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REVIEW: The World God Only Knows Blu-Ray

The idea that the reviewer thinks that the show is a dramatic comedy even though the very premise is that Keima will complete these captures on orders from Hell or else his head will explode. Certainly, some of the girls have problems but nothing on the level of the melodramatic Key heroines as it's not meant to be taken that seriously. . .

To be honest, I've only seen about five dubbed episodes on the Anime Channel but I am familiar with the manga.

The Dub gets the same rating as the Sub even though Sentai reuses an actress as one of the heroines? How is that not a fatal flaw?

I don't see how TWGOK "needs" to be moe. I'm pretty sure the main draw of the series isn't the girls - it's Keima. If the girls got any more spotlight it would probably be terrible because very few of them are actually interesting.

Of course a show about dating girls needs the girls to be moe. The lack of moe is the big reason why the series flopped in Japan and there will never be a third season.

I don't see how TWGOK "needs" to be moe. I'm pretty sure the main draw of the series isn't the girls - it's Keima. If the girls got any more spotlight it would probably be terrible because very few of them are actually interesting.

If you're basing your complaints mostly off of what you know about the franchise from the manga then that's your problem here. Others have agreed that the manga is more purely comedic than what the anime version actually is. Watch out the rest of the first season; I guarantee you'll see what I mean. Although there is some humor in (for instance) Shiori's situation, the anime's creators definitely don't play it as one big joke.

I remember back when Theron previewed the first episode of the first season, he had a distinct lack of enthusiasm for the show and a lot of that seemed to revolve around the fact that he felt there was a missed opportunity to deal more meaningfully with the premise of a dating sim addict who does not want to deal with real, live girls, preferring the idealized 2D versions. I think he felt that this otaku phenomenon is a potential real sociological problem in Japan and the show obviously wasn't going to go there in terms of looking at it in a substantive way.

At the time, I accused Theron of judging the show on the basis of what he wanted it to be as opposed to what it actually was. I still basically feel that way, but my thinking has changed a bit, now that I've seen all of season 1 and season 2. I loved the first eppie of season 1, however the show then promptly spent the remainder of the season frittering away that initial good will. The Kanon arc seemed interminable what with the lengthy insertion of insipid J-pop tunes and a not terribly interesting girl. The final arc with the library chick nearly drove me crazy with its repetition: yeah, she is really shy and can't communicate. I get. I got it ten examples ago - get on with it!

Given my dissatisfaction with how the show unfolded, I have a bit more sympathy for Theron's view that the show would have been better if we saw some development of Keima with respect to a growing ability to interact with RL girls. The show definitely need something to get it out of what I saw as a pretty tedious rut.

And there will be a third season.

No, there won't. The series was a flop, and the only reason it got a 'second season' was because it was split cour. When a show only sells around 2-3k copies, the likelihood of a sequel (unless it's a SHAFT show, they're oddballs) is practically zero.

Megiddo wrote:

No, there won't. The series was a flop, and the only reason it got a 'second season' was because it was split cour. When a show only sells around 2-3k copies, the likelihood of a sequel (unless it's a SHAFT show, they're oddballs) is practically zero.

They announced the third season of Hayate the Combat Butler.

They're making a 2nd season of Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? and Seitokai no Ichizon.

A MOVIE for To Aru Majutsu no Index is in production.

There WILL be a 3rd season for The World God Only Knows.

"It is the choice of Steins;Gate."

Riddle me this: no matter what, The World God Only Knows proves to be a title quite worth watching.

It seems refreshing in ways that despite being built on otaku notions, it subverts many of them.

While there are the expectant "resets", Keima's growth and accomplishments do not diminish nor drop to zero.

review wrote:

Some will doubtless look at this as a clever application of one medium to another, but it's really a cop-out because it avoids taking the more challenging and potentially even more interesting course: showing an otaku actually learning to step beyond his games and deal with people in a normal manner. The producers cannot be faulted too much for this, because they clearly understand that they are pandering to exactly the kind of audience that Keima represents and giving them exactly what they want to see, but wasting such a golden opportunity to make something more of an anime title is disappointing to see.

This is exactly why I dropped it after 2 or 3 episodes. See, I had the idea that the show was going to be about a guy who was complete obsessed with galge and ends up learning just how different girls are to their idealistic video game counterparts. Instead what I got was a guy using the same techniques from video games to win the heart of the girl. I can see why some would like such a thing, but it's not my thing. I would have been much more interested if it were social criticism, but to see something that not only tolerates playing games all day but actually portrays it to be useful in terms of romance is just not something I can get behind.

AilisKnil wrote:

I don't see how TWGOK "needs" to be moe. I'm pretty sure the main draw of the series isn't the girls - it's Keima. If the girls got any more spotlight it would probably be terrible because very few of them are actually interesting.

Of course a show about dating girls needs the girls to be moe. The lack of moe is the big reason why the series flopped in Japan and there will never be a third season.

Blood- wrote:

I remember back when Theron previewed the first episode of the first season, he had a distinct lack of enthusiasm for the show and a lot of that seemed to revolve around the fact that he felt there was a missed opportunity to deal more meaningfully with the premise of a dating sim addict who does not want to deal with real, live girls, preferring the idealized 2D versions. I think he felt that this otaku phenomenon is a potential real sociological problem in Japan and the show obviously wasn't going to go there in terms of looking at it in a substantive way. At the time, I accused Theron of judging the show on the basis of what he wanted it to be as opposed to what it actually was. I still basically feel that way, but my thinking has changed a bit, now that I've seen all of season 1 and season 2. I loved the first eppie of season 1, however the show then promptly spent the remainder of the season frittering away that initial good will. The Kanon arc seemed interminable what with the lengthy insertion of insipid J-pop tunes and a not terribly interesting girl. The final arc with the library chick nearly drove me crazy with its repetition: yeah, she is really shy and can't communicate. I get. I got it ten examples ago - get on with it! Given my dissatisfaction with how the show unfolded, I have a bit more sympathy for Theron's view that the show would have been better if we saw some development of Keima with respect to a growing ability to interact with RL girls. The show definitely need something to get it out of what I saw as a pretty tedious rut.

On the contrary, your reason is why I can't look past Theron's review. He and you took this series as what it could've been instead of what it is. It's a great satire, yes, and an enjoyable comedy. But both of you take this anime's potential way too seriously.

Riddle me this: no matter what, The World God Only Knows proves to be a title quite worth watching. It seems refreshing in ways that despite being built on otaku notions, it subverts many of them. This is not a typical harem love story nor is it completely a new girl/reset arc anime. While there are the expectant "resets", Keima's growth and accomplishments do not diminish nor drop to zero. The anime veers around that by making the girls, and not Keima, forget what they have experienced after he has expunged the ghosts from their hearts. It leaves the question, "But what about his?". Interestingly, he still remains stand-offish and aloof but who knows for how long.