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「君と僕と彼女のこと」 (Kimi to Boku to Kanojo no Koto)
“You, Me, and For Her Sake”
I don’t know what the point of luring out your enemies is if you don’t fully intend to have fun with it. When Hakamizaka was threatening to “fly away” if Narumi wasn’t fast enough to catch him, I didn’t expect him to be flying away on drugs. But after a few episodes of building him up to be this omnipotent drug maker, I expected him to be at least half as interesting as Renji. Seeing how he’s the final bad guy of the series, I was a little disappointed with how easily he was taken down. However, getting to watch Alice show that devililsh side of her made it all worth it.
That said the buildup to the finale really showed how tough Narumi has become since joining up with Alice and her team of NEETs. Stuck with no leads, it was a pretty ballsy move when he decided to take Angel Fix in order to obtain more clues. Not only was he putting his life on the line, but after watching the destructive potential of Angel Fix it’s not too difficult to see why druggies would want to see have such lucid hallucinations.
In the end, it seems that the happy ending that everyone was hoping for finally came true. As Alice said, Sayaka might have succumb to the effects of Angel Fix when Hakamizaka forced it on her but her true intentions and feelings were always positive ones. While I don’t agree that attempting to commit suicide was the smartest choice in the name of protecting her sacred grounds, it does make for an awfully cute way to end the series. And, I was totally right about her not being dead.
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Final Impressions:
As I’ve said in previous posts, Kami-sama no Memo-chou plays out the mystery genre in a way that allows the average Joe to sometimes figure out the mystery while still giving them that “OH!” feeling when they can’t. I’ve seen way too many mystery shows have some omnipotent detective that pull clues from out of nowhere, noticing tiny things that not even Sherlock Holmes would have caught. In Alice’s case, while the internet may be abundant in information, it still has it shortcomings. And it’s in these shortcomings that allow Narumi (and the watchers) to actively take the role of finding clues that ultimately help Alice solve the case.
But thrown in amongst all the mystery was a strong story that I never saw coming. Take our lead protagonist, Narumi, who came off as a boring guy who didn’t have a care in the world and somehow turned into this outgoing beast that’s befriended the strangest of people. In the span of twelve episodes, I’m content with how realistic his growth felt. No random power ups, no dumb reasons to change his way of life — just the drive to become a better person to help support all the people around him.
While the side characters didn’t have a lot of time spent on revealing just who they are, they still became individual characters who had their own flare. From Soichirou to Renji and Tetsuo to Hitoshi, everyone had their own individual tastes, mannerisms, and effect on Narumi. Plus, you know that the writers are doing a good job whenever a character speaks and you remember their name.
In the end, I think Kami-sama no Memo-chou started strong, held up well throughout the season, and ended on a high note. With its easy to understand but compelling mysteries and lots of slice of life moments to bring the audience closer to the characters, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this show to anyone looking for a mystery that doesn’t make you feel stupid when the answer is revealed.
I agree 100% with you Takai. This was one of my favorites this season, and probably my favorite JC Staff anime. I loved this episode, everything was right in place. Narumi’s growth as a member of the team, as Alice’s partner and as a person was well shown throughout this anime. I’d wish for a second season if JC Staff will make sure they don’t mess it up.
J.C. Staff did better on this adaptation then others this year so far >< hopefully they keep the work up on Shana III and kimi to boku
Just loved how ayaka grew flowers in the shape of the patch narumi made for her. it's good that she wakes up from her coma even if it's only showed for a few seconds.
That was a little disappointing to be honest. For all the buildup the villain got, seeing him lounging around high on drugs wasn’t how I pictured a genius scientist criminal. Getting mind raped by Alice felt too good for him. Then seeing Naurmi beating up Toshi felt like a consolation prize.
But Narumi certainly was impressive here. He was able to find an important clue, then DOPES HIMSELF with a life threatening drug to solve the case. The last 4 minutes brought a tear to my eye, but it just cuts out after that. Some character interaction with other people than Alice would have been nice(like when Ayaka wakes maybe?). The ending felt way too rushed being strictly satisfactory.
Overall the show ranged from average to decent. It was at least somewhat memorable. The fact that J.C. Staff did this at least shows they aren’t completely hopeless in adaptations.
I can’t help but think about Master Chef whenever I see that Gardening Club logo.
Haha you too! I said that a few eps ago!
That was am nice end. I thought they ruined it but that was part of the plan and I enjoyed it very much. My favourite light novel adaptation of the season. Time for that other light n novel adaptation by the same team.
I think you said everything I wanted to say. But one thing has been bugging me didnt Hakamizaka already give the game up when he told Narumi he was going to fly away.
@TAKAII
I was under the impression that it was the drug that ‘compelled’ Ayaka to take her own life, this was something that was beyond her control as we saw how Narumi, while under the influence, was completely out of it. For her to still hold on to her ‘important thing’ deep down inside is very admirable indeed.
This might be just me, but I’m glad to see Narumi vent his frustration on Ayaka’s brother and for nobody to question his action until he nearly killed the guy, even if it’s wrong or it doesn’t solve anything, I feel that it’s better than just giving him a pity look and walk away, as it makes them feel more ‘human’ in my opinion… And infinitely more satisfying.
One more thing, apparently it’s possible that Hakamizaka died from an overdose shortly afterwards- whether there is such thing as an afterlife I don’t know, but I can’t think of a worse thing for Alice to do than to convince him that he’s damned to Hell just before he go… Not as satisfying as Narumi’s fist of fury, but it’s better than letting him go in peace because he definitely don’t deserve it.
I love the mystery solving thingy on this episode
love love love JC staff for this one
Definitively one of my fave
Too bad it’s the end now 🙁
this anime is what Gosick wished to be xD
I knew that Ayaka and Narumi were love birds apparent in the heart and with the AWESOME(albeit cliche) eye opening at the end all I can be is pleased! I’m happy I can leave the characters in safe hands if the show were reality and these people’s lives were to continue there’d be a happy turn out. Any way it’s time for everything to wrap up especially those 26 epidoders that have monopolized my life for half a year though I will DEFINITLY miss them all. Here’s to a good show, solid through out and an upbeat ending! Good sh*t
This was exactly the ending that I was anticipating. If they were to reveal Ayaka’s state after she awakened, then I think that would’ve ruined it for a lot of people (and would strongly prompt for additional episodes/seasons). Thank goodness it didn’t end that way.
Overall, a great series to watch. Although, it may not necessarily be something that a wide audience would enjoy, I might still recommend it to first time anime watchers.
As a whole it was interesting…
Episode 1 was amazing.
Episode 2 – 9 got progressively worse and every week I felt like dropping the series… I literally hated it.
Episodes 10 – 12 turned the series around, great final arc but it still doesn’t make up for the other bad parts… and there were many imo.
A fantastic final episode for an otherwise mediocre series.
Yeah, I dropped the series at that point (from episodes 2 to 9). I’ve been reading posts from around the blogosphere and, while my love for mysteries is pretty strong, it didn’t seem as appealing as Gosick, which turned out to be an excellent adventure series. Kami-sama no Memo-chou, on the other hand, doesn’t give me the feeling that it’s going to be an amazing experience. Nothing wrong with “nice” series, but nowadays I can only spend the few time I have on fantastic series — and those with potential do be.
On a completely minor note, if a person commits suicide (in any of its verb tenses), it always means
they’ve succeeded and they are dead; they can’t commit suicide and live. It was driving me crazy
when everyone was saying Ayaka committed suicide when she was recovering in the hospital!!!!
Like giving birth but still being pregnant. So I don’t know if that’s a translation artefact, or what…?
Anyway…
I liked the series – same opinion as Kurofaise. I was happy to see Ayake wake, but it’s not
clear if Narumi was there when she did. Be nice if his was the 1st face she saw (hopefully, she’ll
have remembered him)…
So in essence, I believe the term was “attempted.”
Good ending execution. It’s at a point where you can be satisfied with the ending and at the same time you know the story can continue on from there.
Great series all around, too bad with disappointing ‘final boss’.
But Narumi really drives this series forward. Without him and his development as character, I think the series won’t be half this good.
The series overall was not as good as I had hoped from Ep. 1, but was still respectable throughout. It would’ve been great if there was more characterization of the side characters, though.
Okay, no. I have a huge, huge beef with the ending. Taking drugs in order to find the dealer? That’s such a terrible idea that I don’t know what the writers were thinking. Deductions are not pure assumptions. Also, I find it really, really convenient that Narumi was able to snap out of it just fine. This was actually a pretty good arc which I had plenty of fun watching at the beginning, but this episode completely trashed it and ruined it for me =/
Instead of agreeing with Takaii, I actually found myself siding with Prooof eventually. I went to rewatch episodes 5-11 last week, and I just can’t shake the feeling of mediocrity. I don’t know what’s worse, how pretentious this series actually became, or how I don’t even care about any of the characters anymore. For me, Alice eventually became so unlikable, I wanted to throw a chair through a window. Also, I’m just now realizing how ridiculous some of her quotes are. “I’m a NEET detective,” and “I speak for the dead,” jargon. Really now? Also, I still don’t understand why all these people are NEETs or why I care that they’re NEETs. Memochou took a nosedive immediately after the first episode, and it never recovered.
Which is quite possibly why Prooof stopped covering this show, and I picked it up.
However, it takes quite a bit for me to hate an anime, so I might just have a high tolerance or something.
Well, I can’t really say that I hate it (it really takes quite a lot to get that point), but I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t dislike it. The characters felt vastly… unexplored, and personally, the majority of which were unlikable (Major, Alice, etc.)for me. Also, some of the “detective work” was really quite silly (I almost snapped when they decided to do the drug).
The majority of my disappointment lies in my expectations. I thought this would be a return to form for J.C. due to the strong first episode, but in the end I think it may have been even sillier than Hidan no Aria, which was pretty silly (although surprisingly fun and enjoyable). In the end, it’s just about how much fun you have with the series.
As a whole, I am quite satisfied with how this series ended, and hope that JC Staff will green-light a second cour of this – and give it the same treatment. That, I believe, is all we could ask for.
An enjoyable, if easy, ride from start to finish.
Oh, and it’s Ayaka, not Sayaka.
iT reminded me of Gosick but i like this serie , Just want to buy a novel .
I’ve never really been into the mystery genre since they seems to leave out characterization most of the time and this show isn’t much different. Not a terrible show but not very noteworthy either. Ended in a sweet note but everything in the middle just felt like filler.
Narumi, from a random high schooler to a yakuza leader… Wow!
Very well-rounded and turned out to be a great show in general.
Marathon’d this and cant help but feel some sort of durarara!! vibe to it. Nontheless a good series.
Great and surprisingly ending!!!
It was a really touching moment on the rooftop, Ayaka loved Narumi very much. Now, I know the reason why Ayaka was so upset with him when he asked her that silly question about being “her brother’s replacement”.
In the end I was really glad to see that Ayaka woke up after months
Overall: 9/10
It was ok.
Something makes me think this arc was made just to remove Ayaka from the love triangle, very cruel it is.
WOW! what a ka-winky-dink!! I’m flying on drugs right now!!!
I say at least the ending arc is good enough to gave me a an overall positive impression for this series. As for my final ratings:
Story: 5 (mediocre) – A detective story series comprising mostly of NEETs (according to the characters themselves) with Alice (a loli-character) as the main detective. For the actual story itself, it is divided into several arcs, each has one case to solve, admittedly for me this is the shows main weakness, other than the first and last arc, the arcs in-between is generally uninteresting, lacking something to stir upon my interest.
Animation: 9 (great) – The animation is very solid, for me this series has the most eye-candy this season, the background is detailed and crisp looking, the lighting is also well done. The color tones are a very good choice for the mystery and seriousness of the overall theme. Character designs is also a big win in my perspective. In terms of consistency, I believe the animation has been consistent throughout the series.
Sound: 8 (very good) – Also a big win for me as I saw myself watching the OP and not skipping it, it’s catchy and I has a good melody on it, I cannot say the same thing for the ED theme though as I barely watched it. Voice acting is well done, stand-out of course is Alice. The soundtracks I believe has been generally good and appropriate.
Character: 6 (fair) – As for the characters, I’m not particularly fond of the personality of Narumi giving off some shounen vibes (I’m just bias, if his a girl then its a win XD) but he does have some redeeming characteristics. Alice could have been given a better focus but I think it doesn’t happen. The rest of the cast are nice.
Enjoyment: 5 (mediocre) – I get interested of KamiMemo primarily because I like Gosick and I felt another loli-detective series isn’t bad, the first arc is good and really stirred my interest for the series, unfortunately I felt the following arcs are not very interesting, the cases simply doesn’t have enough mystery to make me really hook and blow my mind away, the loli detective doesn’t have much of a role, Narumi is the main star of the series. To be fair though, the ending arc is very enjoyable and reminds me why I watch the series in the first place. I wouldn’t mind a second season of the series, but please I want ALICE the star of the show.
Overall: 7 (good) – Sum everything up, KamiMemo is a fairly good series that I enjoyed on the most part. Particularly very attractive is the animation, the characters are good, the cases maybe good or not good depending on the arcs. It is the kind of series that I could not really recommend to anyone, only to people that enjoys detective stories.
I am really satisfied with the ending… Ayaka waking up was icing on the cake. Narumi deliberately taking drug to find the dealer (what an amazing cover system – other than junkies no one can find the dealers… brilliant!) was badass (and pretty risky since some drugs can induce addiction after one trip), and so was the mindfuck Alice gave to the drug ringleader and inventor. Serves him right!
One thing I have found lacking was a sense of closure on the relationship front between Narumi and Alice. While they end up literally being together, no serious declarations followed, though perhaps Alice’s loli aspect prevented any further development. BTW, what the ehell is age of Alice, and why isn’t she attending school? Where are her parents? So many questions and not a single NEET detective to find answers in sight…
Kami-sama no Memo-chou was pretty much the best show of the last season and i’m usually not really into the mystery genre.