It’s not mahou shoujo… at least I don’t think it will be…
So Fall season is finally here and I’m pretty stoked about the wide selection of anime series this season. One of them being Kannagi. Despite having a pretty clique premise, I think this show really has potential. The characters so far are great and the animation quality was pretty impressive. This series may be one I will pick up as my blogging choice for this season. I’m not too sure yet if there will be another series that I will blog as I’ve been pretty busy (and lazy) lately, but there are a few more shows that I want to check out.
Summary
Meet Jin, your ordinary teenage protagonist. He seems to have a strong sense for the supernatural and can see spiritual beings (”impurities” being one of them so far). After creating a statue out of wood cut from a sacred tree, Jin encounters a strange occurrence when Nagi, an incarnation of a deity, comes bursting out of the very statue he created.
Nagi explains to Jin that she is a guardian deity of the land and asks how she ended up in her current form. Jin tells her that he made her the situation and shows her what has become of the shrine where the sacred tree resided. This puts Nagi into great shock allowing a bug (or “impurity”) to come into contact with her. These impurities sort of infect Nagi as she seems to be weakened by them. Nagi tells Jin that because of the sacred tree being cut down, the impurities are free to roam around and cause trouble. However, Jin is able to see and even touch the impurities without much trouble.
Nagi creates a magic wand to get rid of the impurities after being inspired by a magical girl anime she sees on TV. She relies on Jin to capture the bugs as she cannot touch them herself. Because of this new found partnership, Nagi decides to stay with Jin in his home (he happens to be living alone anyway… how convenient). This, of course, causes him all sorts of problems as Nagi has very little understanding of the modern world.
Impressions
As I’ve said earlier, I think this series has potential. So far the characters seem likable and the animation is really smooth. Both of those reasons are a bit superficial, but that doesn’t mean we still can’t enjoy it. I’m not exactly sure what the show is supposed to be about though. I know that it’s pretty much supernatural comedy, but other than that and the whole “cleansing of impurities” thing. I don’t really have much to go on. I haven’t read the manga so I don’t have that as a reference yet either.
Honestly speaking, the story so far has been pretty mediocre. The premise isn’t anything new (male lead finds a magical girl bit) and the characters aren’t really that unique either. But the key word here is “potential”. What may start off slow and familiar may end up being something great in the end. Also, there really isn’t anything in here that I would call fanservice for now (good news for some, bad for others =P).
Jin is your average male protagonist. But while his character isn’t anything new, I do like the fact that he’s not too pathetic/cowardly nor is he too aggressive/over-the-top. He’s pretty much in the middle. He’s sensible, a little bit daring, and independent. I guess being more “normal” makes him to be much more believable as a character. I’m just spewing nonsense, but overall I think Jin manages to be a decent protagonist for this type of genre.
Nagi is lovable. Even though, she is a god, her personality isn’t that extreme either. She does have her moments where she acts all high and mighty, but at other times she acts a bit more sincere. In the end, she doesn’t get on my nerves like a lot of female leads do. Hurray for Nagi.
There were a few moments that I really thought were either funny or just plain adorable (yes I said adorable). Jin’s “almost perverted” moments were pretty amusing while Nagi’s discovery of Taiyaki was dangerously cute.
OP: motto☆Hade ni ne! by Haruka Tomatsu
ED: Musuhi no Toki by Haruka Tomatsu
I found the OP (not the song itself) to be pretty awesome. At first I felt a bit uncomfortable since I’m really not into the whole idol thing and the movements seemed kinda strange. However, after watching it a bit more, I felt that it was pretty fun to watch and the animation here was well done.
The ED, to be honest, was a bit boring so I couldn’t finish it the whole way through. Maybe when I’m feeling a bit more generous, I’ll sit down and listen/watch it more closely.
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Comments (16)
I want to pick up this series. First!
Asperger's Anime Blog added these pithy words on Oct 07 08 at 12:38 amAnother reason I liked the first episode was their good timing with the punchlines. They were funny when they tried to be funny, not funny like Code Geass.
Calaveth added these pithy words on Oct 07 08 at 1:40 amI think the OP’s focus on Nagi becoming an idol will become clearer as the series progresses. Given THAT’s lack of spoiler tags, I won’t say anything here, but suffice to say that, in the manga, Nagi WANTS to become an idol. Why? Well, what happens to a God that isn’t worshipped, hmm (play enough D&D and this should be clear)?
Myssa Rei added these pithy words on Oct 07 08 at 1:40 am“I made it - then i got the wood”
There, fixed the title for ya.
But honestly, for a sinto goddess she has some highly fashionable booties…even if they dont really match her other clothing. How did she get it anyways, the carving was dressed as a miko, right ? But hey, its Japan, land of psycho fashion.
“Well, what happens to a God that isn’t worshipped”
Terry Pratchett, “Small Gods” novel.
you forgot the best part where kannagi Goes into hyper drama mode when she finds out about the passing of her tree or the moment she gets so shocked by the male protagonist being able to touch the impurities. those moments cracked me up
Detroit metal city added these pithy words on Oct 07 08 at 3:01 amI agree that this show has potential - the protagonist’s attitude is very refreshing, plus since he lives alone we can probably get away without all those formulaic episodes about hiding from parents and whatnot. It seemed as if this could have easily strayed into fanservice territory, but it’s as if at every turn the creators made a conscious decision to deny that route. Oh, look, Jin looks at her ass and then actually get turned on, only getting embarrassed when he realizes she might notice. Wow, he hops out of the bath totally naked and is only minimally shy. Nagi, for her part, is super cute. I like the look they gave her, especially the haircut, even though I usually hate bangs. All in all, I hope you pick this one up, because I look forward to reading what you have to say about it in the weeks to come!
jiff added these pithy words on Oct 07 08 at 6:14 amBesides Gundam 00, this series really stood out so far. It was a really strong first episode. I’m a bit leery of the whole ’supernatural threat’ premise but Kannagi has a good balance of slapstick comedy and seriousness.
This series is somewhat similar Tetsuwan Birdy Decode but with more laughs and I enjoyed that show so Kannagi seems to be worth a few extra episodes at the very least.
Halcyon added these pithy words on Oct 07 08 at 6:38 amhaha, the opening is an eye-catcher, i like it.
recently the “dance”-openings are pretty popular, wheter as opening or ending.
nagi is very much adorable in the first episode and the boy has a good character and attitude *g*
the funniest scene, i think, was when he picked the bug and threw it away hahaha nagi’s expression and then his action.
hope it keeps goin on like that.
tommykn added these pithy words on Oct 07 08 at 8:20 amWait until you meet Nagi’s ’sister’ Zange-chan. She’s, uh, more ‘healthier’ than Nagi, but her arrival also puts into a more serious perspective Nagi’s need for attention.
Myssa Rei added these pithy words on Oct 07 08 at 8:16 pmThank you all for the comments. I really appreciate it. I’ll probably be blogging Kannagi for sure now, but I’ll have to wait and see the second episode.
@Asperger: Congratulations!
@Calaveth: Yeah, I thought the comedy was well placed in this one… unlike other shows I’ve watched recently. ¬.¬
@Myssa Rei: Ah, that explains a lot. I thought it was another one of those “gimmick” OPs.
@Karry: Honestly, I don’t know how she got that outfit. After looking at the wood carving again, she was dressed more like a shrine maiden. But it’s a supernatural comedy, things don’t necessarily have to make sense around these parts.
@DMC: Oh there were plenty of parts I could’ve included, but I try to keep my posts relatively short. Also, I’m kind of assuming most people have watched the episode already so I don’t have to point out each and every event of the show.
@jiff: While I do like fanservice sometimes, I’m kind of glad that they didn’t go with that route. Of course, it still doesn’t make this the most sophisticated of anime out there, but it makes it a bit more respectable in my opinion. Also, it doesn’t take away from the entertainment factor of the show which is a big plus.
@Halcyon: I’m glad you like the show so far. I know we shared some of the same feelings for TLR previously so it’s good to hear that we’re on the same page again.
@tommykn: I may sound like a newbie for saying this but, I think Haruhi had a big part in making those “dancing” OP and ED very popular. Of course, it was probably done before, but I haven’t heard of one that had as much popularity as Haruhi’s ED.
Shokkeru added these pithy words on Oct 07 08 at 9:15 pmLikeable anime- I reckon Nagi is closer to this season’s Haruhi than Taiga to some degree…
Vin-nii added these pithy words on Oct 08 08 at 12:14 amI couldn’t get past the superficiality of recurring anime motifs…Dennou-coil’s black, digital(spirit) things, the seemingly odd resemblance (in ways) of Nagi and Chi, the childhood memory set up, the inevitable harem?, etc. etc.
If it excels at mediocrity it won’t last past episode 3.
lelangir added these pithy words on Oct 08 08 at 12:27 amLelangir: Actually, in the manga (at least the parts I’ve read so far), Nagi’s hasn’t displayed ANY attraction to the lead (that seems to be her sister Zange-chan’s schtick), and has been using him as a tool. Plus, there’s the fact that her cover story is that she and Jin are half-siblings…
Myssa Rei added these pithy words on Oct 08 08 at 1:56 amDude, the ED was beautiful in my book. And it actually seems to tie in with the thematic of the story as well.
One of my fave EDs this season so far.
Shippoyasha added these pithy words on Oct 08 08 at 5:47 am@Vii-nii: Perhaps, but I try not to use comparisons to other anime to describe a series.
@lelangir: Familiarity isn’t always a bad thing. It may seem to have many recurring themes (some which I don’t particularly agree with), but that doesn’t mean it still can’t be enjoyable. If you’re looking for something new and innovative in an anime series, this probably isn’t for you. However, I think it can still be an enjoyable series… not the BEST series, but still pretty darn good.
@Shippoyasha: I’m not doubting it’s a good ED. I’m just saying at the time I was watching it, I felt very bored with the first few seconds of it. So, I jumped through parts of it and the whole static images thing never worked for me. I’ll go back to it once I have more time again and give it a good listen. Again, I didn’t mean to discredit the ED, I just didn’t feel like listening to it and thus didn’t give it a proper review.
Shokkeru added these pithy words on Oct 08 08 at 12:41 pmShokkeru: Yeah, I wrote about that at Yukan. It may not be original but it was really enjoyable. I especially like Nagi’s VA, she’s kind of Kana-ish (Minami-ke) and her voice is sort of deep like Marina’s.
lelangir added these pithy words on Oct 08 08 at 3:02 pm