This anime really hit home with me. The love is so beautiful. I watched this because it was in related videos with Strawberry Panic and I think I liked this better. The first episode was extremely confusing the first time I watched it, and many people would be tempted to drop it, however you have to keep plugging through if only to reach the final episode. Now I laugh at the first episode because many parts are just so STUPID.
Story:8
The story was interesting to say the least. Once you got past the whole, "demon-worshippers battling in giant mechs" thing it was a very intriguing plot. I thought it combined the schoolgirl theme with the Shinto priestess pretty well. However, there were definitely some holes and it seemed that in the second half of the anime the story decided to go a different direction. Less "slice of life mixed with random robot battles" and more "awesome battles mixed with internal turmoil mixed with plot twists" As you can see I liked the second half of the anime much better. So the story was pretty good, but not the reason why you watch the anime.
Art:9
People have complained about the art not being up to quota but I beg to differ. I thought most of the art was beautiful! The panning shots of the village, the gorgeous rose garden, the huge and elegant Himemiya mansion... it was all so well done. I found the vibrant colors to be a positive attribute. Again though, I still didn't like the mechs or the practically neon colored attack that Souma used at the end of almost half the episodes. Those overly flashy displays detracted from the otherwise lovely scenery. The characters were drawn very nicely, my only complaint is that the necks looked a little bit giraffe-y at times. The animators obviously put a lot of effort into creating such a great-looking anime.
Sound:9
The OST for Kannazuki no Miko is stunning for the most part. It's filled with the sad, elegant strains of Chikane no Theme throughout many songs and each song's name and place in the anime is fitting. There were only a few songs that I wasn't very fond of, but they were palatable, and part of it was just personal preference. The music was all well composed. The OP and ED were Re-Sublimity and Agony by KOTOKO. These songs had an electric feel to them yet they somehow fit in even with the classical score. I preferred Re-Sublimity, but Agony was also good and I think it was very appropriate to have that as the ED.
Character:7
Now, here's where I really get going. There are three main characters in Kannazuki no Miko, and COINCIDENTALLY they're in a love triangle, with the two most popular students in school competing over a shy little nobody.
First off, Oogami Souma.
Ugh.
I absolutely hate Souma. He's an annoying idiot who has nothing to say except for "I will protect you!" He's like the knight who looks good in armor (or on a motorcycle in his case) but when you look inside the helmet, he's a shallow dweeb with no redeeming quality except for his incessant urge to protect. If he had not been a rival to Chikane in the love triangle dynamic then he would have had absolutely no purpose in the anime. As it is, he's mostly just there as eye candy and as a false hope for all the non-yuri fans. That's all there is to say about his character. He deserves a 1.
And now on to Kurusugawa Himeko. I don't hate Himeko as passionately as I hate Souma however, I dislike her. At the beginning of the story she is almost unbearable. She's silly, shallow, has no-self esteem and yet generates no pity. Her dub voice grates on my ears and I don't love the smile that everyone is clamoring to protect. She cries waaaay too much and is completely dependent on Chikane and Souma. There's only one thing saves Himeko from being as awful as Souma... Chikane.
Himemiya Chikane is the saving grace of Kannazuki no Miko. She is such an amazing, beautiful character. Not only aesthetically but motivationally too. Her intentions are enigmatic all the way until the end. She is the one character who is not two dimensional. She is self-sacrificing, smart, supportive and so many other things. And that is the only reason why I tolerate Himeko, is because Chikane loves her. Towards the end when Himeko finally realizes her feelings for Chikane, that's when Himeko shines. But Chikane shines the whole time. Her voice actress is so perfect. That is exactly how Chikane should sound and Michelle Ruff portrays different sides of Chikane too. Himeko's best friend, the lunar priestess, Miya-sama, an evil Orochi, and finally, a sixteen year old girl who's found the love of her life. Nothing in this anime moved me even close to tears except for Chikane's heartache at having to make Himeko hate her and Chikane's tears when she's so cruelly parted from Himeko. Chikane is the only good main character in my opinion.
Then there are the other six necks of the Orochi. At first, they just served as comic relief and as enemies for Souma to effortlessly bowl through. Personally I actually kind of liked Sister Miyako and Reiko but the other three just annoyed me slightly. And then there was Tsubasa. Souma's tragic, sociopathic, long-lost brother. He's the definition of epic. And throughout the better part of the series he was the only side character with any depth. He had more depth than Souma which is really quite sad. Then within the last two episodes, the other Orochi were given a whole other layer, but they were already out of the picture. So aggravating.
There were more side characters that I can sum up easily: Yukihito: eye candy, Otoha: wannabe rival and sparkling eyed Chikane admirer, Kazuki: classic mentor who knows all the legends and wears a robe, Saotome Makoto: cute cheerful sporty girl who is an unexpected ally, and finally Izumi: school bully and another sparkling eyed Chikane admirer.
Enjoyment:10
There's no doubt, I LOVED watching this. It. Was. Epic. That's really all that needs to be said.
Overall:8.5
This was a really great anime. The OST, art and story were all really good. Unfortunately characters like Souma, Himeko, Girochi (creepy pedophile), Corona (resident stuck up priss) and Nekoko (sadistic cutsie catgirl) dragged th score down. If not for them Kannazuki no Miko would be a 9.5 for me. Thank goodness Chikane saved the day by actually having a point. In summation, if you are a fan of yuri, mecha, Shinto legends, drama, gorgeous anime or just a beautiful love story then this anime has something for you.
