Kannagi Review: A charming story of shrine maidens

Kannagi Crazy Shrine Maidens - A charming story of a god and a boy

Kannagi Crazy Shrine Maidens, which aired from October to December 2008, is a TV anime series based on the manga of the same name by Eri Murai. Although this work is a comedy about the daily life of a god and a boy, it is loved by many fans as a work that contains deep themes. Below, we will introduce the appeal and detailed information of this work and delve deeper into its appeal.

■Overview of the work

"Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens" begins when Mikuriya Jin, a member of the art club, finishes carving a wooden spirit statue to enter in a local exhibition. To his surprise, the statue cracks and a girl named Nagi emerges. Nagi is a local deity that has been manifested using the spirit statue carved by Jin as a medium, and her appearance completely changes Jin's daily life. Nagi has an arrogant personality and ends up fighting impurities called kegare, but Jin has the special ability to grab kegare with his bare hands. Various characters appear around these two, and a hilarious and touching story unfolds.

■Broadcast information

"Kannagi Crazy Shrine Maidens" was broadcast on TOKYO MX, Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS), TVQ Kyushu Broadcasting, Nankai Broadcasting, Chiba Television, Tohoku Broadcasting, Television Saitama, Television Kanagawa, Animax, Chubu Nippon Broadcasting, Hokkaido Broadcasting, and BS Japan from October 4th to December 27th, 2008. The broadcast times for each station are as follows:

• TOKYO MX: October 4, 2008 to December 27, 2008 (episodes 1 to 13) Every Saturday 22:30 to 23:00
• Mainichi Broadcasting System: October 4, 2008 to December 27, 2008 (episodes 1 to 13) every Saturday from 27:25 to 27:55
• TVQ Kyushu Broadcasting: October 6, 2008 to January 5, 2009 (episodes 1 to 13) Every Monday 25:53 to 26:23
• Nankai Broadcasting: October 7, 2008 to December 30, 2008 (Episodes 1 to 13) Every Tuesday 25:35 to 26:05
• Chiba TV: October 8, 2008 to December 31, 2008 (Episodes 1 to 13) Every Wednesday 26:30 to 27:00
• Tohoku Broadcasting: October 9, 2008 to January 8, 2009 (episodes 1 to 13) Every Thursday 26:14 to 26:44
• Teletama: October 10, 2008 to January 2, 2009 (episodes 1 to 13) Every Friday 25:00 to 25:30
• tvk: October 10, 2008 to January 2, 2009 (episodes 1 to 13) Every Friday 25:15 to 25:45
• Animax: October 13, 2008 to January 12, 2009 (episodes 1 to 13) Every Monday from 22:00 to 22:30
• Chubu Nippon Broadcasting: October 15, 2008 to January 14, 2009 (Episodes 1 to 13) Every Wednesday 26:00 to 26:30
• Hokkaido Broadcasting: October 29, 2008 to January 28, 2009 (episodes 1 to 13) Every Wednesday 26:25 to 26:55
• BS Japan: November 3, 2008 to January 26, 2009 (Episodes 1 to 13) Every Monday 27:30 to 28:00

Episode 14 is also included in the packaged DVD volume 7, which was released on May 27, 2009.

■ Story

Mikuriya Jin, a member of the art club, has just finished making a wooden spirit statue to be exhibited at the local exhibition. The story begins when the spirit statue suddenly appears, turns into a girl, and starts moving and talking. Jin asks the girl, "Are you the tree spirit?", but she answers, "I am the mother deity of this land." Though he is confused, Jin explains the circumstances of the sacred tree that has become her vessel. Then, she is attacked by an impure thing of the land called Kegare. The self-proclaimed god has no way to deal with Kegare, but Jin easily grabs the Kegare and tosses it away as if nothing happened. The god is depressed, and Jin is confused. And the time of revenge comes for the depressed god. The god tries to challenge the Kegare with a special weapon that he made himself. Then she shouts, "Beautiful earth goddess Ubusunagami! I will not forgive Kegare at all!" The god does not look away from Jin, who is feeling indescribable, and takes his revenge. Then he tells her. "I am Nagi. I have the same name as this sacred tree."Now, here is born a legendary story that will have you in your living room, featuring Nagi, Jin, and many other characters.

■Explanation

"Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens" begins with a unique premise in which a god appears in your living room. Mikuriya Jin, a member of the art club, has just finished carving a wooden spirit statue from a cut-down sacred tree to exhibit at a local exhibition. The statue cracks and a girl appears from within. Her name is Nagi. She is said to be the local guardian deity, who has manifested using the spirit statue carved by Jin as a medium. Jin ends up living with Nagi, a haughty character who calls himself a god... This work is a comedy about the daily life of a god and a boy, but it is loved by many fans for its deep themes.

■Cast

The cast of this production is as follows:

• Nagi: Haruka Tomatsu
• Hitoshi Mikuriya: Hiro Shimono
• Tsugumi Aoba: Miyuki Sawashiro
• Confessing Girl: Kana Hanazawa
• Hibiki Daitetsu: Takanori Hoshino
• Akiba Tour: Tetsuya Kakihara
• Takako Kimura: Lisa Hayami
• Shino Okawachi: Mai Nakahara
• Reiji Suzushiro: Kenta Miyake
• Professor Hagashima: Yuji Ueda
• Poisonous Scorpion Sensei: Noriji Yanami
• Lolita cutie: MAKO
• Cutie Boss: Go Shinomiya
• Cutie's Enemy: Takami Asahina
• Hump: Yuka Nishigaki
• Tour: Nana Furuhara
• Rocky: Junko Shimeno
• Meep: Miho Miyagawa
• Anna Yoshida: Ryoko Ono
• Drunkard Uncle: Norio Wakamoto

■ Main staff

The main staff of this work are as follows:

• Original story: Eri Takenashi "Kannagi" (serialized in Ichijinsha's "Monthly Comic REX")
• Planning: Koichiro Natsume, Osamu Harada
• Planning cooperation: Ryo Tanabe (Monthly Comic REX Editorial Department)
• Director: Hiroshi Yamamoto (Ordet)
• Series Composition: Hideyuki Kurata
• Character design: Kakeru Mima
• Chief animation director: Satoshi Kadowaki
• Blop design: Keiko Nakaji
• Color design: Kazuko Nakajima
• Art director: Atsushi Morikawa
• Art setting: Kesamaru Emi
• Director of photography: Takeshi Hirooka
• CG: Nasshinji
• Edited by: Kentaro Tsubone
• Music: Satoru Kamisaki
• Music cooperation: Keiichi Tonomura (Sony Music Entertainment)
• Music Production: Aniplex
• Sound Director: Hiromi Kikuta
• Recording adjustment: Yo Yamada
• Sound effects: Eiko Morikawa
• Coordination assistant: Yasuka Matsushita
• Recording studio: Studio Don Juan
• Sound Production: Takamiyagi Rie
• Sound production: Rakuonsha
• Video editing: Q-Tech (Nakamura Koji, Nakagawa Akiko)
• Logo design: Hideki Satomi
• Planning and Sales Producer: Osamu Takesue
• Publicity Producer: Yuma Takahashi
• Advertisement: Manabu Jinguji, Miyako Hayashi
• Cooperation: Kotaro Sudo, Toshiyuki Kanazawa
• Web production: Koji Uetsuji
• Production Administration Manager: Tadahiko Shida
• Production staff: Yoshiko Kitamura, Akiko Saito
• System management: Masayoshi Yoshioka
• Production desk: Megumi Tanaka
• Setting production: Hiroshi Nakamura
• Production assistant: Ryoko Tomii
• Producers: Atsuhiro Iwakami, Tomonori Ochikoshi, Kosuke Sugino
• Animation producer: Akira Shimizu
• Associate Producer: Kazunori Adachi
• Executive Producers: Masuro Ueda, Hideo Katsumata
• Animation production: A-1 Pictures
• Production cooperation: Ordet
• Produced by: Aniplex, Ichijinsha

■ Main Characters

The main characters of this work are as follows:

• Nagi: A self-proclaimed god who appeared in the spirit statue that Jin carved from a sacred tree. Although she has an arrogant personality, she is also quite friendly, telling jokes and loving sweets. Her breasts are an A cup.
• Mikuriya Jin: A high school freshman and member of the art club. A pure, pure boy. He puts sauce on most of his food and has a strange sense of taste. He has strong spiritual powers and can grab impurities with his bare hands. He likes big breasts.
• Aoba Tsugumi: Jin's childhood friend. She looks after Jin, who lives alone. She has feelings for Jin, and is not happy about suddenly living with Nagi!
• Zange-chan: A god who appeared in the form of a human girl, and Nagi's younger sister. She is an idol in the town where Jin lives, listening to people's confessions for 100 yen a time!
• Hibiki Daitetsu: A member of the art club in the same year as Jin. He is a big, intimidating man who often scares small children, but he is actually quiet and kind. He is also not good with supernatural phenomena. A large artist who can paint oil paintings with just a palette knife.
• Akiba Jun: A member of the art club in the same year as Jin and Daitetsu. Despite being an art club member, he draws manga during club activities. He is an overly self-conscious Akiba-type who insists that he is different from other otaku.
• Takako Kimura: The president of the art club that Jin belongs to. She gets a nosebleed when she sees Jin's pure appearance, and has some fujoshi tendencies. Her casual clothes make her look like an office lady.
• Okouchi Shino: Vice-president of the art club that Jin belongs to. As you can tell from her polite way of speaking, she is a rich young lady. In fact, she has the nicest body of all the female characters.

■Subtitle

The subtitles of this work are as follows:

• Act 1: Daughter of the Sacred Tree (2008/10/04)
• Act 2: Attack on the Imperial Throne! (2008/10/11)
• Act 3: School Goddess (2008/10/18)
• Act 4: Sisters (2008/10/25)
• Act 5: Manifestation! Love the Food Demon (2008/11/01)
• Act 6: Nagi-tan's Exciting Crazy (2008/11/08)
• Act 7: Cutie in big trouble! The counterattack of the super spicy Hitsumabushi (Part 2) (2008/11/15)
• Act 8: Lost Wuthering Heights (2008/11/22)
• Act 9: Embarrassing School Comedy (2008/11/29)
• Act 10: Karaoke Warrior Mike Takako (2008/12/06)
• Act 11: But, it's unclear (2008/12/13)
• Act 12: Truly Ephemeral (2008/12/20)
• Act 13: Jin, Deleru (2008/12/27)
• Act 14: What if there was a Kannagi like this... (Episode not aired on TV) (2009/05/27)

■ Related works

The related works of this piece are as follows:

• Kannagi Unaired Episodes

■ Theme songs and music

The theme songs and music for this work are as follows:

• OP1: Motto☆Flashy!
• Lyricist: Shin Yabon
• Composer: Akira Kamisaki
• Arrangement: Akira Kamisaki
• Vocals: Haruka Tomatsu
• ED1: On the day of birth
• Lyricist: Shin Yabon
• Composer: Akira Kamisaki
• Arrangement: Akira Kamisaki
• Vocals: Haruka Tomatsu
• ED2: Shirigeya's Theme
• Lyricist: Akira Kamisaki
• Composer: Akira Kamisaki
• Arrangement: Akira Kamisaki
• Sung by: Shirige Tai
• ED3: More flashy!
• Lyricist: Shin Yabon
• Composer: Akira Kamisaki
• Arrangement: Akira Kamisaki
• Vocals: Haruka Tomatsu
• IN1: Number one
• Lyricist: Hiroshi Yamamoto
• Composer: Akira Kamisaki
• Arrangement: Akira Kamisaki
• Sung by: Tsugumi Aoba (Miyuki Sawashiro)
• IN2: I believe you forever
• Lyricist: Hideyuki Kurata
• Composer: Akira Kamisaki
• Arrangement: Akira Kamisaki
• Sung by: Hibiki Daitetsu (Takayuki Hoshino)
• IN3: Runaway with you
• Lyricist: Hideyuki Kurata
• Composer: Akira Kamisaki
• Arrangement: Akira Kamisaki
• Sung by: Akiba Meguru (Tetsuya Kakihara)
• IN4: Amore Youth
• Lyricist: Eri Takenashi
• Composer: Akira Kamisaki
• Arrangement: Akira Kamisaki
• Sung by: Mikuriya Jin (Shimono Hiro)
• IN5: Hello Soybean Song
• Lyricist: Eri Takenashi
• Composer: Eri Takenashi
• Arrangement: Akira Kamisaki
• Sung by: Nagi (Haruka Tomatsu)
• IN6: Pure♥Love Generation
• Lyricist: Eri Takenashi
• Composer: Akira Kamisaki
• Arrangement: Akira Kamisaki
• Sung by: Takako Kimura (Lisa Hayami)
• IN7: Love Me Please Delicate
• Lyricist: Hiroshi Yamamoto
• Composer: Akira Kamisaki
• Arrangement: Akira Kamisaki
• Sung by: Zange-chan (Hanazawa Kana)

■The appeal of the work

The biggest appeal of "Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens" is the story woven by its unique setting and charming characters. The relationship between the arrogant god Nagi and the innocent boy Jin creates laughter and emotion. The story also combines various elements, such as school life set in the art club and the fight against impurities, so viewers will never tire of it.

Nagi's character is particularly appealing. Although she has an arrogant personality, she also has a friendly side, telling jokes and loving sweets. Her A-cup breasts also provide laughs for the viewers. Furthermore, Nagi's younger sister Zange-chan is a town idol with a unique personality where she listens to people's confessions for 100 yen a time. The personalities of these characters add excitement to the entire series.

Another appealing aspect of the series is school life set in the art club. The unique characters of the art club members, Jin, Daitetsu, Meguru, Takako, and Shino, add color to the work. In particular, the individual personalities of each character, such as Jin's purity, Daitetsu's reticence, Meguru's self-consciousness, Takako's fujoshi-like nature, and Shino's ladylike nature, make a strong impression on viewers. The relationships and growth of these characters add depth to the work.

Furthermore, the fantasy element of the fight against impurities also adds to the appeal of the work. Nagi's fight against impurities and Jin's ability to grab impurities with his bare hands, these fantasy elements add tension and thrill to the story. Also, the growth and change of Nagi and Jin through their fight against impurities is depicted, which also moves the viewer.

■ Evaluation of the work

"Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens" has been highly praised by many fans. In particular, the story is praised for its combination of various elements, such as the relationship between Nagi and Jin, school life set in the art club, and the fight against impurities. The characters' personalities and growth also leave a strong impression on viewers.

Furthermore, this work has been praised for its deep themes. Through the relationship between Nagi and Jin, themes such as friendship, trust, and growth are depicted. Also, through the fight against impurities, themes such as good and evil and justice are depicted. These themes deeply move the viewers.

■Reasons for recommendation

Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens is a comedy about the daily life of a god and a boy, but is also loved by many fans for its deep themes. The story combines various elements, such as the relationship between Nagi and Jin, school life set in the art club, and the fight against impurities, so viewers will never tire of it. The characters' personalities and growth also leave a strong impression on viewers. These elements add to the appeal of the work.

Nagi's character is particularly appealing. Although she has an arrogant personality, she also has a friendly side, telling jokes and loving sweets. Her A-cup breasts also provide laughs for the viewers. Furthermore, Nagi's younger sister Zange-chan is a town idol with a unique personality where she listens to people's confessions for 100 yen a time. The personalities of these characters add excitement to the entire series.

Another appealing aspect of the series is school life set in the art club. The unique characters of the art club members, Jin, Daitetsu, Meguru, Takako, and Shino, add color to the work. In particular, the individual personalities of each character, such as Jin's purity, Daitetsu's reticence, Meguru's self-consciousness, Takako's fujoshi-like nature, and Shino's ladylike nature, make a strong impression on viewers. The relationships and growth of these characters add depth to the work.

Furthermore, the fantasy element of the fight against impurities also adds to the appeal of the work. Nagi's fight against impurities and Jin's ability to grab impurities with his bare hands, these fantasy elements add tension and thrill to the story. Also, the growth and change of Nagi and Jin through their fight against impurities is depicted, which also moves the viewer.

As mentioned above, Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens is a comedy about the daily life of a god and a boy, but it is also loved by many fans for its deep themes. The story combines various elements, such as the relationship between Nagi and Jin, school life set in the art club, and the fight against impurities, so viewers will never tire of it. The characters' personalities and growth also leave a strong impression on viewers. These elements enhance the appeal of the work. Please watch this work and experience its charm for yourself.