Noragami – 11 (+ OVA 1)
When in doubt, blame the crazy ex.
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I don’t think I’ve ever blogged about anything where an OVA came out while the show was still airing, so I figured I might as well cover it here. Yes, it’s a couple weeks old, but I just couldn’t not talk about it. …Or if you prefer the term “OAD”, then that this is what the post contains. I think that’s what the actual episode called it too. …And of course, the actual anime is on episode 11 and was the most adorable thing ever. I was trying so hard not to talk too much about shipping for this series, but seriously, Yato and Hiyori are just too cute. |
Hiyori gradually losing her memories was heartbreaking. It was bad enough with Yato trying everything, but then she forgot about Yukine as well. Yukine doesn’t seem to have taken it very well either. But on the bright side, this doesn’t seem to be causing Yato pain (or at least not unbearable pain, since he does seem to know if Yukine is hanging out with her or not). So the kid is still doing pretty well at managing his stress and not crossing over any lines. You would think that Hiyori might have gotten a hint about the situation from the fact that the random kid she just met had a highly detailed picture book of her and some people she’s never met doing things together. Or even just noticing that the situation was unusual. Hiyori didn’t even need to open the book. Her picture was right on the cover. However, I guess the solution isn’t supposed to be that simple. In any case, it’s interesting to see Hiyori without her interactions with the other side of things. So this is what she would be like if she had never met Yato. Her core character traits are there (why wouldn’t they be?), but things are definitely less lively.
Aaaaand of course it’s all Nora’s fault. Who knows how or why she has the ability to steal memories, but for the sake of the anime’s current storyline, let’s just go with it. If anything, at least she seems to have taken a route that would hit Yato pretty hard. Hiyori is pretty much the only human who’s paid attention to him for more than what the job requires. Plus they’ve grown pretty close, so the thought losing her is definitely hard for him, even if it might be better for her as Tenjin keeps stating. (…They covered this info about Hiyori being the only human who’s been this close to Yato for so long in the manga, so this isn’t just me making things up.) He even spent all of his money on art supplies. That’s dedication.
As for Rabo, apparently he’s an old work buddy of Yato’s and maybe slightly yandere like Nora is. Also, he was human at some point, which might explain why he seems to have some connection with ayakashi and calamities, since humans cause them. Also, Gods lose their existence when people stop believing in him (this is also a fact stated in the manga that I don’t think they’ve ever mentioned in the anime), so the fact that Rabo is gaining sudden popularity through rumours makes his appearance make sense. Though it’s odd that nobody seems to have noticed a serial killer going around, considering the amount of bodies that seem to surround Rabo all the time. That many disappearances can’t be normal, can it? Or are the disappearances follow the same rules as other interactions with god, and everyone just naturally turns a blind eye to them?
I don’t know if belief has any influence on their power levels as well. I don’t think so, since Yato can survive an attack from Bishamon and the difference between followers is pretty big, but Yato seems weaker than Rabo at the moment. Who knows when this occurred, but this may be another psychological thing, since Yato doesn’t want to kill people for a living anymore and therefore is naturally less bloodthirsty.
OVA/OAD 1
…and then this happened.
The first thing to note is that this takes place later in the story than where the anime leaves off obviously, since Hiyori is in high school. More specifically, it takes place after the problems with Bishamon are all dealt with. But seeing how those events (or any events in the anime besides Hiyori, Yato and Yukine meeting) don’t really have much relation to what goes on in the OVA, they chose a good chapter to animate. …Plus this section of the story has excellent comedy value.
Yato showed his true level of idiocy this episode, and poor Hiyori had to suffer through all of it. We haven’t really seen Yato’s more suspicious behavior recently since everything was about Yukine’s angst (or at least, not this much of it at once). Apparently, he hasn’t quite gotten over his immaturity though (and probably never will). Kofuku seems like the type to never mature either, so of course, her and Yato are a funny, yet devastating combination. Looking at all of the chaos Kofuku causes by herself (both with the teachers this time around and that other guy who jumped off the building), it’s probably a VERY good thing that Daikoku is the strict type.
Hiyori’s heart is extremely forgiving though, and she let Yato go without much of a fuss. …But, the poor girl’s social reputation. She already had problems with randomly falling asleep in middle school an now she’s probably known as a weird person all throughout high school. Though Hiyori is a strong girl. She’ll survive. Yato is reeeeally lucky she doesn’t hold a grudge for all of this. I guess it just goes to show how close the two of them are if Yato is able to possess Hiyori (without any concern that she might ditch him or something) and Hiyori doesn’t feel like kicking Yato’s ass after all of the trouble he caused. …Though it’s not like she really has a choice, since Yato is the only one who can really fix her, she doesn’t seem like she wants to lose her memories, and she could do nothing about the whole possession thing. …So in the end, Yato is just lucky that Hiyori is a good person. I wonder what the next OVa will be about, since I haven’t really encountered any stand alone chapters in the manga quite like this one. (I think I’m around volume 6 though, so there’s still a lot I haven’t read yet.)
Also, apparently all gods are harem experts in one way or another.
So maybe it wasn’t the deepest OVA ever, but it was highly entertaining. Noragami has such awesome character dynamics. Though that applies to what’s happening in the current anime arc as well between Yukine, Hiyori and Yato. The anime arc is doing things that don’t really have explanations (why can Nora take memories? How can a human become a god? Do Rabo/Nora bother to clean up the corpses afterwards, or what?), but as far as the emotional side of the story goes, things are really good. The same goes for the animation, of course~. The next episode (which may or may not have already aired in Japan, I’m not entirely sure) is the final one. It will be sad to see Noragami go since everything they’ve done so far has been really good, but the final looks like it will be a good one.
Yato gets serious, after all.
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.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Noragami’s anime director said in an interview that they chose to focus on Yukine’s arc for this season because its details are vital to understanding how future arcs work, especially Bishamon’s arc.
Given the limited number of episodes, they decided to leave Bishamon’s arc for now and use this Rabou arc for season closure, which was also supervised and written by Adachitoka, Noragami’s manga creators. (Adachitoka also designed Rabou, BTW.)
The interview also says if they animate Bishamon’s arc, they’d need at least 10 eps for it, thus forming the plotline for a potential 2nd season.
http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=5044991&postcount=725
I think this arc is meant to close the season without affecting manga continuity so a 2nd season can be carried out, should things go well.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
After finishing Bishmon’s arc, I can definitely see why. Especially in regards to shinki/god relationships.
I really hope there’s a second season. They did this first one rather well.
POWUH: 400-499 with 445 comments
I wouldnt worry about making shipping comments; I think im pretty sure Yato and Hiyori are supposed to be built up to being an item. Although how something like that would work between a god and a human is beyond me
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Who’s knows? Maybe there’s a possibility Yato and Hiyori can work out. In greek mythology, there have been demi-gods. Like Perseus for example.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
If Rabo can become a god, maybe Hiyori can? …Though Hiyori isn’t exactly going around slaughtering hundreds, so maybe not quite through the same process.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
The storyline has progressed them so well, so I hope the story eventually has some sort of closure regarding the two. And not just a “they lived happily ever after until Hiyori died, but we’re not going to show that part”.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
It’s odd that nobody seems to have noticed a serial killer going around..
Episode 10 shows, in Hiyori’s house, a newspaper and TV news report talking about the string of slasher attacks in the city. So people know there’s a serial killer, but they don’t know Rabou’s the culprit.
Why can Nora take memories? How can a human become a god? Do Rabo/Nora bother to clean up the corpses afterwards, or what?
1)As a manga reader, I also dunno the answer to Nora’s memory-stealing powers,sorry ┐(´-｀)┌
2)I think it’s more like a human soul is deified into godhood, via the belief of worshippers. In fact, Tenjin has the same origins as Rabou, since Tenjin too is the deified soul of a real-life Heian-era scholar-politician, Sugawara no Michizane. See the wiki link for more details:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenjin_(kami)
3)Rabou and Nora kill and leave behind corpses to give proof to the rumours of Rabou’s existence as a calamity god. This ensures the people’s belief in him, which then allow him to maintain his existence in a time which should have been otherwise impossible for him to exist.
But I also wonder whether his visor mask with the eye image is also responsible for his return.
POWUH: 400-499 with 445 comments
the way i think about it, Yato and Nora are pretty good at cutting ties; i think that’s where nora’s power to steal memories comes from. Besides, nora is a unique regalia, with all those names im sure she has a plethora of abilities up her sleeve.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Oh, right. I guess I just didn’t remember the TV report. Though you’d think that large amounts of bodies gathered in remote places would be cause for more concern.
I was just wondering about Nora’s abilities because I’ve only seen them in the anime. They’ve never really had her do anything like that up to volume 6 of the manga, so I was wondering if that was an inconsistency. …Though if the author helped write this, maybe not.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Yato showed his true level of idiocy this OVA…
I hear the manga depicts 1980s Yato in true idiot fashion, which include
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Hiyori let Yato go without much of a fuss…But, the poor girl’s social reputation.
And then when Hiyori left, everyone else decided to dunk Yato anyway, since it would be a waste of good cement otherwise.（・｀ω´・)
Well, at least she knows a segment of the school will definitely support her!(^_^) The rest can go suck lemons.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
PS. I dunno why Yato doesn’t want to become a God of Art with his artistic skills, worshipped by aspiring artists, manga creators, doujinshi creators and the like.(¬､¬)
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Yep. And I think Bishamon is wearing something like armour in the shot for some reason. …She’s kind of cut off though, so it’s hard to tell. But damn, Yato’s fashion sense has apparently always had some issues since he lost his popularity.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I’ll be waiting for a downloading site to get the OVA. For the longest while, I’ve absolutely loathed streaming shows. Doing the latter is a last resort I’m in no mood for right now.
Here’s hoping Nora meets an unpleasant end because it makes me rage seeing her so happy with herself tormenting Hiyori simply because she can’t have what she wants. Having Hiyori continue to lose memories makes it even worse.
If you think about it, even if she had noticed anything odd about those situations, it would’ve hardly mattered given that her memory continues to fade. Yato and Yukine’s efforts would be in vain no matter what.
Rabo’s case is one that nearly went over my head. For one who’s done malicious things as him, shouldn’t fearing and remembering him for those transgressions make him more of demon than a god?
That’s because, like the beginning of the episode, all the witnesses end up getting taken out. Anyone who isn’t in the immediate vicinity isn’t going to notice the aftermath until he’s moved to another area.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
I’m pretty sure that the OVA is out on downloading sites…? I certainly got mine from one.
No love for the crazy yandere ex? Ahaha. Nora certainly makes for an interesting antagonist at least. Her methods are nice and ruthless.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Yato’s act of handing out ‘delivery god’ cards as Hiyori has some sexual connotations to it.
In Japan, loopholes in its anti-prostitution laws allow call girls to offer their services in the form of ‘delivery health/massage services’. So if you look at Yato’s cards that way, then…(°ｏ°)