Kannazuki no Miko – Destiny of the Shrine Maiden
Kannazuki no Miko: Destiny of the Shrine Maiden is an odd anime. So heavily advertised online that a banner for it even appeared on this humble site (via a network), I couldn’t resist bumping it to the top of my Netflix queue, partially out of curiosity, and partially because I hadn’t seen anything new in awhile. And if there is one thing that I can say about Kannasuki no Miko, it was certainly something I hadn’t seen before.
Himeko Kurusegawa and Chikane Himemiya (carefully referred to with the “-sama” honorific by almost everyone else) are best friends in high school. They also happen to be friends with Souma Oogami , who finds himself more or less possessed by the power of the Orochi, a sort-of god of destruction. Breaking free of the Orochi’s power and his destiny as one of the “necks” of the Orochi, Souma finds he has a new friend, a giant robot. Did I mention that this anime is a little unusual? A love triangle soon emerges, and Himemiya must decide to pursue Himeko as her own, or step aside for the blossoming love between the target of her affections and Souma. This brings me to one aspect of this anime that I dislike – Himeko is one of the most passive, spineless characters I have ever seen, yet everyone seems to think she’s the greatest. She doesn’t even look that great. Fans of the Shizuru and Natsuki subplot from My Hime should find quite a bit to like in this situation and its “sort-of resolution” at the end of the second DVD. The someone fill-in-the-blanks nature of the main characters is easily overcome by the colorful nature of the the villains, the Orochi’s “necks.” This group of misfits reminds me just a bit of what the Dragons of Earth from X would like like if they were done in a comedic style – their goals and organization seem fairly similar. Among them are a manga artist, a pop-star, and a young cat-girl in a nurse’s outfit. They hang out in an alternate universe filled with purple haze with a black hole hovering overhead; with some exceptions, they’re more comic relief than real threat.
As the story progresses, it developes a flavor of high drama, full of betrayal, heroic acts, and sacrafice. Those who stick with this show to the end will be rewarded, although I couldn’t help but laugh at some of the over the top dialog in the especially drawn-out monolouges. At any rate, Kannazuki No Miko is truly a great anime.
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