The World God Only Knows

And today, we're talking about one of my all-time favorite anime/manga series. Bleach? Much as I am a fan of it, no. Fate/Zero? I've talked about it to no end and I've already made a post about it, so no. History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi? Nope. This is a romantic comedy of all things. Normally, this is the territory of women and girls (not saying that guys can't enjoy it - I'm only saying it's usually girls and women), but it uses its elements so well and so originally that it has become an extremely unique series in its own right.

Ladies and gentleman, I give you: The World God Only Knows.

Our hero, the devil he's made a contract with... and his targets.

The protagonist, Keima Katsuragi, hits quite close to home for a good deal of readers. He's an absolute otaku who plays games rather than do anything else, prefers the 2D world to the 3D (the real) world, anti-social, you name it, he's got it. As for what his otaku specialization is... (yes, some otaku like or specialize in certain aspects than others), his is dating sim games. And he's good at them. REALLY good. So good, he is known online as 'The God of Capturing'. That being said, all his crushes are 2D video game girls, with special mention going to a girl named Yokkyun, a 2D girl that he's almost literally head over heels for, while 3D girls repulse him. But one day, he gets a message on his PFP (PSP) challenging him to capture another girl. Keima, being the proud God he is, accepts.

And in doing so, inadvertently signs a deal with a devil to help capture evil spirits. Um... okay.

This is our ever-so-scary devil. Fear her.

So the premise is this: Keima has been contracted by Elsie (the devil above) to flush out and capture evil spirits. Said evil spirits take residence in the gaps in girls' hearts, caused by things like depression, self-esteem issues, jealousy, etc. It must be girls since they give birth to children, which is their method of reincarnating. In order to force them out, those gaps must be filled. There are various tactics to do so, but the most risky yet effective method is... love. Naturally, Keima wants out of his deal immediately... only to find out that both he and Elsee have collars that take their heads if either of them back out. And so begins their wacky adventures of capturing evil spirits, making girls happier one female at a time.

The very first target, Ayumi - a track star who will inadvertently plow into you if you're not careful.

Every arc is a new girl, picked out by Elsee's detector (the skull decoration in her hair). Each girl of the arc has a different background, attitudes, etc etc, all of them unique. And each one almost more or less conforms to certain stereotypes that harem or romantic comedy anime have. There's the really, really shy type, the tsundere, the tomboy, etc etc. Keima has to tailor his strategies and tactics for each girl, factoring in not only their personalities, but their history, environment, and even the effects of other people around them. His strategies always have the same justification (Apparently, it works in dating sim games) but hey, they work! This gives the plots a lot of variety that one simply doesn't see in a lot of romantic comedy genres these days.

The cast of characters is kept to a relatively low number at the beginning chapters, each arc focusing more or less on only Keima, Elsee, and the girl of the arc. This works extremely well for this series, as it allows for a great deal of character development for all concerned in the arc. Later on, a number of former capture targets reappear, but the cast never feels stifling or overwhelming. Each girl has a lot of personality and backstory thanks to each of them having a full arc to flesh out their character development. The supporting characters never feel needless or unnecessary, as they contribute to the plot of the arc (or overall) as much as Keima or Elsee.

These are all Keima's capture targets. Eat your heart out, Ichika!

While all in all a very great manga/anime to read/watch, it does suffer a few flaws from time to time. The cliches here, despite being used well, fly thick and fast. There is a reason why Keima's strategies work despite being based on games. The series at times feel like a popularity contest, with the more popular characters reappearing as supporting characters or even having important parts of the plot while the less interesting ones fall by the wayside and are only given a summary mention. That said, perhaps it was written in such a way that the ones who would become supporting characters would be more popular than the ones who wouldn't. If Tamaki Wakaki had planned that, he is a character developing genius. One last nag is Elsee. She remains a near-constant ditz because that's her charm, but as a trade-off, a lot of outright character development is sacrificed, making it either very subtle or at times non-existent. Perhaps because of that, when something serious comes up, she's usually just shooed out before she can do anything.

Let's be honest - if my assistant fangirls over fire trucks, I'd shoo her out of anything serious too.

That being said, I pretty much had to nitpick in order to find the flaws. If those are the only nitpicks I have, then there's very little to complain about the series. It's definitely not for the action junkies who only like watching flashy fight scenes and explosions, but it's a quirky romantic comedy that will probably have you burst out laughing more than once and charmed by the romance which develops at a believable pace. I highly recommend anyone to watch it - yes, even the action junkies. This series was my first real introduction to the romantic comedy genre in manga, and I have not regretted it.

So watch it or read it. GOD COMMANDS YOU.