Reviews

We all take things for granted, be it the fact that we live in a comfortable, large house, or that we have caring relatives and friends who all care very much about us. We never really stop to look at the bigger picture, seeing just how much is behind our lives and how much we are supported even without realizing it. Kamisama Kazoku (God/Divine Family) is a story about... well, family, as the name suggests. It raises questions like what really makes a family, and how important family actually is. But it's not only about that, it's also explores relationships and maturity, and how they go hand-in-hand as you come of age. The anime tells this tale of a divine family, living among humans so that their children will learn what humans are like and how they interact and help one another, so that they in turn will become great gods themselves one day. The family's only son, Samatarou, was granted a guardian angel at birth, who would stay by his side until the day that he would finally become independent. This guardian angel, Tenko, becomes much like a twin sister to Samatarou as they grow up, so much that he begins to despise her constant nagging tendencies in his high school days. However, as they encounter strange, unexpected experiences and situations together, their relationship changes, and Samatarou learns to both not only regret taking things for granted, but also see things in a new light like he'd never done before.

Story (8/10): Kamisama Kazoku is split up into three story arcs, all of which highlight a different obstacle that our cast finds themselves in. These situations are mysterious and supernatural, and require a degree of maturity and acceptance to overcome. These story arcs are cohesively tied together and frequently reference each other, enhancing the plot as a whole. My gripe about the way they set this up is that some of these story arcs have strange loopholes and unexplained plot conveniences, however these are infrequent and the majority end with a very sensible conclusion despite the situation being fairly mysterious and confusing at first glance. The last story arc becomes a little dark, especially towards the end, but in my opinion it worked great, and definitely gave these characters their final push towards becoming better people. The story overall is charming and is especially enjoyable with such a colorful cast of characters.

Art (8/10): I am biased with it comes to this anime's animation and artstyle. To most, it may seem overly simplistic and outdated, but I personally love it. The character design, particularly with our two main characters, is really appealing and charming and I really liked it. Again, this is very opinionated, as the animation is still quite old (a decade old, in fact!) obviously making it inferior to anime these days. However, the gag/comedic moments are all animated well for it's time and just make this anime's atmosphere a lot lighter.

Sound (7/10): The sound in this show was good. The sound effects themselves were fairly subpar, but they managed to do their job decently which is really all that matters. The voice acting is excellent, no complaints with that. The opening and ending themes are both great, especially the opening theme! It's super catching and groovy, and wouldn't mind listening to it again at all.

Character (9/10): I absolutely loved the characters in this show. Samatarou's family are all hilarious and charming, especially his mom and older sister. They never felt stale or uninspired to me, and they were caring and thoughtful at times when it really mattered. Samatarou at first is selfish, distant, and mean to his family members, including his guardian angel Tenko, but he grows fundamentally as a person throughout the series and learns to see that these people are more than just cardboard cutouts; they have feelings and they genuinely care about him, something which he's taken for granted for many years. Tenko is also a great character in my opinion, she's caring but also a little tsundere (they both are as a matter of fact) but at no point is it over the top. She herself matures and learns to accept that even though they aren't officially related to you, people can be your family as long as they care about you.

Enjoyment (9/10): I really liked this anime. It was charming, funny, dramatic, and romantic and times when it needed to be and had a brilliant conclusion that gave everyone a happy ending and resolved the love troubles and doubts between the two main characters. The anime may be confusing at times, since the story arcs that make it up are generally pretty random and strange to begin with, but as they start to make sense, they become very enjoyable and a blast to watch through. The cast of characters was fairly small, but they all played their part well and aided the story in their own way.

Overall (9/10): If you have the time and you're a fan of comedy, romance, family chemistry/relationships, character development, drama, supernatural themes, and just plain charm, you should definitely check out Kamisama Kazoku. It was captivating until the very end, where I believe it had it's strongest point, and then concluded wonderfully. At times it may be a little frustrating or confusing, but the payoff is definitely worth it. And, although this may be a bit of a spoiler, it's one of the few anime I watched where the childhood friend actually wins! =O (you should probably watch this for that reason alone)