What They Say:
As the land god of the Mikage Shrine, Nanami is invited to the annual gathering of the gods in Izumo, but on the one condition that she must pass a test administered by Otohiko.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
I had missed Kamisama Kiss the first time around but got into it when the Goddess Edition home video release landed this past year from FUNimation. So news of a second season certainly made me smile because that first season was a lot of fun. Though there’s been a bit of time between the shows, it’s all working off of the same material and largely working with the same team, so continuity isn’t all that much of an issue. What will challenge some fans with it is just getting back into it in general after so long. Thankfully, the show takes us back to the Mikage shrine quickly and easily and it all comes flooding back, making for a lot of fun and silliness with some great touches of romance along the way.
As we saw in the first season, Nanami had done better and better over the course of it as the new land god there and made some amusing friends. And, of course, got a lot closer to Tomoe over the course of it as well. It’s easy to see her being drawn into Tomoe with how good and natural he can be, though her frustration mostly comes from his brusque side as you’d expect. To get things into motion here though, Otohiko has come to invite Nanami as the land god to Izumo for the annual gathering, but she’s still not full vetted in a way as being the land god. Those elder ones there that go on about such things, often playful in their own right, have opted to give her a htest to ensure that she’s ready for it. Amusingly, Nanami is one of the few people that seems to be able to push back against the gods and other supernatural beings in a way that others can’t. Otohiko torments her a bit as well she’s surprised and interested to learn that Mikage’s spirit is still in the area.
The challenge itself is a little different as we get Otohiko giving her an egg basically that she’s supposed to birth as a shikigami. It’s a little chaotic at first, but Tomoe isn’t pleased by this turn events, especially when a tiny monkey shikigami is born that tears him up a bit. While we get a lot of fun with that, we also get a threat to the school with a miasma that’s spreading across it that has Nanami doing her job in trying to purify the tree there that’s causing the problem. It’s all about her trying to step up to be a proper land god and she really does want to do it right. It’s a decent little threat that comes into play as they deal with, but it’s a small part of it overall. It’s main intent is to have Nanami rescued by Tomoe again, reaffirming their closeness and how much she likes being in his arms. But it also works to nudge things forward a bit with what Otohiko is doing as she reveals that the shikigami is now her talisman to carry her wish forward. The couple of threads in the episode work well enough as they come together, while also giving us some decent supernatural action as well to get the season going.
In Summary:
Returning to this property after a bit of time away isn’t always easy, but Kamisama Kiss does a decent job of reacquainting us with things and starting to move it forward in a new way. The trip to Izumo should be an interesting arc to work with as it progresses to get a bigger view of the world. For this episode, it’s all about the more personal side to get us back in touch with the main crew here, and especially with Nanami and Tomoe. It does it well enough as you’re reminded why their relationship is fun to watch but also has some heart to it as well. The series is one that’s about establishing mood and atmosphere overall and it largely achieves it here, building on what came before.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
