Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Noragami Aragoto
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sunflower
 Posts: 1080 |
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I agree. They just have a lot of plot to fit into a little time. I wish they had a couple more episodes to devote to the arc, but at least I get to see it animated. |
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steelmirror
 Posts: 342 |
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Episode 9 was fun. It's jarring to see Yato working with Nora and clearly failing to break out of his old patterns, but also showing some of the lightheartedness that characterizes the Yato we've come to know. The fact that his personality hasn't reverted as completely as the last episode led me to believe gives me hope that he can snap back to himself soon!
Izanami was cool, I always love seeing gods of the underworld in their various interpretations. I hope we get to see a bit more of her in the show, though with how much is going on and how little time is left, I won't be surprised if we don't. I feel bad for her, but I guess the dead don't make very good company. Or does she only have phantoms for company? Do pure spirits have a different afterlife destination in Noragami? I'm not very sure about the metaphysics. On a side note, what is with penguins and the underworld in Japan? I only knew about the prinnies in Disgaea but I always assumed that was a random offbeat joke. Is this a more common thing in Japan, that penguins have to do with the underworld, or is this just a random Disgaea reference in Noragami? |
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mandisaw
 Posts: 140 |
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I think it's partly what you're describing - showing that "our" Yato's not gone yet - and partly a sense of just how powerful Yato+Nora are as a team. Yukine has a lot of raw power/potential, but Nora is much older, and Yato has *centuries* of experience working together with her. I mean they're literally walking into Spook Central and instead of pissing their shorts, they're kicking ass *and* chewing bubblegum. For me, the Yomi/Underworld part gives me the heebie-jeebies (too many creepy-crawlies), but it's totally worth it to see Nora really shine. She's definitely bad-ass in her own right, not just a psycho ex-partnerspoiler[/sister/lover]. That bit with the turnabout during the "fight" with Ebisu... "oh, didn't I mention we know each other? :Yato shivers:" Priceless 
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Love this! The peeks into mythology & folklore are one of my favorite parts of Noragami, and while there are snippets of explanation here and there, it's nice to see a reviewer get into it a bit. A lot of reviewers just focus on either the action or the romance, and skip the folklore, even though it has an (increasingly important) impact on the storyline. I was a bit shocked to see that they spliced together the underworld horror story with the high-school-romance story, *and* with the colloquy of gods / detention of Bishamon et al story. It must come off really jarring for anime-first watchers. This is a situation like "look, a car on family vacation; look, people on a train; look, wind in the trees", and you're wondering how the hell these things are related until the collision happens. I think this is one episode that will definitely improve in the rewatch, as the (horrific!) connections come into focus.
They will give Ebisu's explanation of his actions (maybe next ep?), but I hadn't thought about Ebisu's folkloric origin influencing his decisions. This is an interesting line of thought, as he does have something of a martyr complex, and maybe that comes from a place of somehow feeling "unworthy" or "unclean". Like this crazy obsession is the only way he can truly be of service. |
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Angel M Cazares
 Posts: 5424 Location: Iscandar |
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I loved episode 9, especially the final scene. Of course I am rooting for Hiyori and Yato as a couple, but adding a potential new love interest is interesting and could have significant emotional ramifications.
And thanks Gabriella for that quick but very informative explanation on Izanami and Izanagi. I have heard about the mythology of two gods who founded Japan, but I did not know their names and stories. |
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Sarukah
 Posts: 160 |
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If my mind's not failing me, its been a month. It was specifically stated in the show that Yato has been missing for a month before Hiyori goes to Capypa Land-o. |
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myskaros
 Posts: 599 Location: J-Novel Club |
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I feel like "random guy who kissed me out of nowhere while I'm feeling sad when we're not on a date" just as good as self-destructed any chances of actually becoming a love interest. Going from "oh, I think she's kind of attractive while crying" to "let's kiss this girl I don't really know while she's crying about probably something else!" is a huge jump, and there isn't even a little bit of the rapey "well, she was totally asking for it!" excuses, it was completely out of nowhere. I could see that being a somewhat defensible action if they at least were actual friends and not people who met for the first time a couple days ago, but if he doesn't turn out to be related to Takamagahara, I will carry an intense loathing for his character forever. 
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11368 |
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The only thing that's jarring is people who keep telling me what's going to happen. It's like having someone hanging over your shoulder while you're reading the manga and saying, "Ooh, ooh, this is the good part, turn the page, this is going to be really important, pay attention, you'll see, that will make sense in the next chapter!" How much fun is that? I guess if there was any question about whether gods retain their memories when reincarnated, this settles it. I think it's interesting that Ebisu is called "The Laughing God," but he has yet to even crack a smile in this. And that due to his precarious start in life, Ebisu is at least partially deaf, so he's the only god that fails to hear the bells calling for the annual gathering at Izumo Shrine. So good fortune never takes a holiday. While he did make a brief appearance at Bishamon's hearing, he's otherwise been absent from the gatherings we've seen (though for different in-story reasons). Some hold that Ebisu is an evolution of a god who was Oukuninushi's son, which seems to get a nod here as the party god's obvious affection for Ebisu. Also the story about Oukuninushi's rabbit is pretty interesting in itself. As for the identity of Father, I keep thinking it's that long-haired god who chairs the colloquies. I don't think we've been told who he is though, so that's almost certainly wrong.
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zztop
Posts: 646 |
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The entrance to the Underworld, Yomotsu Hirasaka, is a real-life location that can be visited. It's located in the town of Matsue, on the coast of Shimane Prefecture, western Japan.
There's no actual cave though. There's some large rocks there, largely believed to be placed by Izanagi the creation god when he fled the Underworld. Underworld gate: http://www.tofugu.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/yominokuni.jpg Underworld rocks: http://www.connect-shimane.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yomotsu-Hirasaka-Iya-Jinja-Shimane-14.jpg The site's about 15 mins away from the Iya shrine, which venerates Izanami herself. There's plenty of historic sites to visit too. http://www.visit-matsue.com/discover/southern_matsue.html The Izumo Grand Shrine is also in the same area, so that's worth visiting too. |
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myskaros
Posts: 599 Location: J-Novel Club |
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One complaint I have is that the filler from the first season is kind of working against the sequel now, since they already did the amnesia plotline. The small bonus is that hopefully this one feels more impactful since it's part of the "proper" storyline. Still, a part of me keeps rolling my eyes when it comes up.
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mandisaw
Posts: 140 |
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Even worse, that kid Fujisaki is in the out-of-sequence 1st OAV, where he spoiler[sort-of / not-really had a meet-cute-from-afar with Hiyori]. Doesn't change the too-soon-bro ep9 kiss, but it threw me for a loop - as in, does he recognize her only from the snippet in ep8, or has he been there "all along" via the OAV, stalker-with-a-crush style?
I actually am looking forward to "watching" folks' unspoiled reactions, so I'm trying to be as circumspect as possible. At the same time, I still want to talk to both the folks in the group who have read the manga and those who haven't (since it's all one forum). It's hard to manage for any adaptation, but this part of the story is particularly tricky, especially when even commenting on editing or casting choices can be inherently spoilery. Sorry if I gave away something indirectly, but there's no need to be snarky about it. |
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myskaros
Posts: 599 Location: J-Novel Club |
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I follow a ton of manga, but Noragami is one of the few I hadn't already read where I decided not to read any in case it got more anime (it did!), so I'll be part of the discovery crowd
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11368 |
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There is a manga forum, but manga readers seem to be loathe to use it for some reason. I wasn't being snarky, I was genuinely asking if it would be fun for you to read the manga with someone commenting on it over your shoulder as you read. Manga readers don't realize that they give things away as much by what they say they won't say as by actually saying things. But there's also that "I know something you don't know yet" component that's frankly kind of annoying. For example you wrote, "They will give Ebisu's explanation of his actions (maybe next ep?), but I hadn't thought about Ebisu's folkloric origin influencing his decisions." What's the point of the first part of that sentence, if not to tell anime only viewers what to expect (you'll find out when you turn the page!)? Manga readers already know, so it's clearly aimed at anime-only people, and we'll find out when we find out. To avoid that, just give your thoughts: "I hadn't thought about Ebisu's folkloric origin influencing his decisions." Easy rule of thumb - if there's anything in the sentence having to do with the source material in any way, just tag it as a manga spoiler. The manga readers you wish to address can read it and the rest of us can but don't have to (unless we quote you - then it's tricky to avoid the spoilers since they're unmasked in the reply box). It will be sincerely appreciated. |
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mandisaw
Posts: 140 |
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I'm not surprised - I'd never heard of manga-specific forums on ANN before this mention, and I've been reading this site for years. I only ever see any chatter on the current-season anime review threads, and the comments on columns/articles.
I quit posting on web forums altogether years ago for just this reason. It's challenging to express my thoughts in "slices" - anime vs manga, up-to-date vs newcomer vs in-between. Spoiler tags help, as you mention, and I try to use them, but it's a balancing act with readability & coherence.
I get what you're saying, but remember there's yet *another* group of folks, the ones who read these review-forums trying to decide whether to watch/continue a series. I know they exist, I am one (for other series). Ep9 was a confusing jumble of half-plots & setup, with a potential "Nope, I'm out" bit at the end. Plus, there are only a couple of episodes left, so the worry of incomplete story/characterization is real. So basically I was trying to do a "just wait, your patience will be rewarded", without actually giving away details. Depending on the POV, that can either be aggravating, a non-issue, or encouraging - in this case, I think it's a YMMV situation. [ETA: I was also trying to make the point that the review altered my interpretation of the in-story explanation - hard to phrase that without implying there *is* an in-story explanation.] |
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_Cyphon_
 Posts: 996 |
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That cleared up some stuff. I thought the old lady of the restaurant was Ebisu's mother.
The insight into mythology was nice. I wouldn't mind some more of those. It's particularly interesting for me because a game I play is adding the Japanese pantheon soon.
I thought so too. Translation error or did Gabriella got that wrong? I really cringed at the end. You could feel that kiss coming from a mile away. Not a fan of leaks in ships. But, if the guy doesn't turn out to be "Father", it might not be the worst route for Hiyori. |
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Agent355
 Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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I liked the contrast between the Underworld and CapyLand in ep 9. Manga readers spoiler[ kind of spoiled for me that the new guy is up to no good, otherwise I would actually route for him.] Fujisaki's cute and he seems to click with Hiyori, although that kiss was a bit premature.
Ebisu was less sinister than I expected, and the fight was fun to watch. Yato and Nora were interesting to watch this ep, too. Nora becoming like a protective stream of water around Yato in addition to a sword was very cool. I barely caught how Nora became a gun for Ebisu, it happened so fast! *She* didn't even remember being Ebisu's gun? And Ebisu seemed to only recall it in the heat of the moment? Strange. Also interesting: how Yato saw Izanami as a (very sexualized) Hiyori, and Ebisu saw her as a matronly restaurateur Gabriella did a great job explaining Japanese Shinto myth in the review. I suspected that Ebisu was actually Izanami's son since he called her "Mother", but I wasn't sure. I did know that Izanami & Izanagi were siblings and they had a bunch of god-kids. |
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