Kamisama is by no means a bad anime with its premise. In fact, I remember seeing the announcement when the show first previewed thinking that there was some promise that the show could deliver on... that is, until I saw the dreaded 12 episode count. So, what's to happen when Jun Maeda, a writer whose best works are that of shows with extreme detail, is given 12 episodes to work with? A whole bunch of directional changes that do not help the show at all. The first few episodes start off promisingly, getting us used to the characters with comedy — a strategy commonly used in Jun's earlier works. This comedy is then briefly cut short with episode 5, where the weight of life comes into question. As a standalone episode, it's excellent. Episode 5 introduces the situation, tells us the problem, then allows us to see how it's resolved. This isn't the formula that the majority of the episodes use, though. The majority of the show focuses on comedy and absurd situations that are designed to get you hooked to the characters. I believe that the formula of comedy -> drama that have been used in Jun's earlier works don't really translate that well in this show. Whereas in a show such as Angel Beats!, the drama is sprinkled throughout the show, not overpowering a singular episode, nor being entirely absent. Kamisama, on the other hand, suffers from having episodes that are only comedy, whereas the two highest rated episodes have a healthy balance between the two. Had this balance been evenly dispersed throughout each episode, the sudden shift to the non-comedic last 3 episodes would have been less abrupt. In all, had the show chosen a better combination between comedy and drama, and also had better planning with flow, I believe that the story could have been majorly fixed. Jun Maeda's best works come from fully developed stories that are given the ample amount of seasons and cours, and the 12 episode crunch does not help the case.
Story aside, I do love the art. The vibrant colors and unique character designs are bold and distinctive. The backgrounds have the PA Works detail that truly make each scene able to be turned into a wallpaper. There's even special attention to detail with zoomed out characters, from smug Hina screenshots to various facial expressions.
The soundtrack of this show is another aspect that I enjoyed as well. The opening and ending aren't the most memorable, but they certainly are still a delight to listen to. I've been a Yanagi Nagi fan ever since I watched Oregairu, but using her as the singer for both the opening and ending works. In regards to the background music, the soft piano music used during tense moments was a noticeable track that I enjoyed listening to whenever it came up.
While certain ideas can be said to defend characters in the show, there are still some inexcusable things that must be said about some of them. While the show has a similar premise to Clannad with the main female lead, Yota is no Tomoya. He's a blank slate that was given the title of main character — something that he even references himself. His actions usually make sense, but when you consider the last part of the show and how he breaks the rule laid out when visiting, not once but multiple times, you begin to doubt his common sense. Yota isn't an idiot, but whereas the last part of the show should have been used to show that he has changed as a person due to the last few months, we get the opposite. Yota hasn't changed at all, and is extremely excitable at the last part of the show. He's impatient, self-centered, and his actions in the last section of the show work to make me dislike him more than the trust the show built up with the earlier sections. With Hina, her actions begin to make sense when the rest of the plot is revealed. I have no qualms against her character, but I do believe that the choice to pursue romantic interest outside of an adoptive brother & sister relationship was an awkward choice when seeing the age gap. In regards to the side characters, none of them really stand out aside from Izanami's dad, who is the only one that actively changes in the show. Everyone else is static, and it makes me wonder whether the original story was going to move into showing a deep and emotional problem that each character had, and how Yota was going to solve it. However, instead, we have a unique but static cast of side characters.
I thoroughly enjoyed this show from the first episode to the eight episode. While the comedic episodes felt more like filler that avoided the main story at hand, they did have a certain charm to them that was almost like it was reassuring us that nothing bad would happen. Episode 5 rolled around and suddenly we were treated to a classic Jun Maeda emotional episode, and then it was back to comedy. Episode 8 was when we finally got into the meat of the story, what was happening to Hina, why Hiroto was doing what he was doing, and the background that we all were asking for. My concerns only started from there, since there were only 4 more episodes to go and the story had just begun. It was clear at this point that there were not going to be enough episodes to fully flesh out the story. While the last episodes weren't bad per se, it was so rushed that I couldn't help but ask myself what and why was anything happening.
Jun Maeda previewed this anime saying that it would be the saddest work that he has ever written. While I can say that the ending, had it been written correctly, could be a contender, the execution given in the show does not hold up. The premise is there, but the story just isn't meant to be told in 12 episodes. This series had great potential, with an interesting premise and an idea for an ending that could have been the saddest Jun Maeda work to date. However, with the low episode count, strange directional decisions, and overall imbalance between comedy and drama, Kamisama is unable to deliver on its promise.
