Title: Noragami season 1

Director: Kotaro Tamura

Studio: Bones

Writer: Deko Akao

Creator: Adachitoka

U. S. Distributor: Funimation Entertainment

u. S. Release Date: July 7th, 2015

Format: DVD / Blu-ray/ 12 Episodes / 300 Minutes

Genre: Supernatural, Shonen, Action, Adventure, Romance

Age Rating: TV 14

Overall Personal Rating: B+

Synopsis:

Minor god Yato is down on his luck. Fed up with his slacker lifestyle, his partner abruptly quits. He has no money, no worshippers, and no shrine to call home. But just when things are starting to seem hopeless, a bus accident forces him to cross paths with Hiyori Iki, a sweet and perky high school girl. After the accident, Hiyori’s soul has a bad habit of slipping out of her body, and after enlisting Yato’s help to get her back to normal, she begins to fall into the world of spirits and gods.

But Hiyori’s not the only one who’s keeping tabs on Yato. A god from Yato’s past is back, and he’s not interested in a friendly reunion.

Commentary:

In the age of supernatural anime Noragmi does its best to try and stand out. There is the simple high school girl who does what she thinks she should and ends up living between two worlds and stuck trying to help a God who is either a simpleton or just so careless that none will ever give him any just due. The God is clearly fighting some self confidence issues and even his regalia (weapons) tend to give him less than a reasonable amount of respect. These aspects alone made me want to like this show because with every episodes it is clear that there is some deep dark secret that all the Gods know and nobody else seems to understand.  This angst helps the plot develop with a even keel, but at times it makes you feel like maybe the secret is a awkward plot device rather than a driving factor in the story.

The animation production quality is standard for Bones and it didn’t leave me feeling anything special about the series. I felt like an added edge to the artistic stylings could have helped elevate the series. I can’t say it made any difference at all.

Overall Grade: B+

Noragami falls into a rather ordinary anime camp with just enough solid writing and plot development that keeps just above the frey. I found the like ability of all the characters a a higher level than I have in some of the more recent supernatural anime and I even enjoyed the darker characters. I guess that they end up playing a much more minor roll than I expected. I wasn’t too sure how the relationship between Yato and Hiyori would play out but I am happy with the conclusion that was delivered. There is also the troubled Yukine as the angry young regalia who’s persona is at an age where he is lost in his world and rather than woe toward understanding this place he would rather act out against the world and everyone in it. The way that this coming of age anger ends up effecting those around him is rather interesting too. As a parent I saw some rather poignant similarities to family life and watching your children grow up. There is only so much you can do and in the end to torment lands on you more than it does the child.

Noragami is a solid anime that should provide plenty of entertainment to anyone who strays across its path.