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「コワイヒト」 (Kowai Hito)
“Scary Person”
Have you noticed that every episode since episode 3 has introduced someone that doesn’t like Yato? The poor God gets so much hate but I can’t say whether or not it’s warranted yet. Perhaps he’s simply misunderstood and he actually has a clear motive for his actions. Personally speaking, I sympathize with Yato because since he met Hiyori, he’s only done good and he’s only done everything that he could to defend himself. It’s just a pity that he also happens to have one of the least grateful shinki out there. Yuki’s caused Yato more trouble than he’s worth.
Speaking of Yuki – that boy has got to be one of the most annoying characters I’ve seen in a while. I don’t usually get pissed off easily (*coughSamurai Flamenco*cough), but Yuki seems to just wallow in self-pity and blame Yato for “using him” against his will. Doesn’t Yuki see the bigger picture? It annoys me when “kids” don’t understand that a lot of things that are done for them when they’re young, are for the better. It’s even worse when they retaliate and go off on the wrong track. Yuki even committed thievery knowing it’s wrong! Why? Because you want to be bad or you don’t see the consequences of your actions? Yuki is portrayed as such an ungrateful brat right now and causing Yato more grief (sapping his energy) and he doesn’t even care. If I were Hiyori, I’d slap some sense into that boy! He’s done nothing to deserve her hospitality; he has endangered Yato’s life and worst of all, he still running away from his problems. If he’s scared for his life, he should be more concerned about saving his God and fighting enemies (not Yato himself). I used to perceive Yuki as a little lost puppy and I gave him the benefit of the doubt for not knowing any better… but now he just gets on all the wrong nerves.
Little boys aside, this episode was packed full of fast paced action and I loved seeing a war amongst Gods. This is the true difference between Kofuku, Bishamonten (Sawashiro Miyuki) and Yato. It displays their differences in powers and what they’re capable of… making Yato seem quite inadequate at the same time. Bishamon is the God of War (as it follows Japanese folklore) and she (supposedly a “he”) belongs to the group of Seven Lucky Gods. This explains why she holds so many shinki and her ability to destroy phantoms so easily. It makes me wonder why Kofuku has a portrait of them in her home though when she’s not necessarily a Lucky God either. It’s likely what she aspires to be one day. As we’re halfway through the series now, there’s nothing that’s really “wow-ed” me about Noragami but I can see that there’s potential. It’s disappointing because it’s taken me this long to become interested and I don’t know how much more of the story we’ll get to see after this arc. The story needs to build itself up faster if it plans to come up with bigger revelations.
Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: I take it back. Yuki is kind of a little whiner o.O he acts his age but I wish he wasn’t so conceited #smacksmack #noragami
Preview
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And thus you see just a little bit about why the manga readers complain about Yuki.
Yeah, I really tried to like him, but Yuki’s acting more and more like a spoiled brat each episode. Don’t want to judge too quickly, but he is getting on my nerves.
Dang, seems like we got a good amount of Yukine fanboy/girls out there.
Didn’t you know? They put looks before personality, just like most girls out there, yeah I said it!
Now you understand the truth, but you don’t have enough hate and you know what? You never will – Itachi
I actually never felt Yukine was really annoying when I read the manga quite some time ago. Although granted, Yukine does do things that can’t be unlikeable and conceited, the way he can spark sympathy and distaste at his actions makes him a well-developed character. (While he is reckless in his actions, Yukine was put in a position where he knew nothing of his past life and he lost the opportunity of living at a very early age)
I haven’t read the novels, but based on what the anime has shown, I can still give Yuki some slack. He died (I imagine that would do number on anyone’s psyche :P) and has no memories of his prior life, surely leaving him in a state of confusion and frustration over his current circumstances. While Yato gave him back some form of existence in the “real” world, the quality and purpose of his life is subject to Yato’s discretion. Regardless of how good that life could be, he’s still essentially being used. I find it understandable that the prospect of killing souls/phantoms, other regalia, and other gods bothers Yuki, especially when it seems that Yato hasn’t exactly explained everything about this new world to him. And as we’re seeing, the characters within the story, like Hiyori and Yuki, are unclear whether to think of Yato as a good guy or not yet. It’s different from the audiences’ perspective, obviously.
I’m merely saying I understand his feelings and that it’s not like his self-pity is unwarranted. Now, if this persists throughout the course of the series, then yes, it would be an unfortunate failing of character development and deeply annoying to me. hat being said, I agree he is acting rude and childish. C’mon, kid. Stealing? And when Hiroyi lied for you, you still couldn’t fess up? I would think the guilt would have gotten to him there.
I know my thoughts are hardly original; other commenters have similar opinions and probably expressed them better.
I get serious Battousai vibes off of Yato (I think the fact that he also wields a sword helps)
I’ve never made that comparison before, but now I can see it lol.
Dang, nice comparison. Now that you mentioned it, I wonder why I haven’t even thought of this until I read your post.
I think we’ll feel some sympathy for Yuki after we learn about his life before he died. Those memories that Yato saw when he awoke him as his regalia looked interestingly depressing.
Also, there seems to be some sort of importance of a cat to Yuki.
1- The cat shaped cookie
2- Him petting a stray cat with Hiyori
3- The cat shown in one of the images of Yuki’s memories when Yato awakened him as his regalia
Exactly what I think. I haven’t been annoyed yet by Yuki, I can clearly see that there’s something big behind it all, if not even Yato being who he is would say something but he obviously knows the kid past and his actions somewhat reflect that knowledge.
All I see is an extension of what Yato said at the very beginning, that he found a teenage regalia that would require a lot of work ^^. So, all this to say, I like them all and this show.
I think playing Yuki as the nice kid at the start has started to bite the writers back in the butt, because the reasoning the anime has over his actions makes him worse in the eyes of the viewers.
I like Yuki and his character development. The manga portrayed that he really had an attitude that was caused by his past and death. His situation wasn’t really something anyone, especially a kid, would be very happy in. Being a shinki, you’re forced to see everyday again and again how you’re no longer alive and everyone will live on, laughing, never remembering you.
I know people rip on Yuki a lot and its understandable why. However I can’t help but feel Yato is also part of the problem. If he’d just open his mouth and explain to Yuki everything he needs to know then many of their can be start to be resloved.
Yato isn’t his mother. Maybe if he were young enough were maybe he shouldn’t know better I could understand Yato explaining these things, but Yato shouldn’t be responsible for someone who knows they’re constantly doing wrong. And it’s sad to see Hiyori spoil this kid as though Yato is the bad guy. Putting aside Yato’s way of dealing with things, he’s been nothing but considerate of Yuki. Even down to making him sleep at shrines. Yuki isn’t ready to sleep outside of a shrine. He’s not even ready to even be out of a shrine for most of the day at this rate.
It’s ridiculous, he needs to remember that he’s responsible for himself now AND that he’s also not just responsible for himself at this point.
You CAN say that. But Yuki was portrayed as someone who willingly gave into temptation in the manga IMO. In the manga he sort of grinned maliciously if I remember while stealing stuff, just because he could. He obviously is very troubled. I don’t really have a problem with Yuki otherwise though. If I put myself in his shoes, I’d think the same way.
“I’m extremely unnoticeable to everyone around me. I can easily take anything from anyone without their knowledge and no one will ever know.” <—This is how I'd probably think as well, so I don't find him annoying. Though I admit what he's doing is troublesome for everyone.
Yato is to blame too because he's not really approaching Yuki's problems carefully, he's scared and hurting so yelling "GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER" to him isn't helpful. Though a careful approach doesn't always work either. Matters like these are difficult.
It’s part of the problem of not illuminating Yuki’s past, all we have to go on (for us anime-only guys) is that he died when a teen and is now a regalia. Therefore his actions and personality become abrasive because there is no relation nor sympathy/understanding built up between him and the audience.
We all know I’m a sucker for soundtracks. That track when Hiyori was distinguishing Yato’s smell got me this episode. Honestly that might have been the best scene for me. It played again when Kazuma bowed to Yato. I just felt the emotion there as well.
In Yuki’s defense, he’s dead. He’s not just some kid, he’s a kid who passed away without ever experiencing the joys of normal life, if his past is any indication. He never fell in love, he never just had fun, he never got to be normal. And now he’s revived by a jerkass god who partially treats him like a tool, making him kill spirits who aren’t that different from him against his will. So he rebels against him and acts selfish, because he never could while he was alive. He wants to experience the things he missed out on, and screw the consequences. That’s my interpretation, anyway.
Of course, he still needs a smack up the head. He’s putting the others in serious danger because of his selfish actions, and he makes Hiyori cover for him (though he seems to feel guilty for that). Yato, on the other hand, isn’t the most friendly or sociable guy either, so communication between them is strained. Things would go better if they just opened up to each other, but that’s easier said then done.
Loved the fast paced action of this episode, anyway, and I feel that this is actually one of the better shows airing this season. I can appreciate the bigger role of worldbuilding and character development over more typical shonen antics, and the three mains have good chemistry. But tell me Yato’s past already, gaaaah!
Yeah, I agree especially about the Yato and Yuki dynamic. There are comments saying Yuki is to blame. Since we obviously see that he’s wrong and how Yato is experiencing pain from it, I think most people miss how Yato isn’t very good at communication. He’s not very sympathetic. When he told Yuki to stop being a wuss already, maybe that’s true, but you can kind of sense how it portrays Yato to be this guy who must have had a tough past and a rather hard exterior. He tells Yuki to just do it or don’t do it. He’s probably not just good or doesn’t believe words would do any good.
So yeah. I’m more amazed at how the dynamics and characters their relationship are showing, rather than be pissed at a person who naturally has some shitty moments like anyone.
Liked this episode, finally adds a source of “tension” not present in earlier with the new god(dess) of war. Definitely need to flesh out Yuki though, currently he is all emo and no emotion (i.e. depth). Might help if we get an explanation for his past, but until that happens he’s all b*tch and no bite.
Hopefully things pick up in the latter half now that we (finally) have an enemy and an opening to explore Yato’s past. There’s a lot here to like, but Noragami hasn’t really stitched the pieces together yet.
People need to remember that Yuki is a teenager, and teenagers are stereotypical troublemakers that have to learn from right and wrong. He has had a terrible past, and now is forced into a situation he has no control over. His behavior makes perfect sense to me.
I feel that we haven’t had a good explanation as to how Yukine affects Yato through his emotions and thoughts and it’s kind of frustrating.
It’s consistent (which is something I guess) because Yato doesn’t seem to have bothered to explain this to Yukine so I rather get where Yukine is coming from, Boss says “do this because I said so, oh and that rule doesn’t apply to me just because”.
Yukine is also not communicating how he’s feeling to Yato and so the pair of them are currently on course to split the party.
Yato never says “just do this and I’ll explain why later” or “don’t do that because this and this is why it’s important for both of us” he only gives Yukine commands which he’s increasingly uncomfortable with, and Yukine never asks for an explanation either, he just sulks.
Yukine never says “I’m not comfortable with this, can you at least explain why this is necessary?” or “why did you kill that regalia?” or “do you even have a clue as to how to fix whatsherface?*” or “does the war bit of your god-ness actually do anything?” or “what was that thing I saw in the tea cup?” or “what is that big purple mark on your neck?” or any number of questions I’d quite like answering.
As a viewer, I don’t understand how they are both so bad at communicating and frankly it seems that it’s only happening to drive them apart artificially.
The other thing that irritates me is there is something wrong with their transition between ‘story mode’ and ‘comedy mode’.**
*(she seems to take it on faith that he can when we’ve never seen him do anything like that, just run away or mooch food of people)
** In retrospect maybe I should have started with that comment.
Who’re the lucky bastards that gets to be her bra and panties XD
I completely agree with Cherrie and am hoping later for some YatoxHiyori romance, although Kofuku would be also really cute with him!
However, here just a random thought.
What if Nora is the god of shinki’s or anything possible coming close to that ???
And btw, the show name Noragami, as in Nora (the character) and Gami (Japanese Megami = Goddess) just the second part of the word or maybe any similar meaning??
That might explain a lot for the core content of the whole plot.
But we probably just gonna need to wait and see ourselves.
Nora means “stray” and Gami can be “Goddess” or “God”. It can refer to Yato who is a wandering Yatogami(does yatogami mean wargod?), a “stray God”.
Novel do say that Nora is how Gods call Shiki that had many masters and names, so can also refer to Nora.
Or maybe Yato is actually a god that had, at one point, had a legion of Shikis that are Noras and has somehow lost them. That would certainly fit the name Noragami, “Stray God”.
A Rogue God with an army of stray god , that’s fitting!
It sucks because the story just starting to suck me in too and It literally just begun and we only have 6 episodes left… this should be a 24 series 🙁
Yeah right!?!
Noragami should be 24 episodes long instead of freaking Samurai Flamenco!!!
I’m gonna take a guess that Nora is the Regalia that Yato killed? That’s what I’m getting so far.
I already thought about this too, but it does seem quite odd, that she still “exists” after she was killed by him.
Even if its the truth, they better have a damn good explanation (also plot-wise) how thats possible and sensible, because I mean, if a Regalia gets killed, its dead right, gone, doesnt exist anymore?!
Doubtful.
More likely that Nora was in some way responsible for Yato having to kill a shinki.
This is what I’m thinking, too. Maybe Nora is the one who killed the Regalia and Yato took the blame for it (whether willingly or unwillingly), and he doesn’t use her to fight anymore because he can’t trust her.
Though I understand that Yuki’s behaviour has been that of a childish misgiving, I think the real problem with him was that Yato used him to “kill” things he did not find evil. He was worried that he’s been doing wrong things with Yato and has lost his faith. Every now and then though he worries about Yato and I think there’s something Yuki needs to realize here. Yato is partially to blame for not telling Yuki, but I noticed one thing there that I noticed in real life: when your mother and father have a brawl of who is best, you would find yourelf going with the person that satisfies you more and begin to ‘prefer’ one from the other, in extreme cases, you might lose faith in one of them because you don’t see them as ‘fit’, which is what’s going with Yuki now. He’s seeing all the other gods with their shrines, and power, and has no faith in Yato. I don’t hate Yuki yet, I think I understand him.
Though I think my main focus this episode had been a few things:
1) The fact that Nora helped Yato against Kuraha and very easily makes me wonder how good she is.
2) Kazuma bowing to Yato means there’s some sort of ‘respect’ he has for him, maybe because Yato is a god, or maybe because Kazuma knows something we don’t.
3) Yuki is feeling used by Yato who does things he does not agree with – basicly they are not in sync. Yuki still needs to grow up and I think this anime portrayed him as a teenager pretty well. Even if Yuki has been doing things here and there, the moment Hiyori lied that she bought the skateboard for him, he’s felt a bit of guilt for making Hiyori lie, or so it seemed to me. The trust between a god and his Shinki is not easily attained, I think that’s what we need to know here. Well the god knows, but not the Shinki.
4) Kofuku in action looked so amazing!
I kind of am enjoying the series, this annoying behaviour of Yuki is interesting because it would seem realistic, and we need to keep in mind that the ‘doubt’ that Kofuku planted in Hiyori is still only ‘doubt’, they don’t know yet. Now that also Yuki heard that Yato has killed a Shinki just because ‘he wanted to’ might not have been a smart answer.
Love the series! M.
One thing I found interesting that I haven’t seen much mention (any, really) of, is Kofuku’s reaction to Hiyori having a cord. She actually seems to make a bit of a fuss about it–though, not that Hiyori can see. Between that and the fact that Yato hasn’t actually done anything about it yet, I’m thinking that it is a much, much bigger issue than we’ve been led to believe so far and that Yato is (yet again) keeping secrets from Hiyori. Not to mention Yato being adamant on Hiyori not letting Kuraha know that she can see them–it seems like if the cord were the ‘relatively’ minor issue that Yato makes it out to be, it wouldn’t be a huge issue if other gods know she has one.
Lol…dont get so angry at Yuki, Cherrie…he’s just a kid.
I think its only natural if Yato doesnt want to explain stuffs to him. Thats what most “Dads” do…or guys do. Looking at Yato, i understand why he doesnt bother to explain stuffs (like Hiyori’s ability too)<- the typical-sinful-guy bravado. well, though i honestly hoping he'll come around, but naah…that would be the end of story 😛
Lol at Hiyori…she must has deep crush with Yato. So much awwwwww seeing her blushing during sensing his smell from afar XDDDD
and boy oh boy, Bishamon and Miyuki…how can things be any sexier than that! kyaaaa~!!! but please do not fall for Yato after the revenge == (tsundere Miyuki sounds funny…want her to be awesomely hot all the time! XDDD)
Anime-original character Rabo confirmed for Noragami’s later half,designed by original mangaka Adachitoka.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-02-05/noragami-anime-features-original-character
I’m mostly curious on the past between Yato and Bishamon (aside from all the talk with Yuki). At the moment (since we have yet to be shown anything else in-depth), Yato just doesn’t seem like the type would simply destroy someone else’s Regalia just because he “felt like it”. I guess Bishamon slightly annoyed me with the fact that SHE is the one constantly attacking Yato, and Yato is simply doing what he can just to defend himself, yet when any of her Regalia get hurt because of that defense, she acts like Yato had some sort of malicious wanting to do so. (And he clearly showed no joy in doing so.) It makes me wonder what really happened back then.
Like is it possible that the Regalia went/was going rogue, or got possessed/corrupted, and Yato killed it, then simply took the blame himself to spare Bishamon the pain or something like that?
She kind of annoyed me too for the same reasons. Also because she seems a bit like a spoiled brat with all a ton of expensive toys that acts on her whims,instead of trying to understand others – at least,that’s what my impression of her from this episode was,it can definitely change later on.
During their fight scenes I was like: “Oh my god,this is so unfair. She has all these regalia and Yato has just one that refuses to cooperate”. It’s like someone bringing guns to a knife fight,from range,and the knife is hard to use too.
am i the only one who excited that miyuki sawashiro is bihsamonten’s seiyuu. XD
you’re not alone. XD
I might’ve found Bishamonten a bit annoying as a character but more Sawashiro Miyuki is always a good thing ;3
Bishoujo Bishamon (voiced by Sawashiro Miyuki herself!) made my day… she is really awesome. Can’t wait to hear more about history of her grudge versus Yato.
I am interested in her uniform-clad Shinki, too – it seems he respects Yato somehow and tried to save him from her wrath.
Nora, on the other hand… could it be she is the oft mentioned murdered Shinki? Notice her burial head dress…
Hiyori is funny as usual but what is the imrtance of her having cord – is that so unusual?
actually i think yukine here (anime) is better than the manga. Show Spoiler ▼
^^^^ spoilers 😡
ohmy forget to giving it a spoiler tag and can’t edit it x_x
why people are easier to press red button than the green one huh
Fixed. Please try and remember to use spoiler tags next time =)
Yato is sooooo hot, oh my God…
‘You horny ‘coz of me?! (you better be a girl)
With voice acting and moving pictures (lol old school term) Yukine is even worse in the anime than he is in the manga, even though events were changed to make Yukine seem less like an asshole 15 year old (1 year younger than Hiyori who hasn’t been called a kid, talk about double standards) and trying to get the viewers to be more symphatetic, which obviously backfired.
I can’t tell what the endgame is going to be like if this ends with 12 episodes. Hopefully the anime original ending will be as satisfying as Zetsuen no Tempest’s anime ending.
It’s not that easy to like someone that, when asked “Why did you killed that guy”, he answers “‘Cause I want it killed, that’s how gods works…deal with it”.
Btw, poor Bishamon, if every scream her Regalias does makes her flinch, she’ll probably won’t last much longer (taking the fact that she survived some…thousands of years?)
I think I’m losing some of the in-jokes and deeper meanings since I’m not familiar with a lot of the Buddhist gods this show is using.
I suppose you’re already familiar with the fact that there are no gods in Buddhism religion, but i’ll write it anyway.
starss , it isn’t Buddhism in the first place. This is based on Japanese Shinto folklore. Or something , I am not entirely sure of the name. Can someone clarify this?
Don’t know about Shinto folklore, but keep in mind there are different branches in Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism which I’m familiar with is spread in India and surrounding countries, and there are no Gods in it(at least not the worshiping of omnipotent,immortal God(s)), but as far as I know Zen Buddhism is the one spread in China and surrounding countries(including Japan) and I’m not familiar with that.
Rather than playing a blame game , would it not be simpler to say that both Yato and Yukine are in the wrong for different reasons and be done with it? Because that is pretty much how I see it.
Yukine is getting annoying, I agree. Whatever the reason, warranted or not, spoiled brats are always annoying. Both in shows and in real life.
As far as this episode goes, I’m amused how they turned Bishamon, one of the most famous war gods in Japan mythos, into an S&M maniac with a whip haha.
Totally agree with you man. Just watch out, people are going to hate you hard for even slightly criticizing Yukine.
As much as you hate them for slightly defending Yukine 😉
And where did I say I hate them for that? They’re allowed to think whatever they want, and I respect their opinion. Yet, if they go all mob mentality and hate on everyone who’s got a different opinion then they do, then that’s where we have a problem. Otherwise, like Yukine all you want. I still hold the right to judge him base on the info given to me so far.
It’s cool dude, they can defend a brat all they want. Probably feel some sympathetic connection cause they were similar brats when they were young. Downvotes from those people dont mean squat to me. I actually pity them instead.
Oh I know, lol. Sorry about that, just taking a jab. I think it’s kind of interesting how wide the spectrum the opinions of Yukine are. I think the dynamics of his character allow everyone to be justified in choosing any point along that spectrum. It’s a similar deal with the characters in Nagi no Asukara; everyone seems to have a different opinion about who they like/dislike, but it’s easy to understand where people are coming from even when you disagree.
Ah, I see. Sorry if I over reacted to your comment or anything. But yeah, that’s what’s so good about Yukine’s character right now, he’s not a simplistic character that everyone can all agree on and are allowed to have multiple opinions about his character. Only time can tell which one of us guessed correctly and if any of his actions/behavior so far are justifiable. It’s fun to debate about things like this as long as each side is willing to listen and be reasonable.
This anime would be about 700% better if Yuki wasn’t an annoying character.
I hope he dies soon.
Are we not going to talk about how good looking Kazuma is & how he actually looks like Fukuyama Jun with spectacles?!
I feel bad for Yuuki Kaji. Typecasted so hard into doing whiny little brats.
Have you noticed that every episode since episode 3 has introduced someone that doesn’t like Yato? The poor God gets so much hate but I can’t say whether or not it’s warranted yet.
Well, he spends a bit too much time around a god of misfortune, so that’s to be expected.
It makes me wonder why Kofuku has a portrait of them in her home though when she’s not necessarily a Lucky God either. It’s likely what she aspires to be one day.
You don’t have to be one of the gods to keep their image at your home (it’s a pretty common decoration, I believe), especially if you happen to be named after them. Hell, even Daikoku is named after one of them despite being a Shinki.
Regarding Yukine…I’m not crazy about him like some are, but I kind of understand why he did it. Sure, he’s a teenager that is dead and have no future, so he does some crazy stuff and in consequence causes Yato some pain. The thing is that even though what he did is reasonable, I still don’t like him a whole lot. He just doesn’t seem to have a lot of character dynamic like the other two members of the trio, and…submitting to temptation is almost uncontrollable, but smashing stuff and stealing things? It’s understandable but it’s really still stuff you should not do!
He doesn’t deserve the hate that he’s getting, though…