Gênero: Award Winning, Slice of Life, Supernatural
Estudio: Brain's Base
Sinopse:
Yurie Hitotsubashi was just an average middle school student living in the city of Onomichi on Japan's inland sea in the easygoing times of the 1980s. She spent her days worrying about exams and trying to get Kenji, the clueless boy she likes, to notice her. Then during lunch one day she suddenly announces to her friend Mitsue that the night before she had become a goddess. Their classmate Matsuri quickly latches on to Yurie's newfound divinity as a way to promote her family's bankrupt Shinto shrine. She hopes that replacing their hapless local god, Yashima-sama, with Yurie will make the shrine more popular (and profitable). Now, with Matsuri as her manager, Yurie has to grant wishes, cure curses, meet aliens, and attend god conventions. All the while attending school and working-up the courage to confess to Kenji.
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Comentários
Yuunagi
“Sleeping in classes and coming late. You haven’t changed at all, even after you became a god.” "God." The word alone brings up images of supposed grace, divinity, and perfection. However, Hitotsubashi Yurie is far from being the embodiment of those qualities. In fact, she's quite the klutz even by mortal standards. Even so, providence has chosen this middle school student for the role of shinto kami (deity). Fortunately, she has friends to help her out with her troubles, whether earthly or divine. Content: After seeing more than a few other shows featuring magical girls and moe-blobs, one might wonder how Kamichu! could stand out from the restof the crowd. The answer lies in its simplicity. Kamichu! may contain many extraordinary elements such as shinto gods, talking cats, and even aliens, but the treatment they get in the show is no more special than that of the more mundane aspects of an ordinary person's life. For example, while getting to know her godly powers and duties is important, Yurie also spends a fair amount of time worrying about her grades or trying to get closer to her crush.
Being a slice of life series, it's no surprise that the cast is another reason for the appeal of this anime. Their conversations and interactions have this candid and casual quality that few other shows could capture. Neither sickeningly sweet nor downright outrageous, their down-to-earth personalities make the characters easy to relate to and all the more lovable.
Execution:
Whether a spectacular spell is being whipped up or the characters are shown simply passing their time in an idle manner, the animation is generally well above average with a few forgivable hiccups. Also, there's always a surprising amount of detail on the screen. For example, the realm of the gods is certainly out of this world but the scenic city of Onomichi (said to faithfully depict it real-world counterpart) is no less captivating either.
However, the visuals are simply icing on the cake when compared to the audio. The soundtrack is top-notch and it simply sucks you into the soothing pace of the show. Like opium for the ears.
Overall:
Nostalgic, wholesome, simple, and magical, Kamichu! is a disarmingly cute show that would put smiles on the faces of even the most jaded audiences.
SeerQueen
This series encapsulates everything that is right about the slice-of-life genre - honest, character driven situations that one can relate to. Kamichu! manages to do this, and put a smile on your face at the same time. It is simply that good. But it is also more than just this genre. Kamichu! might not be incredibly flashy, and the pace of the show might put some viewers off. Yet there is a stillness, a gentleness to the story that it is easy to like every single one of its characters. It mixes fantastical elements such as the world of the God's, with the everyday livesof a group of junior highschoolers so seemlessly, that it suspends one's disbelief and you find yourself enjoying it.
The elements of Shintoism that permeate the show make it original and interesting, and if you are one of those viewers that wants to learn more about Japan's spiritual values, this might be a good starter for you too.
The animation quality is incredible, and very realistic. Even the lip movements of the characters are very well synchronised with the Japanese dialogue. Also, the backgrounds of the town and the environment are so beautiful, it is like watching animated characters super-imposed on top of real life photography. Even the settings for the world of the Gods' are very well drawn.
Every character is drawn very distinctly from each other. And every one of the God's is individual and original, so that you can recognize them quite easily.
The soundtrack conveys a nostalgic feel, a heartwarming accompaniement to the events of the episodes. For me, every time I hear the opening song, I smile. It is just so happy and cheerful...
Overall, I would recommend this show to those who are tired of watching shows which are pure fanservice or to those who are fans of well paced storylines. Not every episode might be to everyone's taste, but, as a whole, Kamichu! is really great.
If you enjoy learning about Japan's religious views, enjoy watching normal people dealing with sometimes extraordinary circumstances, enjoy watching something relaxing and de-stressful, or you just want to watch something which is heartwarming and charming and even cute... Kamichu! is for you :)
NeverKnowsBest26
The slice-of-life genre has been done to death in anime. Even the most unique of premises have been turned into mundane school yard comedies that squander their potential. Kamichu is a refreshing difference from this. While it does does share the same settings and many characteristic as the typical slice-of-life, it uses its unique premise to set a Ghibli-esque sense of wonder and imagination; tapping into some of the untouched potential of the genre. The story follows Yurie, a clumsy space-case middle school girl, who one night becomes a god. This however doesn't make her life any easier, as she knows nothing of what being agod entails, and still has to deal with the issues of a regular middle school student even as she takes up the responsibilities of a god. The mere premise and how it is handled is a reminder of what makes anime special; let's face it, if this premise was used in an American cartoon it would likely be a satire of religion centered around a middle-age man, which would include a lot of pop culture jokes and run so long that it loses sight of its original intent.
Of course, if the show went down the tired old route most slice-of-life anime do, it might have not been any better. What makes Kamichu special is the way it uses its premise to show Yurie grow as a person. Yurie knows nothing about being a god, and is pretty clueless in human affairs as well. Instead of just using this as a springboard for gags, the show pushes Yurie into situations in which she has to take action and make decisions, and thus learning and growing. The imaginative world that Yurie inhabits ties into this, with Yurie's experiences having a whimsical charm to them, whether it be rising the spirit of a sunken ship or attending a god convention, they are pleasant to watch.
Another big thing Kamichu has going for it is its likable cast of cast of characters. First and foremost are Yurie's two friends, Matsuri and Mitsue. The two are polar opposites, with Matsuri being outspoken and charismatic; while Mitsue is more reserved and cynical. The only common bond between them is their friendship with Yurie, which makes for some interesting and fun dynamic between the three. Then there are Matsuri's quiet younger sister, who can see spirits and gods (most people can't see gods other than Yurie, whom they can only see because she is also human); and Yurie's younger brother, who is similar to Mitsue in his cynicism. The rest of the cast consists of a wide array of humans, spirits, and gods including Kenji, Yurie's calligraphy-obsessed classmate and crush; and a poverty god residing in Yurie's cat, Tama. All are charming in their own way... and though they might wear down on some viewers' patience, as overly cutesy characters often do, it is a gripe overshadowed by their general likability.
On the technical side, Kamichu is really very nice. The character designs are generally adorable, especially those of Yurie, Matsuri, Mitsue, and of course Tama the cat; tough each in their own way. Sometimes the spirits and gods might look more weird than cute, but in an endearing way, kind of like in studio Ghibli's films. Actually, the visuals as a whole have a Ghibli-like spirit, though obviously not as polished as a big budget Ghibli film. That hardly matters though, few TV anime look as good as this. The music equally as beautiful, and really adds to the magic. There are some beautifully orchestrated pieces here that will have you feeling all warm inside as you gush about how cute the characters are.
Now, this all may sound like the show has nary a flaw, but actually it has a few very big ones. For as likable as the cast is, and how much time we spend with them, characters other than Yurie don't get a lot of development themselves. Sure, characters have their moments and those are wholesome on their own right, but they are dwarfed by the time the show spends on Yurie, or just being cute. That's another thing, for as wonderfully imaginative the show is, it does get too caught up in its whimsy and cuteness. It doesn't really dangle the cuteness in your face like lesser slice-of-life might, but it is distracting enough to take you out of the story more often than it should; like the alien scenario of episode three (with the alien being super adorable, of course). These are pretty big blows to the show, and take away from its overall quality of the story being told.
Though not without some major flaws, Kamichu is an enjoyable experience. It does what many slice-of-life anime fail to, tells a heart warming coming of age story. A story filled with likable characters and boundless imagination. More than anything, this is a good reminder of what the slice of life genre can be.
Venneh
Title: KamiChu! ~Kamisama da Chugakusei Manga, Anime: KamiChu! began running as a manga at about the same time the anime launched. The manga was illustrated by Hanahalu Naruko, and ran in Media Works' Dengeki Comic Daioh! from June of 2005 to January of 2007, and has two collected volumes total. It has yet to be licensed Stateside. KamiChu! was animated by Brains-Base (famous for their work on Baccano!) and directed by Koji Masunari (famous for his work on R.O.D -The TV- and the Read or Die OAV). It ran on Japanese TV from June 28th to September 27th, 2005. Only twelve episodes ofthe total sixteen aired on TV, and the other four were DVD-only. Geneon licensed it Stateside before it went defunct, and its fourth and final volume was released on December 19th, 2006.
Story: KamiChu kicks off with Yurie, a middle schooler, telling her friend Mitsue over lunch that she became a god last night.
Quite a kicker, huh? The rest of the series focuses on how Yurie balances godhood and school.
This is another one of those series where I'm torn.
On the one hand, this is cute done right, like Pino in Ergo Proxy. On the other, the cute is not enough to carry the story (or lack thereof). Each episode is a problem-of-the-week, and it's not that difficult to figure out how each episode is going to turn out.
Another problem that this series has is that Yurie skirts the line that divides special character from Mary Sue far too closely for comfort. And beyond basic character traits, none of the cast, even Yurie, gets any further development, which really hinders this series in the long run.
For a while, the cute overpowered my dislikes. But as I got into the home stretch, I found myself saying, "Yeah, it's cute. And?"
Art: The animation for this was done by Brains-Base, and they show their attention to detail in a different way than they did in Baccano!. KamiChu takes place in an actual town in Japan, and in comparisons done between the background art and actual photos of the town, you can see the detail and the similarity. The detail also shows in the girls' movements, which are a key factor in the all-around cuteness of the series.
Okama, a famous character designer, also did designs for the world of the gods, which we visit occasionally throughout the series, and for the gods themselves. They're absolutely astounding in their creativity (there's a LaserDisc god, for those of you who remember them).
The only thing I have against the art for this series is that the style that they use for blushes gets on your nerves after a while, because people do NOT blush like that.
Music: Neither the OP, ED, nor the background music for this series really stood out to me at any point in time. Average.
Seiyuu: No talent that I recognize, but overall, a good job.
Length: I don't think that they needed to add the four episodes that came on DVDs; twelve was about long enough for this series, unfortunately.
Overall: A cute show with beautiful art, but that isn't enough to save it from blending into the crowd.
Story: 7
Art: 9
Music: 8
Seiyuu: 8
Length: 7
Overall: 39/50; 78% (C)
ukonkivi
Ok, so writing a review for another one of my favorite. So of course, it's going to be hightly score. But in this, allow me to tell you why. Well being the sort of Neo-Pagan Shintoist Heathen that I am, it was right up my alley. After seeing this one wikipedia one day, I knew that it was a show for me and I just had to watch it. And I ended up of course...liking it. A lot. I suppose they could have done the Shinto theme really badly, but this did not. At all. Off of the preface, onto the individual qualities. Since I seem tolike doing things by the outlines.
1. Story
This show, has an amazing storylines, even if it doesn't have any twists and turns and all that. Now I may be biased by the premise, but I do think this is something anyone would find entertaining and a real charm of an anime no matter their religious affiliation. It's got good characters, and just...just an all around good slice of life anime. Simply put, I think it carries you around from episode to episode very nicely and think the very idea behind the anime is pure genius. And I could use more shows like this. And I'm a person's who's very likely to find slice of life dramas very boring.
2. Art
The art, which charming, isn't an area where this show is particularly exceptional. There's nothing really wrong with it, but there's nothing particularly special or that stands out. It's not your ultra-moe art style, but it's not your ultra-gritty action art style either. It's just sort of plain and pretty, and maybe a little bit leaning toward the typical moe drama art style. And I think that's fitting. It takes that sort of plain and typic drama art style, and carries it very far with a good storyline.
3. Sound
The sound, I don't remember so well. But I would have remembered it if there were something wrong. But I would have remembered if there were something right too. Maybe a few of the characters could have had better voicing, but not Yurie. But then again I'm not one to complain about voice acting, at least Japanese ones. Not usually. I think I can give this a definite pass, but I'm not sure how high to rate it. Somewhere in the upper sections. It's nothing ugly, but nothing great. I don't even remember what the music soundtrack sounds like and that's a bad sign.
4. Character
Well the characters is definitely a good part. Yurie and her friends, you really get to know them, and probably gain an affection for them as anime tends to do. They're really quite lovable, even if her friends are kinda plain. In character appeal, in my opinion Yurie is rightly the most developed. And her character and her close best friends as well I believe is spot on. They create a very cozy atmosphere which is the sort of atmosphere the show is I'm sure trying to bring about.
5. Enjoyment
I think that even though it's not the most dazzling evolution of anime art style or epic soundtracking or any such, it has a simple brilliance that can hardly be matched. It's slow and securing slice of life, without being boring. I can only explain the experience I can get out of it's simple brilliance to the feeling I get when watching a Miyazaki film. It's not very flashy, it's just...pretty. I may not have seen enough anime yet to truly say this, but I don't think I'll see to many anime out there in many years to come that I've enjoyed as much as this.
6. Overall
I think overall despite it's flaws, which mostly lie in not being overly outstanding or exceptionally well in one area such as art or sound, are well put to a whole that's an outstanding piece of work, and in my mind, a masterpiece. I really can't think of anything to give it lower than a ten and feel ok with it. It is a ten. It all fits together to be a perfect show. Even if the art isn't groundbreaking and the sound isn't memorable. It's still an absolutely perfect masterpiece that I wouldn't change a thing about.
You'll thank me for writing these reviews in criteria order when I start forgetting to do them that way and I'm rambling all over the place incoherently.
Djisas
Story: Kamichu! Is the story of Yurie Hitotsubashi and her friends. Yurie is a normal middle school student just like her friends, one day during lunch with her friend Mitsue, Yurie says she has become a god, just like if it was something normal, Mitsue believes her friend right away, upon hearing this Matsuri immediately introduces herself as Yurie’s best friend, asking her what kind of God she turned into, Matsuri is a priestess of a local shrine and is interested in the recently born God. After that, the 3 friend rush to the school roof to find out what kind of God she is, theytry everything to find out, but nothing works, then they notice some pieces of paper with some kanji writing flying from the higher part of the roof, it turns out to be Kenji Ninomiya, the boy Yuri has a crush on, she then sees a paper with the kanji “try your best” witted, after this her friends says if she confesses her love in a windy day, her love will be returned, and so they tell her to summon the wind, on a last effort Yurie yell’s “Kamichu!” (kamichu is the abbreviation for Kamisama de Chugakusei, means middle school God), a flag in a ship is seen being agitated by a light wind far away, as a warning of what is to come, but nothing else happens. Latter at night on the news there is a typhoon report, the typhoon is named Yurie and has an image of her face on the center, it was the first time the new God uses her power. Yurie now has to stop the typhoon, even without knowing what kind of God she is, but everything goes well…
Yurie, as a new God, will have to keep going to the school, as well taking care of her town.
Kamichu! is set in the city of Onomichi in Hiroshima prefecture, on the shores of Japan's Inland Sea. Many of the temples and landmarks shown in the anime are real places in and around the city, it is a city were spirits are everywhere, there is a spirit for every creation, and they are hanging around the city, but only God’s can see them and talk to them, Yurie will become a friend of all of this spirits, and will have to deal with problems like an alien from mars, a missing God, and others…
Kamichu, mixes the real with the fantastic like no other, if Studio Ghibli where to do an animated series, then it would be Kamichu…
The story is simple yet, a charming story…
Characters: The characters are the main reason why this is a great anime, a cast composed by humans and gods.
Most of the cast on Kamichu isn’t very known, as most of them have only performed secondary or minor roles on other animes, but still this cast couldn’t have been better chosen as every seyuu gives life to the characters perfectly…
The main cast is composed by Yurie Hitotsubashi, who discovered one day she had turned into a God, she is the center of the anime, and her cuteness and charm is what keeps all the other characters close to her, her powers are still unknown, but she always does what she wishes and what the others need, she has a younger brother Shoukichi Hitotsubashi, he doesn’t play a big role in the anime, but still there will be good moments between him and his sister, also later on he will develop a crush on Miko Saegusa…
Yurie seyuu is Mako, Her anime voice acting debut was in Kamichu, yet she did a great job giving life to the character, her voice suites Yurie’s cuteness perfectly and is responsible for making her so cute…
Mitsue Shijou, is Yurie’s best friend, she is quite and practical, she tries her best to help Yuri in her mission and tries to prevent her from being overused by Matsuri, she is also used by Yashima-Sama the local God, always getting possessed by him to interact with the other people and give his rock concerts, a situation which doesn’t make he happy…
Her seyuu is Kaori Mine, also rather unknown but with more experience than Yurie’s seyuu, also here she does a good job portraying the character…
Matsuri Saegusa is the energetic character and tries to use Yurie the best she can, but without bad intention, she has a younger sister called Miko Saegusa, she appears to be more mature and does most of the job at the temple, latter she will develop a crush on Yurie’s brother…
Rika Morinaga is another seyuu with little experience, she has only done some small roles on other animes, but like the rest of the seyuus she does a great work on portraying the energetic Matsuri …
Kenji Ninomiya, he is the boy from the calligraphy club, in fact the only one, and usually can be seen on the school roof working on it, he a simple and forgetful person, yet he is honest, he is the person Yurie-chan has a crush from since they entered middle school, but he is so spaced out he wont notice her…
He is played by Issei Miyazaki, he is also not very known in anime, but like all the other he does a good work…
Yashima-Sama is the local God at the Saegusa’a shrine, he will be missing early and Yuri will go after him to the God’s world, he usually possesses Mitsue in order to interact with other characters, but she doesn’t like it at all, especially when he performs his rock…
Kousuke Okano is a veteran but only on minor roles, he does Yashima’s role and does a good job…
Tama-chan, is Yurie’s cat, and is quite an interesting character as she (the cat) is possessed by the binbogami (Binbo+Kami, is the god of poverty), Tama-chan will always be near Yuri helping her out, and ads to the funny moments, its fun to watch Tama and Binbogami interact with the other character and with themselves, Tama is actually 2 characters, de cat and the God, the cat usually acts like a cat, and communicates with Yuri trough the conscience, while when acting like the Binbogami, voice changes, the expression’s and usually walks on 2 legs and can communicate with everyone talking like a normal person, in fact while acting like the Binbogami acts just like a person, doing things like eating watermelons and spiting the seed or taking he breakfast to lazy Yuri, the most fun moments are when Yurie’s brothers finds Tama/binbo doing thing a cat usually doesn’t do, and then trying to hide it making it even funnier…
As probably one of the most important characters in the anime, the most veteran seyuu does the two roles, Tama/Binbo, and does a great job, and when u get to know them you will know why; she is used to be the main character in the animes she performs, some of her best roles are: Lavie Head/Last Exile, Rebecca "Becky" Miyamoto/Pani Poni Dash!, and a lot others, gotta love her voice…
We can’t forget that besides the main characters, there are lots of other interesting characters, specially the minor spirits and goods, one for every creation all of them funny in their ways, specially the ones that interact more with Yurie-chan, and above all this is he special wish collecting team, the Shiwase team (team happiness) composed by he tiny boar, deer and butterfly, its always fun to see them around…
These are in part responsible for making the world look real…
Animation: The character design in this anime is awesome; this is clearly a superior anime, the character designs are attractive and the entire characters look really cute, the detail level is high and we can see the character faces actually moving while they talk, special attention on how the mouth follows the words and all the expressions the characters make, and this level of quality isn’t only in the first and last eps like most of the animes, this quality is a constant during all the anime, even the minor characters looks good and all of those minor gods…
Not only the character design on this anime is great, everything is, this is a colorful world
Full of detail, but everything looks real, like the houses, objects, the water, the aerial views of the town are beautiful and show all of this richness, the animations is so smooth, the characters blend perfectly with the background and never look out of place.
All of this together makes the Kamichu world look real; it makes u fell like if u went to that town you would find all of that…
Op animation: The op animation, manages to be even better than the rest of the anime, the animation gives a small view over the town and some of the characters, and is mostly composed of some scenes from the fist ep.
Ed animation: This is totally different from the rest of the anime, the animation here is a loot poorer than the anime, but that’s not what matter here, the animation is mainly composed by a static blue sky covered with white clouds in the background, with some green trees, in the front there’s two wood pillars covered with a red roof, in the middle a big sign where the Ed animation occurs, the tree close friends acting to the sound of music, Mitsue on the left playing the guitar, Yurie in the middle playing the maracas and Masturi on the right playing drum, all painted with aquarelle colors , the animation is poor but it actually makes it good looking and fun…
Music: Kamichu! has a great animation, great story, great character development, everything on it looks good, and the music gives all that the final touch, making it even greater. The music is mostly orchestral with traditional influences.
The Op "Hare nochi HARE [Fine Weather Followed by Fine Weather]" by Maho Tomita, a young and inexperienced seyuu, despised that, it is a gentle yet beautiful song and helps setting the always happy mood of the series.
The Ed "Ice Candy" by MAKO, is sung by Yurie’s seyuu, is a little more pop than the Op, but suits the Ed animation perfectly and also helps to the mood…
Overall: Kamichu! as been referenced as “Spirited away”, and with a reason, Kamichu! is in all similar to it, it has all the thing that made it a great movie, it touches the Gods, spirits and other deities theme and a little girl trying to live with all this.
The high production levels rivals with studio Ghibli, add the great characters and character design aided by the great animation and the lively background with great music and a good cast to give the final touch to a masterpiece.
Every episode is a new rich adventure with Yurie and all of her friends in the middle, and they will make sure every ep ends with a smile on our face, and after u finish all the ep you will feel like watching it al over again, and latter to be re-watch yet again…
BluesmanBGM
"There are as many gods as there are things created in the universe..." - Kamichu! Now I´m always very picky when it comes to good anime, and I don´t watch more than 2 or 3 new shows each year to focus on the individual show and characters. But until now, I usually choose the more popular and famous shows with a high ranking on MAL, e.g. Clannad, AnoHana, Natsume, or Hyouka. But some weeks ago I stumbled over this charming and beautiful little show named "Kamichu!" which aired in 2005 (while the story takes actually place in the years 1983 and 1984). The show has at themoment a ranking of no. 1163 on MAL, and I wondered what such a low number would actually mean. Why do people ignore the show? Why so few comments and reviews? Is it a bad show? Not worth any comment? Full of cliches and repetive stuff? With uninteresting characters and lots of other faults? None of that is true, because to me "Kamichu" is a exceptional gem or even treasure in the flashy world of the modern anime industry. I even would call it a unique show, but maybe that´s just me and my limited knowledge of anime as a mass product.
It is actually quite interesting to write about a show which has received so very little attention on MAL. Instead of tons of reviews and hundreds of posts and discussions, there is only a very small number of mostly short comments (but these are often high praise) and only around 18 - 20 people voted for each episode, so own thoughts appear a lot more personal. Still, I think the show would deserve much more attention and praise. I recommend in any case to watch all 16 episodes (only 12 of them aired on TV, but there are 4 more available on DVD), otherwise the show might appear a little unbalanced - as I will explain later. There will be slight spoilers.
What really caught my attention was that someone described the show as "Ghibli-esque" in a review. Being a great fan of the Ghibli movies of the late 1970s and 1980s, I would be careful with such a statement. Can a TV show really have qualities of a Myazaki movie? I was sceptical, but Kamichu convinced me that it is indeed possible - and that it is one of the probably very few shows in existence where the term "Ghibli-esque" actually describes the very feel and nature of a show in one word. And the quality appears in many aspects: the humanity and warmth of the stories and characters, their depiction as almost real beings (and not as artificial moe dolls), the slow pace and gentle development, the often rather subtle character elements in nuances and gestures instead of emotional manipulation, the real and detailled depiction of the town of Onomichi in the early 1980s in contrast to the surreal world of gods etc etc. Even the old Myazaki theme of flying appears several times.
The story is about middle-school girl Hitotsubashi Yurie, who practically becomes a Shinto God over night - with divine powers and all. It is never explained, how or why. The episodes simply follow her adventures (both as a new god and as a shy and lazy school girl) from this moment on, and how her life affects and enriches other lives around her. And it works very well even without any explanation, because the whole story approaches the matter of religion in a very relaxed way. The Japanese gods are maybe high and great, but they are not above "being human" in a certain way and share many character traits with the human cast. There is for example a certain male local god who would rather play guitar in a rock or even punk band (but has no real talent, as a talking dog tells him). On the human side, there is the head priest of a Shinto shrine who would rather be a vegetable farmer. Especially noteworthy is also the priests feisty daughter, who has to run the shrine but doesn´t seem to be quite sure if her true passion is more for religion or more for how to make easy bucks with religion and with silly how-to-get-our-shrine-rich-quick schemes.
Things which would probably be considered offensive in Western monotheistic religion are nothing extraordinary in the world of Kamichu - everybody just accepts that Yurie is now both - the shy and clumsy girl everybody knows and loves, but also a god. Just as the town is a place of both worlds or a place where the spiritual world permeates the real world without making it seem less real. Surreal spirits and youkai float often through the scenery but they seem to belong there with the same right as the sky, the clouds, and the sea. It´s just natural. The gods are treated both with kind humor (they are certainly not lofty) but also with deep respect. "There are as many gods as there are things created in the universe" explains one character. I´m an atheist, but I just like the Japanese approach to religion. You can do a show about people who fight each other with superpowers in many countries and cultures, but to do a show with such a unique look on religion is typically Japanese.
Another noteworthy thing is of course the technical side. The soundtrack and especially the BGM is great, and so are the voice actors (I think they are mostly people you don´t hear all the time in dozens of other shows, e.g. singer Mako in her first role ever as Yurie) which contributes a lot to the uniqueness of characters. The animation is very well done without being flashy or overly modern. It actually feels like a show from the 1980s done on a high budget. It especially shines when we go into the world of the gods, which is indeed a very strange place. The characters are drawn like "normal people" with normal cloths and certain flaws in their physique, maybe our main heroine Yurie might even look a little "ugly" to people who are used to polished dolls in the modern age of moe. There is no fancy Goddess transformation (just a very hairy one ;-)), almost no fan service, and certainly no fights or any other forms of serious competition.
In fact, the stories often seem to poke fun on certain anime cliches and character stereotypes. There is for example an episode about competition (Yurie runs for school president, it´s of course not her own idea but part of a scheme) but the whole "competition" ends in such a wacky and surreal way that it becomes clear that the story just made fun of it and all the political scheming and manipulation that goes with it. What a difference to some other anime, where being better and more powerful than someone else is often considered as the most important thing in life. I never like it. We also have a so-called "beach episode" with the girls in bathing suits, but instead of relying on pointless fan service (well, to be honest there is a little bit in the first minutes, I guess they just couldn´t resist) the story quickly changes its tone to a rather bittersweet atmosphere of nostalgia and bygone youth with a beautiful and again somewhat surreal ending.
Which leads us to a slightly negative side of the show. It tries to approach Yuries new life in two worlds (god and human) from several points of view, and as a result it mixes different genres without taking any of it too seriously. In principle a good thing because it gives opportunity for various imaginative and fresh ideas and for new situations each episode. However, it leads sometimes to rather silly ideas, genre mixtures, odd jumps in writing style, childish over-cuteness, and plotlines that simply go over-the-top just for the sake of being strange and funny. There are moments where one thinks "I guess I would enjoy this more, if I would be 10 years old". To give you three examples: one episode involves a pink Martian moe blob (literally) and then jumps to rather in-your-face political satire. Another episode involves overly cute furry kittens and then it actually jumps to a "Fight Club" parody. A third episode idolizes the national icon, ship of war, and WW2 weapon "Yamato" as a thing of wonder and innocent (?) beauty. Meh. Such moments might leave some viewers a little irritated, maybe especially Western viewers beyond a certain age.
On the other hand, they help to surprise the viewer each week with a new genre and situation - one week we deal with everyday middle school problems and laziness, the next week Yurie is surrounded by a platoon of JSDF troops with machine guns and has to escape by the use of divine powers and wisdom (watch out for that one, it´s a wonderful scene and certainly not what anyone will expect). So I´m actually a little uncertain about the wacky elements - sometimes they contribute to the fun and uniqueness of the show, sometimes they distract too much from the general reality behind the characters. It´s all a matter of taste.
A second minus point might be the whole standardized lovey-dovey stuff with Kenji, the boy Yurie has (for some reason) a crush on. He is actually a rather bland and oafish character, and while the lively girls can at least carry the sidestory with a certain enthusiam, it becomes even more uninteresting as soon as Kenji just opens his mouth and something stupid comes out. The depth of this relationship just isn´t very convincing. In fact, there is a second, smaller lovestory involving the younger siblings which appears as much more genuine and real than the main one. But neither of this is the main point of the story, so it doesn´t really bother me.
I would say there is a rather wacky phase somewhere in the middle of the run, while the later episodes become again more serious and reality-/character-driven. In fact, most of the later episodes which haven´t aired on TV have a more serious tone or deal with the characters. So seen as a whole with 16 episodes, the show appears quite well balanced to me and the little moments of silliness are easily excused (even those episodes have some good ideas). And watch out for a great running gag involving Yuries suspicious brother and the family cat who has a certain secret of her own. The backstory of the cat is actually also one about humanity and acceptance.
As a side note, the show has a very relaxed attitude towards various things, even including its running time which varies from episode to episode and isn´t fixed to the usual 23 - 24 minutes of nowadays. There are at least two character-driven episodes which are 30 minutes long, including the last one, episode 16. I like it, it shows that episodes just take the time they need to tell the story right. By the way, I am missing a discussion thread for a certain episode on MAL. I know the 12 and 4 episodes are split into two different entries, but I still cannot find a discussion thread that refers to an episode which involves Yurie going to the Gods Conference in Izumo.
A final thought on the pacing: it is different from episode to episode, but generally quite slow. One of the episodes where it is at its slowest is maybe the one where Yurie just spends the entire episode at home, being totally lazy - even too lazy to get up to change the channel on an 80s TV without remote control. She finally resorts to divine powers, but her first (human) solution is much better and funnier. Watch it. And believe it or not - this episode is also very charming and great. Which recent show of the last years would dedicate an entire episode to the main character just being lazy at home? Well, maybe Hyouka. But only if the missing remote control would turn into the world-shattering mystery of the missing remote control ;-). But I digress...
To come to an end with this rather rambling review: if you want to see a show that truly deserves to be called "Ghibli-esque" in style and nature, if you like Shinto ideas and some warm-hearted humanity, if you prefer natural characters to polished style, if you don´t mind a couple of silly story ideas, including satire and parody, if you like Shinto-inspired stories involving cats who are more than they seem to be, if you don´t need sexy girls, competition, fights, good-vs-evil, and pseudo-epic stuff in anime but can enjoy the little things as well, and...oh, yes...if you like to see a local Shinto god who would rather play guitar in a punk band, then Kamichu might be the right show for you. It is quirky, strange, and somehow unique with minor flaws, so I give it a 9/10. I still hope it will get a little bit more attention.
Firechick12012
Kamichu is an anime that I vaguely knew about, mainly through looking through Anime News Network, but it didn't really catch my interest when I was younger. If I had watched this when I was a kid, I probably wouldn't have liked it. But I was bored one day and decided to sit down and watch Kamichu, since I wanted something different to watch...and I'm really glad I did, because Kamichu is absolutely adorable and criminally underrated. It hasn't even gotten a blu-ray release over here, and the last time it got released in America was in 2008, when FUNimation rescued it along with otherGeneon titles to put out since Geneon kicked the bucket. I even like this series enough that I actually bought the old FUNi DVD boxset recently.
Yurie Hitotsubashi is your regular average, awkward, unassuming girl living in 1980s Onomichi, Japan. She deals with all the typical things girls her age worry about: studying for tests, hanging with her friends, and crushing on the cute boy in her class. But one day, out of nowhere, Yurie finds that she...became a God. How or why, the show never explains. She tells her friend Mitsue about this, but naturally, Mitsue doesn't quite believe it. Another classmate, local shrine priestess Matsuri, believes her right away and worms her way into Yurie's life, mainly so she can use her new divinity to make money and keep her family's shrine from being shut down. Together they set out to uncover Yurie's supposed powers and place in the world of Japanese Shinto, where cities, places, objects and even concepts can all have their own minor deities, and the girls encounter a little more than they had bargained for.
If you're looking for an anime that perfectly encapsulates the term slice-of-life and is just all around warm and charming without being overly so, then Kamichu is the anime for you, because the anime is mainly pure, distilled slice-of-life. Even though Yurie suddenly became a God, complete with using magic and making stuff happen because she wills it, the series doesn't treat it as an earth shattering miracle, but rather an after school job that comes with its own sets of problems, so her new Godhood isn't just there to be used to magically solve problems with a flick of a finger like most modern anime tend to do these days with OP protags. The thing that makes Kamichu stand out from other slice-of-life anime with a hint of magic and otherworldly creatures is how committed it is to being as down-to-earth as humanly possible. From the characters all the way down to the situations they find themselves in, none of it is overly dramatized or made into a huge deal. The various Gods and deities that Yurie and her friends encounter are treated as just a regular part of every day life, even with their cartoony, fantastical designs that contrast with the more realistic designs of the human characters.
On the animation front, the show just oozes small town charm in every day. The human characters all have believable, realistic designs that make them feel like people you'd run into on the street, and the animation further empathizes their humanity with kinetic, fluid movement that's used for pretty much everything, like running, walking, squirming, and crawling. Every movement the characters make is treated as a full body experience, like the animators really understood the physics of human movement. Even the characters' facial expressions are full of life, empathizing expressiveness over super sparkly eyes and doll-like aesthetics. The backgrounds have just as much love put into them, with the town the characters live in actually feeling lived in. Crumbling stone stairs, shabby buildings, cracked sidewalks, lots of trees and sunshine, and Matsuri's world weary shrine are all given a lot of attention and care. A lot of the set pieces used in the series are actually based on real locales and landmarks in Onomichi, even though parts of it are inaccurate in regards to their places in the real world (Apparently Yurie's house is based on one in the mainland, so IRL she wouldn't have needed to use a ferry to get to school every day). All of these things in and of themselves would be interesting enough, but apparently, the creators of the anime weren't satisfied with the fact that they had to air 12 episodes, so not only did they make four extra episodes as OVAs but treated them as part of the main series, but for the DVD releases, they even went as far as to add new footage and material to the already existing episodes to refine them and make them better than the broadcast version. Other than a few exceptions, that almost never happens anymore, and I applaud director Koji Masunari and his team for going the extra mile for their creations. Now if only American content creators were allowed that same freedon.
The music also remains true to the show's overall down-to-earth tone. Pastoral piano tunes, strings, woodwinds, soft guitars, and harmonicas all give Kamichu that gentle, small town charm. The characters are the same way as well. The main characters all have their own unique quirks, personalities, strengths, weaknesses, and idiosyncrasies that make them feel interesting and relatable, and the show is careful to portray them as naturally and organically as possible, coaxing emotions out of the audience and making them feel earned rather than trying to wring them out of you through artificial means like over-the-top backstories or having the characters only have one single personality trait. Looking at you, Prima Doll. Most of the characters are pretty likeable...with one major exception: Kenji, Yurie's crush. I'm gonna be blunt, this guy is bland as all hell, and not only that, he's such a brainless idiot it's not even funny. Why does Yurie like this guy again? I know crushes can be weird, but...I don't know. Yurie doesn't have as much chemistry with him compared to her two friends. Even two minor characters, Miko and Shokichi, have a more believable romantic chemistry than Yurie does with Kenji.
But Kenji isn't the only problem the show has, unfortunately. As much as I love Kamichu's more laid-back take on its premise, the show's intentionally slow, leisurely pace and more lightweight stories may not appeal to those who prefer their shows to have more action, conflict, or more meat to them. Hell, one episode is entirely about just Yurie lazing around the house under a kotatsu, that's it. Furthermore, episode 4 is a particular point of contention because its whole tone completely clashes with the rest of the show and disrupts it entirely. In that one, Yurie heads to Japan's parliament to deal with a cute pink alien visitor, which is not only too far-fetched, but takes her out of the appealing small-town setting. I personally didn't hate it, as parts of it were cute, and Yurie manages to do something surprisingly clever in order to help solve the main problem, but I can absolutely see why people wouldn't like this episode. Like I mentioned before, Kamichu never explains how Yurie became a god or why, and the show just expects you to go with it without question.
That being said, none of these things really killed my enjoyment of Kamichu. Now, the only reason I like other similar shows more than this, such as Natsume's Book of Friends and Haibane Renmei are that Natsume and Haibane have more of a conflict going on and do more with their characters, with Natsume having more episodes and therefore more time to do what it needs to do. Kamichu is simply a sweet, wholesome, charming show that's content to be as down-to-earth and pleasant as humanly possible without coming across as artificial or obnoxious. Having come off the absolute saccharine mess that was Prima Doll, that show relied so much on being as cutesy moe as possible that it did so at the expense of literally everything else and refused to make its characters interesting or likeable in any way. Kamichu's more subdued, restrained outlook works because the show knows that simplicity works better than trying to be over-the-top. Kamichu as an anime knows what it is and doesn't try to be anything it isn't, actually caring about its characters and stories. If you're looking to own the show legally, it's actually a lot easier than you think. The series isn't legally streaming anywhere right now, and the original Geneon DVDs are out of print, but you can find copies of them on places like Amazon and Ebay for pretty cheap. I managed to nab the boxset that includes the soundtrack CD for a little over $50, which is pretty standard for most modern series boxsets nowadays.
So yeah, Kamichu exemplifies all the good parts of slice-of-life anime, and is just overall relaxing and charming. Definitely give it a shot if you're into stuff like Kamichu.
coinoperatedgirl
While the storyline is predictable (girl loves guy, guy doesn't know, but wait, there's a twist: she's a goddess!), what really made me want to keep watching this show is the art. One of the best parts of the show in my opinion was being able to see alllll the silly, whimsical and adorable gods/goddesses that are featured in the show both as main characters and as background objects. This is where my favorite anime character ever (octopus with bag on head - watch for him, he's purple and in the background) is from. However, even though the storyline is predictable, it's still very cute andentertaining, and it has that great quality of being able to be picked up from almost any point and watched with minimal background knowledge. There are some humorous moments and there are some sweet moments.
The only downside I can see to this series is that sometimes the episodes seem to last for an hour apiece instead of the twenty-odd that they do, but sometimes that's a good thing.
FleeceLINER
This is disappointing at best, perhaps because I began watching "Kamichu!" with elevated expectations. Instantly in the first episode, I made connections to "Spirited Away". While those connections still exist, "Kamichu!" is nowhere near as deep or contemplative. Yes, this can be considered a slice-of-life series, but that's like listening to "The Shins" as indie music - it barely skims the surface of their respective genres. 1. Firstly, the time period setting - the 80's - isn't properly utilized. 2. I feel as if the series was born after a great initial concept, followed by a war of attrition that slowly wore the series downinto a mediocre mush of feel-good animation.
3. The soundtrack is superb for an anime series.
4. Likewise, the animation is (usually) great. There are a few slip-ups in the middle of the series.
So, my final verdict is thus a negative one:
This series might pass for a children's anime, but not much more. The plot was slow to develop, and it lacked the magic that "Minami-Ke" had to keep a viewer engaged. The "Middle-School God", or "Kamichu!", never really grew up to deal with deeper issues, which will turn off some of the older viewers. Its only saving grace lies in the superb animation and soundtrack, which wouldn't be out-of-place in a feature film.
meridiasbeacon
This is my first review, so bear with me. This anime blew me away, honestly it really got to me on levels I didn't think anime could anymore. My top 5 list has been the same, save spring when Horimiya came out for years. This is a hidden gem. It perfectly encapsulates exactly what the peak of slice of life is. Giving us characters we can relate to, that can live lives that we can enjoy, with a wide range of emotions for us to experience with them. Its so very unique, there are obviously plenty of anime where the MC becomes a god, butnone of them hold a candle to this masterpiece. Knowing the background of the manga writer makes it strange to say the least, but this anime deserves more love and attention, for sure!
jyagan0
This is a fabulous anime! This show is unlike anything out there and rivals the Miyazaki movies. Full of heart, innocence, and simplly adorable, this serise follow a young girl, Yurie, and her friends in a small Japanese town near the coast in the 1980's. One day Yurie discovers she has been bestowed with powers and made into a Kami (god). The title Kamichu is roughly translated into, "God is a middle school student," and is very adorable. Even if cute isn't your thing, this is an anime for everyone. The animation is fabulous! The way the girls move and act in their enviorment isso realistic, it's what makes this serise so special! The combination of realistic animation and unrealitic story concepts makes this seirse a must see for any and all Otakus and non-Otakus.
Last_Sinner
Anyone who has watched anime for long enough appreciated the importance of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli in the industry, regardless of how you feel about them. They set high standards with their production, seiyuus and stories. The question has always been posed – is it possible to create a Ghibli-like feel within a TV series? The notion sounds almost absurd when you consider that a Ghibli movie budget in recent times comes at around the $10 million mark, whereas a TV series gets about $120k per episode, equating to about $1.5 million for one season, on average. There are certainly plenty of TV titlesmade on much less.
Let me throw you another question. Is it possible for a person to suddenly gain the powers of a god/goddess and not abuse it, while also not being bland enough in the first place for it to be a non-issue? Light from Death Note let power go to his head and then some. Haruhi was effectively the goddess of her world (despite being none the wiser) but was hardly a glowing example. Belldandy from Ah! My Goddess was pretty soft and more of a harem device than a real goddess.
Well, it may surprise you that in 2005, there was a show made by Brains Base that did meet those criteria – Kamichu!, adapted from the manga by Mucho Besame. Middle-schooler Yurie seems like any other girl her age, until one day she is visited by spiritual deities and informed she is to become a god. Now it is important to note that Yurie doesn’t become a god of everything. In the world of Kamichu, there are millions of gods, reflecting a more Shinto-oriented approach to religion and the universe. Beaches, soba noodles, rain – you name it, it has a god to represent it. But in the opening moments of the show, it’s clear that Yurie doesn’t know what she is a god of. School friends that run the local shrine are keen to have Yurie act as a face to bring back favour to the shrine within the local coastal town. Throw in Ken, an aspiring writer around Yurie’s age who is somewhat cold and dense, being Yurie’s love interest – life becomes pretty hectic for young Yurie as she adjusts to become the centre of attention and taking her new powers in her stride, which is why I consider her precocious in a way, since Yurie takes this all in with rare maturity.
It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to compare Kamichu to some Ghibli titles in style, particularly Spirited Away. Rural setting, spirit entities living alongside people, a very relaxed mood with a young female protagonist as the lead character. But there are a few differences that allow Kamichu to retain its own identity. Yurie effectively carries the series by herself, the animation style falls somewhere halfway between Ghibli’s round, gentle style and the exaggerated cuteness of moe, but most of all it’s quite a pure story. It doesn’t have any of the continual preaching that sometimes hamper Miyazaki titles; there is no war/apocalypse. Yurie simply does what is needed when the need arises – from the quite bizarre to helping out a friend in need. Yurie’s humility and resilience are key to her appeal and form the basis for the show to draw from.
And I’m not kidding when I say Yurie carries the series. She is the only character with a good deal of air-time. Any secondary characters mainly serve as a source of motivation or direction whenever Yurie is struggling. To prevent the lack of character development becoming an issue, there is an emphasis on taking a very laid-back, parody-oriented approach to the whole scenario of Yurie being a god. Yurie’s little trio of assistants that appear from Episode 4 onwards make for good comic relief. One scene where Yurie talks down an entire platoon of soldiers into standing aside while she can barely contain her nerves is just priceless. It has been said numerous times that power corrupts all. Well, not everyone – Yurie is so pure of heart that she always strives to do the right thing and resolve a situation in the best interests of all parties concerned with minimal conflict. Another essential component is the animation – it’s gorgeous. There’s a rustic romance to the setting of Kamichu! with some degree of moe but not to the point it will leave your stomach in throes a few hours later. Singer Mako precisely conveys Yurie’s personality and is a standout seiyuu choice. The production quality is a rare example where you can say a restricted budget was well executed throughout the series. The opening and ending themes reflect the gentle, warm feel of summer that are prominent vibes throughout the series. In terms of aesthetics and Yurie’s ability to light up the screen, Kamichu! excels in those qualities.
However, those said qualities also impose restrictions which considerably limit where the show can go. The pace of the show is slow overall and some are slower than others – I did find myself struggling to keep focused during a couple of episodes. Very little changes by the end of the series and one really doesn’t get to learn much about the characters at all due to the episodic nature of the show. It would have been nice for an episode or two to show more about Yurie’s friends, maybe, to help build a connection to the cast beyond Yurie. In the case of Yurie, since she was simple to begin with and remains so, although she is more confident and self-reliant by the end. There is a strong focus on simple values like friendship and memories, which again impose their own restrictions and occasionally material seems a bit repetitive. It’s never made clear whether Yurie has a specific type of power/assignment, which ends up leaving a convenient way of Yurie being able to do anything under the sun. And every young male in the show is rather cold, which is somewhat perplexing. Yes, the focus of the series is more on the girls – no surprise for a series with some moe elements. But having the guys be almost glacial in nature doesn’t really serve much of a purpose. In a sense it’s almost the opposite characterisation of Natsume Yujinchou, which placed focus on males, bishounen qualities/art-style, rare appearances by females but similar content regarding spiritual entities and a relaxing mood.
All in all, Kamichu! was a series I felt fortunate to have been able to seen. It’s a charming series that chugs along at its own gentle pace, not being deceiving about what it’s going to offer you. Yurie is the star of the show and carries it from start to finish. One liking the show is reliant on liking Yurie but since she’s a well constructed character full stop, that should be possible for a lot of people. If you’re looking for a title that is cute without the sickly sweet aftershock, Kamichu! will probably fit the bill nicely. Don’t disregard it because it aired before the moe craze truly took off in 2006.
johnbradshaw
This is basicly not a review, just my thought on the show. Well so i am a die hard slice of life fan who watched many titles with in the gerne. And for a slice of life show, Kamichu! is surely a unique one. So why? Beside being a typical shy normal middle school girl (pretty typical right?), somehow she's a goddest. So how to make a everyday life story when she's also a god, well this show has absolutely delivered it. Such a relaxing hearth warming story, im glad i got to see it. The only problem i had with the show is its bad animation, sometimesthe scene is badly drawn. I would enjoy more if it's a bit lighter but that's just my opion. The music a somewhat average too.
So will u want to watch it? If you're a slice of life fan like me, this is a must watch, an excellent show condider all story it contained. But if you're looking for something dramatic, it's not recommended for you.
Animeindian
Ah Life, how beautiful it is (or wretched depending on your situation), every slice of life anime tries to replicate this beauty of life and most of the time they fail, to capture the essence of life is not an easy thing and cannot be confined to single tone and nature. While the most slice of life anime tries to replicate life in a confined environment with confined story structure Kamichu tries it a bit differently. Kamichu improvises life rather than replicating it and set its environment, the whole world. While this is nothing new and many prestigious animes like Mushishi and Natsume Yuujinchou do itbut Kamichu adds a sweet touch of imagination to it while adding and utilizing moe elements. Kamichu is more free with its premise than any other show I have watched, rather than sticking to one aspect of life Kamichu put its finger in every pot, be it a love story, cute girls doing cute things, a small backyard adventure with the friends, adventure to save world or just rolling around in bed doing nothing and sleeping whole day. Kamichu does everything and it does everything very good which really surprised me because normally an anime which tries everything fails miserably in most of the things.
What makes it strikingly different from another slice of anime is that the world feels bigger, freer and more organic. It is not confined to school, backyard, workplace or home, it transits between places very freely and none of the places feels forced. Kamichu’s color palette is dull and smooth which is very odd for a slice of life animes but it works great in Kamichu, It sucks you in few minutes without any effort, its dullness enhance the animation and immersion, It can be brilliant when it want to. I think this color palette is what makes Kamichu works, it just sucks you in the world itself, you become the living part of the world.
Kamichu is however not without any faults. Some episodes are better than others and there is a lack of consistency in quality. As I said Kamichu takes a free view towards slice of life genre which allow it to roam free within the genre, the lack of consistency is mainly caused by wide genre shifts. That said it is not an anime which everyone can enjoy, it is a calming and adorable anime with very good animation and background art but it is not an anime for you if you cannot immerse yourself in it. There will be things that will annoy you because of its vast scale but positive points will eventually outweigh negative. Specials of Kamichu are far more consistent and good than anime so definitely give them a try.
Kamichu is a fresh breath in a slice of life genre, I regard it as one of the most innovative anime to ever grace slice of life genre. It is definitely anime to watch if you are long time slice of life fan.
SovietWeeb
From dealing with Running for School President to raising the spirit of Battleship Yamato from it's grave this is an interesting show to say the least. While not a ton to say about this without just ruining the show. I can at least say that this is a fun little comedy show, That i'm glad to have found. I first thought that this was gonna be Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha where the world doesn't know that X exist. I also thought it would be a semi serious show like Inari. But i was surprised to say the least. The second episode crushes and thought ofthat right away and i'd say for the better.
If this show took itself serious i feel it wouldn't be as memorable as it is. The cast itself is pretty entertaining and comedy seems to be on point.
3 Characters that i have some issues with.
Matsuri Is part of the main cast. While i do actually like her, I feel that she can be annoying with how assertive she is and how no one say's no to her. She is constantly deciding everything for the group and even if it get's them into trouble.
The lead Yurie is a nice character. Only real issue is that her shyness can get annoying and how she only reacts with her power she rarely goofs around or anything.
Shijo is a character that doesn't have much happen to her and is the only character of the main cast not to get an episode dedicated to he. I wish we got more of her.
Overall an awesome show with few flaws imo.
shacklesburst
One of the most enjoyable anime I've watched in a while. It doesn't quite reach the awesomeness of the greatest in the slice of life genre, like Azumanga Daioh or Nichijou, but nonetheless doesn't really have to fear comparison to those either. The characters are pretty great and consistent, while slightly growing over the course of the series. Contrary to what I expected, the additional episodes (dubbed Kamichu! Specials on MAL) are precisely on par with the rest of the series. If you watch the order of the DVD release you won't really notice a difference between what aired on TV and what only made iton DVD.
Story-wise this anime doesn't need to hide anything. In the first half of episodes, there's a beach episode that starts out as one would expect a beach episode to go and then goes on to become one of the strongest and most awesome episodes overall. Every episode is pretty closed in itself, but the growth of Yurie in her role as a god and the growth of the friendships between all characters is noticeable.
The primary love story is mostly running in the background, which is good because it's arguably not the most interesting pairing that could've come up. The secondary love story (between the main characer's younger siblings) is both more interesting, seemingly more serious and deservedly has an entire (bonus) episode devoted to it.
The art style is pretty nice, though not otherworldly. Sound/BGM is pretty standard, but mostly well chosen.
Unreserved recommendation.
douve_atomique
Are you feeling a bit down? Do you need a break from the harsh reality, or maybe a break from watching shitty self insert power fantasies? Like a checkpoint in a video game, Kamichu! will provide you with a safe place to rest and heal your soul. Even though the series is chock-full of cuteness that would put Hello Kitty to shame, it doesn't shy away from exploring more serious subjects like hard work, debts or poverty, creating a complex and endearing slice-of-life story. Uncle Ben would summarize Kamichu! with the iconic proverb "with great power comes great responsability", or in that case something more like"godhood oblige". Indeed, the anime narrates the struggles of Yurie, a shy middle-schooler who happened to become a god. She might be blessed with incredible power, but great power begets great expectations. Through her struggle to learn how to use her newly-found powers and how to balance her responsabilities with her school life, Yurie gets an early taste of adulthood. But she also learns how to be confident, kind and helpful, she comes to realize the importance of honesty and the value of friendship and memories. Yurie not knowing what kind of god she is (as there are many other gods in Kamichu!'s world) is an obvious reference to her not truly knowing who she is or wants to be, she is in search of her own identity.
Because its story is presented through the perspective of teenagers, Kamichu!'s world is coated with a layer of innocence and naivety that allows serious subjects to be explored in a lighthearted manner but also tends to create a clash of ideals between kids and adults. In an adult world, it's all too easy to lose sight of what's truly important and sometimes a shift of paradigm is needed to see things in simpler terms. This theme is present through most of the narration which includes a strong emphasis on Shinto religion. As a westerner, I can't help but be reminded of the practice of cledonism, a type of divination popular in Ancient Egypt and Greece which attributed special meaning to words, especially to those of children. The particular agency of children, who can see things in simple terms, is for example examplified by Pollux, a Greek author from the 2nd century AD, who describes in his Onomasticon how the sacrifice of a ram in honor of Heracles was solved thanks to children. Because of a flood, the ram was not able to reach the sanctuary, so the children created a substitute of the animal by placing four twigs under an apple and two twigs on top of it: those were its limbs and horns. This story, despite probably being fictive, highlights how children's games and agency could solve serious issues in a ritual environment. I doubt the author had Pollux's Onomasticon in mind when they wrote the story, but I'm sure the special place kids occupy in society is not exclusive to western culture and it's no coincidence if Yurie is described multiple times as naive and simple-minded. We see throughout the show how her words, imbued with innocence and simplicity, are able to create change in those around her, in particular adults.
Apart from Yurie, the show also features two main side characters. These two, despite not being explored much, give an interesting balance to the trio: Matsuri, who took upon herself to rebuild the fame of her shrine, sees Yurie as a god first and tends to use her powers to attract customers while Mitsue sees Yurie as her best friend first and puts honesty before anything else.
Overall, Kamichu! is a very pleasant anime to watch. It'll make you smile, maybe laugh, and probably overdose on cuteness. The show's animation is very good and every shot includes a lot of small details. The settings of the show and its music also create a sense of nostalgia or melancholy that makes you want to go back in time and relive those sweet childhood summer days. Kamichu! teaches us to love. It teaches us to be genuine, kind and respectful: it is the perfect feels-good anime.
duskyboris
I really like shows that incorporate shinto themes and I also like slice of life anime and anime that doesn't really have fanservice or other "adult" themes when it comes to minors. This is a great example of that. Kamichu! is about a middle school kid who becomes a god, in the shinto sense, and how her life changes as a result of that. She explores the supernatural world while maintaining her friendships, having wild, supernatural (and otherworldly) adventures, and trying to get the attention of her crush. It's a charming show that I would describe as being a bit Ghibly-esque. This is, to mymind, anime at its best, a well executed, character driven coming-of-age that incorporates elements that would be difficult to pull off in a live-action film. All the while, it doesn't pander to otaku or the so-called "male gaze". It's a pity then that it's not really the kind of thing that anime audiences really go for.
The main character, Yurie, the titular chuugakusei no kami-sama, is an innocent girl, even for a middle schooler, which contrasts well against her more worldly friends. Nevertheless, no one is too precocious - we get believable renders of a cast of kids that age. The adventures are driven by the newly attained godhood of Yurie, who struggles to make sense of the world she now occupies.
The show is a bit like Non Non Biyori in that it's about a group of friends doing kid stuff and being charming, but with the supernatural twist that accompanies our main character being a literal god. It is a 1980s period piece set in Onomichi on the coast of Japan's Inland Sea. It thrives on the off-kilter stories it tells and the relaxing atmosphere it creates. It's genuinely wholesome, not "wholesome with caveats" as so many shows given the label are, and while I like it a lot, I think it might bore many viewers. It's a bit like Tonari no Totoro, a film that I think is special but cannot fault anyone for dismissing. Overall, it's a cozy fairytale and not much more, but that's really all I want out of it.
