Director: Kawamura Tomoyuki
Writer: Konparu Tomoko (Nana, Nodame Cantible)
Main Cast:
Hayami Saori as Kusanagi Yui
Irino Miyu as Apollon Agna Beala
Ono Daisuke as Hades Aidoneus
Toyonaga Toshiyuki as Totsuka Takeru
Uemura Yuuto as Totsuka Tsukito
Kamiya Hiroshi as Balder Hringhorni
Hosoya Yoshimasa as Loki Laevatein
Character Design: Shiba Minako (Noir, Kuroshitsuji)
Music: “Elements Garden” (Senki Zesshou Symphogear, Mouretsu
Pirates)
A common misconception is that because I find guys attractive, I'll enjoy any show with copious amounts of manservice. And while Kamigami no Asobi has plenty of that, it also happens to be the genre of show I find to be among the worst in anime, the harem show. No, I don't use the term reverse harem. Mostly because a harem show is the same whether it is a harem of boys or a harem of girls. Also, the ways a harem show can distinguish itself does not rely on the gender of the protagonist or the harem. The first way is to have the characters be interesting. Another is to have a plot besides the romance that is strong enough to support the show when the romantic storyline gets dull. And it will, because there is little more boring than watching romantic drama for several hours, even if the boys are nice to look at.
On the first count, KamiAso does not come close to having interesting characters. There are a couple moments where the main girl, Kusanagi Yui, tries to show off her personality. But, she is always overshadowed by the stock archetypes that each of the boys represents. Apollon is the nice guy, Hades is the emo guy, Totsuka is the angry guy, Tsukito is the quiet guy, Balder is the klutz, and Loki is the prankster. None of these personalities are really explored, except for Apollon, who is already at this early stage going to the favorite to win Yui. As for Yui herself, her weak personality may be easy for someone to insert themselves into, but she is not an interesting character in the slightest.
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| I mean, the boys are pretty and all. Really pretty, actually. Wait, shit, what were we talking about? |
As for the second way a harem show can be more than just a harem show, the plot is also lacking substance. The basic plot is that Zeus has decreed that gods have become too distant from humans, so he traps a bunch of them at a high school, along with exactly one human girl. The task is for all of the gods to learn about human love in one year from just one girl, who is obviously Yui. The way they go about this is to have the boys do all the things high school students do for fun. Which I've seen numerous anime do since I've begun watching over a decade ago. Also, KamiAso practically announces its intentions in the opening scene, where the boys are fighting in a divine battle with Yui at the center. I wonder what that means.
In my opinion, that means Kamigami no Asobi is just another harem show. I don't want to watch another harem show, so I'm failing it. Even the promise of pretty boys barely moves the needle, because here's a secret. It's not just that the attractive character designs I enjoy when my heart goes aflutter for 2-D boys, which I admit does happen from time to time. There also needs to be something behind the pretty face, something to make them feel human. Without that, it's impossible to distinguish them from the huge number of pretty anime boys I've seen before, and the ones I'll see in the future. And the guys in this show are not distinctive or human enough to keep them from vanishing down the memory hole in short order.
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