Noragami was definitely one of those anime that stood out to me this winter season. A unique concept with a really engaging theme, this anime is more than it appears to be at first glance. It had a great potential, but pity it had a few certain elements lacking to truly make it an outstanding anime. Nonetheless, it was rather well-directed.
Story
The story is rather unique, I would like to say. I say so because the anime spends to much time in the beginning to introduce the characters, that we wonder where is the main story? However, that’s where this anime shines. The overarching story has been there the whole time, blended well with the character developments, which provides an even stronger impact when it reaches the climax. Now for the actual story-line, it takes place in the modern-day Japan and revolves around our main characters; Yato & Hiyori. One day Hiyori gets hit by a bus trying to save a mysterious figure which brings her close to death. This mysterious figure was actually the Yato God, a denizen of the "Far Shore" - or after life - and now Hiyori is also a half-member of the Far Shore, and she becomes a "phantom", or ghost-like denizen of the far shore, whenever she falls unconscious.
Characters
I just have one word for the characters of this anime and that is "Amazing". This was perhaps one of the few anime where the main cast and support cast play off each other so well, that makes it not only seem realistic, but also makes it a joy to watch. Yato is a God who doesn’t have a shrine built for him, and so grants people wishes for 5 yen, in hopes that one day, he’ll finally get enough money to build a shrine for himself. He is a fatherly figure to all of the other characters in the anime. Sure, he fools around, but he always does what’s best for the group, even though his reasons are not seen immediately. While Yato is like a fatherly figure, Hiyori is the motherly figure. I would say that she is the exact opposite to Yato. She looks at things mostly on the surface, but she is always there to support both Yato and Yukine, often reprimanding them for their actions. Yukine is probably the most controversial character in the series. He's a little bitch for about half of the show as Hiyori and Yato try to work out his problems, since any feelings of ill-intent that a weapon has stings and blights the naturally pure-souled Gods. Overall, the characters in this show are just excellent and the characters by the end of the series have totally changed from what they used to be in the beginning episodes, which was pretty nice to see.
Animation and Sound
The animation and artwork was just fantastic. The studio responsible for this beautiful artwork and animation is Bones. If you haven’t heard about it, it’s the studio well-known for many great and popular shounen anime, like Darker than Black, Soul Eater, Eureka Seven and if you’re not familiar with any of those, I'll tell you it's very pleasant to the eye with fluid movements, flashy light effects and backgrounds full of details. Of course fight scenes are parts when the animation is on it's best and even comedy parts of the show keep up the high quality of animation. Also the character-designs, they are quite memorable, mostly thanks to color contrasts.
For the sound, The soundtracks for Noragami was composed by Taku Iwasaki, the genius who had previously created OST's for the famous Black Butler and Soul Eater, both of which were well known for their very prominent themes varying from rock ballads and pop to Victorian-era themes. Most of the music is light-hearted and a bit repetitive in its loops, but it sets the mood extremely well and never feels out of place. It occasionally mixes in a few classical Japanese themes into it too, and that never feels unnatural either. The battle music is the main point in this entire OST because honestly it is just that great!
Enjoyment
I enjoyed Noragami immensely thanks to it high production values, decent comedy, high quality amazing fight sequences and the overall coolness of the show. Of course, I’ll be hoping for a second season since there are plenty of story material waiting to be animated, but I guess hoping to much could lead to a bad day if it doesn't go my way.
Overall, Noragami is not perfect, as is anything else out there. But though it has its problems, I was never once bored or dissatisfied with this show to a large extent. The only thing that would make this bump up to a 5 Star Anime would be the confirmation of more to come. It was a great blend of comedy and the supernatural, it is a character-driven show that really gets you to feel and has a tone that tends to capture. This anime will most definitely have a little reserved corner in my heart as one of the greatest animes of the Winter 2014 season and I’m looking forward to the possibility of a future season!
4 STAR ANIME.
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