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Much more so than this first time around, Noragami has hit the ground running.
Not much time to write, but I thought this week’s episode of Noragami Aragoto was so good that it’d be a shame not to at least check in. The Bishamon Arc is highly-regarded by fans of the manga, and it’s easy to see why. It has tension, action, emotion and exposition in equal parts. Not much comedy, perhaps, but with Noragami the comedy is always suffused with an air of fatalism anyway.
I really like the way this arc has ben set up. Kugaha is an excellent antagonist, a truly reprehensible bastard without being a moustache-twirling villain, and his plan (with Nora) is well-constructed. There’s a ton of pathos, what with Yukine suffering through yet another heartbreak through no fault of his own. And it’s very interesting the way this story highlights just how fragile the existence of a God is – and just what a two-way street naming a Sekki is. Every time they suffer, you suffer – and that’s what makes Kugaha’s plan all the more despicably clever.
This arc is also bringing us closer to finding out just what really did happen between Yato and Bishamon in the past. Kazuma’s assertion that Yato was her “saviour” was a new twist, I believe – what does that mean, exactly? Were some of Bishamon’s Regalia killing her, possibly involuntarily through their own discord or pain? Whatever the truth, it’s now obvious why Kazuma has such a soft spot for Yato that he continues to help him despite knowing what his Master will do when she finds out.
What that is, in fact, is exile him – though she came within an inch of revoking his name (Kuga’s hope) after Yukine and he showed up at her mansion (how did they teleport there, exactly?) That scene is interesting in its own right, with Yukine basically calling out Bishamon as a fraud and clearly hitting way too close to the truth for her comfort, and after the fact Kazuma ends up taking refuge at Yato’s side in Daikoku’s house. The truth is out now, with Kazuma having caught Kugaha (and the very annoying Aiha) in the act of using phantoms to attack Yato and Hiyori. So now it’s a straight-up fight rather than a covert operation – though for Kazuma, convincing Bishamon of the truth is going to prove no easy task.
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Roger
October 18, 2015 at 11:30 amI really like how this arc serves as an interesting contrast to the conflicts of the previous season in that, while Bishamon might be the better provider, Yato arguably was able to establish a closer personal relationship with his regalia.
Im kinda curious though, all of Bishamon's regalias are supposed to have the -hs ending. So why is Kazuma named, well, kazuma? I haven't read the manga so I don't know if it is a story point in the same way as him constantly referring to her as Veena probably is.
sonicsenryaku
October 18, 2015 at 5:54 pmin due time
Mark
October 19, 2015 at 6:34 amI haven't read the manga, but it seems to me that Bishamon goes further back with Kazama than any of her other regalia. I'd guess he's the only regalia left who knows what went down with her and Yato. I'm curious how he managed to survive while the others were all killed by Yato. In any case, names seem rather fluid in Noragami, so perhaps the naming somehow changed after the massacre of her old regalia since none of the post-killing regalia have that suffix.
eternia
October 19, 2015 at 1:09 pm@mark : I haven't read the source, but isn't it because Kazuma was the only one who's not tainted at the time. Yato killed all the corrupted Sekki who were killing Veena. That's why he's actually her savior. Their past has become quite clear in this episode.
Earthling Zing
October 19, 2015 at 1:30 pmI think both Bishamon and Yato aren't doing well with their regalia, Bishamon is just going through her "Yukine" arc that Yato went through the last season, just at a much more colossal extent since she has dozens more regalia.