Anime 30503 Noragami Aragoto Reviews

_-*-SPOILER FREE REVIEW-*-_

Noragami Aragoto is probably the best 2nd season anime this year. There is a big deal of change since the first season, for good. To be honest, the first season's second half was slightly off the entertainment level. I wasn't able to dive into the seriousness of the final arcs in the first season. But I am surprised how second season made a remarkable progress in making the plot more interesting.


Story: 9/10
We all have seen Noragami first season and were left with many doubts, mostly related to Yato and Bishamon. In the first half. the second season tackles the back story of Yato ... and Bishamon and reveals the secrets of Yato, Bishamon, ‎Kazuma, Other Gods etc little by little. The second half deals with the mystery of masked phantoms and also focuses of the relations between Yato, Yukine and Hiyori. Still there are plenty of things which are left untold which we can expect them to be shown in the 3rd season, when it comes out.


Art: 10/10
Noragami and Noragami Aragoto has been animated by the studio 'Bones' which is very well known for it's remarkable art in the anime 'Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood', 'Soul Eater', 'Space☆Dandy', 'Tokyo Magnitude 8.0' etc. As expected of Bones, it's art in Noragami is also smooth, colorful and remarkable. The character designs are another plus point of Noragami series. The characters are drawn so well, I can't even imagine anyone else replacing them in any way. Their designs are the perfect match for their personality which makes them so much likable.


Sound: 10/10
Noragami's opening song 'Hey Kids' by 'THE ORAL CIGARETTES' is a BLAST! There's no way anyone can deny me with this point. While everyone may not agree with me, the ending song 'Nirvana' by 'Tia' is another great song and the visuals and the lyrics adds more to it. While Noragami 1st season's soundtracks were already good, there has been a great improvement in the soundtracks in the 2nd season. The number of soundtracks under different situations have been changed, increased in number, and has become more suited to it than before. The soundtracks played during battles, sad scenes, happy scenes etc. makes them even more interesting and fun to watch. Coming to the voice actors, many famous and insanely talented actors like Kamiya Hiroshi, Kugimiya Rie, Fukuyama Jun, Sawashiro Miyuki, Ono Daisuke, Kaji Yuki, Hayami Saori, Toyosaki Aki etc. gave an amazing performance which makes Noragami deserve a 10/10 in terms of Sound.


Character: 10/10
The male protagonist of the show, Yato, is my most favorite of all the characters. Not just from Noragami, but Yato has become one of my favorite character of all the anime and that's because of his cool attitude, wicked sense of humor and his seriousness when it is needed. Other characters like Bishamon, Kazuma, Yukine are also pretty likeable for their own unique personality. While most of you will disagree with me, I feel that Iki Hiyori is also an important character which adds some spice to the story. Due to her caring and loving nature, she is also pretty likable. And the fact that there is almost zero percent chance of her of being in relationship with a god, Yato, makes us want to know more about their relation progression.


Enjoyment: 10/10
For me, the first season of Noragami was like 10/10 in terms of enjoyment but the second half was like 7/10. With more interesting plot, Noragami Aragoto has exploited the curiosity of the viewers and made this season worth a watch. Definitely 10/10 in terms of enjoyment.


Overall: 9.8/10
If you really liked Noragami first season, then Noragami Aragoto is undoubtedly a must watch for you! If you are like me who liked half of the season and the other half of the season was meh, then you must give the second season a shot and you will undoubtedly be satisfied with it. And if you didn't like Noragami first season at all, then there's not much helping it, better skip this season.


I hope my review helped. Comments appreciated. :)

I really won't be surprised if I get a mob of weeaboos wearing Yato masks at my door ready to baptize me in the sacred Yato holywater for rating it a 5 but please keep in mind that I actually use the rating system in it's entirety and believe it or not, I don't hate Noragami! This will contain minor spoilers.

Overall I think Noragami is a very overrated series. I really didn't enjoy the first season and didn't realize what all the hype was about. It had a lot of problems - I felt the writing was poor, characters did stupid things that made no ... sense a lot of the time and the constant abuse of Yato is overused for comedic value but at a certain point it runs dry, and most of all - Yukine.
Yukine is one of the most annoying and whiny characters I have ever witnessed. If nothing else, I applaud this season for reducing this fact to a minimum.

The story of Noragami Aragoto has the same initial premise as the first season but this time is divided into 2 major arcs. The first arc focuses on the character of Bishamon, the strongest god of war who also has a deep hatred for Yato as he slaughtered her entire clan once before. By doing this though he saved her life, as requested by Kazuma, the only survivor of the clan. Everything begins when one of Bishamon's regalia is suddenly killed. No one however knows who killed the regalia and panic ensues. Also coincidentally before his death he befriends Yukine and when Yukine hears the news he turns into Emo Kid once more and goes to seek vengeance for his friend.
The last season also gave a lot of hints that Kazuma knew Yato and their past is now unraveled.

The second arc starts off by Yato receiving a shrine from Hiyori. In the Noragami universe gods who have shrines get special perks sorta say. Yato moves into the Heavenly Neighborhood or whatever other lame name you can think off and is now a proper god, being friends with everyone! After 1 episode of sunshine and rainbows Yato gets captured by Nora and a person she calls "father", who knew Yato for a long time as well as seen in the flashbacks of them holding hands. So this is where the series went downhill for me. This arc just felt so unnecessarily rushed (I've heard so from people who read the manga as well so it isn't just me). So much content is just bundled together in this single arc and sadly, 7 episodes isn't nearly enough time to cover it well.

Produced by Studio Bones, all I can say is how fluid and nice it is. To be honest, the fight scenes can be lackluster sometimes but I really enjoy the character designs. I may be giving it too much credit because I just find it better than most of the animation this season though. Shame pretty colors can't save a show :^)

Noragami Aragoto like the first season has a variety of music throughout the series and I'd like to say how much I like it like most people do but I really don't think it's anything that special. Sure it's better than the norm nowadays but it's not setting out to break any records. That being said, the opening theme is one of my favorites from this season.

I'll be honest, for the most part I don't like the characters in this series. Let's briefly go over the main characters of the first season: Yato is a god that will obey your every request (( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)) for 5 yen but there's a twist to it - He has a dark past. This was revealed a bit in the end of the last season and now plays a big role in the plot. Hiyori is annoying at times but is generally okay and then there is Emo Kid. So now in this season we get more development for Bishamon and suprisingly, Kazuma. Bishamon has too much trust in all of her regalias and you could say that is her downfall. She is shown to be very stubborn when dealing with Yato, seemingly ignoring the fact that he saved her life.

Right off the bat I wanna say that I feel like they handled the development of Suzuha alright but it may of been better to give him more screen time first since he is the plot device in this situation. The main antagonist of this season is also one of Bishamon's regalia by the name of Kugaha. He really isn't interesting much like the villain of the first season but hey at least he has a goal. We are then introduced to Ebisu who is one of the seven gods of luck, the god of fishing. He could of been a cool character if the series didn't decide to rush it so badly. Needless to say, he doesn't get nearly as much character development as needed for us to actually care about him. We also don't know a single thing about Nora or father, yay.

Norgami Aragoto is a pretty enjoyable series really. As I said in the beginning, they made Yukine a lot more likable which I'm very happy about. The enjoyment does go down after the 2nd arc tags along but it was never to the point where I was forcing myself to watch.

It's somewhat of an improvement from the first season and is an enjoyable series with cool fights and quirky characters (that get on my nerves sometimes but that's besides the point). It still struggles with the issues it had in the past like the plot and the character development in a lot of instances. The 1st arc is the pinnacle of the season (and I'd argue the series but I'm just a dirty hater of the first season), however the 2nd is inferior by a longshot due to how rushed it is. So all in all, while I enjoyed it more than the first season and you'll probably do too, Noragami Aragoto really isn't anything special.

Originally uploaded on October 30th, 2015.

When thinking of Noragami, I often imagine the series as some sort of fairy tale. Only of course, it’s a fairy tale in the modern world about a delivery God named Yato. His question to own his personal shrine makes him an unusual character as well. From previously established concepts, Noragami Arargato returns in full force. And I have to say, any fans of the first season and manga will be delighted to see what the sequel has to offer.

The second season takes directly after the first season and we get a full on course of the story from the beginning. Unlike some supernatural or ... shoujo stories that concentrates on romance and relationships, Noragami Aragato crafts human emotions out of fantasy. The previous season already build a lot about personal conflicts such as Bishamonten’s troubled past. And in this sequel, it greatly expands on that as she takes vengeance against Yato. It’s simple to say really though. This season is more of an emotional roller coaster ride. From the first few episodes, it’s clearly shown that there’s darker background building through its various flashbacks. Demonstrated by the appeal of character trauma and PTSD-like scenarios, each episode builds up to a grand climax of this season. At the center of it, we have Yato who struggles with his own problems. Although luckily, he still has trustworthy friends like Hiyori and Yukine at his side.

A good portion of the season takes a look at characters from a personal approach. A key character and enemy to Yato is Bishamonten. Her troubled past links with Yato as viewers see how regalias (weapons made from the deceased) were killed by him. So in return, she wishes to gain revenge. Sounds plausible right? There’s actually a lot more story to that and thankfully, this season nails revelations through its precise buildups. From the present viewpoint, the storyline also follows Bishamonten’s followers as they are now. Some of her prominent regalias such as Kazuma and Aiha get their own roles with discrete purpose. At the same time, it creates some tension among her own group as tense feelings are expressed. Similarly, Yukine experiences grief as he loses a friend and learns about the destiny of being a shiki. Furthermore, Yato and Hiyori builds more of their relationship with trust that becomes stronger each episode. This can also be applied to Yato and Yukine as the latter even puts his own life at risk in battle. It goes to show how far these three’s friendship has led to their strong loyalty. Unfortunately, there’s also betrayal as viewers will learn the real mastermind who engineers suffering and despair throughout season. That’s just the first half though, there’s even bigger things that awaits those who is patient and eager to see how far the story develops. These include the origins of masked phantoms, how Gods exists, and what awaits for Yato’s future.

As Bishamonten is upgraded to a much more prominent role this season, it’s also important to realize her character. I think it goes beyond her vengeance against Yato as she is also a character with a compassionate nature. She clearly cares about her regalia both past in the present. And furthermore, she often tries to give those who have no place to go a home that they can appreciate. So no wonder, when her regalias were annihilated in the past, Bishamonten would go into a vengeful frenzy. In addition, Bishamonten is a strong willed woman, the type that doesn’t give up easily. Although her reasoning may have flaws, she is merciless towards her enemies and guards her own personal feelings closely. This sometimes leads to backfire as well when she lets those personal feelings get the best of her that leads to reckless decisions. In retrospect though, I think Bishamonten is definitely a character that is important to the core of this season; whether it’s her personality, morals, or actions.

Although there’s a darker nature of the second season, comedy still retains its comedic nature. So yes, there will be plenty of time to laugh such as with Yato’s childish moments. Anyone familiar with the first season will get to see how Yato’s lack of common sense places him in ridiculous positions. While it may be a bit of or hit or miss at times, Noragami always retains its ability to entertain the audience through clever dialogues. It also shows that Gods can be like humans with their behavior and even relatable through what they do.

Similarly the previous season, studio Bones does a terrific job at working with its animation. The character designs looks clear with Yato as he maintains both a humorous and cool side. Bishamon also returns with her battle gear and tough attitude that is translated by her facial expressions. And that’s a fun thing to look at. Noragami often has fun with itself and this season is no different. Almost every comedic moment is demonstrated with effective expression of character reactions. Whether it’s Yato or some other character, it’s very amusing and feels natural. Hiyori, Yukine, and some of the returning cast also looks good as well while the Phantoms are designed with credibility with their malevolence.

And lastly, we can’t forget about the soundtrack. On a personal level, the first season’s OP song has a catchier song with more stylistic choreography. But after examining at the sequel, I can say with confidence that the new OP song works quite well too. It has a similar style with fast paced action sequences and montage of the main and supporting characters. While there’s some foreshadowing too, the show does a great job with its themes. The OST is also quite noticeable between scenes of sadness, anger, and humor. It’s surprising at how the show can maintain it throughout the entire season.

Noragami Aragato is definitely a sequel that can appeal to just about anyone. Whether you’re looking for some drama, action, or comedy, it has a little bit to offer from all angles. Our main characters return and it’s fun to see where they are now. Bishamonten’s personal rivalry with Yato is a pivotal part of this season so a fan of her character will be in for a treat. And even if you’re not a fan of hers, the season is still entertaining with its concrete storytelling. It’s really a show that’s hard to pass by so what are you waiting for?

The first thing that could be said about the second season of Noragami is that it is arguably better in terms of story and characters than the first season, yet may lack in other departments. This mainly concerns aspects such as expanding on the world and its phantoms, that were enticing in the afore-mentioned one. It is in fact quite an improvement, and was naturally quite enjoyable; nonetheless, it has its flaws as well, which will be discussed below in addition to its strengths.

~Story~

The story follows once again the main protagonists Yato, Yukine and Hiyori and their interactions with the world; yet in this season ... it begins to focus on the goddess of war Bishamon. She is known to be kind, which causes her to take in a lot of shinki's when saving them from phantoms: this will naturally cause her quite some problems, as she isn't able to tend to them all. Pain, insecurity and paranoia are on the order of the day, and the fact that Bishamon hates Yato doesn't ease the situation at all.

The anime doesn't entirely focus on the goddess of war; it also expands on the world of the gods, in addition to their importance. In addition, it provides a bit of an insight in the underworld, while mutually introducing numerous gods and characters. It could be said that the story in mainly character driven, as it expands on Yato's past, as well as Bishamon's and surprisingly, Kazuma. Quite a lot of action was provided, which was well executed - although having its share of plot convenient twists - in addition to keeping good levels of intrigue throughout the series. However, quite some things were very predictable, as well as their respective outcome, which was a bit of a shame.

It also shared its slice of life moments in which it focused more on the female lead character, yet these were uninteresting as it didn't provide any story progression, neither character development. The pacing of the series was overall well done, although it had its share of some inconsistent jumps. However, what was personally a drawback, was the fact that it didn't expand on the different worlds of Noragami, meaning how these are related, as well as the phantoms and how these affect the various worlds.

~Characters~

The cast of characters in Noragami is by no means big; in fact, there are a handful of characters, which are for the most part distinguishable from each other, especially the main cast. Audiences will be rewarded with some more insight in Yato's past, as well some character development, albeit not impressive. This is because the main mysteries surrounding him are still not explained, and in fact, even more were added. Other positive aspect was the explanation on why Bishamon hated Yato, although the reason behind this were quite lackluster.

Moving on to Yukine, who in my opinion was the most intolerable character in the prequel, did undergo some character development. The fact that his constant wining and sudden outbursts were much less pronounced in this season was a welcoming change, yet it still happened, being in some cases overly dramatic. However, the main problem lay with Hiyori, who underwent zero character development, as well as fleshing out. She plays no important role whatsoever, other than just being a female lead who supports Yato. It is as if her problems with the phantom world lay forgotten.

As mentioned earlier, the story also began focusing on some gods, in particular that of Ebisu. Although it was interesting, not enough information was released to even begin to care for the character, hence making the events that follow a bit tensionless. Other gods were introduced as well, yet were never expanded on; some seemed to be interesting character-wise.

~Animation and sound~

The animation quality of Noragami is of high quality, what is expected of a show airing in 2015. The battle scenes are well executed, being diverse and well conveyed to the viewer in addition to being consistent: blood, anger, fear and the likes are well relayed to the viewer. The backgrounds are well drawn and detailed, matching with the different scenes. Character design is appealing to the eye, as well as diverse, yet a bit generic in some instances. In some cases inconsistencies could be found when for example these were in the background.

The soundtrack used is quite strange at first, as viewers from the prequel may have thought as well; nevertheless, it is befitting and catchy is some instances. Voice actors performed their roles well, in most cases matching with the personality of the various characters.

~Enjoyment~

Noragami was overall quite an enjoyable anime which certainly maintained me entertained throughout the whole series with the different aspects and mysteries presented. Expanding on the different character's past was a pleasant sight, although some were annoying, as well as underdeveloped, which was a drawback personally. The art style was nice to look at, as well as the catchy soundtrack. Although the different outcomes where somewhat predictable, in addition to some convenient plot twists which weren't convincing, I certainly could recommend Noragami for an entertaining time. Just don't expect impressive characters or stories.

Thank you for reading.

The refreshing new season of Noragami directly starts off where the prequel ended, continuing to follow the interactions and daily lives of the dynamic trio of Hiyori, Yukine, and Yato. As a new season unfolds, new characters, relationships, and secrets are introduced. Past questions and plot holes as seen in the previous season now have answers.

Yato’s infamous line of, “You, who desecrate this Land of the Rising Sun. With the advent, I [Yatogami], lay waste with the [Sekki] and expel thy vast defilement. Rend!” makes a comeback in this season still accompanied by the famous usual track of “Noratan”. However, this season’s OST lineup ... is far more captivating, emotional, and energetic. The diverse OST has songs ranging from classical, dubstep, electro house, and even rap. The songs are beautifully integrated throughout the series’ heightening moments of hype and grief. Altogether, the Noragami series is known for its OST and new catchy OP (Kyouran Hey Kids!! By THE ORAL C!GARETTES).

The new season begins to unravel with the introduction of the Bishamon arc. As seen in the prequel, Yato and Bishamon hold grudges dating back centuries, their resentment for one another remains unknown to the audience. However, this arc does a great job of slowly unraveling the history and past of the two Gods and their regalia. Flashbacks and dialogues are naturally integrated, making the story interesting yet easy to follow. Not only does this arc dissolve the bad blood between the God of War and God of Calamity, but it also strengthens the relationship between them. Through this arc, new understandings and relationships are formed between characters, furthering their trust, faith, and hope in one another.

The second arc of the season introduces a new character: Ebisu. Ebisu, the God of Fortune is comically portrayed as the generic everyday Japanese salaryman. His introduction is rather abrupt, with little to no background information known about him. At first, this made me wonder if it was worth the time getting to understand his character making it difficult to feel emotionally connected to him. However, as the story progresses, the series does a great job of revealing his troubling past and motives, but unlike the Bishamon arc, it felt rather rushed. As the arc and series were near its end, closure was done in an awkward manner making the latter half of the series lackluster in comparison to the first half. Despite this problem, the arc still managed to tackle important personal revelations made by Yato.

Although the series caters to the battle shounen audience, it does a great job avoiding common tropes that are typically seen. Unlike popular shounen heroes, Yato is a complex character shrouded in mystery, where his past is slowly being uncovered by those closest to him. Once known as the God of Calamity, Yato’s past plays an important role in his shortcomings, forcing him to fall into a state of vulnerability numerous times. Friendship remains an important recurring theme that allows Yatogami to hold onto his humanity and slowly transform into the individual he desires to become.

Noragami Aragato as a whole does a beautiful job of amplifying the character development and storytelling, furthering the emotional bonds and ties between Hiyori, Yukine, and Yato. The trio’s chemistry and friendship can be described as a puzzle with its pieces fitting together perfectly. Each individual’s weaknesses and strengths bounce and play off of each other creating balance. What one lacks, the others possess. Despite their growth, moments of vulnerability, insecurity, and instability also continue to plague Yato. These brief moments of doubt reveal how Gods, figures of authority, worshipped by followers and the common also manifest very humanlike qualities, making them realistic and relatable to the audience. They too give rise to temptation, lust, greed, and fear.

Overall, this series is highly enjoyable and worth the watch, especially if you enjoyed the prequel. However, the ending cruelly hints at more and without a third season announcement your only option is the manga.

Noragami is a very enjoyable and fun anime in today's modern anime seasons filled with pretty bad generic ecchi and shounen boy content over and over. It has a very deep underling to the story itself and expands on it pretty well to a point. The soundtrack is absolutely stunning and fits the mood of the story very well both in up and down moments.

Unfortunately the story actually does fall very short to what would be considered a very complete storyline. It feels very rushed and goes from a very good story arch that was continued from the previous season, with the God of War, ... to a tacked on story about randomly controlling phantoms. This pretty much happens in the span of a few episodes, and fills the role of the climax of the show. With little to no build up to this plot point. It felt almost rushed to guarantee they got this point of the plot in the season so they didn't have to hope they got a season 3 to continue it, all while dropping the "to be continued" ending. It tried to make me care for a character with little screen time prior to these episodes, and therefore i didn't really feel too much a connection with them. All while shotgunning their life in about one episode. While it was a good plot line and it was a good character, it was very rushed to a point it was annoying to watch. The other points in the plot dealing with the more main characters were very good, and the development of those characters over time were really interesting to watch. However, the main focus of the anime seemed to steer off the development of these characters and made it more of a side point.

The artwork and sound were absolutely amazing. The OST is probably one of the most enjoyable OSTs I've ever listened to. The sound as well in conjunction with the OST in important parts or low parts in the anime matched perfectly and heightened my enjoyment of the show. The colors bursting from the screen to help give the show more flair is a huge enjoyment boost, and made the viewing experience enjoyable.

Overall the show was extremely enjoyable, the characters were lovable and interesting, the comedy in the show didn't distract from the serious parts. Combined with the sounds and art, the show was absolutely great. However the main story seems to be thrown into a disarray about halfway through, and it feels rushed.

Regular readers might remember that I dropped the first Noragami back when it aired because my tolerance for shonen action stuff was less then than it is now and I was still in that Jojo phase where everything I see of the genre from here on out would be a disappointment by comparison. However, once I had exited that phase, gained more of an interest in religion (that is, stories that apply religion rather than actual beliefs themselves) so I could understand better why people liked it, and learned of the sequel's existence, I watched the whole thing on Netflix and...well let's just say I ... got through Nana in the span of a week and despite Noragami's much shorter length, it took me five days to finish it. It had a lot of interesting things to it, but so much time was spent on Yukine's stuff to the point of annoyance, and the final bad guy...I don't even remember what his deal was and I doubt anyone else does either. Nevertheless, I was looking forward to the sequel since fans told me that from here on out was when the series got into the meaty stuff and unlike light novels (looking at you...not gonna bother naming names), manga actually have a tendency to do that. And you know what? They were right.

With all the setup from what I can only describe as an incredibly overlong prologue completed, Noragami delves more into actual character struggles with this sequel as we focus on the truth behind Bishamon's hatred for Yato, Yato's previous familiar and her new owner, and Yato himself as we learn just how important being a god with an actual shrine is to him, along with what he'd do to accomplish said goal. The series takes a darker direction in order to tackle these arcs properly, with a bunch of arc-specific characters getting the ax and the shonen-esque humor involving Yato doing something stupid and Hiyori freaking out at his actions is toned down to only a single episode and one or two moments elsewhere. Now I make a policy to not spoil major events in my reviews unless it's bad enough to the point that no one with any sense of reality would bother defending, so I can't really tell you what actually happens in the show. But I will say that it's cool to see Yato make dual-wielding cool again after Kirito rained all over Lloyd Irving's parade and will continue to do so for a long time.

Most of the non-story related good about Aragoto is pretty much the same good that was in Noragami, so there's no point in really describing it. Characters are still fun. Animation is still nice. Soundtrack is fitting. Blablabla. Actually, I'm surprised by how much I've grown to like Noragami's cast over time. I kinda forgot everyone but Bishamon and the main trio by the time the second season hit, so it was nice for me to remember more characters' names this go around. Well okay, I still can't remember the name of the "bad luck" god without using Wikipedia, but at least I remember she exists now. Amazing what giving some personal flaws and having said flaws fuel arcs can do for someone, isn't it Kazuma?

What I like about Noragami over say, Jojo, is that all the shonen action and character tropes are ultimately an accessibility tool for the mainstream crowd in order to explore actual religious lore and provide serious takes on what Japanese gods are being treated like today rather than the reverse the latter utilizes with its movie tributes and obsession with poses. Having said that, Noragami still hasn't fixed its problem of occasionally making things a little too accessible to the point that it sacrifices story impact. Whilst the Bishamon arc has been hyped as one of they greatest story moments of the series, I honestly prefer the one where Yato visits Izanami and causes Hiyori to almost forget him mainly because the former had a tendency to pull its punches right when it needed to squeeze the trigger. Gonna be hard to say why without spoilers, but basically a giant portion of the conflict was based around a stupid misunderstanding, the character who caused said misunderstanding to happen got off with a slap on the wrist after everything was over, and the true bad guy of that arc turned incredibly generic in the end, Tiger and Bunny-style. It's the biggest, but by no means the only time when Noragami seems to struggle with meshing the desires of the casual crowd and the elitist crowd into something that'll please them both.

And similar to another shonen action anime that delved into serious issues, Tokyo Ghoul, whilst the action is pretty good for the most part, I'm not a fan of how shonen-esque it can be at times. You know, with all the cheesy lines and exposition mixed into all the fighting, along with how they stretch the fights out by revealing a loophole that was never hinted at before? It's like if you made a movie adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days that tried to impart the impact of Phileas Fogg's grand adventures through ludicrous karate fights with some of the locals he encounters...oh wait.

But those faults are hardly wait throwing the anime into Hell for, especially with everything else the show has going for it. In a medium where good follow-ups are harder to find than a presidential candidate that doesn't come with enough asterisk marks attached to their speeches to fill up ten pages in Microsoft Word, Noragami Aragoto should be held as a good standard for how anime sequels should be. Don't give us more of the same. Use what you had previously for something new, preferably bigger and better. And before people comment on this, I mean bigger and better whilst still retaining focus in the vein of something like The Dark Knight. Not the retardedly unfocused bigger and better that Resident Evil devolved into with its sixth installment.

All that said, I'm still not ready to consider Noragami a great anime as of yet. It feels like there's a bunch of cannons within its narrative that it has yet to fire, and whilst the ones that it has fired are quite loud, there's a bit of an annoying "okay, that's enough for today" after-feel to them by the time the series ends, right down to the main trio still having their relationship be the same as always, along with an incredibly unsubtle sequel hook that I am neither excited nor opposed to seeing what comes of it. The show is fun, but by the time it was over, I was already set to move on to the next thing with zero inclination to give it a second look. But who knows? Maybe the next Noragami sequel will change my mind. And then maybe the Republicans will stop denying the existence of global warming when the incredibly large amounts of evidence is shoved in their faces.

I had very high expectations for the second season of Noragami and it did not let me down. Aragoto was absolutely amazing! I loved every second of it. In this season, you learn a lot more about Bishamon and her past. You also get to know more about Bishamons regalia, Kazuma, who will most likely become one of your favorite characters. The fight scenes are very exciting to watch. They will have you on the edge of your seats. The next arc has a lot about Yato's relationship with Nora. This was also a very good arc. I also prefer this opening to the ... first season. Aragoto only made me love Noragami more and deserves a season 3. I definitely will be collecting all the mangas.

Noragami Aragoto ノラガミ Review


Story (8/10) Very Good

Noragami Aragoto takes too arcs from the manga and adapts them in 13 episodes and as an anime only watcher I feel it was done very well from a pacing stand point. Only one episode really felt episodic and out of place but it wasn't a bad episode to say the least. Although the first arc felt more compelling than the second they both connected well when it came to Bishamon's character development, characterization and her relationship towards the MC. It left the ending of this season with a teaser of what's to come which I felt was ... a very good cliff hanger and I hope it get's a season 3 to continue it.


Art and Animation (8/10) Very Good

Bones did a very good job animating this season nothing mind blowing but it was still an eye candy to some extent. I do felt last season was animated a bit better but I guess that's only because of the final battle in season 1 that made me feel that way. Either way the art style and animation in the season was very good.


Sound (9/10) Great

The BGM, voice acting (in both JP and Dub although the JP was better the Dub wasn't bad the only voice who doesn't fit their character in the dub is the MC himself) and opening music are all great in this season. I started watching it in Sub but then moved over to Dub even though I'm not a fan of Yato's voice it didn't bother me enough to not watch it but it was enough to point out.


Characters (8/10) Very Good
More Specifically (8.75/10) Very Good+

The characters in this season are all very good, almost every character got very good character development and are more likable this time around vs back in season 1.


Enjoyment (8/10) Very Good

My enjoyment was very good even though I started watching this anime when it first aired and I put it on hold and didn't finish it until now. I still enjoyed my time with this season and I feel I enjoyed it more binge watching it as I did the first.


Overall (8/10) Very Good
More Specifically (8.35/10) Very Good

I felt Noragami Aragoto is a bit better than the first, I think it's a very good anime to binge watch like I said before and the pacing was well done. For them to cover to arcs in 13 episodes and not make it feel rush I think is an accomplishment.

P.S. This is my first review. So please, bear with it.

Story - 10/10

Still great as always! It started from a "Slice of life"-like genre to a Dark Action theme. More past stories has been revealed, more plot twists will eventually unfold. Well, I can say that the plot "Escalated quickly" *insert that escalated quickly meme here*. I mean Noragami's story line is immediately exposed to the anime, no fillers at this moment. Episode 7's preview made me love it even more.

I was dumbfounded when I watched Episode 8 zzz ASDFGHJKL! I wanna curse but, I can't. The new arc is. just. so. NOOOO!! IT CAN'T ... BE! NOOOOOOOO!

Episode 11 is just, PLAIN AWESOOME! ASDFGHJK. CAN'T WAIT TO WATCH THE NEXT EPISODE zzz I almost died in ****'s speech. But, the ending is such a cliffhanger. It definitely needs a 3rd season.

Art - 11/10

The art is just so asdfghjl! It's way too coooool! The animations fight scenes, the animated characters, and all! It's way too coooool! I mean, I'm pretty judgmental in terms of art, if the art doesn't look good, there's a huge probability that I'll not watch the anime. But this anime? With no second thoughts, I started watching this anime since the 1st season.

Sound - 10/10

Starting from the first season until this season, the OST of Noragami never failed to amuse me. Especially the opening soundtracks, I just don't know. I like it! XD I even have the Opening Song in my iTunes.

Character - 10/10

The characters are well made. Some of them even changed personalities in this season. Specially ******, I hate him. But I won't say it in order to make this review "Spoiler Free" :p And also, I highly ship Yato x Hiyori xD (ep. 2 I guess) wait til' you see it :D

Enjoyment - 10/10

My Noragami hype is still the same as the first season! I really enjoy this season. Cool storyline, plot twists, fight scenes, and "same old jokes". Some jokes are repeated from the first season but, I still like it ;)
I REALLY LOVE THIS

Amongst the many sequels I've seen from 2015's offerings, the biggest and most welcome improvement I've seen would be from Noragami Aragoto. Even though I still like the 1st season, the fact remains that all we got was a basic introduction the characters before Angsty the Ghost and some boring filler antagonist took over the 2nd half. This time, Noragami brings out the big bats and swings hard, real hard.

On top of doing what any good shonen ought to past the introductory phase by introducing higher stake conflicts (something I felt was sorely lacking in the 1st season) this season gives even more focus to ... the Gods themselves and what it takes to have that kind of status when imbued with emotions shared by the people that worship theme on top of their flawed ideologies. This, of course, means that Yukine and Hiyori feel more like they're a part of the periphery this time around, but I don't think this equates to either of them getting the shaft at all. Whilst I’m not a big fan of seeing Hiyori play the role of damsel in distress, her presence in the 2nd half of the season as the primary reason for Yato keeping himself tethered to a life of peace (away from bad influences like Yato's Nora, who alway seems to be ready to lead Yato astray) and even to his very existence is enough for me. She feels more like an accessory to Yato than an interesting character in her own right, but she’s a fine accessory nonetheless. Despite also not being a central character in either of the arcs this season, Yukine has still come a pretty long way from the lad who only thought about his misfortunes. Anyone who found themselves at their wit's end as a result of his endless whining will be happy to find out that Yukine has permanently washed all the salt out of his boipussy. I think it’s also worth noting how characters like Yato, Bishamon and Ebisu have a lot more worth looking into because of their long, tragic histories. The Gods ought to be the ones driving the story here, and that's what this second season gets.

This time, we're split between two arcs. The 1st is centered around a mobilizing threat within Bishamon's ranks, consisting of scores of regalia picked up over the years. What made this arc work is the way in which it is driven by the flaws of the characters, and forces them to come terms with those flaws. Bishamon's main flaw being her Mother Theresa-esque impulses that compel her to collect as many needy regalia like some kind of compulsive cat hoarder. She lacked the proper means to properly shower love upon the many she has taken in, yet continues to bear the physical side-effects of maintaining a link with so many fallible souls. Kugaha, the antagonist of this arc, and one of Bishamon's most trusted regalia works as some kind of master manipulator of sorts in the way he schemes to eliminate everything between him and the creation of his idealized version of his master. The idea behind his character is a very interesting one. His motives aren't selfish, as he treats his actions as if they're bitter but necessary pills for Bishamon to swallow. The arc also highlights a lot of the problems with the God/regalia system as Kuguha is always able to use loopholes as workarounds for his heinous acts. We also learn a great deal about Kazuma (a character who appeared in the 1st season yet didn't leave much of an impression) and his complicated history with Bishamon and the burden he carries as her exemplar, which makes an already good arc even better, If their's anything wrong with this arc, then it's the fact that the way it wraps up was not quite as impactful as it should have been, as the consequences for the chaos that was the climax weren't quite there. A painful lesson for the main characters of a story ought to be painful for the audience as well, and I think Noragami Aragoto let me down a little in this regard.

I don't have as much to say about the following arc as it didn't quite have the emotional highs of Bishamon's story, but it remained fairly strong from beginning to end nonetheless. The 2nd half of this season focuses on a newly introduced God, Ebisu, one of the Seven Gods of fortune (the real Ebisu, not that pink-haired, disaster-bringing piece of waifu material). Bishamon's arc made it clear that no one can pass judgment a God. Ebisu's arc, however, makes it clear that law only applies to those of the Near Shore, and that under the scrutiny of the heavens, a God must tread carefully. Historically speaking, Ebisu is a God that is prone to making bold moves (as is proven by the fact that he has a reputation of being killed and reincarnated for more regularly than his fellow deities). As a result, his current incarnation is not afraid to break the ironclad laws even Gods must abide by with his fascination with the idea of controlling phantoms. Initially framed as an antagonist, through his interactions with Yato, we get a much better picture of what Ebisu is aiming for and the type of God he really is. Speaking of Yato, he also gets some much-needed development with this storyline, as in the previous arc he was more of a supporting character necessary for getting the plot moving. Here we get a much fuller picture of not only the God he once was, but the God he wants to become. In doing so, Norgami's already likable lead character make his leap into being truly lovable here.

With the story lines presented this season, I say that the combination of Bones and Adachitoka (the original mangaka) lead to the creation of something that soundly nails all of the requirements expected of a worthwhile sequel. Compounding all of the emotional devastation, is Taku Iwasaki's return as the composer. Once again his distinctive South Asian influences are instantly identifiable, and the fantastic composition and music selection are always welcome additions to any scene at hand. Not only that but the opening theme, Kyouran Hey Kids! is cool as hell. Whilst obviously not without its share of blemishes (a couple of questionable decisions script-wise on top of what I described with Bishamon's arc and the fact the art quality dips somewhat in later episodes), there are still a lot of reasons to look forward to another season. I just hope it won't take so long to announce this time!

Fall 2015 was a season filled to the brim with disappointments. Things like the failed trio of shows developed by Silver Link to other spinoffs and shows that just didn't really get up there in terms of quality. Thankfully, Bones was able to provide us a second adaptation to the Noragami series to make up where the other shows failed or didn't do as proficiently.

Story: Aragato, as I will refer to this second season of Noragami as, continues the story of the our titular main trio of characters, Yato, Hiyori, and Yukine as they continue fighting Phantoms and dealing with various ... godly issues.

From a story standpoint, Aragato picks up directly where the first season ended, moving onto two more arcs, the Bishamon and Ebisu arcs, where the show puts more focus on those characters rather than our main cast. What makes this season different than the first one is how more developed the world is. More of the world of gods is introduced to us, as well as the backstory to previously unknown developments in the first season, including who Yato is (kind of), and what was up with Bishamon's boundless hatred towards Yato.

One more thing that makes this season better is the fact that the show really puts focus on Yato as a character, as the arcs that are presented here really put emphasis onto Yato as a character and really develop him as he works his way up the proverbial 'corporate ladder' in order to become an important god. Not only for Yato though, the story arcs that are presented also develop the characters that they're named after; the Bishamon and Ebisu arcs. These gods in addition get quite a bit of attention and really make sense.

All in all, the big issue that I have with this show is the fact that the show didn't really put much emphasis on Hiyori or Yukine. Sure, the show was never really about either one of them personally, but as members of the main cast, they weren't really all THAT important in context, and because the show focused on Yato primarily, they were shelved off to the side most of the time. Also, the last episode wasn't really all that grand. It just kinda trailed off after everything happened. I know the climax happened before, but it just seemed like it was just leading into another season which I do hope we get, cause this story is really good.

Overview:
+ Character development
+ Interesting story arcs
- Kind of a bland end

Characters: As mentioned before, the characters for Noragami are more or less split into characters that carry a lot of weight for the show, or just simply add to the story.

Up first, we have Yato, the main protagonist in this entire Japanese god story. Reprising his role as the Delivery God, Yato himself takes a huge brunt of development in this story, particularly in the second half, as he aids the two featured gods in this season with their issues and problems. Yato changes, he changes over the course of the entire season so much that you the growth really becomes apparent from episode to episode. It's great change that is really appreciated because you don't get to see the amount of development or attention he gets all that much anymore.

Other characters that deserve mention are Ebisu and Bishamon. As the two other gods that take the main role in this season, both of these gods have issues and major problems that Yato spends the entire arc fixing and helping. In addition to Yato changing, these gods of fortune are shown to alter themselves as time goes on, growing alongside our main character, creating a change that is both noticeable and pleasant to watch. (Sadly, I can't say how or why because...spoilers.)

The one problem I have about this season comes with the fact that Hiyori and Yukine both are sort of shafted to the sidelines. Both of these characters while extremely important in the first season, don't really have all that much of an impact as a whole in Aragato. They're important to some extent, adding to the series since they are the two most important people to Yato, but in terms of importance and development, they don't really contribute to that aspect all too much.

Other characters for the most part serve a similar role to Hiyori and Yukine. Since they are more or less related to the respective gods that they are associated with, (Like Kazuma to Bishamon), their change or role in the series stems off from that part about them and really nothing else. That's not to say that's a bad thing since they're supporting cast, yet they still take a good foothold and have quite a lot of importance in the series.

Overview:
+ Good character development for featured gods
+ Good supporting cast
- Most of the Main cast gets kind of shafted...

Art: The animation for Aragato was produced by Studio Bones, and as such, hosts a fantastic artstyle that reflects the style of the series. The artwork is very clean and holds both a mystical and eerie tone to it, as the Phantoms and Yomi both have that feel to it.

in addition, the fluidity of the battle scenes and the appearance of the more magical aspects (like huge magical rings) are both outstanding to look at. While maybe not as fantastic as other things in terms of staggering beauty in terms of fight scenes like other fight scenes in recent years, but it's still great to look at.

Overview:
+ Good, clean art
+ Fight scene fluidity

Sound: Like last season, Noragami employed a rock band to give us once again, another great OP by the name of "Hey Kids" by the Oral Cigarettes which is not only an action heavy song that fits with the visuals of the OP, but is also very memorable and quite addicting to listen to.

The ED on the other hand doesn't really fit with the show as it sounds...rather happy and joyful. It's pretty memorable and it's a good song but...it doesn't really fit Noragami.

Overview:
+ Great and memorable songs
- ED doesn't really fit...

Personal Enjoyment: I enjoy Noragami. As a series, it boasts a lot of connection to Shintoism and has great and enjoyable characters in addition to a very engaging plot that never deviates from what it wants to do. It's a consistently great series that I very much enjoy watching.

Did I like this anime?

Noragami is a series that never fails to impress me. There are virtually no flaws with it as for me, it never fails to engage me into its plot and throughout the whole series, I never lost any interest in watching it. It gripped me in and I was always happy to see another epsiode come in.

What didn't I like about this anime?

I'm not a big fan of the fact that Hiyori and Yukine both really never make too much of an impact in this season. Sure they are in the show and they help move the plot along quite frequently and well, but they just felt a lot less important this season and as such, I was a bit disappointed simply because they didn't have as much impact on the plot as they did before.

Would I recommend this anime?

Overall, Noragami as a series is one that I would recommend to watch. It's a very well written story that I feel is just good period, something that you don't normally see with a lot of anime these days. It's not without its flaws, but they're not so glaring that they would hinder the watching of the series. That being said, only watch Aragato after the first season because it wouldn't really make sense to watch season 2 before season 1.

If you are into anime with Plot twist extreme action complicated plot then this anime is right for you this anime is one of the most amazing anime i have ever seen the plot was very nice that after watching you can say Oh wow!! Not just that this anime can really teach us a lesson about life this anime never fails me to get suprised at each episode getting excited.
The opening was really Amazing!!.That ending though is really unexpected that season 3 will surely be more exciting looking forward into it ^,^

Overall: 10/10

This anime was really overhelming that u could feel the same way ... as the characters did at the story.

I am predicting that Yato and Hiyori will be together unless there are some serious plot twist in the next season.

A bond between friends of any amount can be strong when you have shared all of your interests, strengths, and weaknesses to help understand one another. Similar to how friendship is portrayed in the story, a convincing company involving people that try to fight off whatever conflicts they must face can be an emotional roller coaster of an experience. Sometimes this can be accomplished by simply adding enough time for us to take in that they have grown together as friends before the inevitable climax. At first, I loved this friendship that Noragami presented in its first season. Now I’ve gravitated towards them in the ... sequel.

My love for Noragami has always been for the characters. I’ve always loved their charisma, high-energy shenanigans, and the great chemistry that they create from their dialogue and actions. Not only did the writing serve a part in making this a reality, but also the talented voice cast honed their voices for their roles to make each character distinctive and memorable. With Aragoto, things have started to change dramatically. There is less comedy and more dramatic story arcs than in the previous season, which was, for the most part, pretty light-hearted, mostly due to the jokey protagonist, Yato. My only big issue with this season is that I wasn’t a big fan of the first season's heavy plot elements of the 1st season as much as the comedy bits. I wished there was more of it in this one than just serving it mostly on the first three episodes.

Despite my complaint, I did find myself enthralled by how they did justice to the serious undertones of the series. My favorite main story arc, in particular, was the first one involving Bishamon and her regalia. The reason is that the story arc brings something new to the series that shifts a character into being three-dimensional rather than one that is one-note. I know she has a place in the story involving Yato because of her dark past, so her being a part of the story makes sense at adds a layer of depth to her that was desperately needed. Heading off after that arc is the biggest one in the season involving Yato confronting the demons of his past. I felt this wasn’t nearly as strong as I hoped it to be. Some parts felt rushed. That didn’t feel like a natural progression of Yato being a killing machine after being taken away from his friends. Not a bad arc to go through, but it could have been paced better with a few more episodes.

Noragami has proven itself worthy of being a solid action anime with its spectacular artwork and animation. I’ve always loved the color palettes the studio used to create a visual atmosphere of different kinds. Whether it is bright and colorful when the series is generally comedic and goofy or dark and cryptic whenever there is a dark and sinister moment to help gravitate the viewer into a distinctive mood. Of course, this mood is also supported by the talented voice cast who do their job splendidly well, with Hiroshi Kamiya as Yato doing one of the best roles in his entire career. The voice cast is one of the other big reasons why Yukine, Hiyori, and Yato’s chemistry works because the actors all play off each other naturally.

As multiple sequels kept trudging along these past seasons, Noragami Aragoto has done the series a favor of improving previous problems I had with the story by adding in one that felt like it had some depth. Some minor issues keep it from being the magnificence of what many might have hoped for. That all comes down to what they will do next. Hopefully, one with more laughs and less dreariness.

Grade: A-

Hey folks, this will be a review for Noragami Aragoto. This second season did better than the first.

The story picks up after the events of the first. Yato and Bishamon are now the main focus of the first part of the story. The old hatred sparks up and events arise that cause these two to fight one another. We get to learn about all the events surrounding them and its a decent arc for lore purposes. It also has some plot holes. The gods(or at least Yato) are capable of teleportation which typically only gets used to quickly skip unimportant events, and never used ... to solve issues. Gods also feel everything that their divine instruments feel, yet somehow mysteries arise around Bishamon that shouldn't be a secret to her. Maybe I am wrong or misunderstand but it feels like the gods powers are used as a convenience and never as actual power to aid them when needed.

After the Bishamon arc we get a quicker pace story, Hiyori granting Yato one of his wishes. Yato getting into trouble with Nora and the ending. I don't want to spoil it but the story this season was pretty well done. I enjoyed the ending episodes immensely.

Art and sound about the same as the first season.

The characters have gotten a little more easy to listen to. Hiyori is still like Yato's more annoying Kagome. This time she had little in the way of screen time, other than a driver for certain actions. Yukine also calmed down a bit, though he did have some childish outbursts but nothing so annoying you would feel like strangling him like the first season. Yato again has some funny and great moments then gets serious and has a few really good moments towards the end. This season did a lot to tone down the annoying, but it did nothing to increase knowledge.

I enjoyed this season more than the first, however it still felt like it could have been better. The constant annoying characters, the lack of dialogue, the constant misunderstanding and miscommunication makes it feel like force drama. The comedy was decent but not explored. The story isn't really existent, its more of the life of a god of calamity. This could have been better by simply picking a direction or even working more on the characters, simple things that even some low quality harems can do. Even after all the negatives the anime itself is still fun, and enjoyable and I'm glad I've seen it. I recommend it still, but don't go into it thinking its going to be the perfect show some make it out to be.


TLDR: Pretty good again. Ending was great, characters a little less obnoxious, worth watching. Would recommend.

Its sorta hard to predict how any anime by Studio Bones is going to turn out. Sometimes they could end up being rather passable, or even incredibly memorable and well written (i.e Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Darker than Black). On the other hand, they could end up being complete and utter failures (i.e Zetsuen no Tempest). Noragami fits nicely between the two; a mediator amidst the good and the bad.

Let it be known that I found the first season to be somewhat of a mediocrity. As far as urban fantasy goes, it didn’t do much to stand out from its peers and felt a tad ... bit too similar to other shows of the same genre. Sure, I mean there were some interesting concepts and some witty character interactions here and there, but it never felt like the show executed them as effectively as I would have hoped. The series, after all, is what would happen if you decided to mesh both ‘Bleach’ and ‘Soul Eater’ together. For most of its runtime, it was mainly filler, and the story arc it dealt with deviated way too much from its source material as it got closer to the end. Not to mention, it was rushed beyond belief. With 12 episodes, and only a fraction of it having anything to do with fleshing out the world and its characters, it barely felt like Noragami even amounted to much. With Aragoto however, Bones finally catches up to its source material and adds more substance that, honestly, should have existed in the first season beforehand.

Viewers should be aware that this is a direct sequel, and newcomers stumbling across this with little to no knowledge of that will be confused and lost. The highlight of the story this time around, is that there is less focus on the various “side jobs” the main heroes must pursue, and more of an overarching storyline. This, thankfully, removes a lot of the filler elements that the first season toyed around with. I mean sure fellas, its nice and all to watch Yato and co goof around while pulling off comedic chibi faces every now and then, but it becomes bothersome when that is literally 80% of the show.

The show is split into two arcs, which are aptly named the “Bishamon arc,” and the “Ebisu arc” respectively. Both are quite different in their own right with the first one being a rather emotional insight into Bishamon’s character and her conflict with Yato, and the second one introducing a location known as “The Underworld” into the mix. Both arcs exhibit higher stakes compared to the first season, which I highly appreciate. At least now, people die this season, and there’s this feeling that not everybody, not even the main cast, is safe. However, problems soon arise when you try to dig deeper into the show on a less superficial level. For one, there were many moments where the writers seemed to have just pulled out random explanations from their asses to justify a certain event happening on screen that would otherwise seem implausible. Without spoiling anything, there’s this one scene where a character is dragged into the underworld and is suddenly brought back up into the real world through some half-assed plot contrivance. There were also multiple other moments like that which grinded my critical mind, but that situation was particularly distracting.

The biggest issue I have with Aragoto, was that it doesn’t seem to be any different from other shonen titles I’ve been willingly exposed to. The story is rather predictable, and you can tell how the events are going to coincide from the very first episode or so. It is also lacking tremendously when it comes to worldbuilding. The human world is still given higher priority over the lands that the deities originate from, which wouldn’t have posed a problem if the human world were any bit interesting. Though it’s not nearly as prevalent as the first season, I just felt like there wasn’t enough screentime or insight into some of the mystical locales. Much like other shonen titles, there’s a lot of infodumping and monologuing that often takes me out of the mood it’s trying to set up. Nothing is conveyed with any degree of subtlety, and the characters often stop dead in their tracks to explain to viewers in a highly explanatory fashion, as if they have no respect for our intelligence. Like jeez, we get it, we know… The same goes for the monologues. Though monologuing can be a useful storytelling technique (‘March comes like a Lion’ is a recent example of a great anime that takes advantage of it to build up its main character and let audiences in on his mentality on a more personal level), oftentimes it’s highly abused by a vast number of titles. It should be used to get us to relate on a deeper level to their thoughts, not to convey information that us audience members have clearly just witnessed happen on screen. To give an example, a character would get attacked, and immediately another character would think to himself aloud, “holy shit, that guy just got attacked!” Its lazy and insulting to the viewer’s intelligence. And the problem with this, is that it’s used commonly in most anime. And it completely bugs me. Show don’t tell, guys!

The cast thankfully have a lot more development this time around. Yato’s and Bishamon’s backstories are explored in much greater depth than ever before, leading to both actually developing as characters. In fact, a lot of the characters from the first season have their backgrounds and personalities expanded upon. Yato is basically just himself for most of the time, so if you like Hiyoshi Kamiya channelling his inner Koyomi Araragi, then you’ll find much solace here. But we do get greater insight into his relationship with other characters, therefore allowing us to see him grow from this egotistical doofus into a loyal friend who would do anything for his companions. The bond between him, Yukine, and Hiyori feels more palpable this time around as audiences will further bear witness to their interactions. Yukine in particular, grows from a whiny, spineless git into a headstrong, self-assured spirit weapon who’s more devoted to his master than ever. Hiyori is just bloody useless though. She barely does anything in the sequel, apart from yelling Yato’s name here and there. I wouldn’t be surprised if she becomes the next Orihime or Lucy or Sakura in the next season. Her arc, which is basically a romantic subplot, is just too sappy for my tastes and adds very little to the overall plot. Seriously, why do most shows these days, not just anime, feel the desire to shoehorn in love triangles? Some characters also feel like they’ve gotten shafted. Kofuku and her regalia for example, still feel shallow in contrast to our main heroes and exist solely for comic relief. The show also tries to introduce more and more characters as the episodes fly by, most of which get little to no screentime. There’s this one fella that befriends Yukine in an earlier episode, but then gets axed brutally like around two episodes later. His death is prolonged in a very dramatic manner, as if the writers expect us to care on an emotional level for him. Sorry, but it had barely any effect on me. I mean, I barely even knew the fella. He’s like a stranger to me. But so far, characterization is a massive improvement from the first series and hopefully, the third season will improve on it. But that’s not saying much, because the first season barely had any characterization.

Animation is pretty much on par for Bones standards. The backgrounds are very rich and detailed, with a lot of emphasis to making them look absolutely gorgeous. The Underworld for example, is given a much-needed feeling of helplessness, isolation and dread to complement its grim atmosphere. Animation quality is usually very good as expected of Bones, but the first episode does have some glaring off model shots. For instance, there were numerous creepy shots of with practically no faces. This would annoy a lot of the viewers on their first go, and probably creep out others. It could act as an effective way to give people goosebumps, if it weren’t for the fact that it’s a noticeable animation error. Fight scenes are erratic and exhilarating, with a lot of fluid movements and supernatural abilities on display to keep viewers enthralled. There are also some tense sequences which should keep you on the edge of your seats. So fans of battle shonen are going to be invested at the very least.

The music is done by Taki Iwasaki who has incorporated a lot of eastern and middle eastern tunes to the mix. A lot of the tracks are reused from the first season, but I didn’t mind it for most of those tracks were incredibly pleasing to the ears. Sadly though, the new tracks themselves feel completely different from Iwasaki’s usual stuff and are, unfortunately, quite forgettable.

Overall, Noragami Aragoto, despite being a much-needed improvement to the first season in terms of pacing, character development and overall sense of progression, is still a rather average shonen experience. Fans of the first season are in for a treat (especially those who felt that it was lacking in terms of substance), but for folks who hated or didn’t find it as good as people made it out to be, will not feel all that different. If you have not watched the first season then I urge you to do so if you’re interested in checking out Aragoto as you’ll be completely confused if you hadn’t done so.

This is for me the best anime I've ever seen well, I know I'm just new to anime but still...

Season 2 is much better than season 1 which was also amazing!
I don't think there is someone that doesn't like Yato, he's soooo funny and amazing! His facial expressions are hilarious!! xD

The story is also great, I've heard that season 3 will come out this winter which made me so happy!
I just bought the manga (1&2) And I can tell that it's a bit different, It starts with something different but I love the manga!!

Yukine is also such a cutie, in the ... first season I didn't really liked him but he gets much better at the second season!

Hiyori is so beautiful but she looks a bit different in the manga but still great!! I ship Hiyori & Yato soooo much ♥
I can't wait for season 3.

I recommend this anime for people who likes: supernatural, action, adventure ect..

I'm obsessed with Yato and I'm sure everyone is after watching this anime!!
My first expression wasn't really positive because the cover photo, I found it too childish or something.. But after I've watched it, It was like... I can't even describe it xD But the truth is always like: ''Never judge a book by it's cover.''

This is my second review and I hope this will be a help!

Noragami was one anime that I am charmed, so my expectations with his second season were high. There are no disappointment. The history is interesting enough, starting discovering Yato's past and that of Bishamon, though there were some chapters that turned out to be heavier, everything was enough good. The this animation well and Noragami's soundtrack always gives to speak (The OP might be considered of the best of the season). I liked characters enough in this season, showing a VERY MARKED evolution in the already mentioned "enemies" (Vena and Yaboku) of the series. Kazuma and Yukine also showed an evolution though minor. Enjoy ... it enough, I am waiting for a third season.

Season 2 of Noragami comes with a surprising number of arcs and character developments that makes Yukine's arc from season one seem like a little bump in the road.

Plot 9/10

The season follows two main storylines both very emotional. Bishamon and why she hates Yato, Ebisu and his end goal.
Bishamon got the lion share (pun not intended) due to getting more screen time and because of the personal connection she has with Yato. Still, both were very interesting and rather heavy emotionally.

Characters 10/10

The characters change as the story progresses yet they remain themselves. Not an easy thing to do while keeping the character 3-dimensional ... (one-note characters are not in this series). Each has his or her own motivation and reason for how they act which is just good writing.

Art & animation 9/10

Artwork is beautiful, character designs distinct, animation smooth. I don't usually notice music but here it's hard not to.

Fun factor 8.5/10

Noragami is a heavy and emotional series. It has a few light moments here and there but not enough I think. I made the mistake of binge watching this and I really needed a breather between the two story arcs.

Overall 9/10

Season 1 was great but season 2 packed in so much more. Overall this is a cult classic for a reason and you really should watch it at least once.

Story:
The story is really great. You have to watch the first season because it will help you to understand the story better. The best of all, in the second season, it revealed more info about yatogami. Interesting isn't it? The comedy is balanced with the action. It was well developed from the very start until the end.

Art:
The art is great and awesome!

Sound:
I am the biggest fan of the opening song. Kyouran Hey Kids!! It has become my earbug for ages since i first listening to it.

Character:
There is no character that i dislike in this anime. Everyone, whether they are bad or ... good. They are all well developed and well defined.

Enjoyment:
I really enjoy watching this series. I hope everyone will. :D