Welcome to The Avocado’s weekly discussion of Japanese pop culture! Julietta Suzuki’s 20th anniversary celebration starts today with a pop-up shop in Tokyo. Normally this is the sort of thing I would just admire from afar…but I’m actually going this time! Suzuki created one of my favorite manga, Kamisama Kiss, so I’m very excited. The shop will also feature her current series, Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite, which is getting an official English translation this year.
So, today, in honor of an amazing 20 years of manga greatness, I want to talk a little about Kamisama Kiss! This was one of the series that really got me back into reading manga. I watched the anime and loved it so much that I decided to start collecting the manga because I wanted to experience the full story. If you’re unfamiliar, Kamisama Kiss is a shoujo manga that was published in Hane to Yume magazine. The story centers on Nanami Momozono, a high school girl who suddenly loses her home because of her father’s debts. He runs off, leaving her to fend for herself. Things look bleak until a strange encounter leads her to inheriting the role of a god. An actual god! She decides to go along with this because it means a free place to stay, at the god’s shrine, but things won’t be easy for her. Not only are the duties of a god difficult (and often dangerous, for a human), she has to deal with a moody fox yokai, Tomoe, who serves the shrine. Without getting into too much detail, Tomoe becomes Nanami’s familiar as she struggles to fulfill her role of a god while also just trying to enjoy her life as a teenage girl. Of course, there’s romance too! But while I absolutely adore the way the main romance flourishes over time, the thing that I love most about this series is Nanami’s character and her ability to bring people together. The bonds that she forms with everyone around her makes this a very comforting read. If you like “found family” stories, this is one of the best. There’s also plenty of comedy, drama, action, and some heavy moments, but it always felt balanced by the warmer, quieter moments.
The anime (with the OVAs) cover the plot of the series all the way to the conclusion, so if manga isn’t your thing, you should definitely check out the manga! To be honest, it’s been so long that I don’t totally remember how good of adaptation is it (the manga, which I’ve read twice, is much fresher in my mind), but my general memory of it is positive.
And, as always…
What have you been watching/reading/playing/eating/listening to lately?
Happy Wednesday! 🙂