Posted by OP Sequence
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OP: 「God only knows ～集積回路の夢旅人（第三幕）」 (God only knows ~ Shuuseki Kairo no Yume Tabibito (Dai San-maku)) by Oratorio The World God Only Knows
Watch the OP!: Download, Streaming ▼
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「世界はアイで動いている」 (Sekai wa Ai de Ugoiteiru)
“The World Runs on Love”
It’s a bit unusual to see Manglobe take on a series that can easily come off as a high school harem series, but that’s exactly the what we have with “The World God Only Knows”. The only other series they led the production for with character designs even close to the ones seen here was Seiken no Blacksmith. Of course, it’s not like I mind when they’re pushing out quality animation that leaves me wondering why they don’t take on more of these type of shows. For the introduction on this series, I’ll refer you to Fall 2010 Preview for the quick rundown if you haven’t read it already. As for this first episode, it quickly introduced us to Katsuragi Keima and the demon girl, Elusia de Lut Ima, sent to assist him after he made a contract with hell to help recapture runaway evil souls, i.e. kakedama. The two of them quickly move on to their first target, the track and field team’s Takahara Ayumi (Taketatsu Ayana), when Keima learns that he’s going to lose his head along with “Elsie” if he doesn’t win Ayumi over and force the evil soul out of her heart. Needless to say, he’s stepping far out of his comfort zone.
My immediate impression of the characters is that Keima doesn’t come off as conceited as he did when I skimmed over the manga, though he’s pushing it at times with the way he thinks he can play his “PFP” in class since he gets good grades and it doesn’t bother anyone. He still kind of rubs me the wrong way with how he prefers 2D over 3D just because the former behave according to how they’re pre-programmed to, and it definitely doesn’t help with the way he looks down on the real-life version of the opposite sex. I realize it’s meant to be funny and can enjoy it as such, but I can’t help but see it as a geek’s way of feeling superior in the world despite how anti-social they may be. On the plus side, having Shimono Hiro play him makes it hard for me to perceive his character too negatively, especially considering how he’s forced to (successfully) make cute girls fall for him against his will. (Hmm… maybe I do hate him more.) As for Elsie, I can’t help but see her as the cuteness of Akai Ringo, minus her cunning manipulative side, given how Itou Kanae voices her. I love that innocent side of her character, which is kind of ironic since she’s supposed to be a denizen of hell after all. (Her curvaceous figure is a bonus.) Last but not least is Ayumi, who had me wondering if this is what it would be like to make Azusa fall for a guy. Curse these seiyuu-honed ears. They are a double-edge sword at times.
Progression-wise, this premiere went through the first chapter’s sixty or so pages really quickly and skipped right to the chase to conclude “Ayumi’s route”, which would seem to suggest that’s the pacing they intend to go with for this adaptation. If it isn’t apparently already, the pattern is pretty much involves Keima going after a girl, making her fall for him, forcing the evil soul out for Elsie to capture, and then the girl losing her memories of it happening. Rinse and repeat. I gather there will be more to the series later on, but it appears to be a recipe for success given the manga’s ten volumes and hundred plus chapters in a mere two years. Let’s just say they know how to appeal to their target audience (…of lonely otaku). For a high school romance, I actually like seeing how some of the scenarios play out in real life though. For one, Keima has to cut the cheese PRETTY thick with lines like, “You’ll always be first place in my heart”, which I admittedly find embarrassing to watch yet can’t peel my eyes away since they get the job done. Now if only someone would tell Keima that he has it easier than he thinks. If he really knew how “real girls” were like, he’d be happy with the anime/manga ones he has to deal with. 😛
Notes:
– From what I gather, each girl will have their own ending theme to go with their arc, though it remains to be seen if each will get an actual ending sequence to go along with it.
– Crunchyroll translates “Otoshigami” as “God of Conquest”, which isn’t a bad way of going about it. I referred to Keima’s title as “God of Players” in the preview, since it has a double meaning in English.
– Incidentally, they also translated “Kami-sama” as “Divine One” rather than “God”. Ha, that’s nice.
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ED1: 「コイノシルシ」 (Koi no Shirushi) by 神のみぞ知り隊 feat. 高原歩美 starring 竹達彩奈 (Kami nomi zo Shiri-tai feat. Takahara Ayumi starring Taketatsu Ayana)
Watch the 1st ED!: Download, Streaming ▼
Preview
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Interesting… might take a look at this.
The art looks cute, and from the previews and synopsis, it looks like it could be a fun rom-com with no contrived sexual jokes and fanservice. I was looking for another show to pick up this season, so I’ll check this out later this week. Looks fun!
What this? Divine is jealous of a character who’s better at getting girls that he does? lol
To be fair, Keima is a bishonen when he remove his glasses hence why he gets girls easier.
Anyway, thanks for blogging this series and i know it’s gonna get better every week.
I never thought that I would be interested in this anime when I read your preview, but it is a good thing I downloaded at least the first episode of the anime that seemed interesting to me.
This anime is rather amusing and I like how I get “Eris” memories from hearing Itou Kanae’s voice XD
I hope to continue downloading this anime to see how Keima deals with REAL women hehe I will note that it feels kinda weird that there is a “memory wipe” for Ayumi. Conquer girl then she gets a memory wipe? Sounds Sketchy no?
Once again, it’s good to have Random Curiosity back =)
So how about getting back on Animenano, huh ?
Anime Nano doesn’t seem to care to update the site’s URL. You’re free to subscribe to the RSS.
Anyone knows what’s the title of the game he’s playing on his “PFP” lol https://randomc.net/image/Bakuman/Bakuman%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2019.jpg
“Paper Only” if you linked the right pic. 😛
Oops sorry my bad lol.. I meant this pic https://randomc.net/image/Kami%20nomi%20zo%20Shiru%20Sekai/Kami%20nomi%20zo%20Shiru%20Sekai%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2006.jpg
I just addressed that under your comment. While it does say “Paper Only,” it could be read “KamiNomi” which is also the abbreviated title of this series.
Looks a lot like “Wilhelmina” from Shakugan no Shana.
Hey. It’s a Bakuman screencap! 😉
ah, I just noticed from your screenie, the game Keima is playing is KamiNomi. lol.
Animation is nice, I think Elci looks so much cuter than she appeared in the manga at first.
As a reader of the manga, I have to say that this story really develops after the first few girls. Each one has a small twist, but as it goes the plot twists get bigger and it becomes even more psychological. Plus there’s the whole deal of how much this is actually affecting Keima, and then the big meta plot involving the Old and New Hells. It’s a slow burner, but really rewarding.
Plus it’s hilarious.
Seriously? I dont like how twgok develops after the few first girls. For example, in this episode.. elsee and the story about devils are only used to create an anime where the main character captures a girl every episode. Basically, its summarizing what could take a hundred manga chapters into 3-5 chapters. Kind of a spoiler: But after it develops it expects us to start taking the story of devils and stuff seriously which I think ruined the uniqness of the manga. Nonetheless, its still a great manga.
Lesser spoiler that I don’t think deserves spoiler tags: Keima later complains that IRL girls don’t have obvious event flags, and also mentions that the more absurd his capture target the easier of a time he has capturing.
I don’t really like this adaptation much… It’s by far too rushed, cuts out many scenes in the manga and has pretty weak cinematography. It just doesn’t give the “epic” feeling of the manga.
If I went in without expectations, I probably would have liked it, like MM! and Yosuga no Sora. Unfortunately, my expectations were too high, and this adaptation didn’t meet them.
I’d say I agree with this to an extent. Something just didn’t feel quite right. Also, I strongly prefer the manga’s version of their final interaction of the arc when she goes up to him after winning herself.
On another note, I still say Jun Fukuyama would’ve been a better choice for Keima >.>
Too bad he voiced a masochistic retard instead. The current seiyuu for Keima completely failed to capture his overconfident, arrogant attitude. 🙁
Nope, sorry, i have disagree about that. Hiro Shimono was perfect for Keima as he sound believable like a real teenager. If Jun did it, it would just sound weird. Also it’s annoying to hear his Lulu voice.
@imperial. I think what failed to show his overconfident arrogant self was the his anime character design itself and not the seiyuu.
Went in with no expectations and came out relatively entertained.
Life feels so much better when you don’t set expectations :S
I kind of find it refreshing how the protagonist has a condescending attitude against the 3d because we rarely see this kind of confidence from Otaku.
I’m loving the manga, i’m sure i’ll love this anime 😀
This show is really good. :}
It makes me kinda sad how he doesn’t really get the girl at the end …
It looks extremely stupifying i will give it a try but i think again an epic fail.
I wonder if he’ll fall for one of these girls he has to uh.. what’s the word?
lol-ed @ Keima attitude of 2d>3d
and Elci is damn too cute for a demon… plus shes not radiating evil at all
any indication those 2 will end in a relationship other than co-workers? I have a feeling things might just end up that way…
lol at PFP… Playfortress?
I do enjoy the show though, it is nice to see a “god” of the 2D world slowly moving toward the real challenge 🙂 Now only if girls in the real world are that easy…
can’t wait for the next episode, and thanks for the write up 🙂
Prolly the best OP of this season
@Divine – while on the subject on “seiyuu-honed” ears, I can’t put my finger on it but, is the green haired girl on the game voiced by Yuu Kobayashi?
according to ANN it was Yuu Kobayashi
personally, God of Conquest sounds offensive since there’s a different ring to it when you say “Conquering Girls” and “Capturing Girls”. But that’s my opinion
I had really high expectations when watching this anime, and it surely did not disappoint. The pacing was great, and I love the little extra details they added to the scenes that were in the manga. The seiyuu also did a good job of bringing out the characters’ personalities, and I enjoyed watching them in the anime.
The only thing that I didn’t notice was the fact that Keima is voiced by Akihisa from Baka Test. It really didn’t bother me though, and I found that he actually fits the role a lot.
Overall, a must see this season, even if you aren’t a fan of harem anime ^^
I was thinking about Baka Test as well…
Really hoping they make a second season of it…
Speaking of Hiro Shimono, he is in a number of shows this season like the male lead in Yosuga no Sora…
There is going to be a 2nd season of Baka Test next year.
As someone who has been following the awesome manga, I think it’s inevitable to compare the anime to the former but that didn’t make this adaptation any less entertaining.
My thoughts were the same when I read the first chapter weeks ago, the series has a likable cast, an interesting plot and watching Keima being forced to interact with cute girls to save his head from rolling out the door. How can that not be fun?
With more girls coming, ridiculous galge gags and facts, plot developments and twists. This is just the start of a very interesting series.
Also, it was pretty cool of them to translate kami-sama to Divine One. It has a nice ring to it, wonder how kami-niisama will be though they’ll probably leave it but who knows.
this is a great manga, the pacing set in anime is all wrong making it forced and not so interesting. Hopefully it only the first epi and not all of them otherwise a great material wasted (ex. Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou ) . but then again there’s always some limitation that make anime unable to fully grasp the beauty portrayed in the manga ( love hina, negima ). Just my 2 cent. 🙂
just finish watching epi 2 , look like the rushed work one epi 1 is for quick introduction, the 2nd epi is well paced, i hope i keep up and i believe this could be the one of the best this season
As a reader of the manga I can say that Keima’s captures will be more interesting each time; each one has their own twist. I can’t wait for them to animate my favorite arc but I guess it will take quite some time.
I watched this show last week. I saw it this week. I was like, “Have I watched this show? The characters… I’m sure I’ve seen this. WTF, I have seen this. Why is RC taking them so long–” And then I remembered that RC was having problems. @__@ Stupid me… It’s just hard to believe in some way.
So, anyway, this show hasn’t failed to disappoint me and there are a lot of things I’ve been wanting to know: Would he really have to kiss all the girls with evil souls in them? I mean, that’s a nice spice for the story and I can’t wait for it to happen in the later episode(s).
>:)
The plot of how he has to go after a new girl all the time is kinda silly, but the overall feel of the anime is certainly an enjoyable one. The art style is very perky-like, and charming. Plus it’s about a gamer picking up girls, haha.
Interesting anime, worth watching imo. 😀
I feel something missing in the anime. like sound effects or character reaction. but its still early to conclude. I was shock that Shimono Hiro ,who is voicing keima, did well in the starting scene considering that the voice was like intelligent and charming but slowly decline my impression. hope he can do better in other episode like other seiyu who i think didn’t fit the archetype for example Aya Hirano did voice Lucy(fairy tail anime) which i think tsundere or bossy type would fit but in the end i say wow didnt expect that it would good. hope to see more episode.
was nice and a bit sweet, definitely on my list
had been reading the manga since before.. I did think it had the potential in anime adaption.. now let’s see what it can do. ^^
Oh, hey Yabecchi!
I’ve kept up with the manga and I believe they made this adaptation more comedic than the manga counterpart. I wonder if they’ll keep the one episode captures, I think it’s a bit rushed if they do, I’d rather them have two episode mini-arcs to keep the flow from the manga. Nevertheless, I’d still be watching this, Elsee is a hella lot more curvaceous and mature than she’s presented in the manga. I want my Kusunoki episode!
Just caught up with the manga within a couple of days. It was gooooooood.
The art looks really good, so does the story. Might check this out.
Well, as an avid TWGOK manga reader, I have to say the anime adaptation isn’t bad. I’ve just been having trouble getting used to Shimono Hiro because I totally pictured a different voice when I read the manga. Aside from that, from the looks of the first episode, it at least captures the feel of the manga, which is a good in my book.
I love the manga, and have been waiting for an anime adaptation for ages
Interesting, they decided to use the more mature looking design of Elci from the manga one-shot instead of the one in the serialized manga..
i MIGHT follow this bec. AYANA is in it..X33 AZU-NYAN! X3
Her part in the story is kind of over though.
I prefer the name the scanlations used ‘Elsee’
This is one of the anime this season I have big expectations for, and they already announced a second season so I hope I won’t be disappointed.
As one of those who is reading the manga I can only say the same as the ones above (in general) in the same position. It gets better after a few arcs when the main plot and the implications on Keima of capturing all the girls is starting to show. So far it’s looking like a promising adaption.
On a side note, I looked at the Crunchyroll subs for fun and noticed that they omitted that the kakedama hides in the crevices/holes of people’s heart and in turn that love is Show Spoiler ▼
capable of filling those holes.
Anyhow, on with the show.
This show seems pretty interesting so far for such a simple plot. The animation was pleasing to look at. I’m looking forward to Keima’s character development, since he’s pretty shallow as of now thanks to unrealistic women found in galge. The show was more innocent than I thought it’d be, and I hope it stays that way.
kaminomi is great… no doubt about it. i have every original manga release of this anime and i am satisfied with how the story goes…
hey do some one noticed that the “walker” is on the wrong side? i believe it should be on the “injured” side to evenly distribute the weight of the body.
I Cant believe I’m up to date with this MANGA…..
I really liked more the nickname as the “Capturing God” and it feels strange reading Elsea’s name differently. And I don’t understand the need for her flying sounds when she is a devil, but she had the doro doro signal heh. Although the capture felt fast-paced.
I found the “Capturing God” translation that scanlators decided on pretty weird. It makes it sound like Keima’s out catching Pokemon.
I’ve caught up with the manga recently, and haven’t been disappointed.
First episode looks nice though, esp. with the OP.
I love Keima’s character, personally. The series all comes off as shallow wish-fulfillment at first, but as you keep reading you realize it’s actually much deeper than that. Keima’s “captures” actually work fairly believably even when he applies dating sim logic to them. It just doesn’t come out well in the first chapter/episode because they had to go through the whole concept in one go.