Tuesday, January 7, 2014

First Impression: Noragami

NORAGAMI: It’s good, but it’s too childish for me



Hiyori Iki is just your typical middle schooler -- that is until she saves a boy from a rushing truck. After being hospitalized, her soul now has the tendency to escape her body, and as if that’s not enough to confuse her, the boy she has saved is claiming that he is actually a god.

The pilot episode opens up with the impression that the anime is going to have dark elements, maybe something psychological and whatnot. It jumps to a battle scene to capture the interest of the general audience immediately. It’s a pretty good start, really. Yato and his Sacred Treasure are really interesting.

But then my general impression of the show suddenly changes when the comedic aspects start to resurface after the battle. To be honest, I would have preferred the show without comedy, because it’s interesting and entertaining on its own. The comedy just gives it a childish atmosphere, which is then slightly contradicted by the dark impression of the show.

Another proof that it could sustain the interest of the audience without comedy is Hiyori and Yato’s first interaction. It gives off a romantic yet mysterious impression. Add in the plot element about the missing cat and everything becomes more flavourful.

But it appears that comedy will be an inherent part of the series, as it has been present in the next scenes -- in the hospital, in the encounter with the Phantom, and everything else.


I admit that I watched this just because of BONES, but I really enjoyed it. The show seems to hold promise. The story seems interesting, and the pacing is good as far as the pilot episode is concerned. The animation and art style are also praise worthy. But sadly, even though I praise the first episode highly, the comedic aspect of the show makes me drop the series on my watch list. This is not my cup of tea. But I do recommend it to those who are looking for a slightly darkish Shounen that has a hint of romantic plot elements.


6 comments:

  1. This is exactly the type of show that I am not interested in watching, so I will definitely be skipping it. Thanks for the early impressions on the show!

    -James

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    1. Yeah, this is not my kind of show too. But I just checked it out because it was produced by BONES. You're welcome!

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  2. I love the Anime very much, Yato is kind, yukine is lovely, Hiyori is beautiful. On the other hand, Noragami cosplay costumes are unique, I think the Anime will be more popular in the future.

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    1. I have heard that it gets better in later episodes, but I don't know, it just isn't interesting enough to really capture me. Not my cup of tea.

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  3. The manga has less comedy to none, you should give it a try its worth it!

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    1. I've heard about that too, and the anime has some positive reception all this time. But I don't know. Maybe it's just generally not the kind of story and treatment I'm looking for in anime/manga titles.

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