I have not always been a fan of anime but then I saw Death Note earlier this year and there has been no turning back ever since.
Today, I'd like to write about one of my favourite anime so far.
Noragami (ノラガミ, lit. "Stray God")
Noragami isn't as popular as it deserves. It is one of those animes you wish never ends. But unfortunately, it has just 2 seasons.
Still, it is a very well-animated series with a unique plot.
I have a thing for the supernatural and deities and this series does a perfect job in bring a unique plot to the supernatural genre.
Plot
Noragami centres around a deity called Yato and his quest to the recognised and worshipped by millions of followers.
Yato was a minor deity and self-proclaimed 'Delivery God' who dreams of having millions of worshipers. The series started with him doing odd jobs for five yens apiece, which he'll eventually spend on scams and good-luck charms that allegedly bring happiness this made his weapon partner fed up and she left him.
In the series, gods were able to turn stranded souls on earth into powerful spirit weapons called Regalia.
Yato had not even a single shrine dedicated to his name. But this was not always the case. Yato was initially a God of calamity but decided to stop due to his dislike for violence; this led to him being forgotten by most humans.
In this anime world, negative thoughts, emotions and even actions have harsh consequences, this leads to the formation of Dark Phantoms that can curse and corrupt the world destroying it quietly from the inside. But thankfully, Phantoms face opposition from the Gods; deities who wield powerful spirit weapons - Regalia
In this series, gods do not interfere with humans and cannot be seen by them as well. They majorly act as providers of human wishes and protectors of humans from the corruption of Phantoms.
A good chunk of the series is focused Yukine; Yato's new Regalia
Yukine was a teenager who died and was thrown into this world of spirit and gods, he was saved by Yato from being corrupted by Phantoms and made one of them. Yato then went on to make him his Regalia.
But Yukine didn't want to accept the fact that he was dead.
Hiyori Iki is another major character in the series. She was involved in an accident with Yato which lead to her spirit leaving her body temporarily.
This made her able to see Yato and leave her physical body time and again.
Throughout the series, she represented an embodiment of goodness that had a positive influence on everyone. Although, there wasn't much of a back story on her.
Thoughts and Opinions
I loved the series a lot and wish it had more seasons. It didn't slack in its comedy which made it entertaining.
The show isn't completely remarkable but it showed a way of dealing with completely relatable issues.
Like the way it handles Yukine's acceptance of his death, Bishamon's(Goddess of Fortune; Goddess of War) amount of regrets and rage, and also, Ebisu's (one of the Seven Gods of Fortune and the humourless God of Fishing and Commerce) absolute desire to help humanity regardless of the cost.
The show is interestingly filled with good people that do not know the best path that they should take, leading them to go down paths they shouldn't.
This makes it some sort of Yato's task to help deliver everyone but he also has emotions, past experiences and inner demons that he struggles with.
Regardless, Yato shows a great sense of positivity, humour and goodness.
I think you should definitely see Noragami if you haven't!
I think it's a great anime, underrated if you ask me. Have you seen it? Let me know what you think in the comments