and also felt pretty insulting after some of the more painful episodes. The lyrics are also extremely relevant to the character development and the direction the story takes, as an added bonus for all us manga readers out there.
Tia has a great voice, and it's really hard to believe she's only about 20. She performed the first season ED while she was still in high school, so I definitely see a bright future ahead of her too. If Noragami gets a third season, I'd love to hear her perform the ED for that as well.
The OST is another thing that leveled up this season. While all your favorite weird yet good tracks from season 1 make a comeback, Noragami Aragoto also features a whopping 36 new tracks that add to an already amazing OST. This season uses more strings combined with the electronica/synthiness you heard last season, which is an interesting mix that works. It's only fitting to use orchestral music for such scenes, and I'm glad they did. Iwasaki Taku doesn't often go this route, but when he does it hits really hard, and this worked perfectly for the more emotional scenes this season. All of the tracks in this season's OST are really memorable and all are worth a listen. While the first season could be hit or miss depending on your taste, the Aragoto OST comes off as more universally appealing, particularly where the emotional songs are concerned.
Because I'm a sucker for orchestral stuff, my favorite tracks from this OST are the ones with a lot of that. Two of my favorites are titled "Pain" and "Obsessed," which coincidentally sums up this season and my personal viewing experience. Some other ones I really like are "Zen," "Footstep," and "Yomi."
Iwasaki Taku also composed a remix for one of the weirder songs in season 1, "Noratan." The remix is really good, and is also titled as the "Love Noragami Remix," so I think it's safe to say he knows his fanbase.
Voice acting. So the sub is perfect, obviously. Hiroshi Kamiya, who's sort of a god himself, is great to hear as Yato once more. He does a high-pitched silly voice for the comedy moments, and a deep voice for the serious ones. He really makes Yato come to life with his acting.
The acting was really solid the whole time, especially so during some of the more dramatic scenes. My favorite scenes from the Bishamon and Underworld arcs had just the right amount of emotion, and as an added bonus it tears at the heartstrings too.
There's some really good work from the voice actors of Bishamon and Kazuma, who didn't have as much screentime in season 1, but who were primarily the focus of the first half of this season. Newcomers to the show, such as Ebisu, also had really solid voice acting all around.
Talking about the sub, I also have to talk about the dub. I'm almost tempted to knock the overall sound score down a few points just to demonstrate how I feel about it, but just know I'm not counting the dub's score into the total.
So the dub of this show could have been REALLY good, considering all the big-name voice actors in the sub, as well as the emotional scenes that require a solid dramatic performance. However, Funimation's work on this is merely mediocre. Yukine and Bishamon are the only two good voices out of the entire cast, the rest of whom range from average to just plain bad. Funimation did a broadcast dub of Aragoto, as I figured they would due to the show's popularity, but it's really not doing much for me. Because it was done so shortly after the first season got dubbed, all the characters sound the same, which is both good and bad. Good that there were no noticeable changes, bad in that the acting is still pretty atrocious at some points. Some of the casting is still just as cringe-worthy as last time, too.
There's also some awkwardness that came out of dropping the honorifics, which led to words being spoken too fast or too slow. One particularly awkward moment was Kugaha's "Hiiiiiyori-chan" line in the sub being changed to "Hiiiiiiiyorihithere." I get a huge kick out of that part, but not for the reasons I should.
However, my favorite episode of the series was done completely perfectly. It's even more heartbreaking to hear it in English, and for once the voice acting was perfectly on point. Even the characters whose voices I don't really like sounded good in this episode, though it was mostly carried by Bishamon's voice actor who did a phenomenal job. She was already perfectly cast, and this episode only reinforced that.
There's a lot more I could say about the dub, but I don't want this to turn into a rant, so I'll leave it at that.
Character: 9/10
The character score being knocked down a point is solely due to the anime cutting out and changing some important moments that shouldn't have been because I'm a salty manga reader.
Now that that's out of the way.
There was a lot of room for development this season. While the first season only had time with the Yukine arc, both arcs in this season give heavy development to the main and supporting cast. Yato's probably the one who gets the most development, but there's quite a lot for Hiyori and Yukine too. There's also a strong focus on developing Bishamon, Kazuma, and Ebisu as the protagonists of their respective arcs. Nora gets some development later on too.
Yato, starting off as a bit of a jerk and inappropriately obnoxious, with a dark past as a god of calamity, works on bettering himself this season. He starts to correct himself when he steps out of line, and takes action to distance himself from his history and instead tries to be someone to make Hiyori happy. Yato's all around a great protagonist, and there's a lot more to say about him, but that involves spoilers.
Yukine was a selfish brat at the beginning of season 1, and due to the events of both this season and the last, we see him grow into a strong and selfless Regalia for Yato. Honestly, if you only credit season 2 as showing "less of his bratty side" then you're missing the whole point of all the development he went through. Characters, changing as people? Shocking.
Hiyori, meanwhile, is cast less as the damsel in distress as she was in season 1 (more specifically the anime-original arc), and instead becomes a girl who takes action to care for the ones she loves and to keep herself close to Yato and Yukine. There's a slight aside to the anime-original arc, which was a nice touch to show the small amount of development Hiyori got, but other than that they pretend it never happened, and it's for the better this way.
As mentioned before, there's also a lot of development for Bishamon and Kazuma, as the first half of this season is focused on them. We get to find out what exactly transpired between them and Yato in the past, as all those long-ago events become important again and come to a head in this arc.
Noragami also has a great and continuous habit of introducing characters that will be important in the next arc--this is why the two of them weren't showcased as much in season 1, because their arc hadn't arrived yet, but there also wasn't the problem of suddenly adding new characters.
There's also the matter of the villain. Saying anything about the villain at all runs the risk of spoilers, so I'll have to content myself with saying that the reveal was handled quite well.
Enjoyment: 10/10
I had so much fun with Noragami Aragoto; probably more fun than I've had with any of the other shows I've seen. It was a wonderful treat to see a new episode every Friday, to watch it and freak out over the stuff that was animated, and to read the reactions of the non-manga readers.
I'd said prior to the first episode that I was really hyped for this season, but I could in no way predict the storm of emotions that hit when I watched the premiere with a friend of mine. We pretty much suffered simultaneous heart attacks for the entirety of the episode, literally screamed at all the foreshadowing in the opening and ending, and were barely coherent afterward. And that was only the first episode, which in hindsight was little more than an introduction to get the ball rolling.
Anyway, my friend and I proceeded to get all of our other friends into the series so that we could have the whole group as into it as we were. We also discussed the manga nonstop, rewatched the episodes, drew massive amounts of fanart, got together as often as possible to watch the new episodes, and participated in the fandom, making some new friends. All of this, combined with the actual experience of watching the episodes, made it that much more enjoyable.
I also take this time to suggest that you read the manga. Absolutely loved Aragoto with all your heart? Read the manga. Liked this season but thought some parts were weak? Read the manga. Thought the characters were cool but the story had major flaws? Manga. Didn't really like it at all? Manga's still worth a shot. Haven't watched this season yet? Read the manga first.
Not everything can make it into the anime, and thus the little details that got dropped (Hiyori's fundraiser, Yato's fixation on Capyper Land, Yukine's various cute and dorky outfits, Kazuma's weird obsession with Bishamon, the list goes on) are all worth reading it for.
Overall: 9/10
All in all, despite the screwups with the anime, these were the best and most painful 13 Fridays I've experienced, and I'm really sad that it's over now (having the finale air on Christmas was a kind of trauma all on its own). I had a lot of fun with Noragami Aragoto and I'm so sad to see it go, but of course there's still the OVA in March to look forward to, and the slim but possible chance of a season 3 in the future. Pray to Yato to make it happen!
