Kannazuki no Miko:

 

            Kurusugawa Himeko is a close friend of Himemiya Chikane, one of the most popular girls at school. One day, the Orochi, a being whose goal is to rid the world of humanity, interrupts their peaceful lives. Himeko and Chikane assume the roles of the Solar and Lunar Priestesses to combat the evil.

 

Story:

            At its heart, Kannazuki no Miko is a romance story with other elements thrown in, the most noticeable of which is mecha. The mecha in KnM are used by the Orochi as weapons to fight with, each having their own special attacks and abilities. The mecha themselves aren’t bad, with some very nice designs mixed in with some rather plain ones. Unfortunately, I the robots themselves feel horribly misplaced in the story, and it could’ve been pulled of much more nicely without the fights between them and just the characters. The part of the story that I enjoyed the most were the romance elements though, which I felt was what made the show worth watching. While there is some normal romance in this show, its mostly Shoujo-Ai, or girl love, focusing on the relationship between Himeko and Chikane. Take note, that this relationship isn’t just a lightly implied relationship that may or may not exist, it does exist and it is a big part of the story, so if you’re not a fan of relationships between two members of the same sex, you should probably stay clear of this one. I’m pretty neutral on the ending, I can’t say I really liked it, but that’s because of a personal bias, it’s not really a bad ending, I just wish things could’ve happened differently.

 

Characters:

            Characters development plays an important part in the story, for the main characters at least. I never particularly cared for the Orochi, even when learning of the tragic events in their pasts that made them become Orochi. Even so, some character development wouldn’t of hurt a little bit, although I suppose with the series length it had to focus more on the main characters, which is really okay. The development centers on Himeko, Chikane and Souma and their relationships between each other. Being a personal fan of Himeko and Chikane, I enjoyed seeing their relationship develop as the show progressed and I think it is one of the best reasons to watch the show. Souma’s development is also a central theme, and his role in the story gives it a certain level of increased interest, especially with the introduction of his brother, Tsubasa. All in all, I really liked most of the characters, and the development of the characters is really well done.

 

Music:

            The music in Kannazuki no Miko is excellent and it has two of my favorite themes. The opening and ending themes, Re-sublimity and agony are both preformed by KOTOKO and interesting pieces of music, having a nice techno/J-pop feel to them. The music within the show is also nicely done, it was one of those rare shows where the music stood out to me while watching it and really helped the mood greatly. There is also a nice insert song preformed by KOTOKO called Suppuration-core- that plays around the mid-point of the series. All three of KOTOKO’s themes for Kannazuki no Miko can be found on her single Re-sublimity.

 

Final Thoughts:

            Overall, Kannazuki no Miko is an excellent Shoujo-Ai romance story that any fan of the genre will find enjoyable. The music is excellent, with an awesome single and OST worth listening to many times. The mecha designs for the most part are nice, but in general I thought they should’ve been used elsewhere. Without the robots and with a bit more development of the other Orochi, this show would get an 8 or possibly a 9 out of 10. Of course, some fans of mecha will be glad they are there. Basically, if you like Shoujo-Ai or romance, check this out. If you like Mecha, you’ll probably like this too. If you don’t care for either of these genres, you’ll probably want to pass it.

 

Rating–

 

*Note – Depending on how you spell Japanese, this show’s title can be spelled as Kannazuki no Miko or Kannaduki no Miko. Most places have it listed as Kannaduki, but because I’ve always spelled it Kannazuki, before even watching the show, it was used in my review.

 

   

   

 

   

   

 

   

 

 

(This review/pictures made by Sushi-X)