What if evil or bad thoughts, such as the desire to end your own life, didn't come from your own consciousness? What if there was someone working behind the scenes possessing you and prompting you to even have such thoughts? And what if there were others destroying these defilements and, in the process, eliminating such thoughts from your mind? While these questions would seem strange in ordinary conversation, they are explored in "Noragami", a fun but flawed bangsian fantasy influenced by such works as "Bleach", "Soul Eater" and even "Inuyasha" to a degree.
Story & World (7/10):
"Noragami" is largely set in between the afterlife and the world of the living (or the Far Shore and Near Shore as they are referred), where Phantoms latch on to the depression of people and make them do all sorts of bad things, the most prominent being committing suicide. Thankfully, there are gods (yes, gods) who work to destroy these creatures and eliminate such thoughts from their minds. One such god is Yato, the 'stray god' of the title, who, as the name implies, is a minor god with not even one shrine dedicated to him. His lifelong dream is to build his own shrine and become a god that everyone bows down to. To accomplish this, he works as a delivery god, taking whatever job people give him for 5 yen. One day, an ordinary school girl called Hiyori Iki encounters this outsider after saving him from being hit by a car. However, she gets hit as a result, and wakes up in her family's hospital discovering who Yato is. Furthermore, she finds out that she has become a half-Phantom and stuck between the Near Shore and the Far Shore. Horrified by this change, she pays Yato to fix her condition.
Unfortunately, despite being a god, Yato can't do very much by himself. To tackle large jobs, he needs a Regalia, the spirit of a human moulded into a weapon. Thankfully, Yato soon finds one in the form of Yukine, a teenage boy. Together, the three of them take on jobs and soon Hiyori and Yukine realise there's a lot more to Yato than meets the eye.
The reason for the story's not-so-glowing score is that it's little more than an introduction. Ultimately, we have this fantastic concept and the show does very little with it, with the bulk of the story being Yukine learning to cope with his new life with Yato and them (along with Hiyori) gradually forming a bond. Thankfully, the last three episodes rectifies this somewhat by having a great battle between Yato and a figure from his past, complimented by a touching ending.
Art & Animation (8.5/10):
"Noragami" is very well-animated, but it feels kind of lacking considering it only came out a couple of years ago. It seems to rely a lot on wacky facial animations just to get comedy across, when what's happening on screen is funny by itself. What looks really good, however, is the Phantoms. Yato says in the second episode that they come in all shapes in sizes and he is absolutely right. There are many that take the forms of various animals including frogs, butterflies and even scorpions. Besides the variety, their design is amazing, having a distinct CGI look to them.
Sound & Dialogue (9/10):
"Noragami"'s soundtrack is really good, having some really great themes, the most notable being the opening, "Noratan" and "Misogi". This also happens to be the first anime I watched start to finish in dubbed and subbed and I would say I liked both about the same. They both have their own strengths and advantages over each other. Bryn Apprill, for example, does a better job at voicing Hiyori than Maaya Uchida, while Hiroshi Kamiya makes for a better Yato than Jason Liebrecht. Yuki Kaji and Micah Solusod, on the other hand, deliver equally good performances as Yukine, giving two distinct voices that both fit him really well. Besides them, each version contains a strong supporting cast including Alexis Tipton, Eric Vale, Miyuki Sawashiro and Daisuke Ono. "Noragami" also has more than its fair share of good dialogue, both awesome and hilarious.
Characters (9/10):
The characters are brilliant, having more than one dimension and believable personalities. As I said before, there is a lot more to Yato than he appears. Despite coming across as lazy, selfish, greedy and an outright pervert most of the time, deep down inside his soul lies a very tragic, remorseful figure. As a god of war born from a wish, he killed many people in his past and eventually became sick of it and now desires to leave that past behind. He also has no sympathy for those who choose to commit suicide and while unsympathetic characters are universally hated, (due to being nasty and spiteful towards people who have usually suffered enough for the audience to feel sorry for them) Yato avoids this by having a good justification. Souls who commit suicide can't become Regalias. Therefore, every single Regalia (Yukine included) are people who lost their lives unwillingly. Yato despises seeing people waste lives that Regalias would love to live, believing that even if things are painful and tough, people should appreciate what it means to be alive at all, which, when you think about it, does make a lot of sense.
Hiyori is a great character as well. After the car accident, her soul frequently slips out of her body, turning her into a half-phantom. In this state, she gains a cat-like tail (which is actually the thing that connects her soul and body) as well as superhuman strength, speed and agility. Despite being raised to be lady-like by her mother, in private she is a huge fan of the martial artist Tono, and frequently copies his moves against Phantoms. While she can't outright destroy them, she can definitely hold her own and in fact saves Yato's life several times. She also has the kindness of a typical anime heroine, judging by the fact that she's established as risking her life to save a complete stranger.
The main arc puts a large focus on Yukine's development, as he learns to cope with being dead and how he can't do what the living can do anymore, as well as being thankful for what he does have instead of complaining about what he doesn't have. Then again, his early attitude is kind of justified as Yato initially sees him as a tool rather than a human being. It takes Hiyori to finally have the two come to terms with each other and she does so in more ways than one. The supporting cast is cool, but they're called the supporting cast for a reason, and so Hiyori, Yato and Yukine get by far the most screen time, with them only helping every now and then.
Enjoyment (8/10):
"Noragami" may seem boring for some as not an awful lot happens overall. The anime is definitely fun to watch but if you're expecting anything massive to happen you will definitely be disappointed. That being said, it is very funny and will cause you to laugh out loud multiple times, if you're into comedy that is.
Overall:
Despite its obvious flaws, "Noragami" is great fun to watch with awesome music and interesting characters. It may not do very much with its concept, but what it does do is still good in its own right and makes this anime at least worth a look. For more on "Noragami", be sure to check out for my review for the second season, "Noragami Aragoto".
Score:
7+8.5+9+9+8=41.5/50=8.3/10
