The World God Only Knows

Title: The World God Only Knows Genre: Comedy, Romance, Supernatural Rating: 7.8/10

Summary: Keima Katsuragi is an avid galge gamer known at his school as “Otamega” (a derogatory term combining the words Otaku and Megane) and on the internet a “The Capturing God.” One day he receives an e-mail offering him a contract to “capture” girls. He accepts thinking it’s a challenge and a demon from Hell named Elsee appears. She asks for his help in capturing runaway spirits that are hiding in “real” girls. He refuses stating he only like the girls from the game and she tells him that if he refuses then both of their heads will be cut off.

Review: Hmm the idea of catching different girls’ hearts and essentially resetting back to normal reminds me or something…Amagami SS? Nah, this one actually did it right. Instead of  a whiney, annoying protagonist you have a geeky, arrogant one. Strange to say, I think I prefer it.

The art style was very well done for The World God Only Knows. I enjoyed the character design for all the characters, they fit the personalities perfectly. The bubbly Elsee was quite well rounded with cute black eyes and fluffy ribbon, demon thing. Katsuragi had a very straight edge look with a powerful gaze. The different girls also had a similar pattern to them. The lightening and backgrounds were exceptional. I really liked that they actually made it seem like the character was part of the background instead of having them like a slap to the face. I felt that the artist wanted the scenery around the characters to play into the capture just as much as the dialogue.

The soundtrack was pretty neat too. I don’t know what the fad is with Engrish songs, but this one worked out well. The opening theme was a cool techno/rock matched with equally cool scenes. I loved how they brought the audience into a cyber world instead of the expected girls-galore. The ending was also another artistic ride. The song was a lot more playful than the opening, so what better to match playfulness than toe-painting? I was strangely fascinated by the ending where the girls squeeze different colored paint on the floor and start walking around, dancing and slipping, only to end up making a tie-dye picture of Katsuragi. One arc (the third I believe) also had a new musical genre, pop. I can’t say I enjoyed it all too much after reading what the lyrics actually mean. It’s great to be loved by others as an idol but does she really need to brag about it? Wasn’t my cup of tea.

The story was pretty well done. I thought I wouldn’t like the idea of a geek becoming a player by capturing all these girls without showing any real interest in them. The great quite fond of  Katsuragi, especially after the third arc. His attitude seemed to change with each new girl. So it can be said that character development was pretty good as well. Most of the characters either broke out of their shells or understood what matters in life thanks to Katsuragi. Even signs of remembrance showed with every girl (as explained in my quick post). I really enjoyed seeing the different personalities Katsuragi had to deal with. However, one flaw was how he captured each soul. I noticed after watching three arcs that he doesn’t really change his approach to the problem. It seems like all the girls wanted the same treatment. I still enjoyed watching it, but I’m sure it could have been a lot better if he came up with different strategies instead of sticking with the same old routine. Then again, if it aint broke why fix it amIright?

Final statements: There has been confirmation of a season two within the anime so I do look forward to that. Probably due to the final arc, I am giving this one a preferred watch. It didn’t quite make it to the next level due to the repetitive nature unfortunately. I hope that season two is even better. Possibly bringing back old characters would be pretty cool?