Review of The World God Only Knows

This one felt odd to rate so high. Not that it's a bad anime or anything, it just doesn't have the typical blueprint for a top rated show. I realize I'm in the minority here, so when I rated this I tried to see it from all sides. Yes "the World God Only Knows" or "Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai" is a comedy in it's basic form and honestly I looked at it that way the entire season, just something fun and quirky to watch. As I watched through season 2 though, I realized I had missed something critical about the nature of the show,thus I ran into a dilemma of how I should perceive the show as a whole.

God Only Knows is pretty basic in it's concept: Katsuragi, a high school gamer and "god of dating sims" as his followers call him, gets quite a following online due to his consistent reviews and thorough walkthroughs. A demon sees his following and takes the whole "god of dating" too seriously and basically forces him to become her partner in helping catch lost souls. The catch is he will have to kiss whoever is possessed by a lost soul in order to exorcise(?) them. Each episode usually involves Katsuragi and Elsie, his demon partner, finding and exorcizing these possessed girls, but will on occasion have an episode about the hero and heroine only.

The show is pretty funny at times, but doesn't really hit the majority of the time. I get it, nerds are ridiculous and people not understanding their "culture" is even funnier. To be honest, with Fortnite tournaments and Twitch now being so popular, it doesn't seem as if nerds have it that bad anymore. Maybe when I was young it was still maybe frowned upon, but all of my friends gamed and I don't recall there being any particular distain for dating sims. Regardless, since the main characters gaming habits are the target of the shows humor, it falls flat sometimes. Could be the era in which I'm watching it though.

Now...for the characters. I pretty much dislike every character other than the girls possessed by lost souls. The protagonist is very egotistical and self-congratulatory, while the demon heroine is kind of ditsy and doesn't do much. Even though the show provides them with a success rate for plot purposes, I personally never felt a connection between the two of them, nor did I feel the demon Elsie even deserved any credit other than discovering "The Divine One".

As I mentioned before, it's the characters our protagonists are helping that really shine and make the show worth watching. The girls of interest all are unique and have their own individual quirks that make them charming...or in Katsuragi's terms, a game's lead character. I honestly enjoyed each one of their arcs and was determined to see them through. Particularly, the idol/singer Kanon stood out to me most. I especially appreciated the original music designed for her in particular. She had a clear problem with how people viewed her and her popularity, allowing a lost soul to possess her while in this mindset. But that's not all to her story and this is a common theme for all the chosen girls. Yes we learn what is troubling them on the surface, but the character building is what made the show so interesting and heartwarming by the end of every episode. Unfortunately, each girl ends up forgetting about Katsuragi by the end of the arc, seemingly to have never even met and forgetting the relationship/ bond they built together. It makes for a show that consistently goes up and down, while trying to play off the comedic element.

It wasn't until season 2 when Katsuragi is asked if he's ever been kissed before, and he has a flashback to all the girls he's helped free, that we truly understand his side of things. His response is getting flustered, shy, and a little emotional. The flashback shows the most romantic moments with each girl and a nice somber music plays as he reminisces. Of course building bonds like that and then having them forget you altogether is one of the cruelest fates in existence. To be forced to love and then be forgotten, with all the memories shared only existing within you...it's a hell worse than most...reminds me of Fruits Basket a little. What's most unfortunate is the bonds I mentioned. Katsuragi, by the time season 2 comes around, has been on nearly a dozen quests. Just knowing all the time he spends getting to know each girl and adjusting himself to her desires, then to finally have all that work pay off and her fall in love with him...only for her to forget him in the end. It's truly heartbreaking. Yet it's those moments before the memory loss that are so heartwarming. I realize Katsuragi laughs this off, but after that scene, it's clear that he does hold a semblance of love and regret for each of those girls, possibly Kanon the most but I haven't finished the 3rd season.

I have no doubt God Only Knows would still be a clever and fun show to watch had it not had the impactful character arcs, but it's the arcs that actually resonated with me. After a while Katsuragi has grown on me, with tidbits of insightfulness and a brash way of communicating, but not so much as to overshadow the clear runners of the series. To be honest, I didn't expect much from the show altogether, so to have these impactful scenes in a seemingly mundane show is new to me. I've had shows surprise me with their quality, but never this way. Regardless, the scenes in which a possessed girl realizes her love for Katsuragi are worth watching in itself... they are the main premise so I suppose it's just the filler that takes the show back down. I'd feel wrong scoring this show a 10 but it's the same for 9, 8, etc.. The best example of the dilemma I personally am in, imagine you watch a show through and dislike the whole thing until the end, but the end was so well done it makes you forget how bad the show was up to that point. Does it deserve a great score for subverting your expectations or a low score for primarily being uninteresting? I'm choosing the glass half full route since there are some very high high's in this series, so it's easy enough to move past it's mundane nature. It is a cute, fun, and entertaining show, however it forces you to drudge through several awkward and unfunny scenes to get to the only interesting parts, which, if I'm honest, aren't in short demand. I say it's worth being patient for if you decide to watch it.