Note: Review is for both seasons

Me, scrolling through streaming options looking for something to play in the background without much commitment: huh, this looks like it’ll fit

Me: …

Me: oh no it’s Good

(my roommate, initially passing by in the background: wait no I like this don’t watch it without me)

It sounds light and silly, sure: A mysterious man named Mikage gives Nanami not only his “house,” but (initially unbeknownst to her) transfers his position as the local land god to her. While the shrine spirits are delighted to have a god in residence again—turns out Mikage ran off 20 years prior—his familiar, the fox spirit Tomoe who has tried to keep the shrine running, rejects Nanami for both her humanity and his feelings of abandonment by Mikage.

But Nanami isn’t going to give up—in large part because otherwise she’d be homeless, but also because she’s stubborn and plucky—and does her best to learn a land god’s duties and fulfill requests, all while going to high school.

First order of business: making a contract with Tomoe to be her familiar. Like this:

(A question plaguing me throughout the entire series: did Mikage also kiss Tomoe???)

Tomoe is powerful, arrogant, and stubborn. He’s great at his job, keeping the shrine running, fending off threats, and can navigate the careful politics of formal situations. He’s not good at spontaneity or acknowledging emotions, both of which are Nanami’s thing.

In fact, Nanami is the perfect foil: she won’t do exactly as he says—she’ll listen to him, sometimes, but won’t automatically do what he thinks is best, particularly when it’s not explained. Tomoe, when he’s not grumping about a human and a child and why does she need to go to school and her spiritual power is weak, is genuinely baffled by her gumption. He likes things orderly and predictable, and Nanami is not those things.

Nanami’s not perfect, of course, but her actions and impulsiveness make a lot of sense because, y’know, she’s 17. And for the most part, she takes her new situation in stride and works hard to do her new job even as she resents being bossed around by Tomoe.

Now that she’s involved in the supernatural world, Nanami finds herself in situations from trying to grant prayers, hosting other gods curious about this newcomer, questing for magical items, and attending supernatural-filled events.

Along the way, she picks up another familiar, and a shikigami, becomes friends with a sarcastic tengu (crow spirit) disguised as a pop idol attending her school, and when you include the two existing shrine attendants, you end up with a core cast of friends who are 60% sarcasm, which is the best and most fun to watch.

__Seriously, I would watch a miniseries composed of Tomoe, Mizuki (familiar #2 and snark king) and Kurama (tengu) _all day.___

What’s nice, and unexpected, is that on the romance front, it’s just the will they/won’t they between Nanami and Tomoe, and it takes a while. But considering how many other male characters there are, I was surprised that there wasn’t a concerted effort to put, say, Mizuki or Kurama in there to make a love triangle.

I mean, there are times when various other characters develop crushes on Nanami, but there’s no concerted effort to make that a problem. The other main male characters’ relationships range from “friendship” to “devoted platonic love.”

Kamisama Kiss is just pure fun. I expected silly shoujo fluff, and I got that along with more story and more interesting characters than I anticipated. The two anime seasons aired before the manga finished, so while there are backstories and character side-stories that don’t get delved into, overall it still ends on a nice note.

Verdict

English dub? Yes, and wooooo is Tomoe’s voice nice, so smooth.

Visuals: Pretty supernatural boys, oh yeah

Worth watching? You know what I have a weakness for? Sarcastic characters who are secretly nice. You know what else I have a weakness for? Powerful supernatural characters with mysterious pasts who get tangled up with humans and often have to act as protector. You know what else I have a weakness for? When those two things combine into one character who also has pretty hair.

AND GUESS WHAT KAMISAMA KISS HAS:

The series is like candy. It’s colorful, sweet, and safe to use as a distraction from the world. At 25 episodes, it gives you a good amount of story without lingering too long.

Noted, there’s one minor recurring god who is often portrayed with feminine outfits and mannerisms but is referred to with he/him pronouns, and is repeatedly referred to as “he-she guy” by Nanami. Watching the dub, it’s not clear to me if this is supposed to be funny, rude, or if the character is supposed to not be a binary gender.