Review of Noragami Aragoto

tl;dr: A sequel that focused more on a stronger narrative and character development instead of comedy and lighthearted moments, and manages to mostly do well in that regard. As one would expect, this is a direct continuation of Nouragami, though one that plays out differently in that rather than a lot of smaller episodes it simply has two large arcs that much better tie into a larger narrative. The first arc is related to Yato and Bishamon's conflict, how it came to be centered around Bishamon's insecurities, and Bishamon growing such that she can overcome it when things start falling apart around her once more. This arc was much more focused on Bishamon and herregalia, because while Yato obviously was the target of her anger and the other half of the conflict between them, the conflict turns out to be pretty one sided, with Yato not actually having much of a personal stake in it. This is fine though, because Bishamon and Kazuma are both amazing characters, and while Yato and Yukine aren't invested enough for it to have any depth, there's still some strong development there too. The second arc was a bit messier, having what I felt like were two sides. The first revolved around Yato and Ebisu, and the relationship between them. This results in really strong character development for Ebisu, centered around his desires, goals, and what it meant to live, which results in growth in Yato in response as well. All of which is beautifully handled. The issue is the other half, wherein this arc also seems to focus heavily on Yato's past and background as well as how that impacts his relationship with Yukine and Hiyori. However, this entire portion felt like it didn't really come through all that well, and ultimately, I didn't feel his decision on how to deal with Nora was developed properly at all, in that it actually felt like it developed things in the opposite direction of what Yato actually decides to do. The cliffhanger concerning this also felt really out of place even for a cliffhanger.

Overall, the plot was engrossing and very fast paced from beginning to end, the type of show that makes you want to watch through each arc all at once. However, because of this the comedy portion found in the previous season was heavily took a back seat this season and had very little presence. The action also didn't really develop any further, still being pretty random. The art and animation were still solid. The soundtrack was still really good, and the OP/ED were also good.