Noragami – 02
The ultimate weapon: the adorable fluff ball.
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Reading the Monogatari novels took over my life over the past week and while I feel like I can appreciate Senjougahara’s character a lot more now, I’ve also been neglecting to watch anime. Oh well, I guess I can catch up now. |
Hiyori is still being an absolutely awesome female lead. She’s ditzy and makes mistakes, but her positive attitude is infectious. Obviously Yato’s help is a bit unreliable since even he doesn’t know how he’s going to solve her problem, so it’s great that Hiyori is all for trying to be as much help as she can instead of crying and feeling sorry for herself. Plus while she didn’t really do anything helpful this episode, you can’t hate her for causing problems since she’s obviously trying really hard. She definitely seems like a character who would join in the fight if she could. What’s holding her back isn’t her personality or physical abilities, but the fact that she doesn’t have a shinki (and she probably wouldn’t be able to use one even if she did). I guess the question is going to be what Hiyori’s role of the anime is going to be, since she honestly can’t do anything about her situation at the moment and is rather vulnerable. Hiyori’s personality might keep her from seeming too much like dead weight, but hopefully she’ll be able to do more than just watch from the sidelines every time something happens.
I said that Yato seems a bit unreliable in the above paragraph, but that was probably unfair. He has proven to be rather reliable, as shown by how he cleaned that entire washroom for 5 yen. Yato can also teleport and has remarkable fighting abilities. …And yet, everyone in the show treats him like he’s a sketchy figure. If Yato’s personality was just a tiny bit different, maybe he could actually earn some kind of respect from the rest of the cast, since his skills seem reliable enough. …Though of course, Yato’s personality is a great thing about the show. I don’t know if Noragami would be as enjoyable if his character was different.
Yukine is probably smart to hide his arms. He is a Kaji Yuki character, after all.
He’s had about 3 lines so far, and Yukine is definitely going to be a great addition to Yato and Hiyori. There’s the possibility that he might leave like Tomone did since he certainly doesn’t respect Yato any more than anyone else on the show, but thanks to the ED, we know that he’s probably going to stay.
From the white kimono and flashback sequence, I guess the type of spiritual entity needed to become a shinki is the soul of a dead person? …I’m mainly just assuming that Yukine is dead due to his white kimono; maybe he’s still alive. …Though that wouldn’t explain why he was a floating puff ball. Yato said something about an “uncorrupt spirit” too. In any case though, none of the other supernatural things on the show seemed all that human, so Yukine is special somehow (Hiyori doesn’t count since she’s obviously an anomaly). That raises the question as to what Tomone is doing now though, if she was dead too. Can she just wander off and find another god to work with? I’m sure we’ll see her eventually, since they bothered to give her an appearance in the OP animation.
Bones is doing an awesome job with animation so far~. …There are a few shots that look a little quality, but the budget seems to have been spent wisely elsewhere. Like that scene where Yato landed on that power wire and then flipped/fell off. I don’t know if they had that flipping part in the manga or if the anime just added it in to show off, but it’s nice to see the extra movement. All of the action scenes in this anime have been nicely animated so far, and none of the fights have been boring. Er, all of the fights have been a lot of running with maybe a one-hit kill from Yato, but they’ve still been interesting, so that’s something. The exposition hasn’t been overbearing either, and this episode had a lot of it. There’s a balance of talking and action, and the pacing for Noragami has been pretty good so far. Now let’s see where the plot goes now that Yato can actually fight not (…provided that Yukine complies and doesn’t quit).
This was pretty cool too.
Things seem to be progressing pretty nicely so far for Noragami. The story seems to be going somewhere at a good pace and the action, comedy and explanations are well balanced. …Maybe people will disagree with me on the comedy part, but oh well. Having everyone treat Yato like a suspicious character might get old after a while, but so far, it’s been pretty funny. Obviously Hiyori isn’t doing it to be malicious and Yukine seems to be a stuck up kid more than anything, so we’ll see where that goes. As for Yato… well, I just hope that he never changes. Along with the action and all of that other stuff, the main characters personalities are great. I really have nothing to complain about regarding this episode. …Though this may largely have to do with my Kamiyan bias.
The ayakashi designs are all pretty cool too.
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: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Why must they bate the Yukiyan fanbois? Three lines! This is criminal!
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Because they like suffering, I guess? xD
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
We so do…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
He hasn’t got a proper debut so maybe it’s appropriate.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Maybe unprocessed souls initially exist as cute fluffballs?
Yukine is dead, based on how he’s wearing his kimono. Japanese funerary customs dictate the dead body wears its kimono right over left, instead of the living’s left over right. 😀
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Whatever he is, Yukine is adorable.
Ah, I didn’t even notice that. I was just focused on the fact that the kimono is white, since that’s generally what they’re put in for funerals… I guess that just adds to the evidence that he’s dead though.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Was he wearing one of those head triangles? Or is that only for ghosts?
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
I don’t think so. …And he had his feet too.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
So he’s like Schrodinger’s Kaji Yuki? He
has both arms and no armsis both alive and dead…POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Doesn’t mean it’s not going to be sliced or chomped on my some youkai later. 😉
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
:O
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 318 comments
Yup, he’s dead.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I feel sorry for Hiyori having to put up with Yato because he’s looking more and more like a deadbeat towards her. If it wasn’t for her nagging him about what he promised, I’m sure he would’ve already forgotten about it. He may be helping others but I’m hard pressed to say he’s putting effort into finding a solution for her. One thing is certain: Him getting respect is a near insurmountable objective. Yukine hasn’t been a weapon for even an hour and he’s already disrespecting Yato. Tough luck, dude.
Though Hiyori is at a disadvantage by not having a weapon of her own, at least by comparison she’s doing better than Blood Lad’s Fuyumi who was dead weight 90% of the time. Hiyori’s biggest asset is that she can defend herself.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
It’s Yato’s personality really. I’m sure he could do a lot if his attitude was different. …Plus considering how he handled his cleaning job that paid 5 yen, he’s diligent. I think it’s just that Hiyori’s problem isn’t so easily solved.
Words cannot describe how great it is that Hiyori isn’t dead weight despite not being able to do much on her own~.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Yeah, give a down and out kami a chance, will ya? Spare five yen?
Hiyori is very much a great character because they bring out that ingenue quality, but bolster it with things like her Jungle Savate. She’s a fish out of water, but she ain’t afraid of the hard swim. Well, not to afraid.
POWUH: 600-699 with 691 comments
this episode was epic…i laughed a lot, showing hiyori falling at the most random times…losing her body and the best part in the episode for me was when yato tells her that her tail is her soul and that she’s going to die if it’s cut…then it comes hiyori’s legendary response:
by the way that’s a pretty powerfull fluff ball…and very ungrateful too…
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
The show is a better mix of action and comedy than I thought it would ever be.
POWUH: 400-499 with 445 comments
Part of the mystery (if you can call it that) in Noragami is finding out who Yato really is…its going to be one of the plot points of the series and honestly one of the intriguing parts.
POWUH: 600-699 with 691 comments
a poor god…a very poor and desilusional war god…for now it’s fine,i think they want us to know more about the world before going in the main plot
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
For a supposed god of war, he doesn’t seem particularly interested in fighting, just being revered.
POWUH: 600-699 with 691 comments
that is the mistery…if he’s a god of war why is he so sucky at being one? he almost seems paceful…in a weird way
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
I’ve read partway into volume 4, and they seem to have been holding back some traits about Yato that were introduced in that 1st chapter that they cut out. …Though I have yet to see episode 3. Judging from the manga, this should be a place where Yato’s harsher side is shown.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I did not expect Yukine to be like that…I was expecting a pure, sweet, innocent little boy to fuel the flames of yaoi. Instead, we get a brat. Not sure I like that since it means Yato is going to be teased, and I like it better when we’re left to laugh at how sketchy he is without it being pointed out by someone else. But hey, we’ll see. Yukine turns into a sick-looking sword so he can’t be that bad.
On a side note, Hiyori continues to be awesome. She gets so much shit done, it’s amazing. You go, girl!
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 318 comments
“a pure, sweet, innocent little boy to fuel the flames of Yaoi”? xDDD
Dont worry. Yukine will get better. He’s just a bit mad that he’s Show ▼
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I cant stop thinking about how much Hiyori reminds me of Hajime 😀
Love the seiyuu’s work. They are perfect for their characters. And Kamiya-san is just too hilarious too handle sometimes xD
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
By Hajime, do you mean Hajime Ichinose from Gatchaman Crowds? If so, then I can see a bit of her in Hiyori.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 318 comments
Yup, Ichinose Hajime.
They both are energetic and positive. Well, and they have the same seiyuu. xD
It’s rare for me to say this, but Hiyori is now probably one of my favorite female characters.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
I wonder how many episodes they’ll take to have Yukine sort through his issues. It lasted way longer than I thought it would in the manga and if they adapt absolutely everything faithfully, it will take at least half of the season. OTL
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 318 comments
Who knows.
Oh are you reading the manga too? Isn’t it great? 😀
Well, I gues if Yukine forgot about his problems that fast, it wouldn’t have been so interesting.
And since a persons past drags one quite a lot. It would have been like “yay, I’m saved thanks to your friendship/love, and now I can forget about emy past forever!”. I mean, really easy and unreal. So I guess it’s reasonable for Yukine to take some time to recover.
And, well, being dead is not something you can get over that easily. Dont you think? 🙂
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 318 comments
Noooo, spammy!
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
This is the best show of the season. Damn it, it’s amazing how much I laugh and love the characters. Being Yato’s sweaty jacked handed back to him must have scarred for life (or a while at least), but it was pretty awesome. Also, damn, Hiyori’s THE GIRL this season, an amazing female lead.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 318 comments
I agree with you totally!
Best anime this season.
And Hiyori is amazing. I dont really like Female characters, since a bunch of them are just useless in the series, but Hiyori’s great, a REAL leading character.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Yes! And to think that my main reason for watching this was Kamiyan. For once, blindly following my bias paid off. xD Hiyori is going to be hard to beat. She’s set a really high bar for “female character of the year” already.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 318 comments
xDD that sure paid off. That was actually a reason for me to watch too. That Kamiya-san and Kaji-san are main character ^^
Yay for Hiyori. It’s hard to find a really good and interesting female character. And thats a big minus in a lot of my favorite shows.
I’m really loving Hiyori more and more.