KamiNomi Returns

This shot of Keima in ep 1 sums up how I felt upon hearing
the music.

I loved The World God Only Knows, aka Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai, when I first saw it a few years ago. In fact, this amusing anime inspired me to Google free, clean, girl-oriented dating sims (aka otome games). The game Re: Alistair++ brought me great joy as I tried to get all the endings. If I wasn't so reluctant to expand my entertainment budget (read: slightly tightwad-ish), I'd support the wonderful, kind, generous creators at SakeVisual by buying their for-profit games.

Anyway, the second season of KamiNomi was just as enjoyable as the first, as far as I remember.

When I found out that another installment would air this season, I was tentatively excited. Why "tentatively"? I'm afraid that certain American movies have beaten me down, teaching me not to expect too much from sequels. The disappointment started early on, with Disney's Cinderella 2, and has returned several times. Yet I rarely have this problem with anime series. It's unfortunate that bad experiences in other media would follow me to anime.

The World God Only Knows: Goddesses arc (Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai: Megami-hen... oh, for heaven's sake! Let's call it KamiNomi 3) starts out wonderfully. The use of the first OP music releases happy chemicals before I can form the words "I like this." Oh, sure, much of the first episode is annoying. It makes me feel like I missed a whole season of anime, or forgot half of what I'd already watched. In truth, I just missed the OVAs and the manga. This comment on Crunchyroll helped me and many others feel better:

Nuclear42, you probably won't ever read this blog, but I thank you for being among the Crunchyroll users who think about their fellow fans. Thanks to the rest of you who take the time to clear things up, too.

Anyway, the makers could do anything short of completely butchering the episode, and I'd still forgive them. Happy feelings linger from their use of the old OP (which, conveniently, is titled "God Only Knows"). The second half of the episode had less flashbacks, leaving room for interesting scenes. We learn more about the mythology behind the show, which loosely employs some elements from various religious traditions about heaven, hell, demons, and goddesses.

We get to see old pals again, including Kanon-chan, who seems to be living a more balanced, happy life thanks to her time with Keima in the first season... of course, life would probably be even better balanced without Apollo taking up residence in her. But I think Kanon would take a slightly air headed goddess for a bodymate over a loose soul any day. I sure would. Besides, she finally has an excuse to get Keima-san's attention again.

If all that sounded ridiculous, go here to read the Anime-Planet description of the first season, and here to watch all three seasons on Crunchyroll. Things will clear up pretty quickly. If you're a fan of anime about otaku, harem anime, dating sims/VNs, comedy, and/or fantasy, then trust me, this show is worth a try. Even if you hate one of the those categories I listed (like harem), you might like this one.

KamiNomi: Megami-hen looks like it may have a little bit more action than previous seasons. I'm not expecting epic battles or anything, but this could be exciting!

I thought I'd wait to post this until I watched all the episodes released so far, but it looks like I had plenty to say just after the first episode. I might post more on this show... or I might not. But, barring an unforeseeable disaster, I will be posting another "Rewind" post on Thursday. Stay tuned!