Noragami

• Characters: 2  /3
• Story: 2  /3
• Enjoyment: 1.5  /2
• Art: 1  /1
• Animation: 1  /1

Overall Score: 7.5/10

Personal Score: 6/10

Noragami in one word: Interesting

Noragami is the story of a minor god named Yato who is one day saved by a girl named Hiyori when she pushes him out of the way of an incoming bus. She takes the hit but awakes in the hospital to find she’s completely fine. Only, she really isn’t. Hiyori has become a “hanyou”, a half phantom that is able to leave her own body in the form of a spirit. She makes a request for Yato to help her and change her back to human. The story centers Yato, Hiyori, and Yato’s “regalia” named Yukine, a weapon gods are able to use in combat.

I definitely had a love-hate relationship with the characters of this show. For the most part, I found the main three likable. But there were parts I was rolling my eyes or facepalming at the way they reacted to certain situations. Especially the story revolving Yukine. Yes, I did feel sympathy for him. But for the most part he came off as more whiny and bratty than anything else. In the end however, he redeemed himself and managed to get over my initial dislike. All in all, the characters weren’t bad, but there were just some things that kept me from really appreciating them. Also, the voice acting was great. I was especially fond of Yukine’s seiyuu who I give two thumbs up to.

There’s so much to discuss about these characters, that I think I’ll be doing an actual review of them some other time. But for the sake of trying to keep this short and sweet, I’ll move on.

The story was all in all, good. It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t great, and it was just enough to keep me watching to the end. From the first episode I was expecting the series to be more of a comedy, but as it progressed, it took on a more serious tone than anything else. The dialogue was well-written and there was a good sense of pace. The series seemed to move at the perfect speed. 

One of my favorite things about Noragami is that they took my hated “damsel in distress” trope and completely ripped it to shreds. What I found was that Hiyori was the one to save Yato (and even Yukine) more often than not, rather than the other way around! It was refreshing and I loved how it balanced equally with Yato rescuing Hiyori.

The only flaw that I can really pick out was the fight at the very end when the drama felt a little forced. Regarding the fight, the thing that bothered me was how Yato got a sudden power boost for no apparent reason. They tried to implement drama into the scene, but it ultimately fell short. And the part I hated most was the scene between Yato and Hiyori under the rocks. (If you’ve seen the anime already, you’ll know what scene I’m talking about.) What should’ve been a moment that tugged at your heartstrings and had you cheering turned around and slapped you in the face. How? Comedy. They tried to make you LAUGH at that part by putting in a joke. The one time it was necessary to be serious and they spit in your face.

Sigh.

It would’ve been FAR more endearing and smart if they’d kept the scene serious. But, let’s move on.

The art and animation in Noragami is fantastic. Characters are drawn well and animation is very smooth. There are few times where they cop out in these categories and take the easy way. The opening sequence is fantastic and fun. Also, the songs they choose for the opening and ending were both great. (You can never go wrong with Supercell music ❤ )

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So to sum it up:

Pros: The story pacing is well done and hardly ever stalls. The characters are all around very likable and fun. The art and animation is done extremely well. The voice acting is solid and in some scenes, the seiyuus seriously shine.

Cons: The mood of the anime can change at the drop of a hat and not really in a good way. There’s a fair amount of fan service, though it seems to gravitate towards being more serious than perverse (not by much at times, however). A lot of decisions the characters make (or don’t make) sometimes leaves you scratching your head. And for me, I cannot get that one scene out of my head where it should’ve been taken seriously rather than turned into a joke.

Worth watching? Yes. It’s not the best thing out there but it’s certainly not bad. It’s above average in most categories and all in all, a solid anime. The dialogue will make you laugh at times, but occasionally scratch your head. The plot moves well and the ending is certainly satisfying though it’s obvious there’s more to the story.

Shiki

• Characters: .5  /3
• Story: 1  /3
• Enjoyment: 1  /2
• Art: 1  /1
• Animation: .5  /1

Overall Score: 4/10

Shiki in one word: bloody.

Shiki is the story about a secluded little village where one by one, the residents begin mysteriously dying. After a secretive and strange new family moves in and their secrets are revealed, all hell breaks loose. The family’s secret? They’re vampires (aka shiki).

The characters are a weak point. In fact, the only one that stood out for me was Dr. Ozaki.

And the only other character I liked was Akira.

 But it’s just because he was adorable

Other than that, everyone was bland, weird, or just plain annoying. Like…really, really annoying.

The pacing of the story is atrocious. Almost nothing happens until the very end. Which is the high point of the entire anime. Some episodes I was just bored to death. Nothing happens. Nothing. The majority of the anime is them trying to figure out what the heck is going on. It’s as if every villager that dies needs an episode all to their self. Not to mention the residents are all pretty dumb considering the fact that they don’t even try to figure out why people are dying. They just blindly accept that there’s a disease going around. ‘Kay.

Also, the animation isn’t all that spectacular. Characters don’t do much and a lot of it is just standing around.

So what are the high points? As I said above, the very end. If you’re a fan of horror and gore, you will eat up the last few episodes. It’s so bloody awesome. -insert canned laughter-

I LOVED the portrayal of vampires. Shiki brought them back to their roots and showed them for what they’re suppose to be – monsters. Vampires are monsters and they acted as such in Shiki. The soundtrack was also very fitting and set the moods perfectly.

The art was great, but the character designs were…weird.

 (I can’t take him seriously, I just can’t! I want to pet his fluffy head!)

But the faces are well drawn, ESPECIALLY the creepy ones.

 (e.g. THIS.)

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So to sum it up:

Pros: The last few episodes rock. The art is well done and the soundtrack does a good job of mood setting. Shiki also takes vampires back to their original, roots of being feared monsters.

Cons: Almost all the characters are boring, annoying, or both. The story is agonizingly slow and the only eventful things that happen, happen in the very last episodes. The animation isn’t anything to sing about. The dialogue feels overused at times and you’ll hear the same things over and over again.

Worth watching? If you’re a fan of Higurashi-styled deaths, then you will love the ending. If you have a sadistic streak, there are a number of scenes that you’ll be grinning at. Pretty much, if all you want is blood and don’t care for characters or story that much, Shiki will be for you since the end will make up for pretty much everything. If you can’t stand stories that move slowly, STAY AWAY. Or you can always watch the first episode then skip right to the last few. I wouldn’t really recommend this series. While I did enjoy it, it was only because the ending made up for the most of it.