If you looked up "shoujo" in the dictionary, you'd likely find a picture of this series.
A/N: Part of Organization Anti Social Geniuses' Fall Evaluation
Tragic backstories and supernatural elements are a dime a dozen in the shoujo genre, but the presentation in Kamisama Hajimemashia makes it work. The common refrain of "I'm just a normal schoolgirl" is a valid point for protagonist Nanami to make, since despite being named the new god of a shrine, the story does not treat her nicely just because she's the star of the show. She's ignored, ridiculed, chased, and almost eaten, yet you start to get a feeling for her being a can-do, stubborn character, but not so stubborn that she won't apologize when she knows she's wrong. I imagine that a lot of the humor for this series will involve her getting into situations that she doesn't fully understand, but I've seen flimsier introductions to main characters, so I'll take it.
Our other lead, Tomoe, is beautiful in more of an androgynous way than the usual bishonen fare. "Dude Looks Like a Lady" was stuck in my head for most of this episode, and I mean that with the utmost of compliments. There's also no doubt that he's dangerous; the episode casts Tomoe in a similar light as Nyanko-sensei at the beginning of Natsume Yuujinchou, with him not really caring about anyone else except when it results in his own benefit, and having the power to back it up. Of course, since this is a romantic comedy (in case there was any doubt, the old woman narrator helpfully spells it out at the beginning) there are cracks in the cold exterior to show that he's a Good Buy before the kiss scene. And as for that... I found the romantization of it a little problematic given the circumstances and repercussions, but the show does get credit for establishing the context for it in the story's world and plot long before it happened. Context is everything, and I appreciate that it makes sense this time why the issue of consent isn't a discussion here. Tomoe has other things to worry about.
That said, I hope that the show slows down a little so that we can take in these characters and their world a little bit more. Apparently we covered an entire volume in just this episode! Romatic comedies sink or swim on the strength of their characters and how much the audience is able to connect to them, so I hope that all the other characters I saw in the ED and the preview won't dilute the pool too much. The animation could use a little more in the budget department (although at this point I suppose it's out of their hands or they're saving it for something special). There's a lot of standing around with nothing but mouths moving, with most of the motion done by the camera, not the characters. In its defense though, the characters aren't especially hard to look at (especially when Tomoe enters the picture). Overall, this looks like a solid entry for fans of the genre.
Images from Funimation.com.
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