Review of The World God Only Knows

The World God Only Knows, basically, is the world that only Keima knows. Even I, have no idea, what kind of delusion this man is living in, but it sure as hell is pretty funny. The best way to sum up this anime is - a touching, smart and nonsensical comedy, that leaves you feeling happy at the end of it. TL:DR Story: 5/10 Art: 8/10 Sound: 7/10 Character: 7/10 Enjoyment: 7/10 Overall: 7/10 (rounded up from 6.75)Good Points:
+ Superb comic relief and funny scenes
+ Interesting male lead
+ Cute and irresistible female lead
+ Good emotional / touching scenes
+ Not overboard with the ecchi/harem theme
+ Character growth in the four "targets" (Ayumi, Mio, Kanon, Shiori)
+ Great background art and music

Bad Points:
- Lack of character development and growth in the main cast
- Some lack of coherence in the later plot arcs
- Lack of overarching plot, or conflict
- Plot is straightforward and generally predictable
- At least 2 filler episodes (in a 12 episode anime? Yep, you bet'cha)

Story: 5/10

The anime has four main story arcs, namely, the Ayumi arc, the Mio arc, the Kanon arc and the final Shiori arc. All of the arcs are distinct and special, even though the main idea of the anime - to make girls fall in love with Keima, by solving some life problem that they have - is remains consistent throughout. There is another side arc - the one about Sora arc in episode 4 but that only lasts one episode.

The Ayumi arc was, I have to say this, both funny and touching. I didn't expect much from this anime because it had so much to do with dating sims and the classic "make a girl fall in love with you" theme, that I thought it'd be completely unrealistic and stupid. Except that it wasn't. While it was nonsensical at times for the comic relief - most parts did seem realistic - and the way that Keima found out about Ayumi's "fear" and "hesitation", and the words that he used to move her heart, proved to be a bit of a plot twist in the first arc, and that was what made me continue watching this anime, despite it being a really "uninteresting" idea in my opinion. (+1 for coherence)

The Mio arc completely added onto the comic element of this anime, although it didn't add alot of depth. Mio was the typical tsundere, and it was easy to see how Keima would "conquer her", by simply doing transport service for her day after day until her heart softened and he could finally come to terms to talk - and dance - with her, under a romantic moonlit sky (oh the convenience). To be fair though, at this point the anime starts to lose a bit of coherence - especially the chauffeur who was following Mio around for no apparent reason. If her dad passed away just a day ago or something, I might understand, but the chauffeur was likely unemployed for quite sometime already, Mio couldn't possibly have been paying him.

Then comes the Kanon arc where things start to make less and less sense. Kanon is somehow able to hold a rooftop concert everyday in school, without ever contacting any logistics personnel, no sound crew, no light crew, nothing. Just her and a stage, and somehow all the music and lights come on and things start playing - that's an absolute no go.

Okay, so the idea that she turns "invisible" is linked to her characterization as feeling "invisible" all the time. I get it, but then why is it that she randomly turns from "invisible" to slightly translucent, so often? Is there a rule saying that you need to look harder or closer enough for her to be visible? Does she randomly vary between degrees of invisibility? Because she isn't completely invisible, she should be able to be seen based on the distortions of the background, and if she IS completely invisible, Keima shouldn't EVER be able to see her.

Next, Kanon carries these stun guns that are completely for comic effect. Sure thing. But again - this made no sense, and she seems to have carried these guns for absolute fun and only ever uses them on Keima. I know it's for comic relief - but still - at least humour me by explaining it in a funny way, it was never really mentioned at all.

The Kanon arc was slightly deeper in nature though, than the previous two. The idea of an idol who feels lonely despite having so many fans - this is a real phenomena that felt completely natural. The way Keima realizes this is not very "fascinating", but the anime really put quite a lot of thought into developing the plot around Kanon - from all her fansign events, to her dramas, to her voice-acting schedules, as well as to her actual concerts. It felt like there was a deeper meaning behind just "making Kanon fall in love with Keima" it moved on to "making Kanon believe in herself" - especially when rejecting the kiss from Kanon - even though he still got it at the end, though. (+1 for depth)

The Shiori arc, the final arc as well, was slightly convoluted, but was I thought, the most interesting of all the arcs. A girl who doesn't talk at all, how the heck do you communicate with someone like that? While Keima's method - pissing her off, essentially - wasn't completely revolutionary, it was also mixed in with being sensitive, and understanding the shy girl under the pile of books. The deeper meaning is trying to understand the thoughts behind people's faces, even if they don't talk - it's possible to feel, to get a sensing of what the person behind the mask is thinking - by simply judging their actions and the way they act. (+1 for interest, +1 for depth)

I can't say that any part of this arc is coherent though - from locking down an entire library that happens to have only 1 entrance, to drilling a hole through the roof, to the sheer scale of the library in comparison to the number of people inside it at any one particular time, why Shiori doesn't carry around a notebook with her to write down what she is trying to communicate - so I can't give it any points for that. Also, the resolution of the arc wasn't very substantial - all Keima really did was accompany her, then kiss her, and that should creep Shiori out, honestly, rather than make her fall in love with him - it was all too sudden and unrealistic.

Then we finally come to talk about the side arc - Sora's arc, about a buggy game tha Keima must, absolutely must, complete. No matter how many bugs there are in the game - Keima persists in completing it because it's not Sora's fault that the game she's stuck in sucks so bad that everyone else gave up on it. While it may merely just be a characterisation arc - the plot itself is interesting enough - when things seem impossible, will you try every possible way - until you beat it or you realize it really is impossible? Coherence is slightly out of the window - and Keima is honestly wasting his time on some stupid game - but that's how life is - we have options as choices, though not very clear-cut, the decisions we make determine our "route", and perhaps, just perhaps, there's always a way "out" of our problems, a way to reach our goals, if only we have the perseverance to try and try again. (+1 for depth)'

And so to sum up, the story does have an overarching plot, but it is hardly developed. Elsie ends up catching 4 runaway spirits - but progress is unknown, and we're not sure how many more Keima must complete until he's finally free of the death collar. The plot itself though, if you look at it from a deeper perspective, is quite deep, though it fails on both coherence and level of interest - plot is generally predictable and not very ingenious.

Art: 8/10

OP Scene 0/2 - Nothing too exciting, but covers most of the characters
ED Scene 2/2 - Interesting use of the paint to form a colourful picture of Keima
Animation 3/3 - Absolutely love the cute animations used throughout the anime
Aesthetics 3/3 - I really like the cute theme that the use, as well as all the bubbles and all.

Sound: 7/10

OP Theme 0/3 - Didn't like the OP theme at all, it's in poor english and wasn't catchy.
ED Theme 3/3 - Absolutely loved the ED theme - it was happy, uplifting and catchy
Background Music 2/2 - Some parts were annoying and repetitive, but mostly well done
Additional themes 2/2 - Definitely enjoyed the Kanon arc's theme songs. Although they were cliche idol songs, they were great to listen to.

Character: 7/10

The characterization is definitely pretty good in this anime - since it's quite character-centric. We'll start with the two main characters - Keima and Elsie.

Keima is not your average hikkikomori/otaku character. Everyone treats him like a loser - and he kinda is a loser for excelling only in dating sims - but he's actually pretty smart, he's logical, he's also a thinker and there is a lot more to his moral / emotional side than just his cold exterior. His multi-faceted nature is what I really like about him. He tries to look cool, but he constantly loses it when Elsie drives him crazy. He doesn't have much of a back story though, and honestly shows very little growth throughout the anime - except from the fact that he accepts the fact that he can conquer real life girls as well as those in games. Keima doesn't come to any self-realization in this first season of the anime. (+1 for interesting, +1 for depth)

Elsie is your average, typical, hyperactive cute girl who does anything to make Keima happy. She puts in lots of effort - cleaning the house, making breakfast, even making a cake (lol) - not trying to win Keima's favour because she likes him or anything, but simply because she wants to be a good little sister to him (imouto). She's completely, cute innocent and irresistible. However, as a character, she doesn't have much depth to her at all. She doesn't show much growth - and we don't know much about her backstory - other than that she has an older sister who is WAAAY better than her.

The two main characters are not the focal point though, the girls in the arcs are. Ayumi, starts off as a girl who really wants to win in the track and field meet - and turns out to doubt herself, and her own ability to run. She hates Keima because he's a loser, and feels embarrassed whenever Keima puts up banners to support her. She feels like he is mocking her, but in the end, Keima shows that he understands her more than anyone else - and he shows legitimate care for her by buying her hampers and a pair of running shoes. (+1 for growth)

Mio Aoyama, at first pulling of the rich lady feel - suddenly turns around to actually being a poor girl living a rich lifestyle (in a shoddy apartment). She gets abandoned by her chauffeur, ends up having to use Keima Transport Services, and eventually picks up the will to use small change when buying things. Unfortunately, none of these changes/ character development is substantial enough to warrant any points - they are all very trivial and minor in nature. Her backstory, is also underdeveloped. We know that her father died and she isn't rich anymore, and that she enjoyed her time with her father, but her father didn't seem to teach her much, and we don't know exactly how she lived in the past when her father was around either, we can only assume she lived like a princess (in which case, wouldn't her mum start educating her that she can't live that way anymore?).

Kanon, the idol and rising star, who is only 16 years old, but probably is one of the best and youngest idols ever known, still struggles with identity and confidence issues ever since her earlier girl group - Citron - broke up (for very lame reasons, actually). Her character development and depth has got to be the most out of all the arcs - because her backstory is much more comprehensive and rich. It's not just random flashbacks like the previous few arcs - it's relationships that come back to find her as well - her former bandmates sent her flowers to congratulate her on performing on the stage, Citron always wanted to perform. Also, much character growth from always being unconfident - to having new found confidence in herself. (+1 for depth, +1 for growth)

Then lastly, we have Shiori, who is the quiet, shy girl who is really, really hard to understand. They did spend a lot of time trying to develop her character though - there were many, many scenes of her and her past encounters with books and the library in general. It was basically her monologue-ing to herself about how she loves books, about why she loves books and why she can't live without books. What a bookworm. The growth she shows is quite apparent - she moves from being a shy, untalkative, loner, to becoming slightly more assertive, and more able to communicate with others. Still, her backstory is vague and unconvincing, and as a character, she's naive and uninteresting, given the number of books she has read - she must have learnt something from those books, but it looks like her maturity of thinking is nowhere near "developed" in anyway. (+1 for growth)

To sum up, the character growth that is lacking in the main characters, are found in the supporting characters - but hopefully, the main characters get more character development in the coming few seasons. Also, most of the characters are rather "cliched" except for the main character, but it is likely that they are meant to be this way - following the dating sim idea. Character interactions though, are definitely solid. Though they may be very exaggerated, it was always enjoyable how the two main cast, and their "mother" clicked together. (+1 for interaction)

Enjoyment: 7/10

Definitely one of the most funniest animes I've watched. I couldn't stop laughing from episode 1-4, and those were definitely enjoyable. The comic element died down slightly from then on, but there were always so many absurd and nonsensical situations and really funny reactions between Keima and Elsie and their mother, that it definitely made for a very enjoyable watch. (+3 for comedy)

Initially, I was pretty interested and excited to find out how Keima would convince / smooth talk / strategize to win over the girls he encountered, namely because of the first arc. But this excitement died down over time - and I found myself simply watching for the comic element, and nothing much else. It seemed like it was already a given that Keima would be successful in capturing all the girls that he was tasked to - and there were little problems / conflict doing so, so after the first two arcs, things became a lot less interesting. But, I did feel that all the kissing scenes involving Keima were all touching in their own special way, so I thought that the anime played those out pretty well.
(+1 for excitement, +1 for emotion)

Pacing was definitely okay, although I thought that the first arc could be extended. If only the first episode could have been 45 mins or so - that would have been better than the very abridged first Ayumi arc that we had. The emotional bits were well emphasized, although I thought that for the final arc, the book scenes were abit too overwhelming. By the first series of Shiori flashbacks of her reading books - I basically got the gist of it "she's a bookworm, I get it already! Can we move on now?" (+2 for pacing)

Unfortunately, I have to give a miss for 1 point for the filler episode that is basically episode 8, and arguably, episodes 4 and 12, because all of these advanced the plot line in no reasonable way or fashion, and seemed completely out of the blue.

Overall: 6.75/10