KAMISAMA KAZOKU
The one tale of the son of God that doesn’t end in crucifixion
Review by: Craig “Devil’s Advocate” Norris
Length: 13 episodes
Genre: Supernatural, romance
Watched: All, subbed
“Do you believe in God?” It’s a simple yet difficult-to-answer question that we all will come across many times in our lives. As for me, I recognize that there are things in this universe that are yet beyond our understanding, and I am open to the possibility that they can be attributed to a higher power. Whether it is God, Buddha, Allah, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster is unclear at this point, but I’m open-minded enough to believe in any of them, given enough proof. However, if God is as much of a dork as is portrayed in this anime, then there’s something to be said for atheism.
Plot synopsis: For his entire life, Samatarou Kamiyama has been being groomed to take over the family business. However, this isn’t just any business; his father is God! Samatarou has been living on Earth to understand humans better, in order to become a good God in the future. Unfortunately, his father spoils him rotten, preventing him form learning much of anything. But all that changes when an exchange student comes to Samatarou’s school and he falls head over heels. Can he escape the prying eyes of his family and his guardian angel to pursue his first love?
Artwork: The artwork is fairly flat and unimpressive, and generally left me wanting a little more. Better shading here, more vivid color there; you know, little stuff. I can’t say that the animation quality hurts the series, but it certainly doesn’t do much to help it along, either. The visuals are consistently rough around the edges, and should not be considered benchmark quality by a long shot.
Music: The score is generally lighthearted to match the overall mood of much of the series. It certainly is not the catchiest music around, but it works well enough to provide adequate background noise for the episodes. There are no marquis tracks to be had, and the quality of the soundtrack could be considered consistently average.
Characters: The centerpiece of the series seems to be its complex and likeable characters. Despite Samatarou being of divine descent, he seems like any other angst-ridden teen; he falls in love, rebels against his parents, and makes some extremely irrational decisions. These very human traits make him easy to identify with. His guardian angel, Tenko, has watched over him since they were both infants. Though not related to him, she has been accepted as part of the family, and acts mostly like a live-in caretaker for Samatarou and his family. For much of the series, she calls into question the nature of her relationship with Samatarou, and whether or not it could be something more. She is very protective of him, and when he flusters her, steam literally shoots out of her head. Samatarou’s father, God, is kind of a strange, happy-go-lucky kind of guy. At least, that’s what he portrays on the surface. Underneath all that he is a wise deity who has nothing but the best of intentions. Still, any man, divine or not, who enthusiastically dons a pair of bloomers can’t be the omnipotent power of the universe he’s cracked up to be. Samatarou’s mother, a goddess, is almost a carbon copy of her husband in terms of personality. At times, she seems to love Samatarou a little too much, but that seems to be a reflection of her being so concerned about her youthfulness and not wanting to be perceived as an old lady. Misa is his conniving older sister, who enjoys teasing Samatarou. Despite being overbearing and haughty, she seems to have his best interest in mind, and tries to help quite often, even though she only serves to make everything worse. Meme is Samatarou’s loli-goth little sister, staid and literal to a fault. She, like her big sister, often mucks up Samatarou’s life in her attempts to help. Shinichi is Samatarou’s classmate and best human friend. He fancies himself a player, but his savvy with women is severely lacking. He often ropes Samatarou into his lechery, which typically raises Tenko’s ire. Kumiko is the exchange student who instantly infatuates Samatarou. Due to his inexperience in love, she is often at the center of his rash judgments. Kumiko is naturally a reserved girl and unfortunately gets caught in Misa and Meme’s misguided attempts to help, which causes her undue stress that complicates Samatarou’s chance at a serious relationship with her. The personalities of the characters are more suited to a love comedy; most of them just happen to be divine beings.
Plot: The majority of the plot is the complicated love triangle that develops between Samatarou, Tenko, and Kumiko, with the remainder filled in with the requisite battle between gods and demons. There are only a small handful of twists in the plot, and once those are revealed things wrap up pretty much how one would expect. The series is far from fluffy, but neither could it be considered gritty. Therefore, it should appeal to those who don’t want a series that will leave them suicidally depressed, or one that will leave them in a diabetic coma.
CHICKS!: Aside from being an angel, Tenko is the prototypical girl-next-door type. There’s nothing physically remarkable about her, she’s not hyper-intelligent, and she’s not impossibly charming. She’s just a nice, friendly girl. And I, being a nice, friendly guy, find that highly appealing. Samatarou’s mom is quite the MILF, parading around in skimpy attire hoping her son will give her the wolf whistle. For a woman with two teenage offspring she is still quite the looker, and I can understand why God is so lovey-dovey with her. Kumiko is a stately high school beauty that is at once shy and mysterious. Predictably, almost every male in the class falls for her instantly. Considering the amount of competition, and the fact that there’s a perfectly good pink-haired angel in the back of the class, I’ll pass on her for now.
Overall: The description of the plot may seem like this anime is a ripoff of Ah! My Goddess. While the two do contain some common elements, this anime is different on several fundamental levels. Not the least of which is that it is not nearly as good as Ah! My Goddess. Nevertheless, it’s a fairly decent series with some nice romance and some decent supernatural conflicts. So, for those who want to watch the exploits of the son of God, and don’t feel like being bogged down by “The Passion of the Christ,” this anime should fill the void at least passably.
IN A NUTSHELL
+ Likeable characters
+ Not too gritty, not too fluffy
- Slightly below-average production values
Rating: 6.5/10
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