If youve ever been unemployed youve got some idea of what Yato is going through. Nobody respects him nobody believes in him and nobody wants to hire him. On top of all that the one person he has by his side in life has just left him citing his constant failures on both personal and professional levels as her grounds for doing so. Now that hes all alone and struggling to scrape by hell have to set aside his dignity and take every single job that comes his way whether hes qualified to complete them or not Weve all been there at some point but where Yatos experiences differ from ours is that for each job he can only accept about five hundred yen in payment Because hes an aspiring Japanese God. Just when it seems like hed be forever alone on his journey his life takes a sudden turn with the introduction of two people he may have just been fated to meet Hiyori a high school girl who somehow obtains the powers of astral projection when she attempts to save Yatos life and Yukine the resurrected spirit of a longdead teenage boy. Their lives quickly become intertwined as the sins of his past start to take notice and haunt him once more. Can these three kindred spirits get along with each other long enough to help Yato realize his ambitions in the spiritual hierarchy or will simply surviving turn out to be a tough enough challenge on its own? 660http://fanaru.com/noragami/image/29605noragaminoragami.jpg Noragami was animated by the once famous Studio Bones and while its not their best looking work its probably their best looking recent work. There is a budget disparity because this is Bones and theres always a budget disparity but its relatively well managed. While there is a good chunk of action throughout the story its also a very dialogue heavy series full of characterbanter and exposition. The budget gets cut during these scenes which is generally the ideal way to go about it unnoticed. In exchange for this the action scenes have a great flow to them the comedic scenes can use just enough movement to give them the energy they need and guys the spirits that Yato and his friends have to fight are just resplendent. The character designs are simple and a little on the generic side utilizing templates that youve no doubt seen in many modern anime. They do their job well enough but the only thing that sets them apart from the norm are a few unique touches that were added to their outfits and the attractive design of their eyes. Thats not to say theyre bland looking in any way but there isnt much visual flare to any of them. The backgrounds and environments are highly detailed and richly colored but in keeping to form with the character designs this is nothing you havent seen before. The exception to this is in their highly expressive faces which are versatile enough on their own to distract you from the few times that a key frame lingers on screen for a few seconds too long. The music on the other hand is a lot more original and inspired. I didnt notice it for the most part Not because it wasnt there but because it was doing its job well But the few tracks I did notice were the kind that Id have no problem playing in my car thanks to the diverse compositions of Taku Iwasaki. Most of the shows more noticeable tunes are blends of rock and traditional Japanese music with contemporary styles like drum and base and techno creating a unique sound that helps to elevate the series beyond the general aimlessness of its story. Blood pumping music makes for good action and a good beat is essential for making it work. The beat on most of these tracks tracks is so good that you may catch yourself nodding your head and tapping your foot in time with it. Even outside of the opening and closing theres a surprising amount of vocal work in the background music. Theres rapping in these songs Yes it surprised me too not just by how good it sounds but the fact that its there at all. Straight up rapping and if thats not unusual enough there are also a lot of instances Especially in the tune Noratan That use vocals as if a person were shouting random sounds into a megaphone rather than singing them and it all comes together really well. This is a series that blends classic Japanese mythology with modern styles and attitudes and while its nowhere near the first anime to do this it is the only one I can think of that used an equally anachronistic music style and it fits the series perfectly. The opening Goya no Machiawase by Hello Sleepwalkers is a little more standard than the rest of the soundtrack but its still on the high end of the scale. Its a soundtrack that shines with effort and inspiration overall and it sounds just as good whether out of context or in context. The recently released English dub was a Funimation endeavor and with the Japanese being such a solid blend of comedy and drama they had quite a bit to live up to But Funimation has proven themselves before and with Bonny Clinkenbeard behind the wheel they prove it once again. Brynn Appril plays the lead role of Hiyori the quirky highschooler who gets caught up in this whole mess and boy does her voice get a workout. Between having to scream whenever her character overreacts to somethingwhich is a thing that happens a lot and lecturing her new friend over his behavior or just singing to herself over her newfound powers she never recites a single line without amping up the emotion behind it. Shes the cornerstone of the chemistry that these three possess and Brynn does a great job upholding it. Then again so do her costars Jason Leibricht and Micah Solusod. Their performances are just as animated as hers if not moreso during their stronger moments. As the downonhis luck Yato Liebricht really does sound like a guy holding onto hope and trying to enjoy his life despite the huge weight hanging over him and the dark past that hes supposedly put behind him. Micah Solusad goes on more of a journey than the other two following the spirit Yukine as he tries to make do with his situation although never shying away from openly criticizing the boss hes been saddled with. He keeps it together but its clearly a struggle and As they say Somethings gotta give and when it does he breaks through as the star of this dub. Alexis Tipton as Kofuku is Alexis Tipton. Which is a good thing. Noragami gets off to a great start. It introduces us to a very interesting universe and a strong premise revolving around the ambitious but heavily flawed Yato and his two friends who are just likable as he is and through them we get to explore the intricacies of this spiritual society existing just out of reach of normal human acknowledgement. Theres a lot of potential in these early episodes and Ive seen a lot of people say that it sort of drops the ball after that point. In a way Im inclined to agree as once everythings laid out on the table well Noragami does lose start to show some cracks. First of all it kind of cant be ignored This series is based heavily on Japanese mythology and it makes the mistake of assuming the viewer is familiar with that kind of material. A lot of the details of its universe are mentioned without any explanation or buildup and while those in the know will be able to understand the context of those details enough to not question how it works most American viewers will likely treat each piece of it with a raised eyebrow and at best an if you say so kind of response. See in order to do his job Yato needs the aid of a shinki or In the dub A Regalia. He takes the spirit of Yukine as his regalia and can turn him into a weapon whenever necessary See Soul Eater for more on this concept. For those of us who dont regularly study Japanese mythology well hear something like A God will start to deteriorate if their regalia misbehaves and their deterioration can be caught by other Gods like a flesh eating bacteria and wed respond to this with a blank stare. It fits together about as well as saying that once the human population reaches one million the moon will blow us up. Yeah were along for the ride but it kind of wrecks the immersion of the experience. A lot of the details are explained to us through Hiyori Which Im sad to say is her main job in the series But it rarely ever goes any deeper than just This is how this works dont worry about the logic of it. You could say its my fault for not being worldly enough to get it but Ive always been a strong believer in accessibility. You shouldnt have to study to understand whats going on in a story. Thats not to say an anime with rich cultural subtext shouldnt inspire people to seek out more information about said culture but you should still be mindful of those who havent or even wont. Ive criticized much better shows than this one for their accessibility issues and I wont be giving any quarter over it today. Following the halfway point the series loses its sense of direction as well as any interest it may have had in Yatos pursuit of higher godhood. Concepts brought up during the first half are dropped entirely enemies from his past reappear in the story out of nowhere Like seriously one of them just happens to show up because one of Hiyoris friends prays to him offhand at a shrine And the stakes drop rapidly to the point that the only thing Yatos really fighting for is the one thing that works the best in the series His friendship with Hiyori and Yukine. And speaking of Hiyori shes kind of a pitiful main character. My plot summary focused mainly on Yato because hes a lot more interesting than she is and she doesnt really become important to the plot until episode 10. Shes likable and she gets a few laughs in the early episodes but shes never really given an identity beyond that point other than being the glue of their friendship. While the idea of her leaving her body behind whenever she goes spirity comes off as funny at first they do so little with it and the fact that her lifeless body has been sitting out in public for extended periods of time is just swept under the rug. She leaves her body outside in the rain for over a full episode and when she gets it back she doesnt have a cold or anything. While I can understand people saying that the first half was a lot stronger than the second half I would like to respectfully disagree. I took issue with this series as early as the third episode and found myself hating it throughout the fourth episode and my feeling has a lot to do with its attitude towards depression and suicide. See in the world of Noragami people dont decide to commit suicide on their own A malicious spirit attaches itself to people who are experiencing negative emotions and pushes them towards expressing it through extreme methods. Now an immediate defense for this might be Isnt that how the witches in Madoka Magika work? Well no. The witches in Madoka Magika use suicide as a weapon but they attack indiscriminately against anybody in the area. Theyre not the sole cause of suicide they just utilize it. In Noragami Yato states twice in episode three alone that if a soul wants to kill itself then its being possessed. Unless this is a translation error Which I doubt Noragami openly blames suicideAnd murder and even bullying on spiritual possession. On the one hand you could say that possession is a metaphor for depression that an undeniable force is taking control of you and urging you towards things you dont want to do. And yeah that metaphor kind of adds up save for two serious problems. First of all its a situation that can conveniently be solved by simply killing or exorcising the offending demon. This throws the metaphor argument directly under the bus as even if youre able to stop a depressed person from killing themselves depression is not that easy to cure. Its a complicated illness with countless possible catalysts and to imply that they can all be erased by getting rid of that pesky negative feeling is just insulting. This isnt a metaphor. Its an oversimplification and a stupid one at that. Noragami didnt set out to belittle a lot of peoples real life problems I know that wasnt its intention and demonic possession isnt the worst way to explore it. Its been done and its been done well. The problem is that this show just doesnt show any evidence of understanding the topic its dealing with. For the perfect example theres an extensive scene in episode 4 where Yato Friends are accidentally dialed by a man whos jumping off of a building. Throughout what must be the longest fall in historySeriously you could do your taxes before hitting the ground he tells them that he fell in love with a young woman and from then onwards he had worse and worse luck resulting in his business failing and going bankrupt. Its revealed that he was dating the goddess of poverty so Yato severs his connection to said Goddess saves him from the fall and then Eureka everythings resolved Except no its not. They havent solved his financial problems nor have they rid him of the hard times and deep shame that clearly came with it so theres no saying whether or not hell try to die again. Also his cruel sociopath of a woman gets off easy just because she thought what she was doing to him was funny. No Im sorry they havent undone the damage that was done to him and I dont believe shes never going to target anybody ever again. And this is one of my biggest problems with Noragami By defeating these spirits youre not helping anybody youre just putting a bandaid on a wound thats going to reopen again and youre just stopping there. I dont care what youre going through or how much youre suffering Just as long as you dont resort to any methods thatll make people sad Yeah I know this has some kind of ties to Japanese beliefs but theres another Eastern belief that Id like apply to this If you save somebodys life youre responsible for that life. Its not Japanese but its still relevant. Now that proverb may have many meanings but in this case Id like to use it as meaning that if you step in and prevent them from committing suicide youve become involved in their struggle. You have just taken away their way out and youd better be damn well ready to show them another way out otherwise youre just pushing your belief on other people to preserve your own sensibilities. In Noragami the idea seems to be Nope youre not gonna die Good luck And to me that seems just as irresponsible as not doing anything. So with all of these problems that I had with Noragami is it a bad show? Nope Its two strongest elements thankfully. take up the majority of the series. The first is the action which While poorly set up through rushed villains Is freaking awesome whether your brains turned off or on. The animation never really looks bad but these fight scenes are where the budget shines through gloriously and while the villains may have had writing issues theyre all a lot of fun. Theyre well designed and intimidating and they have compelling motives that are tied to Yatos dark past which is a really smart way to grow him as a character By showing him literally battling against his past sins. And the second is the relationship between Yato and his Regalia Yukine. Their dynamic is very effective at holding up their separate yet still intertwined arcs. Yato brought Yukine back to life in order to use him as a tool to help him get back on his feet and maybe even restore his long lost glory. He thinks of him as an object needing to follow orders and obey his beck and call. Yukine hates this and rebels almost immediately acting out in ways that damage Yato. Yato has to learn how to be fair and treat his Regalia like a person and Yukine needs to learn to accept his fate and respect the one who gave him his second chance. Its a very parent/child sort of dynamic and it works really well because nether character is fully in the wrong and theyre both acting in relatable understandable ways. Weve all been to that place where we resent somebody for disrespecting us and taking our generosity for granted. Weve all been in places where we felt disgruntled over situations that were forced upon us without our consent and yes some dark part of us wanted to see other people suffer what we have to suffer. Its a very welldeveloped conflict and with Hiyori acting as the glue between them we never have to wonder why Yukine doesnt just quit the way Yatos previous Regalia did. In fact Ill be perfectly honest I liked the second half of this series more than the first half simply because it spent so much time on these two aspects of the series that I enjoyed the most. 660https://moesucks.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/noragami1204.jpg Noragami is available from Funimation. At the time of this writing you can find it on Amazon in the DVD/Bluray combo pack format for just over half of the original price. You can also find it on Funimation.com and Amazon Instant Video and the undubbed subtitled version is available on Netflix. The original manga IS available stateside from Kodansha comics USA and from what Ive heard it tells a much more complete story than the series does. A second season is scheduled to air in Japan in October and from the summaries Ive read it will be following the story of one of Yatos enemies a blonde woman with an eyepatch named Bishamonten. Noragami is a somewhat problematic show suffering from issues on almost every level but the product as a whole is worth more than the sum of its parts. If youre interested in Japanese mythology then its worldbuilding makes it out to be a decent introduction to the subject. The inconsistency of the writing kind of works in its favor as it tends to give up on the things its doing wrong and focuses most of its time on the things it does right for better or worse. Personally I did enjoy the good parts of it enough to watch it a second or maybe even third time in the future although Ill probably be skipping episode four when I do so. Combining that with some solid animation and the most interesting soundtrack Ive heard in years I give Noragami a 6/10.