Noragami – 08

Perhaps it’s the Toyosaki Aki character that everyone should really look out for.

Kofuku is such a badass~. Noragami has such great characters. …And then there’s Yukine. Not that he’s not a great character, but he’s been causing problems for everyone else for more than half of the season now so I’m sure some people have run out of patience with him by now.

Welcome to week 5 (6?) of Yukine experiencing issues. He’s still being a bit of a brat, but this week made him a bit more sympathetic than the last couple of episodes have been. Obviously he’s really feeling the full gravity of being dead and not being able to join in with other kids his age. Not only did he seem excited about fun things like hanging out with friends, but he was even interested in the more mundane things like wearing a uniform and school work. He seems to miss every aspect of life, and of course, he can never get that back. Yukine has been angst ridden for a long time in the anime, but at least they’re giving good reasons as to why that is. Yes, he needs to get over it, but at the same time, his mentality is totally relatable and you can’t exactly hate him for acting like he is. …Okay, maybe breaking all of the windows is a bit extreme, but it’s not like he has much room to vent.

Of course, with that, it’s easy to see why he would be annoyed with Manabu. The real parallel here between the two characters was the fact that neither had a place to belong and while Manabu could find one any time he wanted, Yukine can never get one. …Which doesn’t really seem that true, since he always has Yato (while BL fangirls rejoice; there was that line about Yato wanting someone special too). However, as for the rest of society, that will all eventually leave Yukine behind and he seems well aware of that. Even Hiyori will age eventually. Though next episode should be the end to Yukine’s angst in one way or another, since Yato has hit his limit and is definitely dying. Thank goodness Hiyori took charge this episode and even finally snapped (kind of) at Yukine. She’s been consistently helpful at least (which keeps her relevant), and she seems to be aware now that this situation is partially her fault too. Not that there’s much she could have done and her actions in defending Yukine seemed like a good idea at the time, but she’s definitely feeling a little guilty about Yato’s condition.

Yato is pretty bad at giving advice though (or at least at first glance). Of course, he probably has had countless experiences with this kind of situation and knew exactly how to handle it, but handing the unstable kid a knife doesn’t really seem like a good idea. Obviously Manabu didn’t cross the line, but it was pretty close. Yato probably could have solved this easily by cutting off relationships, but this was was probably actually better for Manabu. This experience seems to have given Manabu a bit of courage now, and he probably couldn’t have gotten it if Yato had magically solved his problems. The situation might have even repeated itself eventually. So in this case, Yato was the perfect person to solve the problem since he’s not weighed down by society’s conventions. …Because really, any therapist who hands a minor (or anyone, really) a knife and says “go cut someone, it will solve everything” is going to be fired pretty quickly.

Bishamon and Kofuku have an interesting relationship. They get along for work related business, but personal relationships are separate things. Yato obviously complicates things between the two characters in question, but this seems like another case of the gods’ different mindsets from the rest of society. This is reflected too in the fact that Yato, Yukine and Hiyori were barred from Kofuku’s even though they’re obviously in trouble. Though of course, the blight is contagious, so maybe Daikoku has the right idea.

The OP changed again, so I assume that once the Yukine drama is over, the Sakurai character will be relevant. Which is just as well, because I can’t remember anything huge happening after this event. …Or at least, anything huge that could be covered in 3 or so episodes (Bishamon is looked into a lot more, but I highly doubt the anime could really go into much of that). Again, I’m really happy with Noragami in general in making Yukine both infuriating and yet, totally understandable. The manga was good in the first place, and the anime is going just as well even with the things they’ve added in and taking out. Maybe Yato’s solution to bullying would have looked a bit different if they had showed the first case that they cut out of episode 1 (since Yato solved that one in a completely different way since that involved a different take on bullying), but this was just as well since the focus was on the difference between Yukine and Manabu. So yeah, for everyone who was patient through Yukine’s angst phase, it should pay off soonish.

About Karakuri

University student and the one at Metanorn who's known for wearing glasses. Likes blood, insanity and plot twists, but also plays otome games and adores cute romance anime. It balances out... somehow.