Noragami – 12 [END]
Some people just can’t let go of the past.
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You have no idea how sad I am to see Noragami go. You also have no idea how many times I spent over the season accidentally spelling “Yukine” as “Yukina” and vice versa thanks to me simultaneously blogging Strike the Blood. |
Well, this episode was pretty straightforward in terms of Hiyori’s rescue and Rabo’s defeat. Yato did what he had to, and there weren’t really any huge plot twists. Not everything is solved, of course, since they kind of ignored Bishamon in favour of Rabo, but as far as Rabo’s plot goes, everything there was neatly concluded. …Minus Nora still being alive. Though she probably has to be alive both for her involvement in future plot events and the fact that the title of the franchise itself is Noragami. She seems like a rather important all around.
So apparently Rabo’s main goal in all of this was to die by Yato’s hands. There were probably less roundabout ways to accomplish this, but he seemed a bit mentally unstable, so maybe that explains it. Plus he seemed to be working with Nora, so maybe that explains the rest of it. Nora was actually a really interesting antagonist, even though there isn’t a lot that is known about her at this point. She’s obviously just a liiiittle obsessed with Yato, but she also seems like a rather logical character. She doesn’t seem overly insane and nothing seems to bother her too much, but she’s also not afraid to be ruthless in order to fulfill her goals. But even when she does do things to accomplish her goals, she either doesn’t seem to follow through (like setting the masked things after Hiyori; however, that might have had something to do with the sun rising/ her powers), or she goes about it a really indirect way. Nora obviously did not like Yukine, but she never tried to kill him directly. She could have had Rabo just stab Hiyori at just about any point, but instead opted to steal memories. She’s was a hard character to place (though that was probably the point). In comparison, Rabo was pretty easy to understand, once he explained that he wanted to die. Maybe he wasn’t the easiest character to empathize with, but as a god/former human who lived for nothing but killing, this was probably the only end he could think of. …Though who knows how or why he could call Ayakashi. I assume that they’re never going to explain that either since he was anime exclusive (unless that was somehow Nora).
Yato’s secret technique is that he looks 10 times more reliable once he removes the scarf.
Despite being a (if not the) main character/cause of this event, Yato kind of took the back seat to everything else going on. Really, all he did was show up, be a badass for the majority of the fight, and that was about it. There wasn’t any real character development, nor did we learn a lot about him. Yukine definitely seemed rather unimportant too, since all he really did this episode was support Yato and Hiyori. Obviously the episode couldn’t have happened without either of them, and they both accomplished things, but I can’t help but feel that more could have been done with both of the characters in regards to the whole Rabo thing. Oh well, at least Hiyori had a somewhat important role (and the relationship between Yato and Hiyori seems to have developed just a little bit).
I’m rather glad Hiyori went with them, even though she was still the damsel in distress in that situation. For one thing, she once again saved Yato where he couldn’t have gotten out of the situation by himself. The other thing about it was that it made her feel more involved that way. Other that time withYato almost drowning, there was really no need for Hiyori to be there. They could have made this entirely about Yato and Rabo and had Hiyori as an afterthought, even though this all started over her memory loss. I suppose she had to be there to help Yato snap out of his old state too. Not that he was ever entirely consumed by rage at any point and needed a call back to reality, but one of the main points of this fight was that Yato wasn’t weakened by the bonds he shares with his new friends. It would have been counter productive if Rabo had been killed while Yato was the same heartless person he was in the past (again, with Hiyori still kind of the main point, but mostly there as an afterthought). The part with Hiyori getting her memories back served to show that Yato was serious in regards to the fight, but it wasn’t like he was a completely different person.
Her getting her memories back due to Yato’s scent was undeniably cliche. The way it looks, Nora’s powers were reversed due to the power of friendship and (somewhat implied) love. That… doesn’t seem like the greatest explanation, but I suppose it fits in with the rest of the themes of this event. Plus, the ending just makes Yato and Hiyori just that much more shippable. At the beginning, I figured that this would have been a series that would have tried to avoid the romance aspect, since the difference between gods and humans seemed a rather large obstacle to overcome. This is why I wanted to avoid talking about it at all, even though I’m a huge fan of shipping characters together (whether I mention it or not). With this episode though, I guess the relationship between Yato and Hiyori might be going somewhere. I guess there have been hints in the manga too, but this episode made it just that much more obvious. Especially with all of the blushing and Hiyori saying directly that she wants to stay with Yukine and Yato forever. Though maybe if you ignore the blushing, you can still say that this is all just friendship. Either way though, it was a really satisfying ending that distracted away from the fact that the story obviously left so many loose plot threads hanging.
Yes, this was a brilliant distraction. You win this time, Bones.
Obviously, the plot parts they ignored aren’t exactly the anime’s fault. The manga is still ongoing and there’s no way they could have fit everything in 12 episodes. Actually, maybe it’s because the manga is ongoing that I’m okay with the anime ending like that. I would normally be upset if so many things were left open ended alone, but in this case, there’s obviously the manga that I can go back to. …Plus, having implied romance also (admittedly) was a really effective distraction for me. Actually, this might be one of the best anime adaptations of a manga I’ve seen. If I remember correctly, this was the director’s first real anime, and he seems to have done an awesome job. Maybe I just don’t notice in other anime because I never paid attention to things like this before, but Bones added in so much extra animation. It made the fights so much more fluid and exciting. I also have absolutely no complaints about the voice casting either. Even despite my bias, everyone did such an awesome job. They spent a rather large amount of time on showing the arc about Yukine’s issues, but it seems like a necessary thing to focus on, considering how the rest of the plot in the manga is going so far. Plus that answered a bunch of questions in regards to the shinki/god relationship, and helped establish the character dynamics between the main trio. If Yukine had went straight from learning he was dead to angsting for an episode, to being okay with it, it would have felt really shallow. They might not have needed so many episodes either, but I think that having the in between events were necessary too. It’s not like the Ayakashi attacks stopped completely just because one dead teen boy was having personal issues, and Yato couldn’t really ignore his job either. Anyways, I’m definitely a fan of the decisions made in regards to this anime.
Hopefully there’s a season 2 in the future~
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 Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Hahaha!! That’s true. I’d sometimes see that in some of posts and wonder what’s going on. But hey, both names could be used for a nice tongue twister. You never know.
Rabo’s end was nothing but self-satisfaction, a very narcissistic motive since he didn’t care who he hurts to get what he wants.
I’m still nowhere near happy Nora got off the hook without so much as a slap on the wrist. For all the torment she caused because she couldn’t have things her way, she was a real cold hearted, manipulative and calculating bitch who needs some serious chastisement.
I wouldn’t mind a tractor wheel rolling over and crushing her head. She’s a sadist and most likely, simply killing Hiyori wouldn’t be as fun to her as keeping her alive so the psychological trauma could be dragged out. Like you said, she didn’t like Yukine but toyed with him until his instability put him into despair and nearly got himself killed by someone else.Looks like Hiyori no longer cares about her problem of crossing both worlds if she wants to stay with Yato. Honestly, I think those who’ve been exposed to the supernatural don’t ever really want to return to a normal life because they’ve been uprooted by extraordinary events.
Noragami was one of Winter’s best shows and had an awesome OST. Its best points are the world building and character developments, particularly Hiyori and Yukine accepting their current selves and moving forward. Hiroshi Kamiya did a great job playing Yato. His voice suited him well. If a second season comes along, I’d be more than inclined to watch it.
That’s one end post on your list. I guess you’ll be tackling Soul Eater Not! For Spring?
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Ah, I figured I probably missed some at some point. OTL
Well, they couldn’t really do much with Nora, since she plays pretty big roles later on. If she was injured or something here, she couldn’t play her part in later events. I actually really like her an antagonist because of how she is. It’s more interesting than an overly cliche villain doing this for the sake of ruling the world or whatever.
I’m happy for Hiyori’s decision~. I sincerely hope it works out for her and Yato.
Yes!!! An awesome OST indeed (done by the same guy who did Jormungand, Gatchaman Crowds and the original Soul Eater. The guy is amazing~). It was certainly my favourite winter show.
Er, I’m not sure at this point to be honest. I don’t like Soul Eater Not! as much as the original Soul Eater since it’s more slice of life than action. Action was what got me into Soul Eater in the first place. Instead, I think I’ll be aiming for Mekaku City Actors. Or the otome game adaptations, since I’m playing Kin’iro no Corda 3 anyways.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Speaking of otome, will you be covering Kamigami no Asobi?
I hear that’s otome too, and its character designs are by the same person who did Hakuoki’s and Nobunaga the Fool’s characters.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Most likely. However, it comes from Broccoli, who’s games have a horrible history of ignoring the heroine completely for thinly veiled BL moments, so I’m not going to get my hopes up too high. …Though I WILL play it at some point, since it’s one the like, 5 otome games that has a datable Kamiyan character. OTL (you’ll see a lot more of my
whiningcomplaints once the spring preview comes out, sorry)POWUH: Novice (36-50) with 44 comments
OOOOOHHHHH. I reallly enjoyed how they ended Noragami. Hopefully there is a second season.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
That will depend on whether or not the sales of any related merchandise will do well and if there’s enough material from the manga.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I’ve not even checked. I wanted to read the manga after the series ended, but haven’t gone to get it yet. Is there enough?
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
There are 9 volumes out so far. The anime ended off at around volume 2-3ish, I think.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
At it isn’t like what I’ve heard with Tokyo Ravens. About 9 volumes of the LN covered but only churned 24 episodes. It sounds outrageous.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Considering how it turned out, I’m glad Noragami went with the slower approach. They could have squeezed a lot more plot in there, but the emotional aspect and whatnot would have suffered.
From the 2 novels I’ve read so far, Tokyo Ravens seems to have mostly cut out exposition in regards to how the magic works. It would have been difficult to include that in the anime, unless they had Harutora or someone constantly talking.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Yes, I really enjoyed the ending too! I really hopes this sells well~.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
We’ll need our resident stats expert zztop for that coverage. I hope it sells well also.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
My sources say Noragami’s 1st BD will most likely sell above average at 4500 copies, although official numbers only come in next week.
@Blackbriar:Dont worry too much about Nora, as she gets a semi-comeuppance later in the manga.:)
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I’m happy as long as she gets her just desserts. There should be a limit to how wicked a person can be.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Noragami’s 2nd BD comes with a short manga by Adachitoka, featuring Rabou and a young Yato drinking together in ancient times.
http://noragamis.tumblr.com/post/79966128630/flamingo-chan-preview-of-the-limited-edition-of
Concept art of Rabou:
http://noragamis.tumblr.com/post/77999710460/flamingo-chan-rabous-design-from-movics
BTW, Kara, did you get the STB spoilers I left on your post?
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Oh, looking at the preview, maybe Yato was just as silly back then, considering how he seems to be with Nora. xD
Yep, I saw the STB spoilers. I just didn’t have a whole lot to say about them. Thanks, as always!!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Really, you need a title for all these sales stats, photos and spoilers you continue to tempt us with. 😉
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Though Nora probably has to be alive both for her involvement in future plot events…She seems like a rather important all around.
She IS, actually. Remember her final scene where she briefly mentions going home to ‘Father’? That is a slight foreshadow of the manga’s latest plotline, an ongoing mystery.
I’ve read some recent Chinese scans of Noragami. From my limited Chinese knowledge, I will say this without too many spoilers:
It is implied that Nora is connected to Father, & Father is connected to the masked Phantoms and the Eye symbol.
As a manga reader, you must have noticed the Eye symbol appearing in Bishamon’s arc, and that same symbol appears on Rabou’s mask and the Phantom fights in ep 10.
I also remember Nora mentioned Yato’s connection to Father in Bishamon’s arc in the manga.
Hiyori getting her memories back due to Yato’s scent was undeniably cliche.
Some people say that scent tends to be the strongest memory trigger for people. Still cliche, but understandable.
Nora was actually a really interesting antagonist.
She was.Not to mention she obviously brought back Rabou with a ‘curse'(likely via the mask) & manipulated him into confronting Yato.
Hopefully there’s a season 2 in the future~
Better start wishing on those 5 yen coins, and maybe drop a prayer to 090-XXXX-##3X!! ^^
Looking forward to your coverage of Noragami’s July OVA!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
If so, then she’d be a puppet master passing herself off as a puppet. The notion adds to her treachery and shows off her charisma. Other than manipulating Hiyori’s memory, she’s done nothing directly, just using people for her own ends while her hands remain clean.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Yeah, “just pull the string like this, Master”. Crazy awesome gambit maker right there. Makes me want MOAR!
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
I think I’m around volume 6 of the manga, and they’ve certainly mentioned the Father at least once… I wasn’t aware that he had to do with the mask thing though.
Yes. I will be spending all of my 5 yen coins. Do you have any idea what the 2nd OVA will be about by chance?
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Some trivia:
Yato’s battle catchphrase contains the words, ‘Toyoashihara no Nakatsukuni (豊葦原中国)’, lit. ‘the middle country of reed beds’. This is an archaic way of referring to the world between heaven and hell in Japanese myth.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashihara_no_Nakatsukuni
Full Lines:
来い！雪器！
koi! sekki!
豊葦原中津国
toyoashihara-no-nakatsukuni
荒びたらせむ禍のものよ
arabitarasemu ka no mono yo
我、夜ト神きたり降り
ware, yatogami kitariori
雪器を以って砕き伏せる
sekki wo motte kudakifuseru
草々の障り穢れを打ち払わん！
kusagusa no sawarikegare wo uchiharawan!
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Good info!
POWUH: Novice (36-50) with 37 comments
At the beginning, I figured that this would have been a series that would have tried to avoid the romance aspect, since the difference between gods and humans seemed a rather large obstacle to overcome.
I wonder if a human and god is really such a big deal in this series, generally speaking? The emperor of Japan is said to be the descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu, and that the imperial regalia of Japan (a sword, mirror and jewel- you can wiki them!) are items that she bestowed upon him. If the same is true in-series, this would suggest that a human-god pairing might not be shunned outright, or at least been known to happen from time to time.
Asides from getting humans involved with godly affairs, I’d say that the greatest risk would be on the god’s end. The human will die, and the god will have to live with that forever. Making Hiyori his Regalia when she dies isn’t much of an option unless she’s killed prematurely. She could be reborn as a god through prayers and worship…but that also seems pretty unlikely. I think the happiest scenario would just be Yato watching over his and Hiyori’s descendants for all eternity. It’s a pretty depressing situation now that I really think about it, and yet I’m still eagerly hoping for these two to get together lol
Anyhoo, enough of my blabbering. This was a wonderful adaption, anime-only arc included, and I’m definitely rooting for a season 2!
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
I wasn’t thinking that anyone would really be against it, but the relationship would be hard since Yato has eternal life (provided that people pray/believe in him) and Hiyori has a limited lifespan.
Yeah, that’s how these things tend to go, I find. It’s not a horrible ending, all things considered, but like you said, it’s pretty depressing from Yato’s perspective. Maybe Hiyori can get reincarnated or something.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Hiyori getting her memories back due to Yato’s scent was undeniably cliche.
Ah, you beat me to that one, zz. Upon reflection is it rather cliche, but I felt it worked very well for the moment. Lots of insane action with this one little easy moment in it all.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
It still seems like kind of a cheap escape, considering how Nora had just destroyed them moments ago. But oh well, it all worked out in the end AND the moment was absolutely adorable.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Actually, this was the one thing that is consistent with what other borderline youkai say, ‘ee nioii’. Though, whenever Hiyori said it (she did many times during the entire run of the anime), it had a nice feeling to it. Something like love nostalgia, which was sweet even if cliche. 😉
POWUH: 400-499 with 445 comments
If there’s one thing noragami excels at, it’s the subtlety with its romance. I really appreciate how the romantic aspect is not heavy-handed. You’re not told that these two have romantic feelings for each other but rather it demonstrates the budding romance by showing its viewer just how much the two care for each other so you can infer that from their bond.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Yes! Their relationship makes sense and feels natural because they’ve become closer over time instead of it happening too fast~. It’s mixed in there nicely with friendship too, so there are multiple levels to the relationship.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Ah, I’m glad it was a good adaptation of the manga. They ended things neatly here, but I can’t help but crave more since they didn’t get to cover much about Bishamon. I’m really hoping for a season 2 later on.
I wasn’t expecting much romance based on how the series started. I’m ok with the small hints here and there. It’s like the perfect amount of cute for me lol
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
It was perfect for me. Not on your face all the time but cute enough for me to go DAAAAWWWW whenever Yato and Hiyori had their moments. Let’s hope for another season!
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Yep, it was one of the best I’ve seen~. I really hope they do a second season as well sometime too.
Ahaha well, I’m glad that the romance didn’t turn you away from the series. It was a good level for me too, actually. They had cute hints and went juuuust far enough with them for me to be satisfied.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I didn’t end up liking this show as much as I wanted to. It wasn’t one that I really looked forward to, and a few times it slipped a week or so without me watching it. Maybe it was because it was a bit uncomfortable, or because I didn’t like what they were doing with Hiyori, but I just wasn’t as interested in the last part. And the last fight with Rabo just felt completely uninspired. There really wasn’t any sense of tension for me at all, I was just waiting for whatever to happen to inspire Yato to a win.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Ah, that’s too bad. I liked the concept of Hiyori in this arc, though I admit that the last part with Rabo wasn’t anything special. We all knew that Yato was going to win, Hiyori was going to return to normal and nothing was really at stake. The romance hints at the end were enough to make up for that for me though.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
I loved this to pieces. Characters, music, pacing. It was just all done so nicely. After a long time, Kamiyan-voiced character had almost Koyomi type of emotional range. Liked all his modes from serious to playful. And Hiyori needs to be nominated as the best girl of this season. She was so strong, even till the end when she gave Yato a hand even if she didn’t remember who he was. I really came to like her, who makes her presence felt.
I’m going to start the manga this weekend along with Kuroko but definitely would be pretty happy if we get another season.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Same here, Kyo. Same here. Yato’s character had some awesome variations (from silly to serious), and was a great character overall. I’m definitely nominating Hiyori for best girl, if no one else is. She wasn’t overbearing, but she wasn’t completely helpless (even if her whole situation left her pretty helpless).
Yes!!! Start the manga. The anime adaptation was excellent, but the manga was what gave it the awesome storyline in the first place.