Kamichu!

Szwagier Dec 3, 2009

8.9

Shows marked as slice of life usually tend to build up their charm slowly. A combinaton of good music, nice mood and beatiful animation gradually captivate the viewer and make him attached to the series.  But there are also titles like Kamichu. They hit you with brilliant  scene at the very beginning, and at that moment you realize - this  anime is gonna be great. After seeing shy, middle-school girl, casually confessing she became a god  I couldn't help but smile.  And from that point on, the show only got better. Story 8.6/10Yurie Hitotsubashi suddenly became a goddess. You know - almighty powers, worshippers, prayers - usual stuff. The only problem with that picture is that she is still a middle-school student. She doesn't have the courage to confess her love, so how is she suppose to help people in need? Not to mention, that managing both school duties and deity work isn't so easy as it seems. But since her power can even create a typhoon at will, Yurie have to learn how to become a better god. Watching her deal with martians, cat kingdom and her own romance is very amusing. This show takes adorable to a new, different level. Combination of main character sweet personality, indifference of her best friend and greed of her self-proclaimed manager is already sweet enough. But what rises the amount of sugar even higher is the reaction of the world. The level of acceptance to the fact, that human just turned into a god, is abnormal. No one is freaked about it, no one wants to do some weird research... Even the worshipping is very gentle. People gather when there is some sort of special event organised, but apart from that everyone is living their normal lives. That mix of admirable effort of the young deity, and total acceptance of the society creates pleasant, heartwarming mood. This anime is trying to illustrate, that world is essentially a good place and living in it is an enjoyable thing. But if you think the greatness of Kamichu ends here, you are terribly wrong. There is a third factor, that makes this production so adorable. It's the way, that mystical realm is portrayed. Everything is based on Shinto beliefs, that every item in nature have it's own god. In world of Kamichu small deities of trash run around the city. There is god of soda bottles and god of boats. At the bottom of the sea ghost of the battleship teaches his kouhai, ghost of fishing boat, all sorts of things about their existence. Divine beings have their own organisations, and conventions at which they learn how to do their job, and get stamps for events they attend. Basicly the whole universe of this anime is filled with different kind of amusing beings, that have their own definition of normal lives. Seeing their struggles, moments of joy and casual actions, enriches the experience of watching this cute show. Animation - 8.5/10Kamichu is one of the very few animes with animation both beatiful and annoying at the same time. When I look at the way thay make characters blush,  I can't help but think it's too simplistic. They should do it better, instead of just adding two red circles on the cheeks. Even though this flaw isn't major it spoils a bit of fun. On the other hand the animation of the mouth is simply superb. I can't get enough of the adorable faces Yurie makes when she is embarassed or pouting.  The character designs are simple yet appealing. However the large part of the show flavour is thanks to various models of different deities, spread out through out the show. They are not only cute, but also fitting the image of the gods of modern products. They roam around beatiful landscapes of Onomichi, a skillfull transition of real world scenery into the anime. All of it is topped with nice CG, that in no way disturbs the gentle image of the world. Sound - 8/10 Seyius (as usual)  did a proper job, but greatest asset of this anime is gentle and sweet soundtrack. Listening to relaxing combination of flutes, piano and guitar is bringing the images of countryside during summer. Melancholic tracks adds violins to the previous list of instruments. That brings a flavour of a quiet moments, where time slowly passes by. There also some cute "suspense" tracks and even a music piece that sounds like something right out from the 80s. I am not too fond of opening and ending, but I can appreciate how well the OP fit the theme. Hare Nochi Hare! sung by Maho Tomita is combinig the calm, countryside sounds with pop song. It manages to start each episode with "ah, youth" kind of feeling. Ice candy  by Mako Sakurai feels out of place. It's just your typical j-pop song, done with usual childish female voice.  Characters - 7/10 There isn't really much to talk about characters. The large cast and  short length of anime makes any deep expressions impossible. Each of them can be described by one or two features that stand out the most (Yurie - clumsy and naive, Matsuri - scheming, etc. ). Apart from that attribute they act just like any normal human (or god)  would do. Also most of the main roles can be easily called "moe". This show, even though it's slice of life, isn't character driven. The main focus of this production are adorable situations, and amusing world setting.Overall - 8.9/10If Prozac was never invented, they would be selling Kamichu in pharmacies by now. This is one of those pure stories, that bring out smile on your face and make your day better.  It's neither deep nor dramatic - it's simply cute. Unless you have some issues with watching heartwarming shows, you should defienietly give this anime a chance. Highly reccommended.

flyboy42 Oct 8, 2009

10

3. Kamichu!As Locustofchiron said, I like the type of animes in witch nothing happens for the simple reason that they are pleasant to watch. There is nothing more pleasant that kamichu. It's the animefactaion of happiness. So the goings on in this one is that Yurie Hitotsubashi suddenly becomes a god. No not like haruhi, a shinto god of... something I'm sure. Also, everyone knows that she is a god, thanks to the overzealousness of a certain Matsuri Saegusa. So now all Yurie needs to do is come to terms with the fact that she is a god. And confess her love to a strange boy. So they go one various adventures one would go on in as a middle school student in a town by the sea in the late 80's. Things like intergalactic espionage, boat salvaging, tornado fighting, and street fighting cats. Did I mention Yurie was a god? That might be important. Have you ever seen a Miyazaki movie? It's kinda like that. Only not made by studio Ghibli. Interestingly enough, this is also kid friendly. So this is kinda like if spirited away or my neighbor totoro was 16 episodes long. What I'm trying to say is, the art is beautiful. Another thing that is beautiful is the music, just try and hate its OP. Pretty much every track (even the bgm) feels like it was really worked on and made well. Plus they add to the overall mood of the story. The dub is the kind where if you were to show someone who speaks neither language both languages simultaneously, he would not be able to tell the difference. Also, immersion is kind of important, and I've never known real people to spout words to the bottom of my vision. If you want to feel good, or feel as though you lived in japan in the 80's. Watch this show. But keep in mind, to not watch this show means to not want to feel good. Do you not want to feel good?

zephyrre Oct 2, 2015

8

Let's do this by the numbers. Introduction You should know that this is sort of a kids show and so everything I say about it will be in the context of it being rather childish. Animation Kamichu's animation is not the flashiest and at times it even looks kind of wierd, but the charm and realism it presents are something that today's hyper-stylized cgi smorgasbords could only dream of. Sound Again, the sound is not perfect: the ED gets kind of annoying as does the squeakiness of some of the voice actors. but the BGM is excellent and the main voice actors are quite good. There's also this one recurring BGM track that has these three notes that sound exactly like part of one of the BGM tracks from Death Note. Characters Here's where it really gets good: if every anime had characters as well-rounded, organically developed and, for lack of a better word, sane as Kamichu, I would be a happy camper indeed. Story Most "Slice of Life" anime don't really have much of a story, and Kamichu isn't any different. However I have always found that even though they are not story driven, what story Slice of Life anime do have counts for a lot towards my enjoyment of them, and for me the ending is far and away the most important part of any story. With all that said, Kamichu has a fantastic little Slice of Life story. This show also stands out by doing something I have never seen before in anime: making the last episode slightly longer. I wish every anime would do that. Screw two parters, pony up for a one hour time slot and give me a nice long final episode. Conclusion This anime is certainly not for everyone, and if you don't like it I'm sure I'll understand why, but if you're looking for a charming and innocent show that just makes you feel warm and happy inside, then Kamichu might be you ticket.