Kamisama Hajimemashita - 10

I suppose it says something for the place Kamisama Kiss holds in my regard that I decided to make this the episode I’d try and blog to get myself kick-started during my bout with constitutional misery. I went to my inbox and while shows the H x H and SSY are sitting there – both of which I consider among the best of the year – there’s just something about this show that makes it incredibly easy to enjoy.

I’ve mentioned in the past in regard to shows like Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun how much I appreciate it when a series takes the trouble to make every character more interesting than they have to be, and it really applies here as well. Even the throwaway bit parts like the goofus from the mixer (tee hee) always come across as just a little more distinctive than you expect, and as for the main cast, It’s really in the growth of characters like Mizuki and Kurama that we can see how everyone in the main cast is a fully-developed person with their own dark side, but surprising levels of empathy for each other.

That certainly applies to Tomoe, who’s effectively the center of the series even if he’s nominally not the main character. Tomoe is a trope, undeniably, but he’s one of the most interesting examples of this one I’ve seen in quite a while. With an incredibly complicated past and a personality that makes him impossible to pin down, Tomoe provides an interesting nexus for the show to rotate around. Both halves of the episode – the flashback to his meeting with Mikage and the more light-hearted mixer chapter – shed some light on his feelings for Tomoe and why he’s having such a hard time coming to terms with them.

I’ll also be interested to see how Mikage factors into the resolution of things, which of course are going to stop in the middle of the story as told by the manga. He’s probably the biggest mystery in the cast at this point, starting with the real reason he up and left the shrine – and Tomoe with it. A simple matter of boredom, or is there something more there? He seems a benevolent character on the whole, but he’s a God – and like all Shinto Gods, it’s perilous to try to capture his motivations in simple terms. For a show that’s a straightforward and easy to watch as Kamisama Hajimemashita, it’s surprising just how much is going on under the surface.

11 comments

Aozora

December 9, 2012 at 2:21 pm

I'm just loving this! Reminds me so much of Inuyasha (one of my favorites): human girl loves demon, but the heart of the demon isn't free because of the human girl he once loved (and which is dead). Also the "new" human girl seems to be some sort of reincarnation of the "old" human girl 🙂

Karmafan

December 10, 2012 at 12:21 am

I was wondering that myself. In this series they have not showed the dead girl's face clearly. I wonder if her face looks just about the same as Nanami's?

Aozora

December 11, 2012 at 7:55 pm

I havent read the manga, but I think it does. If Nanami is not a reincarnation, why did she had the eye of the dragon king inside herself that the dead girl swallowed in the past? Shikon no tama anyone? 😉

lkk

December 9, 2012 at 6:22 pm

I was a little disappointed with the character faces in this episode. They seemed badly drawn but not drawn intentionally badly for comic effect. (Example: Your screenshot of Mizuki and the Tomoe on the porch.) Other than that, this episode delivered in usual fine way, especially the Kurama ED.

Anonymous

December 9, 2012 at 10:00 pm

This is my second favourate shoujo of the season closely after Tonari. It is funny but without losing good writing on the story and characters. I think this is a one-cour, so, like Tonari, it's gonna end soon. 🙁

~Ronbb

p.s. I agree…Mizuki's sad snake face is adorable, and Kurama's cover of ED is hilarious…

Karmafan

December 10, 2012 at 12:23 am

There is quite a bit of manga material left. Certainly enough for at least another season or maybe even 2 so if the sales are good we might see more.

Anonymous

December 10, 2012 at 3:49 pm

Let's hope for a new season to come :).

~Ronbb

GlassShadow

December 10, 2012 at 1:29 am

I find this series incredibly cute. After years of brainwashing, I'm mostly immune to anything kawaii, but this series has very adorable characters with adorable facial expressions. Yup, it's like nibbling on cotton candy.

Highway

December 10, 2012 at 1:41 am

The show's done a very good job keeping it overall lighthearted, even given the serious subjects of Tomoe's history and temper, Mikage's periphery meddling, Nanami's background and general unsuitability for the job of being a deity. But then they throw in all these other lighthearted characters who, even if they're villains, are comic villains, and never let the show get too serious about itself.

And feel better, Enzo.

witchhuntress

December 10, 2012 at 7:28 am

I can't help wondering about Tomoe's curse. What if he remembers it? I don't think 3 eps will be enough for such a wrap-up on everything, so hopefully there's another season.

I find Tomoe's personality quite refreshing. He can be cold yet be very gentle and honest. He gets worried and does not seem to deny it. He can be comedic too (his chibi faces lol). All the characters indeed are lovable in this show.

It's really a mystery why Mikage suddenly left, and I wonder if they'll answer the reason at the end. If they won't, it'll be nice if they'll have another season. Or I might read the manga since it has about 80+ chapters already. =.=

Rei Kakaku

May 10, 2013 at 6:11 am

Ah, thank god! i'm not the only one who watched this and thought of Inuyasha the whole time! I'm sorry if i offend anyone, but i think it's a bit too similar to Inuyasha.

Kamisama Hajimemashita – 10

Guardian Enzo

11 comments

Aozora

Karmafan

Aozora

lkk

Anonymous

Karmafan

Anonymous

GlassShadow

Highway

witchhuntress

Rei Kakaku

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Lost in Anime

Guardian Enzo

Related posts

11 comments

Aozora

Karmafan

Aozora

lkk

Anonymous

Karmafan

Anonymous

GlassShadow

Highway

witchhuntress

Rei Kakaku

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply