First Impressions – Kamisama Hajimemashita 2

Becoming a (better) god, part 2~

Winter season has supposedly arrived but my skin is burning off my body! ლ(ﾟдﾟლ) Well, somewhat, because the Summer just started here and it’s HOTTT. Besides weather updates, I’m glad to see the continuation of few series and Kamisama was definitely cute enough for us to cover. Who can resist Tomoe’s charm, right, Kara?

…Can we trade locations, Kyo? It was in the -30’s here with the wind chill last week OTL. But having another adorable shoujo around will keep me warm! In theory!

// Some Things Never Change

Kyo// I like continuations to not beat about the bush and simply go on with the flow. The first episode of Kamisama did just that with a few seconds worth of recap, enough to have viewers sync in with the storyline. You have a young goddess, who was blessed by a deity to take his place in his shrine. You can definitely doubt on the old geezer’s intentions of passing on his responsibilities and even his familiar to a homeless girl but everything happens for a reason, eh?

The familiar in question is a snazzy one and always keeps her in on her toes. You can literally call him the voice of reason but some developments have occurred between them, preventing both to think clearly yet always in the best interest of the other. This message was strengthened throughout the episode and you can clearly see them caring for each other. This shoujo aspect is the highlight of the series, while the comedic moments are always welcome. Seriously, don’t they look cute together?

//Unless, Of Course, Things Change From the Manga

Kara// Well, they definitely took out a huge chunk of the events that happened in the original. Nanami was supposed to compete with another (obligatorily bitchy) girl named Kayako (who wasn’t a deity, but just had really high spiritual powers) in shikigami raising in order to win the privilege to go to the Izumo gathering. After competing (with drama about Nanami being afraid of Tomoe leaving her and Kayako being so much more powerful than Nanami) and Nanami naming Mamoru like she did here, there was more to the rivalry with Kayako trying to hatch a better shikigami. Though that turned out not well for the rival girl, since she used more power than she had trying to hatch it, the egg never had anything in it to begin with, and it turned out to be a fake contest by Otohiko anyways to raise Nanami’s god powers. Though Nanami and the girl become (somewhat) friends by the end of it all because Nanami is an awesome heroine and says she’ll make the gods who set up this test apologize to Kayako.

Though I can see why they cut this out, since it’s not really important for what’s coming up in the near future. Kayako does appear later, but I don’t remember her ever having a huge role. Really, all cutting her part out did was take away some drama and maybe some tediousness. Though Kayako’s part did serve as an introduction to the boy in the all black outfit (who is pictured above). He was the one manipulating Kayako to extremes during this whole competition in the manga. However, he can easily be introduced later. They could probably figure out a way to introduce Kayako too, if she’s important enough later. I think in what they had in this episode though, they still showed the best parts about Nanami’s determination and how Tomoe is concerned about protecting her. I think they might have cut out some other one-off stories too, but it’s probably more important to progress the plot for now. Those can easily be turned into OVA format anyways.

Ahh I still feel like I was harsh on this show when I covered the first episode of the first season. It really is cute and the humour has grown on me! But yeah, this was more of the same as last season. The OP and ED sound really similar (which is nice). Rushing this part of the story along wasn’t bad either. It certainly didn’t feel rushed during the episode, and having cut out a large portion of the story, it gives the anime more time to get to the interesting points of the season regarding Nanami and Tomoe’s relationship. Maybe they might even get into why Mikage left Nanami in charge in the first place (actually, if they want to land on any kind of conclusive note, they should get to this part at least).

About Tag Team

We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.