Kamichu!, Volume 1: Little Deity
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DVD details
Actor: Artist Not ProvidedDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); English (Original Language); Japanese (Original Language)
Format: Animated, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 100 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-06-06
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
DVD Reviews of Kamichu!, Volume 1: Little Deity
DVD Review: A relaxed Series- although that could be good or bad
Summary: 5 Stars
If there is one thing I can say about Kamichu, it's that it's relaxed. This has a bit of a double meaning, so I'll try to elaborate.
The town where the main characters live is just an ordinary little Japanese village during the eighties or so. Cars and such are uncommon, and the whole place seems breezy and calm, to the point where you wish you could go there just to take a nice nap in the sun. So, yes, that's one thing I mean when I say 'relaxed'.
The other thing is that the characters themselves seem almost dangerously relaxed. In the first episode alone, there are two bizarrely calm lines: Yurie's casual "Mitsue-chan, I became a god" and a random old lady's off-handed "Oh, Yurie, I heard you became a god." Neither the villagers nor Yurie herself seem particularly perterbed or surprised by her sudden transformation into a god. There aren't any sugary stock-footage transformation sequences here; nor are there cheap laughs gained from character's over-the-top reactions. It seems as if the whole town's population is on Prozac, or at least very dedicated to not making a big deal out of ANYTHING. Including the things that actually do warrant a big deal.
The most hilarious example of this, which made me laugh out loud at its sheer ridiculousness, is when the main god of a local temple is found to have run away. The chief priest- I am not joking here- smilingly tells his daughters "The god ran away? Well, I guess I wasn't cut out to be a chief priest anyway. I'm going to be a farmer now. If you have any questions about vegetables, just ask me." Even his daughters are dumbfounded by this. I'm sorry, but that is just too relaxed for anyone's own good.
On occasion, I will say that the issues are sometimes resolved too quickly or conveniently (and sometimes confusingly), but it's not that big of a deal. (Uh-oh, it's rubbing off!)
The opening and closing themes are very good, and the opening theme especially seems to fit the feel of the series.
If you're sick of melodramatic series like Gundam, Kamichu might be the thing for you. Just try to get used to people treating sudden demigodhood as an everyday occurence, and you're good to go.
DVD Review: Not A Disappointment (note: plot-summarization type spoilers)
Summary: 4 Stars
A show with a plot like this has potential to be extremely interesting and fun, with loads of unexpected events. At least, that's what I was Hoping for when I bought this after reading the back cover.
The first episode begins with Yurie telling her friends she found out last night that she was a god. This seems completely random as we aren't shown this revelation, nor is it ever really explained. And for the first five minutes or so, you have to wonder if you've made a huge mistake, because Yurie and her two friends do nothing but chitchat and try to make a miracle happen, with no success. Is this what the whole show is? These girls having fun with what is apparently only a minor surprise?
But everything changes when the power of Yurie's love for her classmate (who doesn't even know her name, and keeps forgetting it) allows her to call, "Kamichu!" into the sky. A couple of days later, "Typhoon Yurie!" (complete with Yurie's scowling visage in the center of it) is headed for the school, and it's up to her to stop it.
Yurie hops on her bike and begins to pedal, and here is where the magic begins. An extremely concerned little god (he's sort of like a foot-tall, disgruntled Tweedledee) is seen frantically chasing a rollaway can, and another, camouflauged by looking like three leaves with a face, clings to a tree branch as the wind threatens to tear him away. And suddenly, up in the sky, wind spirits (they look like jellyfish) are crying, "The typhoon is coming!!"
The excellent animation and wondrous creativity make this anime a joy from this moment on. From this point Yurie becomes a common celebrity. In the second episode she convinces a god to return to his shrine instead of trying to become a rock star, and in the third she agrees to allow her cat to return home with the god of poverty inside him. The fourth is equally zany: the government asks for Yurie's assistance in communicating with a martian, who turns out to be an adorable pink junior-high alien with a pink bow on her head. The Prime Minister of Japan lies to Yurie and, instead of sending the martian home as promised, tries to hand her over to the U.S. government. However, Yurie manages to save her from their clutches, despite being pursued by tanks and dozens of soldiers.
In short, I can't wait to get the second volume, and--
Oh, hang on. About the Miyazaki comparisons: I am fond of Miyazaki, and I like Spirited Away and love Princess Mononoke, but he can be both boring and ridiculous, with his main flaw being that he always seems to end his anime rather suddenly, in an almost deus ex machina way. There are no such plot wrap-ups in this anime, and while many things are unexpected and unusual, nothing ever seems not to belong. Also, there is the added drama and humor of Yurie's relationship with her crush ("Who are you again??"). This anime is well-rounded and highly unusual, and I enjoyed it more than Cowboy Bebop, DBZ, Love Hina, or a large number of popular anime. Get it!
**When Yurie does something sensational, like stopping the typhoon, her hair grows to be as long as her entire body. My guess is that this is a joke, because "kami" means both "hair" and "god."
DVD Review: I'M A GOD
Summary: 5 Stars
Yurie, an 8th grade junior high student has a bizarre revelation to make to her classmates. She doesn't know how but she's become a God! In the real world you would expect her friends to look at her like she was crazy, but in Kamichu, they don't even bat an eye. Instead her pal Matsuri immediately sets out to figure out what kind of God she is and how to unlock her power. Mitsue, Yurie's other pal, is a little bit more cynical and unexcited about the prospect. But everyone will have to take notice when Yurie demonstrates her power by summoning a typhoon by accident, a result of her concealed feelings for her classmate Kenji. Due to her powers Yurie and her friends begin to see the spiritual world that cohabits the space of their town. You might be walking along the docks and see fish spirits or all kinds of talking animals. Matsuri and the other townspeople begin to see an advantage in having a God in residence. Not only do they begin to start making personal requests but they also hope to bring in tourism to the local shrine, whose god has gone missing. Yurie is even called in by the government to negotiate with Martians!
Kamichu is a show whose premise could have been skewed a lot darker. Just look at Death Note to see what happens when an immature human is given the power of a God. It's a good thing that Yurie is such a nice person. The fact that she is good makes Kamichu into a heartwarming expose of what happens when humans are allowed a personal living relationship with a divine being. While Matsuri does try to use Yurie in a bid to get back her shrine's popularity, you don't get the sense that she's doing it out of bad motives. You feel that she wants to revive the town's spirituality. If anyone comes off bad in these first four episodes, it's the Japanese government and the US who are scheming to trick their Martian visitor in Episode 4. The creators of this show chose to take a more optimistic view of human nature which in turn leads to a feel-good show about the wisdom of children and how they could use power more wisely than an adult.
DVD Review: An Amazing All-Around Anime
Summary: 5 Stars
Before I had purchased Kamichu, I read all I could on it and found that a lot of critics agree that it's a Spirited Away for TV. Spirited Away was a masterpiece, that's for sure, but in Kamichu's case I expected a episodic copy of Miyazaki's Oscar winner. That, for me, was all I needed to purchase this DVD, and what I honestly expected was something wholly different than what I got. Kamichu itself is a masterpiece; it covers all the grounds of a great anime, and while it does share a lot of similarities to Spirited Away and many other Ghibli films, it still has it's own little style that separates it from the Ghibli bunch.
To me, an anime needs four things to make it great: animation, story, characters, and music. Kamichu excels in every field. The production value of this tiny little series in excellent. You can actually see the money that was put into this anime; every head movement is fleshed out, the leaves on every tree in the background shakes in the wind, and there are sunspots and shadows dotting places so insignificant as to seem wasteful, yet it adds to the overall excellence of the animation.
As for the story and characters, it follows a timid little girl named Yurie who recently found out she was a god. In the episodes on this volume, Yurie, with the help of her friends, goes about figuring out just what her powers are, or even if she has powers. But eventually word gets out to the public that Yurie is a god, and the attention is turned directly on her. Yet she must also go about being a little girl as well, and that includes school, a bratty older brother, taking care of her cat, and finding a way to get the attention of her crush.... The cast of Kamichu is so small and intimate that it's virtually impossible not to like. All of the characters have their little nuances that separate themselves from the others.
The music is great as well. It matches the simplicity of the series and story well, and adds all the right emotions to scenes it backs. Anyone who finds they love this series should also get the soundtrack from Geneon.
One thing is certainly true about the early comparisons to Spirited Away: Kamichu the series matches the Spirited Away movie in sheer excellence. Whether you buy the special edition box set (which I highly recommend) or the regular edition of this volume, just find a way to get this anime. It's just short of perfection, and well beyond brilliance. I recommend Kamichu to anyone who just enjoys anime, and especially for anyone who is seeking an avenue into the world of anime. This has become the new ambassador to anime for newcomers.
DVD Review: Exciting and a lot of fun...
Summary: 5 Stars
The series begins with Yurie announcing to her best friend that the evening before she'd become a goddess. Not a typical school lunch converstion, but the beginning of a wonderfully entertaining anime series.
Now to add to the usual challenges a middle school girl has, Yurie has to deal with her newly discovered godhead. Getting used to this isn't easy for her and her first experience ends up with her creating a typhoon in a failed attempt to express her feelings for a certain boy.
The animation art quality is high, better than most TV series and as good as most movie anime. The stories are interesting and entertain without getting mushy. Yurie, while sometimes uncertain, has the courage to venture out and deal with the challenges she faces. She is a reluctant heroine, but she doesn't whine about it as some other anime heroines have done in the past.
Some have equated the quality of this series with the work of Hayao Miazaki. This show certainly comes close in my opinion.
This is a must see for everyone.
(This review is based on the Japanese release.)
Description of Kamichu!, Volume 1: Little Deity
What would you do if you suddenly became a god? When little Yurie, a Junior High School student, discovers that she is a god, she is beside herself in indecision and asks her friends. Thus begins her new life exploring what it means to be a god and her struggle to properly fulfill all the responsibilities it entails. From finding stray gods to dealing with Martians, her life is about to become more than ordinary.Junior high student Yurie Hitotsubashi, the heroine of the shojo (girl's) broadcast series Kamichu (2005), arrives at school one day and announces that she's become a god. Instead of calling the school nurse, her friends Mitsui and Matsuri try to determine what kind of god she is. Without really knowing what she's doing, Yurie summons up and disperses a typhoon, brings a runaway god back to Matsuri's family shrine, and frees a captive Martian. Between divine acts, Yurie tries to get Kenji, a boy in her class who's interested only in calligraphy, to notice her. The filmmakers attempt to capture the tone of Miyazaki's Spirited Away: bizarre-looking ghosts and spirits inhabit Yurie's hometown of Onomichi and the many long shots of the city echo Whisper of the Heart. The storyline of Kamichu is a little too weird, although Yurie's three ultra-cute assistants may appeal to adolescent girls. (Rated 13 and older) --Charles Solomon
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