Keima Katsuragi, known online as the legendary "God of Conquest," can conquer any girl's heart—in dating sim games, at least. In reality, he opts for the two-dimensional world of gaming over real life because he is an unhealthily obsessed otaku of galge games (a type of Japanese video game centered on interactions with attractive girls).
When he arrogantly accepts an anonymous offer to prove his supremacy at dating sim games, Keima is misled into aiding a naive and impish demon from hell named Elucia "Elsie" de Lute Ima with her mission: retrieving runaway evil spirits who have escaped from hell and scattered themselves throughout the human world. Keima discovers that the only way to capture these spirits is to conquer what he hates the most: the unpredictable hearts of three-dimensional girls! Shackled to Elsie via a deadly collar, Keima now has his title of "God of Conquest" put to the ultimate test as he is forced to navigate through the hearts of a multitude of real-life girls.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Archaeon
It's funny how trends, tastes, and even perceptions can change over time. Less than a decade ago being called a geek, nerd or otaku was considered an insult, and while those terms have maintained their derogatory status to a degree (especially in Japan), the steady march of technology has dictated the rise of the "Beta Male", and nowhere is this more apparent than in the entertainment industries. In 2001 the PC and Dreamcast game Comic Party was adapted and released as an anime, and with it came the birth of a totally new genre - the otaku comedy. Since that time there have been numerous mangaand anime that have utilised the theme in some manner, from the romanticised look at otaku life that is Genshiken, to the insane classical stylings of Nodame Cantabile's heroine, Noda Megumi. These days the number of titles that have some involvement with the genre is on the rise, and while some take a decidedly rose-tinted view of the subject, there are others (NHK ni Youkoso!, Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu (no, seriously), ChäoS;HEAd, etc), that allow glimpses into the darker side of otaku life.
There are also those that approach the subject of otaku in an imaginative, yet decidedly tongue-in-cheek manner.
Kami Nomi Zo Shiru Sekai (The World God Only Knows, or KamiNomi), tells the story of Katsuragi Keima, the "king" of bishoujo games (galge), and dating sims, who is better known throughout the internet as the "Capturing God". He is content to live his life in the virtual world because "reality is just a crappy game" where the girls are impossible to deal with. All of that changes when he answers a mysterious e-mail addressed to the God of Conquest (another one of his monikers), and subsequently meets the demon girl Elucia de Lut Ima (Elci).
The plot attempts to meld several different themes into one continuous narrative, and in order to do this it utilises a number of devices that can sometimes get in the way. Like Amagami SS, the storyline follows the "short arc for each girl" format, complete with the "reset" at the end. This is accompanied by some fairly typical "soul possession" concepts, basic yet still humourous slapstick, and a rather interesting take on dating sims in general.
Unfortunately it doesn't completely work.
The problem is that while KamiNomi is essentially a straight forward otaku comedy, the inclusion of so many disparate themes eventually causes a degree of conflict within the framework of the story. The major issue is the idea that one can use dating sim methodology to form a real world relationship, and while it is possible to learn the basics, this can never replace actual experience. In addition to this is the fact that the viewer is supposed to believe that a notorious game addict like Keima can suddenly turn on the charm when dealing with real girls, many of whom he initially can't stand to be around, and this in itself raises the question of suspicion on the part of the girls.
There is an attempt to rectify these issues, but this relies on the tried and tested method of memory manipulation rather than an explanation of how a social recluse is easily able to communicate with others. That said, the series utilises some well placed visual gags to divert the viewers attention away from any plot holes or conflicts, and the story is interesting and humourous enough to make it accessible to a much broader audience than one might initially expect.
When it comes to looks, KamiNomi is pretty much back to basics in virtually every department, with one area of notable exception (we'll get to that in a moment). That said, while the degree of genericism in the visuals is high, there's also something slightly more subtle at work as well. The character designs are taken directly from the manga by Wakaki Tamiki, and what's interesting about this is that while the mangaka made a conscious effort to allow the comedy to flourish, he also tried to show what each character is, rather than simply trying to define them as individuals.
Confused? I'll explain then.
The plot is partly derived from that of the common or garden dating sim or galge, and as regular players of these games will know, characters of a specific type will share certain visual features. Wakaki has attempted to incorporate some of these into the design of the girls that Keima goes after, and this in turn defines their personalities as they have been created to fit a specific mould. In addition to this, because the player is usually faceless in these games, Wakaki chose to parody a few of the better known "genius" characters from anime for his "God of Conquest", in particular Lelouch vi Brittania and Yagami Light.
So don't be fooled by the simplistic looks.
The area that really stands out is the effects, in particular the variety, timing and imagination that has gone into making them. While the rest of the anime may look colourful yet average, KamiNomi is surprising for the quality of a number of its visual set pieces, but it's the audio choreography that changes those scenes from simply being pretty into something worth watching.
In anime, as in life, timing is everything, and in this respect Manglobe have a very good pedigree. But then what else would one expect from the studio that brought us Michiko to Hatchin, Samurai Champloo and Ergo Proxy (unfortunately they're also responsible for the abysmal Sacred Blacksmith, but we won't go there). While this is very clearly a comedy series the studio has made the effort to deliver a quality show, and because there's little that can be done about the design of the visuals, a lot of effort has gone into making this anime sound great.
The opening sequence is indicative of this ethos at work, and features some clever imagery that is well timed to match the changes in the theme song (God Only Knows, performed by Elisa). The ending sequence is a bit more complicated as there are actually four tracks and sequences on offer. The main ED, Koi no Shirushi, is a fairly average J-Pop track, but for the majority of episodes the female leads take turns singing it (while the rest perform backing vocals). As for the remaining tracks, Tatta Ichi Do no Kisei by Sakurai Tomo (episode four), along with the visuals, is meant to be a play on the average ending sequences of dating sims and galge. On the other hand Happy Crescent by Toyama Nao is supposed to be a "live" idol performance, so it's a shame it's such a generic song.
To be honest, the best of the EDs, is the final one, Shuuseki Kairo no Yume Tabibito, which is sung in a completely amateurish and off key style by the lead man himself, Shimono Hiro (with support from the female seiyuu who apparently are collectively known as Oratorio The World God Only Knows), and is very much in keeping with the slightly delusional and slapstick comedy of the series.
Unfortunately there's one big flaw in KamiNomi, and that's the lack of character development. Normally this shouldn't really be an issue for what is effectively an otaku comedy/parody, but because of the inclusion of certain plot themes, aspects like characterisation and growth become more prominent.
Basically, the more complicated a story is, the better the characters have to be.
While there is some development due to the soul possession aspect of the story, it never really impacts on the overall narrative due to the "reset" at the end of each girl's arc. This has the effect of nullifying what has gone before, and even though Keima and Elci aren't subject to it as a rule, there is very little given over to their growth over the course of the series.
The real strength of the characters comes from the comedy side of the show, and in this respect the seiyuu are pretty good. Shimono Hiro (Keima), and Itou Kanae (Elci), are great as the proverbial "Odd Couple", and while there are some great skits from the other leading ladies, their timing and delivery, especially with each other, is sometimes a joy to behold.
Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai is a strangely mixed bag that works on certain levels, but ultimately it would have been better off trying to weave fewer themes into the plot. Individually the concepts behind the series are imaginative and somewhat inventive, but the complications caused by trying to blend several ideas together sometimes creates a quagmire in the storyline, and inserting a joke to brush over it is nothing more than papering over the cracks. That said, the series is enjoyable enough to warrant at least one watch, and viewers should also keep in mind that this twelve episode anime is nothing more than a prelude of things to come, especially as the manga has already gone beyond the 100 chapter mark.
While the incomplete nature of the story may put people off, the fact that a sequel is on the horizon may signify that all hope is not yet lost. Then again, they may simply "cop out" by ending the series before the real storyline begins.
We'll have to wait and see.
8thSin
"Reality is a shit game!" 'Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai' ('The World Only God Knows') is about a self-claimed "Otoshigami (Capture God)" who can "capture" the heart of any 2D girls in dating-sim games. One day, he unknowingly signs a contract with a demon through email, and ends up in a quest to capture real-life (3D) girls in order to collect runaway souls residing within their hearts. The first season of 'KamiNomi" involves the capture of 4 girls, with 3 filler episodes. Katsuragi Keima is an interesting character. He's full of confidence in front of the PFP screen and calls himself "Capture God", backing up his claim withgodly galge gaming and analytical skills. What's more interesting is that he applies eroge logic and theory to real life, disapproving people, objects, and events in reality as having "unrealistic settings". Keima is a reluctant hero in this show as he's only interested in 2D girls, and he received very little character development, but that's just fine because it shows how dedicated he is to gaming, and his "modern samurai" way of life. Filler ep-4 was a great display of his game philosophy and dedication.
Elsea is a demon who looks and behaves like a typical clumsy 2D girl. Her character development was very poor despite having a filler ep-8. Her very existence and costume/accessories is probably more suitable for 'Soul Eater' series, but her character is one of the best eye candy ever, and she's a package that makes the absurd premise possible.
Takahara Ayumi was the first target, a Sporty Cool. She was given only a single episode, but served well as an introduction to the premise.
Aoyama Mio is next, a Tsundere Princess. She seemed like an common archetype at first, but our Capture God finds out that she was no longer what she claimed to be. Her arc was an introduction to Keima's standard gaming strategy: Encounter, creating chances to meet often, formation of negative impression, and turning the negative impression into positive impression.
Then comes Nakagawa Kanon, a Yandere Idol. Her insecurity as a solo performer leads to unhealthy obsession with Keima because he shows zero interest in her. Her arc was rather draggy, but features quite a bit of insert songs and slapstick comedy.
Best was saved for the last with Shiomiya Shiori, an introvert librarian. The story's pace suddenly slowed for her arc, which turned from a slapstick-heavy comedy to serious artsy anime. Her character made this a very interesting arc. We as viewers can hear her "speech in the mind", but Keima who's used to be in our position suddenly realizes the difficulty in her capture because he had to work to draw out the inner voice. Shiori's character development was done very well with her gradual curiosity in the trouble maker at the library, and Capture God's eventual understanding of his target. It is extremely difficult to make slow, mesmerizing pace work, but the amazing direction and production had done just that. The atmosphere in the library and art house camera movement / perspectives were phenomenal, and painted a world of its own.
The final episode was a filler. While it was somewhat corny, it further establishes the protagonist's character and devotion to video games, and the pure absurdity of it was hilarious. The near-full use of 8-plus-minute oratorio also featured as OP was a nice touch that intensified drama. It also ended with a cliffhanger by introducing a new girl demon character, and hinting a sequel season.
Comedy was quite inconsistent. Sometimes intelligent, such as stating 3D girls' flaws with 2D logic, parodies, and God's Teachings. Other times, it's plain stupid, like Elsea tripping randomly.
Overall, the story and characters are very interesting, but as a fantasy comedy, it's filled with improbable situations, gimmicky story developments (like requiring the target to fall in love, girls losing memory after Capture), and the inevitable corniness that comes with it. Character development for all the heroines were done in a frantic speed as an arc-format anime, but every one of them were more than the typical 2D heroines thanks to numerous plot twists, and they were captured in unconventional methods that never gets tiring.
It is apparent that the ending was produced with another season in mind. In fact, at least 24 episodes may have been decided from the start, so it may still be a bit too early to judge its story and character development just yet.
The OP in 'KamiNomi' can only be described as a "Masterpiece". The animation quality, atmosphere, song quality, song choice, originality, transition flow, audio-visual harmony, appropriateness, effectiveness as OP, wow-factor... I would rate 10/10 for every aspect of it.
The art in this series is generic anime style drawn to perfection. Unique design for the protagonist, and Elsea must be the cutest anime girl ever. The supporting characters are generic but easily distinguishable designs, this works to support the plots where Keima predicts girls' personality based on appearance. Dynamic movements, funny chibi-forms, artistic representations, and great use of CG. The presentation was done exceptionally well with bunch of creative cuts, background effects for comedy and mood setting. Above all, the amount of detail is staggering, with the sheer number of objects in the background, books with pages of real texts, reflections on various surfaces, and attention to imperfections and stains on walls and floors. Characters also have up to 3 degrees of shading versus the typical 2. Despite the generic style, art work in this series is so outstanding that it can no longer be considered ordinary.
Seiyuu cast was excellent. The protagonist's voice had a wide range, from the absolute confidence while talking about eroge theories to humorous screams. Everyone else also sounded like they should, full of emotions.
BGM was really sophisticated and lively, complementing the story by enhancing the atmosphere of every scene. Different sets of BGM were used for each arc.
Kanon's insert songs were incredibly well done. Yes, they're moe pop songs, but the level of production was so high that it's hard to believe they were written solely for anime inserts.
Regular ED is a light pop song in good contrast with OP accompanied by a creative theme.
'KamiNomi' had a fantastic pacing and offers comedy, drama, and emotional attachment. All of it was backed by a masterful presentation that was incredible to the point of over-production. Despite its inherent corniness, I found this show to be extremely enjoyable. It is the series with a sense of highest degree of completion among all series I've seen so far. In fact, the production value in this series rivals that of theatrical anime movies.
I really liked the way they presented the empty feeling you get after the girls forget Keima's involvement after the kisses. It must be devastating to be the only one having the memory of their time together even if he wasn't interested in 3D girls. Nevertheless, our samurai hero will stand strong and keep the memories of "The World God Only Knows" in his heart as he continues on to fulfill his mission of capturing girls' hearts in the second season. I will definitely be there to hear the demon's "dorodorodoro" detection of another wandering soul and witness the Capture God`s miracles.
nqruse
So, this is my first Review on my favorite manga and anime, KamiNomi! I'll try to keep it short and clean c: -Story & Overall- What I would like to announce, this is not your regular average harem anime. It has a good plot and idea to it, actually and it does make sense in the world it was created into! The way that the main character has to wear consequences and plan out his actions is just entertaining (as are the dialogs) and it definitely made me sit down and read/ watch. KamiNomi does not try to be more than what it is and keeps going at it's ownpace, always introducing different situations and new challenges the main characters have to face.
-Art-
Well, it is drawn by none other than Watanabe Akio - the designs, actually. If you watched and are fan of the Bakemono/Nisemono series, you already noticed this.
It really depends on the taste, though - I enjoyed watching the Art style for KamiNomi, however being a great SHAFT studio fan, I would have preferred (and as with many other shows I enjoy) if they had put in more visual effects like turning around and basically what Shaft does... *trails off*
The uniform designs are unique as hell - I seriously haven't seen anything like those before and it makes me want to wear them as well~!
-Sound-
Music wise, can I say that the Openings are epic? Have you seen an anime with Orchestra music yet? I mean really?
Whenever I listen to it, I feel like I am going to watch some church/Religion anime -- But the fact is, the music is heavenly. That s the only way to describe it.
-Character-
Oh the characters...
We have two main ones, Elsie and Keima.
Keima, your average gamer boy who hates reality to it's last bits. His character is simple - in a way, yet very well handled and developed to make the series to what it originally is. He is a very likeable character (not like some douches from other harem animes *cough*Makoto*cough cough*)
Elsie, your kind demon who comes from Hell and guides Keima to fulfill their mission! (Not spoiling much)
Very naive and innocent, Elsie is seen to be closed into people's heart quite easily. She is silly and her obsession with trains--
Scratch that, those were fire trucks, I'm sorry!
A big thank you Zaraquiel99 for pointing that out!
-- is just so out of nowhere, it is almost creative. I never saw a character with such interest, really now.
The rest of the cast is not shunned or put into a corner either - they each have their own backstory, flaws and emotions, giving us a deeper, in-depth look to them and not being handled as some harem-element.
-Enjoyment-
I see quite a lot of people who enjoy and like KamiNomi.
I even buy the volumes that I can get my hands on - it is the most bought manga I have in my room, which consist of 5 vols already.
I really do want to support Tamaki and his work, so I do not regret spending my money on this manga. At all.
He deserves it.
____
And that was my short review~ I hope I could convince you at some point... ; - ;
Please just give it a try at least! >/////
LuccasDMC
Unexplainable. It's completely unexplainable how big an approval this anime got from the overall anime fans. There isn't a single reason I can see to that after watching The World God Only Knows 12 episodes (being painfully tortured by the last 5 episodes). It's cliche after cliche every single episode. It's true that they tried to cover it up, by coming up with the whole "I don't get in touch with real girls because the games girls are so much better but I'll use my gaming skills to stereotype girls and it'll work out" stuff, but while it worked well on the first episode, it gotboring right after it.
The story is really lame. Like, totally lame. Lamest of lamest. The guy is a master on finishing dating games with the heroine. He then, receives a "challenge" asking if he really can capture every girl and accepts it. The thing is that the challenge was about real girls, who are possessed by loose souls and to free those souls he has to make them fall in love with him and have a "happy ending" with them.
The girls with whom Keima ends up on each arc are painfully dull. They act exactly as you'd expect from them. No surprises at all. It's like they're actually following a book for cliche girl characters on animes. The hyperactive-strong-tempered girl, the high-and-mighty-tsundere, the popular girl who fears being alone and the freaking annoying silent and shy librarian (god, how I wanted to shoot my screen while she went on about books! The hell was that, some sort of "go read a book" brainwashing?) I'm not gonna even bother mentioning Elsea cuz she's just there to add another boring character to the whole set.
The soundtrack felt out of place during the whole anime! Epic songs, characters suddenly singing, seriously, why? The art was nothing more than you could expect from a harem anime. Even this aspect feels like a cliche.
I was able to enjoy myself a lot in the first episode, and a little bit up to episode 6 or 7. After this, god knows where I gathered strength to watch it till the end.
I really can't understand all the hype behind this anime. There isn't a single trace of originality nor attempt of seeking it. I wasn't this dissatisfied after watching an anime since Shuffle!
TheAzureSky
Expected a twist on harem anime, but was disappointed by how boring and silly it became. Not even funny enough to tolerate. ★☆☆☆ Why do I keep being surprised when MyAnimeList gives me another shit recommendation? I saw the 8’s and 9’s (even some 10’s); I saw the 5-stars; and I read the reviews telling me it was funny—that it’s not your typical harem show. I love a good story that parodies, deconstructs, or puts a twist on clichés. And this show sort of, kinda does that? But not really because so much of it falls flat. The premise is actually much better suited for a more seriousstory.
The show starts funny so I had hopes. I expected to get funnier and wittier, but it actually got more and more dull. It became tedious after halfway through. When a show gets boring I switch over to the dub because I can’t stand being forced to read subtitles for a shit show. It’s a chore. The dub actually made it funnier and more bearable.
The story has a different girl every few episodes for our main guy to seduce, but the girls are so one-dimensional. It makes no sense when the show’s premise is supposed to be an attack on clichés. The girls are supposed to represent typical female archetypes in dating sims, but there weren’t any twists or anything unexpected about them. It was played straight.
The main character doesn’t even seduce them in a clever or interesting way either. It just happens without any real struggle or conflict so you’re left with the girls’ stories to support the plotting.
The only character I liked was Elsie, the female sidekick. She was ditzy, funny, and made the show tolerable. She carried half the show for me. Elsie actually cared about the demon contract. She cared about trying to seduce the girls (because her life depended on it).
I wished for a lot more of her because the main character was so uninteresting. I couldn’t relate to him. He was bland and just didn’t seem to care that if he didn’t fulfill his demonic contract he’d die.
The premise deserved a better story than this. Here’s how it could’ve been much more engaging.
- Take it more seriously.
- Should’ve been a character drama that focused on his growth as a person.
- He’d mature, realizing he shouldn’t have such an unhealthy obsession over dating simulators.
- He’d be forced to interact with real women and find out that real human interaction is far more difficult than a video game.
- You’d see him struggle, you’d see him learn, and you’d see him develop.
- It can still be funny. The 40-Year Old Virgin is somewhat like this. It still had great characters and a character arc while remaining funny.
I’m not going to bother with season 2. The show was amusing (at first), but it’s not worth sitting through 12 episodes for.
MrSurgery
Hello everyone! My name is Austin & I will be doing my FIRST ever review! As a big fan of romantic comedies, I fully enjoyed watching this anime & its sequels. [SUMMARY] The story is about a high school boy who is completely obsessed with dating sims & therefore is known as the "God of Conquest". Due to his legendary gaming skills, he received a mysterious email asking for his help in conquering girls. Little did he know the message was pertaining to conquering real life girls & that the sender was from a cute demon girl by the name of Elsie. From that point on, hewas obligated (by life) to helping Elsie find & capture loss souls hidden inside these girls.
[STORY] - 10
When it comes to RomComs, it's pretty hard for me not to give a high rating due to my love for them. The unique plot of a boy using his gaming skills to make cute girls fall in love with him is something completely unique. This story line probably would come off as very appealing to those who think video games can't help you in life. Each girl he conquers has a very unique & different personality than the rest, which gives new & exciting elements to each episode. So overall, even if I wasn't a RomCom fan, I'd still give this series a very high rating.
[ART] - 9
The art style of the anime is pretty much the same as many other animes, but that doesn't mean I don't like it. I'll admit, there are not many elements of the artwork that are different from other animes. But then again, sometimes its the best to stick with what's hot. None of the artwork is sloppy & is very well drawn out, so I will give the artwork a 9.
[SOUND] - 8
When it comes to sound, most animes in my opinion sound very similar, yet good (just like the artwork). The voice actors, though, do a very good job at making the right sound & tone depending on the situation. The intro & outro song are also pretty good, but not so good that I'd put it on my favorite songs list. Overall, voice acting & music is good, but not so different from the rest (which isn't bad).
[CHARACTER] - 10
Like I said in the story rating, all the characters are EXTREMELY unique.
> Keima - The way he talks sounds very indifferent. Also, even for a person who doesn't socialize very much, he is a very, very smooth talker & acts very cool in a way you wouldn't expect for such an anti-social guy
> Elsie - She is probably one of the most energetic & happy people I've seen in an anime. Always trying to please people & making cute remarks, it's hard not to like her.
> Conquered Girls - Each one has a different attitude, style, & appearance which can appeal to a wide variety of people. Because of these unique aspects, it keeps the story very interesting & makes sure the viewer can't predict what will happen. But due to the fact many of these girls are very lovable, it makes you want to root for one of them but then you realize in the end Keima most likely won't end up with that particular character.
> To sum it up, character design is very unique & appealing to the viewers, including myself.
[ENJOYMENT] - 10
Not much to say, but the fact that I did & still am enjoying this anime. If you have read my ratings on each topic, then you'll probably know why. But because anime enjoyment varies depending on the person, you'll never truly know how much you'll like it until you try it!
[OVERALL] - 10
As my first review, I decided to skip this since I'm not exactly sure what I should put here.
THANK YOU for reading my first review if you read it & I promise I will improve my writing & reviewing.
- Austin
PS: I did this at 2 AM
Longxinus
This anime adaptation is a fucking disgrace to the manga. I have followed the manga since its very start and have enjoyed it very much. I'll stretch out as far as saying it is a masterpiece, ranking as one of my favorite mangas of all time. Then there is the anime. As you have already noticed, I'm already annoyed how the anime turned out. I'm gonna rip and analyze one point of the time, and we're gonna start straight on... Keima: This is the main character. He is, as the title implies, a God. The God of Galge Gaming, or that's at least what he should be. Inthe manga, he was bitchin' cold to everyone else and showed no interests for real girls. Because 2D-girls was his thing, due to his world consisting ONLY of galges. So when he got forced by Else to do all the captures, he simply accomplished his tasks and moved straight back to his galge gaming. He was asocial. The forced tasks were simply business with no personal emotions attached. This made him cool, or perhaps even godlike because he was unlike any other spineless romance comedy main characters. This coolness aura was completely swiped away when he fucking BLUSHED IN THE VERY FIRST EPISODE OF THE ANIME. That might sound trivial to you, but that single element alone killed his cool personality. He was reduced to yet another one of the countless male main characters in comedy romances who blush by every little thing the girls say. He was made weak, and it ticked me off. And also, it doesn't help when he has the voice which sounds like every other pussy male main character in comedy romances. By the way he acted in the manga, which is in a godlike, intelligent way, he should have gotten a voice that corresponded to those characteristics. Maybe something like Lelouch (that's not a perfect match, but you get the idea). But back to the blushing. Keima blushed for the first time far into the manga, and that signaled a character development. But since he blushed in the very first episode, he would receive zero character development. Luckily, he wasn't totally stripped of his personality. One example of that is that he is still gaming most of his time in the anime. But that alone isn't very redeeming.
Fillers: Really? They had 12 episodes to go on and they dared to use three episodes for fillers. That's just a fuckin' waste when you have shitloads of chapters to use from the manga. I DO NOT WANT TO SEE AN ENTIRE EPISODE DEDICATED TO ELSIE. GOD. And if that wasn't enough, some of the episodes with content from the manga were unnecessarily stretched out, like the Kanon-arc. You know what? In the first chapter of the manga, the first girl Ayumi, kissed Keima of her own will. But in the anime, they fuckin' "accidently" fell down the stairs and that resulted in a kiss. That is one of the very many cliches the mangaka wanted to avoid, and here it is in the anime. I suspect that all these decisions on fillers, whether on a smaller or bigger scale, were aimed to please a specific crowd of the audience. And for that, I hate.
Voices and sound: I've already ranted on Keima's voice, so we'll leave that be. However, all the other voices were as I had imagined in the manga, or at least approximately, so that was good. I wasn't too fond of the OP, though. I applaud for making it different than your average comedy romance OPs. I liked the ED more, as it was imaginitive and colorful.
Other than that, they followed the story fairly decent. In general, I liked the animation and the colors the studio went for.
SUMMARY: Fillers, fillers everywhere. Okay, not everywhere, but I had to pull that meme out. Keima was the pillar of the series, and because his personality got butchered, the anime fell apart. Go read the manga. It's so much better.
PS: If you want to dislike my review or whatever, give me constructive critisicm on my page.
Whats_an_Otaku
This show is a really good one that has alot of rewatch value. Im still watching it but im in the middle, close to the end of the 3rd Season so its enough to give you a review especially since i cant spoil the ending of the last season, however at the end of the first and second seasons they let you know a following season is in the works, so i dont know if a 4th season is coming or not but it would be great if it was! So this anime is based on the main character who is Keima Katsuragi. He is basicallythe Otaku of Video games, but the video games are only dating sims and Nothing Else! Hes a master at this genre of games.
He basically shut himself from the "Real World" but to understand what i mean by that you gotta watch it :P
Keima....or Katsuragi as they call him, is a student who gets straight A's, so he plays his dating sim games during class and he gives no f***s, and this pisses off his teachers, but he has his smarts to back him up. Boss Level: ITS OVER 9000-
Ok lol, So one day hes playing his PFP (Shows version for a PSP) and he gets this message that gives him a contract and he accepted it. However this wasnt just an in game contract.
And after this, a demon named Elsie: The cute girl with the skull shaped thing on her head, tells him the contract was to help her collect "Loose Souls" that have escaped from the depths of hell. These loose souls are located within various girls and in order to get rid of the souls he has to make those girls fall in love with him.
He does this one by one so it isnt a swarm type of harem and the love doesnt feel forced which is why i like it. Oh and if he doesnt do it both him and Elsie would die because when he accepted the contract, an explosive collar got attached to both of their necks.
So the story starts off with them both working together to capture these loose souls. Its pretty much like this in all the seasons so far but the 3rd season is a little different. And the information in this review is based on what i remember from the first season, and all of this happens in the first episode. The really good stuff starts during the episodes so i HIGHLY guarantee you to watch it.
Sounds like a boring review? Thats because i havent spoiled that much. The show is awesome and really funny so i guarantee you watch it. :)
Thanks for reading!
ryuu_zer0
Manga adaptations are, by and large, a double-edged sword. On one hand they can be a guaranteed-profit venture for the production company, while on the other it can be incredibly difficult to capture the charm of the original work and can often leave us fans bitterly disappointed. Being an avid fan of the original manga, it is needless to say that I expected a lot from the anime adaptation of The World God Only Knows (or TWGOK). Unfortunately, it joins the long list of manga-turned-anime that have fallen just short. The plot centres around Katsuragi Keima, known on the internet as the “CapturingGod” of galges (dating sims), who has no interest in the real world. But this all changes when he accidently signs a contract with Hell, meaning he has to go around catching runaway spirits with the (admittedly cute) demon-in-training, Elsie. These spirits hide inside the hearts of real girls and it is up to Keima to “capture” their hearts and drive out these spirits.
The story overall is refreshing and unique. Some of the situations that Keima and Elsie get into are genuinely hilarious, as are all the parodies of eroge stereotypes. It is also quite faithful to the original manga. However, it suffers from a major setback, and that is the short 12-episode container.
Yes, it has been confirmed that there will be a second season starting April 2011, but where does this leave the first season? All in all it is an entertaining watch, but it’s hard to look past the fact that by itself it is just a series of random "captures" with little-to-no plot development bar the first episode. Some of the arcs seem unnecessarily dragged out, making the pacing a bit awkward. Furthermore, Manglobe insisted on throwing filler episodes into the mix which completely bewildered me. While it’s true that these fillers (or breaks, or whatever you want to call them) are present in the original manga, in the anime they just served to intensify the shortfalls in the plot.
As readers of the manga know these initial captures are just the introduction to the greater underlying storyline, and it’s unfortunate that the anime adaptation had to finish a whole season without even touching on it. For an anime series whose length will be determined by DVD/Blu-ray sales, Manglobe didn’t do the franchise any favours with the 12 episode format and the fillers.
As looks go TWGOK is not too bad, but it’s not great either. The character designs are a little inconsistent, but they hold up to a good standard overall. The colour palette is the standard comedy fare, as is the animation. Some of the scenes seem overdone and there is very little use of light and shade. But there are some good bits; the animation of Keima’s theory scenes always got a laugh out of me and Kanon’s concert sequences are also a highlight. The final result is a slightly better than average looking anime.
The music one of the strengths of this anime. The opening, composed especially for the show by Tenmon, is perfectly suited. The full song being 8 minutes long, the parts not used for the opening sequence are used for background music in addition to some other instrumental tracks to add to the atmosphere. While the soundtrack is a bit lacking in variety it suits the mood of the show very well. The cast of seiyuu also do a surprisingly good job of portraying the characters despite there being no real standout performances.
The diverse range of characters is what really makes the TWGOK manga really stand out. Katsuragi Keima is the enigmatic anti-hero, obsessed with his game world and disillusioned with the real world. Wakaki subtly pokes fun at practically every single galge stereotype with Keima’s flawed personality and the vast range of girls that Keima captures; tsunderes, yanderes, kuuderes, every other type of –dere you can think of, and many more. These elements have been retained in the anime, and Keima still shines though as a unique and thoroughly entertaining protagonist.
Then there is Elsie, who takes the role of the cute and quirky sidekick. While it is always fun to see more of Elsie, sometimes a disproportionate chunk of screen-time is given to her and the capture targets. The extra character development that this screen-time allows is welcome but it tends to unbalance the whole show. The story should revolve around Keima, and at times the writers at Manglobe seem to lose sight of that fact.
Finally, the curse of the 12 episode container strikes again, meaning that we don’t get to see any other recurring characters besides Keima and Elsie. The lack of variety in the recurring cast hurts this anime pretty badly, which is a shame since more of these characters are due to be introduced right after the point where the season ended. The lack of episodes also means that the anime fails to address Keima's motivation in all but the first episode, which trivializes his character somewhat.
Now I have been fairly critical of TWGOK, though that is not to say that I didn’t enjoy watching it. It is, if nothing else, entertaining, and I recommend it to anyone that enjoys a good rom-com with a twist. However, the simple fact is it could have been much better had they done a few things differently. The current format does very little to attract new people to the franchise, and it will be a huge shame if the series is axed after the second season because of the mistakes they made in the first.
Nevertheless, bring on season two. Here’s hoping Manglobe learns from their mistakes. Overall score: 7.2/10 (rounded to 7)
kaizersaber
The World God Only Knows, basically, is the world that only Keima knows. Even I, have no idea, what kind of delusion this man is living in, but it sure as hell is pretty funny. The best way to sum up this anime is - a touching, smart and nonsensical comedy, that leaves you feeling happy at the end of it. TL:DR Story: 5/10 Art: 8/10 Sound: 7/10 Character: 7/10 Enjoyment: 7/10 Overall: 7/10 (rounded up from 6.75)Good Points:
+ Superb comic relief and funny scenes
+ Interesting male lead
+ Cute and irresistible female lead
+ Good emotional / touching scenes
+ Not overboard with the ecchi/harem theme
+ Character growth in the four "targets" (Ayumi, Mio, Kanon, Shiori)
+ Great background art and music
Bad Points:
- Lack of character development and growth in the main cast
- Some lack of coherence in the later plot arcs
- Lack of overarching plot, or conflict
- Plot is straightforward and generally predictable
- At least 2 filler episodes (in a 12 episode anime? Yep, you bet'cha)
Story: 5/10
The anime has four main story arcs, namely, the Ayumi arc, the Mio arc, the Kanon arc and the final Shiori arc. All of the arcs are distinct and special, even though the main idea of the anime - to make girls fall in love with Keima, by solving some life problem that they have - is remains consistent throughout. There is another side arc - the one about Sora arc in episode 4 but that only lasts one episode.
The Ayumi arc was, I have to say this, both funny and touching. I didn't expect much from this anime because it had so much to do with dating sims and the classic "make a girl fall in love with you" theme, that I thought it'd be completely unrealistic and stupid. Except that it wasn't. While it was nonsensical at times for the comic relief - most parts did seem realistic - and the way that Keima found out about Ayumi's "fear" and "hesitation", and the words that he used to move her heart, proved to be a bit of a plot twist in the first arc, and that was what made me continue watching this anime, despite it being a really "uninteresting" idea in my opinion. (+1 for coherence)
The Mio arc completely added onto the comic element of this anime, although it didn't add alot of depth. Mio was the typical tsundere, and it was easy to see how Keima would "conquer her", by simply doing transport service for her day after day until her heart softened and he could finally come to terms to talk - and dance - with her, under a romantic moonlit sky (oh the convenience). To be fair though, at this point the anime starts to lose a bit of coherence - especially the chauffeur who was following Mio around for no apparent reason. If her dad passed away just a day ago or something, I might understand, but the chauffeur was likely unemployed for quite sometime already, Mio couldn't possibly have been paying him.
Then comes the Kanon arc where things start to make less and less sense. Kanon is somehow able to hold a rooftop concert everyday in school, without ever contacting any logistics personnel, no sound crew, no light crew, nothing. Just her and a stage, and somehow all the music and lights come on and things start playing - that's an absolute no go.
Okay, so the idea that she turns "invisible" is linked to her characterization as feeling "invisible" all the time. I get it, but then why is it that she randomly turns from "invisible" to slightly translucent, so often? Is there a rule saying that you need to look harder or closer enough for her to be visible? Does she randomly vary between degrees of invisibility? Because she isn't completely invisible, she should be able to be seen based on the distortions of the background, and if she IS completely invisible, Keima shouldn't EVER be able to see her.
Next, Kanon carries these stun guns that are completely for comic effect. Sure thing. But again - this made no sense, and she seems to have carried these guns for absolute fun and only ever uses them on Keima. I know it's for comic relief - but still - at least humour me by explaining it in a funny way, it was never really mentioned at all.
The Kanon arc was slightly deeper in nature though, than the previous two. The idea of an idol who feels lonely despite having so many fans - this is a real phenomena that felt completely natural. The way Keima realizes this is not very "fascinating", but the anime really put quite a lot of thought into developing the plot around Kanon - from all her fansign events, to her dramas, to her voice-acting schedules, as well as to her actual concerts. It felt like there was a deeper meaning behind just "making Kanon fall in love with Keima" it moved on to "making Kanon believe in herself" - especially when rejecting the kiss from Kanon - even though he still got it at the end, though. (+1 for depth)
The Shiori arc, the final arc as well, was slightly convoluted, but was I thought, the most interesting of all the arcs. A girl who doesn't talk at all, how the heck do you communicate with someone like that? While Keima's method - pissing her off, essentially - wasn't completely revolutionary, it was also mixed in with being sensitive, and understanding the shy girl under the pile of books. The deeper meaning is trying to understand the thoughts behind people's faces, even if they don't talk - it's possible to feel, to get a sensing of what the person behind the mask is thinking - by simply judging their actions and the way they act. (+1 for interest, +1 for depth)
I can't say that any part of this arc is coherent though - from locking down an entire library that happens to have only 1 entrance, to drilling a hole through the roof, to the sheer scale of the library in comparison to the number of people inside it at any one particular time, why Shiori doesn't carry around a notebook with her to write down what she is trying to communicate - so I can't give it any points for that. Also, the resolution of the arc wasn't very substantial - all Keima really did was accompany her, then kiss her, and that should creep Shiori out, honestly, rather than make her fall in love with him - it was all too sudden and unrealistic.
Then we finally come to talk about the side arc - Sora's arc, about a buggy game tha Keima must, absolutely must, complete. No matter how many bugs there are in the game - Keima persists in completing it because it's not Sora's fault that the game she's stuck in sucks so bad that everyone else gave up on it. While it may merely just be a characterisation arc - the plot itself is interesting enough - when things seem impossible, will you try every possible way - until you beat it or you realize it really is impossible? Coherence is slightly out of the window - and Keima is honestly wasting his time on some stupid game - but that's how life is - we have options as choices, though not very clear-cut, the decisions we make determine our "route", and perhaps, just perhaps, there's always a way "out" of our problems, a way to reach our goals, if only we have the perseverance to try and try again. (+1 for depth)'
And so to sum up, the story does have an overarching plot, but it is hardly developed. Elsie ends up catching 4 runaway spirits - but progress is unknown, and we're not sure how many more Keima must complete until he's finally free of the death collar. The plot itself though, if you look at it from a deeper perspective, is quite deep, though it fails on both coherence and level of interest - plot is generally predictable and not very ingenious.
Art: 8/10
OP Scene 0/2 - Nothing too exciting, but covers most of the characters
ED Scene 2/2 - Interesting use of the paint to form a colourful picture of Keima
Animation 3/3 - Absolutely love the cute animations used throughout the anime
Aesthetics 3/3 - I really like the cute theme that the use, as well as all the bubbles and all.
Sound: 7/10
OP Theme 0/3 - Didn't like the OP theme at all, it's in poor english and wasn't catchy.
ED Theme 3/3 - Absolutely loved the ED theme - it was happy, uplifting and catchy
Background Music 2/2 - Some parts were annoying and repetitive, but mostly well done
Additional themes 2/2 - Definitely enjoyed the Kanon arc's theme songs. Although they were cliche idol songs, they were great to listen to.
Character: 7/10
The characterization is definitely pretty good in this anime - since it's quite character-centric. We'll start with the two main characters - Keima and Elsie.
Keima is not your average hikkikomori/otaku character. Everyone treats him like a loser - and he kinda is a loser for excelling only in dating sims - but he's actually pretty smart, he's logical, he's also a thinker and there is a lot more to his moral / emotional side than just his cold exterior. His multi-faceted nature is what I really like about him. He tries to look cool, but he constantly loses it when Elsie drives him crazy. He doesn't have much of a back story though, and honestly shows very little growth throughout the anime - except from the fact that he accepts the fact that he can conquer real life girls as well as those in games. Keima doesn't come to any self-realization in this first season of the anime. (+1 for interesting, +1 for depth)
Elsie is your average, typical, hyperactive cute girl who does anything to make Keima happy. She puts in lots of effort - cleaning the house, making breakfast, even making a cake (lol) - not trying to win Keima's favour because she likes him or anything, but simply because she wants to be a good little sister to him (imouto). She's completely, cute innocent and irresistible. However, as a character, she doesn't have much depth to her at all. She doesn't show much growth - and we don't know much about her backstory - other than that she has an older sister who is WAAAY better than her.
The two main characters are not the focal point though, the girls in the arcs are. Ayumi, starts off as a girl who really wants to win in the track and field meet - and turns out to doubt herself, and her own ability to run. She hates Keima because he's a loser, and feels embarrassed whenever Keima puts up banners to support her. She feels like he is mocking her, but in the end, Keima shows that he understands her more than anyone else - and he shows legitimate care for her by buying her hampers and a pair of running shoes. (+1 for growth)
Mio Aoyama, at first pulling of the rich lady feel - suddenly turns around to actually being a poor girl living a rich lifestyle (in a shoddy apartment). She gets abandoned by her chauffeur, ends up having to use Keima Transport Services, and eventually picks up the will to use small change when buying things. Unfortunately, none of these changes/ character development is substantial enough to warrant any points - they are all very trivial and minor in nature. Her backstory, is also underdeveloped. We know that her father died and she isn't rich anymore, and that she enjoyed her time with her father, but her father didn't seem to teach her much, and we don't know exactly how she lived in the past when her father was around either, we can only assume she lived like a princess (in which case, wouldn't her mum start educating her that she can't live that way anymore?).
Kanon, the idol and rising star, who is only 16 years old, but probably is one of the best and youngest idols ever known, still struggles with identity and confidence issues ever since her earlier girl group - Citron - broke up (for very lame reasons, actually). Her character development and depth has got to be the most out of all the arcs - because her backstory is much more comprehensive and rich. It's not just random flashbacks like the previous few arcs - it's relationships that come back to find her as well - her former bandmates sent her flowers to congratulate her on performing on the stage, Citron always wanted to perform. Also, much character growth from always being unconfident - to having new found confidence in herself. (+1 for depth, +1 for growth)
Then lastly, we have Shiori, who is the quiet, shy girl who is really, really hard to understand. They did spend a lot of time trying to develop her character though - there were many, many scenes of her and her past encounters with books and the library in general. It was basically her monologue-ing to herself about how she loves books, about why she loves books and why she can't live without books. What a bookworm. The growth she shows is quite apparent - she moves from being a shy, untalkative, loner, to becoming slightly more assertive, and more able to communicate with others. Still, her backstory is vague and unconvincing, and as a character, she's naive and uninteresting, given the number of books she has read - she must have learnt something from those books, but it looks like her maturity of thinking is nowhere near "developed" in anyway. (+1 for growth)
To sum up, the character growth that is lacking in the main characters, are found in the supporting characters - but hopefully, the main characters get more character development in the coming few seasons. Also, most of the characters are rather "cliched" except for the main character, but it is likely that they are meant to be this way - following the dating sim idea. Character interactions though, are definitely solid. Though they may be very exaggerated, it was always enjoyable how the two main cast, and their "mother" clicked together. (+1 for interaction)
Enjoyment: 7/10
Definitely one of the most funniest animes I've watched. I couldn't stop laughing from episode 1-4, and those were definitely enjoyable. The comic element died down slightly from then on, but there were always so many absurd and nonsensical situations and really funny reactions between Keima and Elsie and their mother, that it definitely made for a very enjoyable watch. (+3 for comedy)
Initially, I was pretty interested and excited to find out how Keima would convince / smooth talk / strategize to win over the girls he encountered, namely because of the first arc. But this excitement died down over time - and I found myself simply watching for the comic element, and nothing much else. It seemed like it was already a given that Keima would be successful in capturing all the girls that he was tasked to - and there were little problems / conflict doing so, so after the first two arcs, things became a lot less interesting. But, I did feel that all the kissing scenes involving Keima were all touching in their own special way, so I thought that the anime played those out pretty well.
(+1 for excitement, +1 for emotion)
Pacing was definitely okay, although I thought that the first arc could be extended. If only the first episode could have been 45 mins or so - that would have been better than the very abridged first Ayumi arc that we had. The emotional bits were well emphasized, although I thought that for the final arc, the book scenes were abit too overwhelming. By the first series of Shiori flashbacks of her reading books - I basically got the gist of it "she's a bookworm, I get it already! Can we move on now?" (+2 for pacing)
Unfortunately, I have to give a miss for 1 point for the filler episode that is basically episode 8, and arguably, episodes 4 and 12, because all of these advanced the plot line in no reasonable way or fashion, and seemed completely out of the blue.
Overall: 6.75/10
ace52387
It’s funny how a parody somehow has license to nab the actual appeal of its subject matter. It’s almost unfair, and that’s exactly what Kami Nomi does. Lets be honest, dating sims are sexist, treating girls like puzzles to be cracked, and those who would never touch such a game can appreciate how this series exaggerates its common character archetypes and lampoons them. The final romantic moments though are completely straight faced, and at times, somewhat touching as they should be in a dating sim. A satisfying romance this is not, but it is riotous, with a few sweet moments onthe rare occasion.
Keima is a high school student dubbed “The God of Conquest” due to his proficiency in beating dating sims. He is popular amongst dating sim players on the net, but his classmates find him disgusting. He is issued a challenge by a mysterious sender and as soon as he hits reply, the demon Elsee comes to him telling him he’s already signed a contract. Keima must displace wandering souls (who only take refuge in high school girls’ hearts?) by inspiring love in the hosts’ heart. If he fails, both he and Elsee will be guillotined. To save his life, Keima must become a real pickup artist, even though he’s never even held a girl’s hand. To avoid complications, the girls he picks up promptly forget about him after the climactic kiss that liberates them, allowing him to move onto the next target without breaking any hearts (except maybe his own…awww).
Oddly enough, all his moves in the dating sims work just as well in real life. Keima isn’t a smooth talker, James Bond type. He uses a somewhat creepy, perhaps slightly endearing earnestness. It’s usually an over the top, “that guy is way too into me” kind of thing. He also has a great talent in that he can say the cheesiest, cruelest, or most socially unacceptable things with a straight face. The girls are all overblown cliché’s with comedic exaggerations or twists thrown in. A wealthy, slightly sadistic ojousama, an athletic girl, a pop idol, and a quiet librarian are the primary story arcs. Keima coldly observes them and calculates the best way to wriggle his sleezy self into their hearts. The girls have some burden that they endure, so Keima tests the waters until he understands their issues, then with his love (bleh!), he resolves it.
The climaxes are similar to those of dating sims. In one instant, the girls’ problems are solved, and the romance is sealed with a kiss. The Ojousama and Idol ones were particularly cute, but the highlight is always the journey itself, which is anything but typical. Keima often gets shot down in the most hilarious ways. Unphased and undaunted, he will continue to proceed with his ridiculous plans. On his very first target, the athlete, he hangs banners of love and praise down the side of the school building, and just stands beside them without the slightest hint of embarrassment. She beats him, insults him, ignores him, but he persists.
The animation is usually solid. The character designs are truly generic (as intended no doubt), but the dancing, singing, and soul capturing sequences are all exceptionally well animated. The playful orchestral piece really adds a lot of romantic atmosphere to the climaxes, and the music overall is good. There are several pop songs (some of them quite funny) written just for the series but they often insist on playing them for the full duration. The idol arc itself contains maybe 3-5 music video sequences. They do drag a bit, but that’s a minor complaint.
Kami Nomi is funny in so many ways. The parody of dating sims and Anime girls in general is just the beginning. Keima’s campy cheese (one example: “You don’t have to worry about rank. You’re already first…in my heart”) is ceaselessly amusing as well. The hilarity of the side characters, Keima’s mother, Elsee, and others is just a plus.
Eastunder
Quick note, considering that there aren't many differences or changes between either of the first two seasons in any category, and it'd be kind of pointless to do two separate reviews that say the exact same thing, this review with be covering the first two seasons of The World God Only Knows. There will however be a separate review for the third season at some point in the future. Now that that's out of the way, please enjoy the review. You know, i'm pretty sure that i'd be hard pressed to find many anime fans that aren't also gamers, at least to some degree. After all,the two cultures have always blended well in the past. But right now i want to talk about a specific type of game, visual novels. Visual novels are a type of video game that are basically interactive stories, you play through listening to the story unfold and occasionally you make choices that decide how the story will play out. There are some that are popular on an international level such as the Shin Megami Tensei franchise and Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright, but it's only in Japan where visual novels have a strong popularity and a wide variety of games taking up the market. So the idea of making an anime/manga series where the concepts of visual novels are a large part of the story and characters doesn't exactly seem so farfetched. In comes The World God Only Knows, which implements the idea of these games into the harem genre to make an anime that has spawned quite a popularity since it's debut. But does it follow the plan that leads us to a happy ending or a dead end?
Story (6/10)
The story is about a teenage boy named Keima Katsuragi who is obsessed with games, specifically visual novels of the dating sim variety. He has the uncanny ability to be able to capture the hearts of every girl in his games with ease earning him the title of God of Conquest. One day, however, he receives a strange email asking if he can truly capture the heart of any girl he chooses. Keima, considering it a challenge, replies yes, accepting the challenge, when all of a sudden a young girl named Elucia de Lute Ima, Elsie for short, appears out of thin air claiming that she is a demon from hell and that he has just signed a contract with her. The contract states that he will be her partner in capturing the loose souls that have escaped from hell and have found host bodies in other people, primarily women, and if he refuses to do so then he will lose his head, literally, and Elsie, being bonded with him, will also die. So now Keima has to use his extensive knowledge of dating sims to make these girls fall in love with him, to fill the emptiness in their hearts and kick the invading soul out. And that's basically it for the first two seasons, Keima and Elsie find a girl who's carrying a loose soul, Keima seduces her, they kiss, the loose soul is captured, and through the element of plot convenience, the girl forgets all about the conquest so Keima can move on to the next girl without being considered an adulterous asshole. Throw in a couple filler episodes and that's it. Still, despite it's formulaic and repetitive nature, it's actually quite entertaining. The different heroine arcs are well executed, the humor is always silly, and i was never bored with the show. And i think one thing that makes it all work is that the show is in fact, a parody of visual novels. It kind of pokes fun at just how predictable and unrealistic they can be, but it's never mean spirited, always choosing silly humor over scathing criticism, which makes the show very lovable. However it does bring up some questions. How did Keima get tricked into the contract when he never signed a contract, he just pressed a button on an email? That's not exactly something that would hold up in court hell or otherwise. Also while the girls do lose all their memories, it's kind of hard to not say that Keima is cheating on them when he never actually breaks up with anyone. And it's hard not to say that the show isn't just a bit hypocritical when it says, more than once mind you, that reality and fiction are two separate things, yet Keima always succeeds in seducing women with what he's learned from his games, things that would never really help in the real world. Honestly it's best to not try to use your mind to much during the show, or else you'll be wondering why your laughing at an antisocial teenage boy manipulating women into falling in love with him, only to make out with him, force them to forget their memories, and move on to the next girl to do the same exact thing, and all with the help of a demon ad the powers of hell.
Art (7/10)
The World God Only Knows along with all of sequels and OVAs were done by studio Manglobe. The thing about Manglobe, is that they're great when it comes to action shows, Deadman Wonderland, Samurai Champloo, and Ergo Proxy are all perfect examples of this. But for everything else, they're mostly just decent. Overall, The World God Only Knows is a good looking show but there's nothing really special about it. The only notable thing is it's style. Despite the fact that the show does have a default style that it uses most of the time, they'll often change the style for the sake of gag humor, which was actually quite nice. I was never bored with the visuals because of their ever changing nature and often times, it tended to work in their favor for more comedic results. One last quick tip, when going into the show, be prepared for bright colors. Seriously, trying to watch this side by side with a show like Texhnolyze like i did, so freaking jarring.
Sound (8/10)
The soundtrack is definitely the most impressive part of the show. They could have easily put in a couple of bouncy catchy j-pop numbers and be done with it, but they put some time and effort into it, resulting in some very nice orchestral pieces. The song that plays during the final stage of a conquest in particular, always left me on a good note. Although you will probably have the song "Happy Crescent" sung by the heroine Kanon stuck in your head for a week after watching the first season. Another thing that should be brought up are the openings, both of which are done by a group called Oratorio and are each quite good. But i'd like to specifically mention the opening to the first season, often regarded as the best opening by fans, called "God Only Knows", however the part we hear in the show is only a small snippet of a nine minute long epic, which is worth giving a full listen too. To quickly regard sub vs. dub on this, i'm going to suggest going with sub. For the dub, Chris Patton does great as Keima, and Luci Christanson is acceptable as Elsie, but that's about it. Besides, if you choose the dub, then you miss out on the heroine Shiori delivering her famous "baka/aho" lines, which i consider to be some of the greatest delivered lines in the Japanese language.
Characters (7/10)
There is no doubt that the main pull for a large chunk of fans of the show is the God of Conquest himself, Keima Katsuargi, whose kind of what you'd get if Lelouch Lamperourge was an eccentric otaku. Keima is basically the opposite of what you would expect from a harem protagonist. Where the average harem protagonist is average in every way and only gets girls by being extremely kind, Keima is an intelligent and handsome young man who puts plenty of work and effort into winning over his target. But that also brings up another point of his character, in his eyes, the girls are nothing more than missions that he needs to accomplish. He has been nothing but disappointed by reality and seeks solace in the games that he's so obsessed with, because of this he's an antisocial problem student, and an outcast to his peers. He looks at everything the way he would look at a game, so rather than winning over women with a genuine kindness and understanding, he manipulates them through scripts and planned situations, caring more about getting the conquests over with so he can go back to playing games rather than the girls own happiness. But still, he is still a good person underneath it all and had shown the occasional subtle moment where it seems he does care about the girls he conquers and is also bothered by his own personal situation. Then there's the demon from hell Elsie. I'm not even gonna poke around the bush, Elsie is freaking adorable, everyone who's seen the show knows it and i'm not even going to deny it. She herself doesn't have all that much to do with the conquests, only showing up to capture the loose souls when they're kicked out of the host body. She instead takes the role of Keima's little sister, doing everything in her power to impress him and make him happy just for a little bit of praise, but often fails either because of her own ditzy nature or Keima's stand-offish nature. Also she has a weird obsession with firetrucks. I don'y know why she does or how it's relevant to the series but goddammit it's adorable. The only other character worth mentioning is Haqua du Lot Herminium, Elsie's colleague and friend from hell who also captures loose souls that was introduced in season 2. Haqua is very prideful, not coming from a noble family and instead rises to the top through hard work and determination, but because of this is unwilling to admit her own faults and, at first, doesn't choose to openly acknowledge Elsie as a friend, despite treasuring their friendship. There's not really much to say about the rest of the prominent characters are the heroines and they can basically be summed up with a trope, such as athlete, rich girl, and book worm. Still the show does like to mix things up a little bit by adding new twists to their tropes, like the rich girl is actually poor, or by having the loose souls give the girls powers, like having a personality literally escaping from a girl. But even so, none of the characters outside the heroines really get any development and are basically the same people they were when they were first introduced, and the development that the heroines get are fairly predictable and melodramatic. Still by the end of the series you will most likely have your own favorite heroine.
Enjoyment (8/10) Overall (7/10)
You know those series that you can never consider a personal favorite for one reason or another, but you still love to death for one reason or another. Well for me, The World God Only Knows is one of those series. Yes it's formulaic and simple, but it's always entertaining, and the characters are still memorable. But you should take to mind that this series is not one to be taken to seriously. It's mostly silly and even the melodrama is there for parody rather than emotion. There's not real drama to be found in this series...at least, not until season 3. But that's a review for another day. Until then, remember to find your ideal route in life, because i can see the ending....No i really can't but that'd be pretty cool though wouldn't it.
UnknownUser-
I present to you: The character most of us wish to be, but never will be due to the fact we lack the funding, and the determination. Katsuragi Keima can be considered a true otaku, a man who has given up on reality and instead focuses on nothing but dating sims and VNs. But of course, that would make for a rather boring premise, so let's add some demons to it. ==(Minor) Spoilers Ahead== Now, when I first heard about "The World God Only Knows", I thought it was going to be about a guy who's addicted to dating sims and nothing else. And when Iheard it includes demon girls and soul hunting, I wasn't very interested. I mean, after all, what kind of plot is that supposed to be? But alas, I was once again shown how wrong I could be, especially after having watched the first few episodes.
This lovely and silly anime focuses on Katsuragi Keima, a guy with a huge passion for virtual girls, taken to a level where real life girls don't even faze him anymore. Thanks to that, he's known on the net as the "God of Conquest", and helps out people with their dating sim-related issues. Until one day, he accepts a "challenge" via mail and is suddenly bound by a contract to catch runaway spirits from Hell together with a demon girl named Elsie (or Elucia, or Elle-chan, but oh well). How does one catch these spirits, you may ask? Our lovely otaku has to drive them away from the hearts of people, because these souls look for gaps (weaknesses, emptiness) in them. And with people, I of course mean girls. And with driving away, I mean make them fall in love with him. And he does exactly that, with his dating sim skills, and he somehow manages to make it work.
Now that that's out of the way, let's focus on the main points.
Art:
The art is great. Although it's nothing special, it fits with today's style and is nicely done in general. It doesn't stand out, but it doesn't have to be. It's perfect just the way it is... Yeah, I can't really say anything else. One note: The facial expressions from time to time are amazingly cute, so be careful.
Music:
The OP. Nuff said, really. But all kidding aside, the OST is great. It fits very well with the atmosphere of the anime, and is a great moodsetter. In the right way, that is. The OP, like I said before, is possibly one of the most intriguing I've ever heard. I wouldn't call it the best, because broken English isn't really my thing, but it's captivating, and I often find myself listening to it again. It also fits the title quite well, along with several other songs from the OST, with their god-like feel mixed into it.
Story:
Well, the story is quite unique, in my opinion. Some say that it's a combination of several plots, but it was amazingly executed. There wasn't a single moment where I got bored by the anime, and unlike others I've watched, I didn't even hesitate to watch the next episode... Which ended up in me watching the last episode at 3AM on a wednesday, but oh well. Fact is, it kept me glued to my seat, and the story progression was nice, fluent and not at all repetitive. And as an avid lover of comedies, this sure hit the spot nicely.
Characters:
Keima is a character you expect to find in the background. He doesn't care about anything in the real world, and often finds himself frowned upon by fellow students and teachers. He's the typical shut-in without any friends. Putting a character like him in the shoes of an MC, and giving him a partner may be risky, but the author made it work. Not only that, they did an amazing job at it too.
Elsie, who has been assigned as his demon partner, is... Well, an airhead. A rather typical one, at that. She's funny, silly, and a bit stupid. Putting her next to a serious and superficial guy like Keima might make for a funny comedy routine, but instead it balanced the pairing up nicely, with one solving the puzzles and keeping a calm mood when necessary, whereas the other is just being herself, acting all goofy, but also providing a hand and helping out at the right time. I haven't seen a pair with a balance that worked well in a while, so it was quite nice to see it again.
As for the support cast, there's something about them that I love a lot. And that's that they all have unique character traits. This is actually a very important plot element, which is sorta given away in my earlier description of the anime, but it makes it that instead of the usual bland background characters, we get a bunch that actually feel like they add to the story. Nicely done.
Conclusion:
"The World God Only Knows" tries to be different by giving us a main character that doesn't care about anyone else, yet is forced to help out others by performing acts that he has never done before. Although this isn't a fresh idea, it's all about how well you play it out. And with this anime, I think they hit it just right, and provided us with some lovely characters, good art, fine music and an overall great experience. It gives us the hope that otakus aren't bound by a fate of screens and the internet, but instead have the ability to communicate with members of the opposite sex... Nah, I'm exaggerating a bit, but you get the point. A shut-in who manages to sway every girl he has set his eyes on is quite the unique concept, in my opinion. And once again, they did a great job executing this concept. It's funny and silly, but at the same time passionate and gripping when it has to be. He lives in "The World Otakus Dream Of", you might say.
animeno
The World God Only Knows Season 1 Story: The World God Only knows follows the life of an avid ‘dating simmer; called Keima Katsuragi aka The God of Conquest (because there is no dating sim he cannot beat,) although he is known as The God of Conquest on the net he is a dweeb or nerd in school (otoumegane a derogatory term mixed with otaku and glasses) who sees the world he lives in as imperfect choosing his games over reality. One day he is given a challenge by an unknown person asking him to conquer a girl accepting this request he actually signed a contract witha demon to help a demon capture loose souls, he meets a girl names Elsie who is the demon he has to help however refuses to capture loose souls when told he has to make them fall in love with him and kiss him (because he hates real girls), he is persuaded when he is told that he will lose his head if he doesn’t cooperate with the contract. So Keima begins his quest to capture the loose souls.
Animation
The Animation in this anime is quite interesting because it shows certain types, firstly the eyes, there are two kinds of eyes in this anime the hawk eyes which are used mainly for boys and some girls who are either have tough or cold personalities. The other eyes are the moe eyes with are large and round and seen with most girls who have soft, cute, shy or moe personalities. The hair is also another key part, like most anime’s of its time it has little detail in the hair using mainly different shades rather than drawing detail into each strand the actual anime is quite good it use small amount of features and a large amount of digital shading which is clever although when the chibi’s are made it doesn’t work as well, otherwise this is very nice animation and the style although similar to other is still quite unique.
Sound:
The audio in this anime varies from the different themes for each character and heroine to the music for chibi characters, Firstly each character has his/her own theme to name each theme would take too long however each theme will show the characters personality or feeling. The chibi music varies from when some does a mistake or if a scene is changing other than that is the opening theme ‘god only knows’ and the ending theme ‘koi no shirushi’ both these themes go well with the anime, the op give a view of Keima’s personality as a God of Dating Sims and the ending gives a kind of moe/cute look on the heroine throughout the season also both the opening and ending show all the heroines that are in that particular season so you can get a glimpse of what is to come.
Main Characters:
The first season of TWGOK (The World god Only Knows) was quite interesting, not many anime’s since this time had looked at an otaku’s point of view, this interested many, with Keima he showed many characteristics and had a very strong view of the world around him as he found it full of flaws and imperfections, realizing this was never to change he lives in the world of his games. If we look at it this started at an early age where he would spend all his time with games (mainly Dating Sims). However even though he lives his life in his games he shows many important lessons to be learnt, he has ideals and shows a large amount of wisdom about this by giving many example to Elsie about dating sims in riddle which she can’t understand, before he met Elsie (Erushi or Elli etc.) he was very happy with his games, he sees the demon as a burden on his as he is steadily dragged into the real world by a demon. However as we see to the conclusion of this season we see that he has changed slightly, he seems more willing however this is mostly to get rid of Elsie. Now we look at Elsie call her what you like however she is a very important character, she sees Keima as a god/brother even though he really isn’t, she shows a large amount of loyalty to him witch is strange when you look a previous demon anime’s who are exactly the opposite, as Keima quotes (in translated English) when you look at her she doesn’t look like a demon but when she does anything it’s like Beelzebub incarnate, this may not be an exact translation but you get the picture. When we look to Elsie’s past we don’t see much if not any during the second season however it seems they were avoiding it in both the manga and anime so that until we got a good glimpse of her character before we went headlong into a backstory (which in my view is a clever ploy to extend the manga and anime). This first season with its heroines is really just mainly setting up for the arc that is to come; it is an overview of the main characters and their respective personalities as well as the current arc
ploopploop
Keima, also known as the god of conquest is a... not so ordinary boy. While enjoying his simple way of living, some certain events are about to occur. Events of which he would've never dreamt of and never will. Keima's whole life changes when Elsie (she has a to long name to remember) enters his daily life. The mother of Keima has an ehh.. pretty outstanding character while the father is kinda the opposite. Keima on the other hand is both. Not 50/50 but 100% of each. This character of his makes the events in this anime ridiculously hilarous. I truelly enjoyed the events thatoccured.
The story is actually pretty well developed! Something I wouldn't expect (honestly). At the beginning I thought it would be an anime full of fan service. This anime is full of fan service, however it is story wise. This makes the overall plot very enjoyable.
While he struggles with his trial and error his personal growth increases, making his character more interesting. And he isn't the only one. Most of the other characters were pretty interesting aswell!
I really don't want to spoil anything about the story/plot so I will leave that for as it is.
I found the opening track so.. so... sooooo good! You probably won't realise how acurate the opening song actually is after watching a few episodes. All the other sound tracks are also well developed. After thinking about it I realized that the company must've put quite some time into the developing of these soundtracks. I mean most of the anime sound tracks reflect on the anime it is about for 40-60% but this one has the full 100%.
The overall art looked great, loved the chibi-ish moments when it could be used. Even the back ground characters look decent.
As you might've noticed, I rushed quite a bit at the end of my review. That is because I just realised how epic this series actually are.. brb rewatching... overall 10/10.
milnivek
The story is exactly as you'd expect from the synopsis - light-hearted episodic fare (each girl he has to conquer takes 1-2 episodes) with comedic elements. With only 12 episodes and having to devote time to building up the personality of the targeted girl up so the audience cares about them, there is very little time for development of the main characters (Keima and Elsie). Character development does not go beyond the minimum required to set up the story as it is a short series, but it is sufficient. (I have since watched season 2 and there is significantly more development of the main charactersthere).
What I enjoyed the most was Kami nomi's commentary and insights into the Dating Simulation genre (which are also applicable to anime). As a prodigy at dating sims, the main character periodically explains the characteristics of the various girl archetypes found in these games, what you need to do to win them, as well as the structure of how dating sims function. The girls he has to save usually fall into the typical stereotypes (sporty-type, princess-type, tsundere, etc) with a twist, so that Keima has to use his knowledge of dating sims, but adapt it to fit into the real world.
I also liked how the director changes the pace of different episodes, based on the type of girl being chased: for example, when the target is a bookish-type, the episode is more slow paced with a lot of inner monologue.
Overall, I think a passing familiarity with harems and Japanese games is needed to appreciate this anime fully. I would not recommend it to someone who has just started watching anime or is unfamiliar with Japanese games as many of the sight gags and plays on tropes would just go over their heads and all you would be left with is a semi-interesting story of a gaming genius using his video game knowledge in the real world.
highpriest2500
*Note: this is a review for all 3 seasons. There may be minor spoilers but I'll warn you if I'll be mentioning one. I have also finished the manga as well so there might be some manga influences in my review (I will try to only focus on the anime though).* After watching three seasons of The World God Only Knows (TWGOK), I'm left with one thought: I wish I have Keima's pick-up skills when he is conquering a girl. Maybe I should try picking up dating sims. Having watched a few romance anime (and also a fan of the romance genre), it gets tiring to seea relationship just between two people, or occasionally a love triangle. Harems are the answer to that but it's tricky to write a good story juggling so many characters. Then, we have TWGOK. This anime combines elements from the couple relationship and the harem structure to create a grand act of conquering individual girls at a time. If you came looking for many types of ladies, TWGOK has them all.
The story in the first two seasons are relatively simple. Keima is a good-looking video game God, or rather specifically, a God of dating simulations. Romance is his oxygen and he gets it by breathing in dating simulation after dating simulation. Despite his Brad Pitt-like looks, he adamantly believes the best girls are found in the 2D world. One day while conquering a 2D girl, he is forced into a contract with a demon, (no, not like Death Note demon but a rather much cuter one) named Elsie, to extract wandering souls that have taken refuge inside a human. In order to extract the hidden soul, he must "conquer" a girl or, in other words, make her fall in love with Keima. The catch is that each girl he conquers has her memory erased of the conquest. Although there are many girls to conquer, Keima is not short of unique ways to win her heart. So strap yourselves in your seat. You will be taken on one fast romantic ride.
The story in the third season takes a different approach than the first two seasons. Due to the difference, I'll be marking things about the third season as a light spoiler because perhaps you don't want to know how the story changes. So, feel free to skip down to END LIGHT SPOILER marking. However, I will not spoil anything about the third season.
---BEGIN LIGHT SPOILER---
The third season marks the beginning of the shift in the story. Keima is still conquering the ladies but rather than being all light-hearted like in the first two seasons, this season highlights much more character development for Keima. The story has many more "feelsy" moments and more supernatural elements to it. At this point, it definitely shows the writer's own story rather than continuously poking fun at other romance stories. This defining aspect is a reason why the third season is the highest rated out of all three seasons. To provide a little teaser for/incentive to watch the third season, I will say that having conquered so many different types of girls, he is bound to find someone he admires.
But the bad thing about the third season is that it skips crucial story information. So before starting the third season, I strongly suggest reading the manga, in particular, after you finish season 2, start on chapter 41 in the manga and you can either go all the way to chapter 113, the start of season 3, or watch the OVAs "Yonin to Aidoru" (chapter 54-55) and "Tenri Arc" (chapter 57-65) and start the manga from there. The manga is a really fun read and covers even more interesting characters that the anime does not.
---END LIGHT SPOILER---
What makes TWGOK stand out for me is that the writer is not afraid to use the standard character types: the quiet type, the athletic, the Tsundere, etc. In fact, there is little to no outstanding characteristics about each of our characters. Further, the anime has a great time poking fun at the romance anime that stretches for, say, 12-24 episodes when the actual romance/action can actually be condensed into 2 episodes. Indeed, TWGOK is a parody of most romance anime out there.
Like I previously mentioned, the characters aren't particularly outstanding, except for Keima and perhaps Elsie. Keima is a relatively normal high school student who plays tons of dating simulators. But when he is on his courting A-game, he becomes a smooth-talking Channing Tatum minus the muscles. I am not sure if I can apply his methods to 3D girls (well, maybe but with a restraining order at the end) but it is damn entertaining to watch.
Elsie is a fun but mostly clueless demon partner. What she does is basically identifying where the wandering demon is hiding and securing it in a bottle. Of course, since these demon partners are visible to all mortals, Elsie pretends she is Keima's sister and lives with him. How Keima's mother doesn't mind, well it's pretty comedic, but it's not really important because Elsie is a great cleaner and she is an awesome sister as well.
We do not learn much about each girl except for some surface details, which is a bummer. They are pretty interesting people if you continue with the manga but probably due to production issues/time constraints, the anime was not able to develop their interesting aspects. So if you are going to stick with the anime, each girl will either be a hit or a miss for you. Nevertheless, the anime does a good job of highlighting the particular traits of each girl.
On the technical side, there is nothing out of the ordinary about the artwork. Keima has a relatively simple character design while Elsie gets a floating pink scarf (a.k.a. a hagoromo) and a cool skull spirit detector as a "hair pin." The what I call "derpy moments," or funny moments, are comically drawn. If you have seen a lot of romance anime, you would know what those climactic kiss moments are like and TWGOK is not lacking any of those. If you do not know what I am referring to, it is basically the moment when the male protagonist takes the hand of the girl and pulls her into his arms in slow mo for that eventful kiss. It's super cliché but it's sure darn funny to watch.
The OST is nothing to rave about except maybe for the opening theme of all three seasons. They are sung in English and executed very well. Sung in a monastery style, it definitely reflects the fact that we are watching an episode of God in action. I always watch anime subbed so for the first few episodes of season 1, my ears could not believe that I was listening to an OP sung in English. But I eventually ended up liking the OP, especially the one for season 3. The ending theme was also well done.
TWGOK is one fun ride. It has the laughs, the romance, and most importantly, it has the God. I think I may have picked up a thing or two about getting a girl to like me. Hopefully I didn't miss any disclaimers about the anime, like "Don't try this at home." Anyway, this anime may not be for you if you absolutely loathe cliché character types but if you like romance and comedy, or a light-hearted anime, definitely give TWGOK a look (and its manga as well)!
Let me know what you thought of TWGOK! Which girl did you think was the best? Do you have a favourite character type? I would love to hear from you!
P.S. For those who have seen all three seasons of the anime (no manga characters), this is my list of best girl:
1. Ayumi
1. Taylor Swift, whoops!, I meant Kanon
3. Chihiro
4. Shiori
5. Jun
6. Tenri
VegetaOver9000
The World God Only Knows in a word: Euphoric Where to begin with this one?? For starters, the Op is one of the best Op's I have ever seen. The song and the art are sensational. So well done. That being said the animation and sound throughout the whole thing is great. I wouldn't give the story a 10/10, but the concept behind it certainly deserves 10/10. The idea that a boy who lives to woo the women of the 2D world is suddenly forced to win the hearts of the "inferior" 3D women is hysterical. The execution of this concept is, for themost part, good.
However, I would say the writers had a little trouble deciding on how much time to spend on each of the 3D girls he "saves". At first it seems like each girl is going to be extremely important later on, but they really aren't and I found myself wanting him to quickly just finish up with each new girl. I didn't want to take the time to get to know every single new character.
However, I must say that episode 12 of season 1 is one of the best things I have ever seen. God-Mode FTW!
If you love anime and/or visual novels you will enjoy this. just don't look for too deep of a story line.
Agent_Redacted
This anime is the ideal of extreme game addiction and harem consolidated together. An anime where you can sit down, relax, and enjoy it for a significant amount of time due of it having many seasons. Furthermore, it is also an anime where gamers as I can relate with. Story : 10/10 Keima Katsuragi the legendary online dating-simulator game beater, "God Of Conquest" that chooses to pick the 2D world instead of reality, is an Otaku obsessed with games with attractive girls. One day, he haughty accepted an offer through his gmail regarding to prove that he is the supreme of dating-sims. But it went outwrong, and it lead to him helping a demon girl named "Elsie" to retrieve runaway spirits escaped from hell that scattered themselves throughout human world. In order to do so, he has to conquer the hearts of 3D girls.
The story was exciting and well-built for a series including harem, supernatural, shounen and so forth. The initial couple of scenes made me feel as advertised as riding a roller coaster of pleasurable feelings. Each time I completed an episode, I wanted to continue watching more, I wanted more of the GOODS. This demonstrates that this anime can truly attract watchers to turn out to be progressively dependent on this anime and continue watching.
What I like most about the story is it being related with "games". I am a gamer, and I have begun playing games since I was around 6-7. My first game was Godzilla ( the first version ). Ever since then, I got addicted to games and I continued playing games up until now.
This anime truly demonstrates the aspects of being addicted to games and how games can help with real life circumstances, for an example, getting a girl to fall for you. As a gamer and an Otaku, I can thoroughly relate with Keima's game addictions and otakuness.
What the story lacks the most is the comedy, in spite of the fact that I concur that this anime is amusing to watch and enjoyable. There isn't much comedy to the level that will make me "laugh". The jokes and scenes that are supposed to be "funny" are quite lame ( in my opinion ) for an anime with a comedy genre,and it sometimes annoys me. However, because of the anime being so flawless in other factors. The score of this anime's story is saved and appraised at the most highest point.
Art : 8/10
The art was satisfactory. Some scenes are poorly animated and drawn, for an example when they make them black and white with nothing in the background. And they don't really make the background too detailed ( not complaining ). Besides that, the majority of scenes within this anime are fine but not perfect, and the art style is okay. So I have nothing else to criticize or admire about the art.
[UPDATE] : I just realized that this anime is aired in 2010! I'm shocked! I have increased my score for the art of this anime.
Sound : 6/10
In most anime, I tend to not concentrate on the opening or ending songs since they're a waste of time. But in this anime, I enjoyed in the opening. It was appealing and I truly like the blend of how they sang it in English yet in a Japanese style of saying ( Although I sort of imagine that if they sang in Japanese it'll be x2 better ). There's also something else that truly astonished me. There's no ED! I was really surprised because throughout my journey of watching anime I haven't experienced an anime with no ed for quite a while now. It made me telepathically tell this anime "Thank you for not wasting my time, despite the fact that you could've made a decent ending. I'm fine with nothing."
The voice acting is also pretty good, particularly for Keima. His voice and his character truly combines together greatly. One issue about the voice acting inside this anime is Elsie's voice acting, sometimes I find it AMAZINGLY irritating when she jabbers during when she's frantic, dismal, frightened etc.. Other than that, there's nothing wrong with the voice acting.
I forgot to mention this above on the first paragraph, so I will mention it here. Kanon's songs were great. Maybe even as good as the opening. They did well with Kanon's arc. If Kanon's songs were the opening and ending songs of this anime, I might listen to them.
The last thing about this anime that I noticed about the sound is the background musics,background sound effects and stuffs. I have a feeling that it's sort of lacking and they don't generally utilize much sound in scenes ( if there were sounds that I most likely didn't hear because it blends excessively well with the scenes or because I didn't bother hearing them, I apologize if you got triggered by what I have written here).
Character : 10/10
Since this anime is a comedy, harem, and supernatural genre kind of thing. I understand why they don't really get into the detail of characters story. Which is totally fine to me. The characters are also likable, except I have one complaint. Elsie is - censored - annoying. She pretty much represents a younger sister that is very annoying. I disliked most of her, the rest of her that I am satisfied with is when she's flustered. Other than that, I don't like the other parts of her.
The character designs are good. Keima's character may not fit his role logically in reality but since he's the "god of conquering 2D girls", might as well make him look edgy and smart as hell. On the other hand, Elsie's character design also fits her role perfectly. Failure as a demon, annoying, little sister, etc..
Enjoyment : 10/10
I truly enjoyed this anime, it was beyond my expectations. Back then I hesitated to try this anime because it looks like the typical "school" anime with tsunderes everywhere. But I was completely wrong, I have once again feel guilty for judging a book by it's cover. Guiltiness aside, I am glad that I made up my mind to watch this anime.
Overall : 10/10
"Just because all the scores aren't perfect doesn't mean that it can't be considered as perfect."
This is one of the best anime related to games and harem that I have encountered. I enjoyed this anime to the fullest. I recommend this to everyone that likes an anime with games, harem, some comedy and romance.
- p.s. Apologies if I have grammatical errors, I am not fluid with English. Thank you!
