Medium: TV Anime
Number of episodes: 13
Genres: Humor, Romance
Director: Yutaka Yamamoto
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Version reviewed: Anime News Network video stream (also available in Bandai Ent. box set)
Release date: October 4 thru December 27, 2008 (JPN), July 16, 2009 (NA)
Rated: Unrated (appropriate for 13+)

To be entirely honest, I was not the least bit excited about watching Kannagi. It was one of three choices provided to me through the Reverse Thieves' "Anime Secret Santa" project, the other two being Air and True Tears, but seeing as I am generally not a fan of the "moé" subculture of anime fandom, I was not expecting to enjoy this series.

And would you look at that! I didn't.

The plot, laid out by Hideyuki Kurata (Now and Then, Here and There, Read or Die) follows our mostly cookie-cutter protagonist Jin Mikuriya, who is living alone while his parents are away on a business trip. On the day that he completes his wooden carving of a local goddess, the statue breaks apart, revealing a teenage girl inside! The petulant girl explains that she is Nagi, the goddess that Jin was carving a likeness of. Naturally, she ends up staying with Jin, pretending to be his "long lost sister" to explain it to friends. (Can you count the clichés?) As the story drags on, the cast is filled out with Jin's art club friends (the otaku Akiba and the shy, tall Daitetsu), childhood friend Tsugumi (who has a crush on Jin), and Nagi's goddess sister "Zange-chan" (who – surprise surprise! – also likes Jin).

So how about the conflict? What drives these characters to do what they do, and keeps the viewer interested enough to move from episode to episode? Well, nothing! The first few episodes feature Nagi and Jin trying to capture and destroy "impurities," evil spirits (or something like that) in the shape of black insects. What are the impurities and why does Nagi need to destroy them? It's not really explained, but the show sure does make a big deal about these things at the beginning.

Later the show focuses on Nagi and Zange trying to outdo each other at being teenage idols. The reason for that conflict is weak as well, with the only explanation being that the two need to gain followers to increase their powers as goddesses. Curiously, though, their "powers" never seem to manifest into anything remotely useful. This arc in particular highlights the show's obsession with the otaku subculture, especially its uncomfortable tendency to pander to its audience at every single turn with teen idols, magical girls, and maid cafés.

The middle of Kannagi forgets about BOTH of these conflicts and lapses into pure comedy, with a few episodes about Nagi locking herself in a closet, a karaoke trip, and other silliness. Here the show really shines, as it takes its very simple, one-dimensional cast and uses their comedic strengths – much like 2006's enjoyable The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya – to pull off some surprisingly funny scenes.

Finally, it all comes back to a dramatic trio of episodes at the end that seems like a half-hearted attempt to transform the characters of the previous ten episodes into real human beings that the audience should care about. However, when Kannagi's excuse for character introduction is a girl listing off the archetypes that each character fits into, it's only natural that an attempt at real development meets with some massive cognitive dissonance. A few moments in the final episode or two might provoke some real emotion, but mostly you will just want to punch Jin for turning into Shinji Ikari at the last moment.

The biggest central conflict that Kannagi has going for it is the romantic relationship developing between Jin and Nagi, but it falls flat in this as well. Unlike Haruhi Suzumiya (also directed by Yutaka Yamamoto), which had a similarly subdued romantic conflict between a deadpan guy and an impatient, immature girl, Kannagi doesn't have a romantic payoff (the kiss scene in Haruhi). Admittedly this is because Kannagi is based on a manga that has not finished, and the show was intended to have a second season, so it is hard to fault the folks at A-1 Pictures for the weakness in the narrative. However, it undoubtedly weakens the first (and only) season as a stand-alone show.

With all of this negative talk, you might think that I hated everything about Kannagi, but that is certainly not the case. The animation, for one, is beautiful, and it is clear that animating the character's movements – Nagi's in particular – got a lot of focus from the team. The show might not look as beautiful as Haruhi, which was particularly noticeable for its stellar animation, but it's one of the closest things you can find out there in terms of both animation and art direction.

Oddly enough, the background music at the beginning is impressive, using a lot of interesting electronic instrumentation rarely found in anime background music, but later episodes cut back on the use of Satoru Kousaki's fascinating, emotive music in favor of uninspired instrumental versions of the opening and ending themes.

Despite its technical high points, when it comes down to it Kannagi is a waste of time. The show features characters defined only by the archetypes they fit into, but instead of consistently using this potential weakness to the show's comedic benefit, Kurata spends an inordinate amount of time on poorly executed drama and an unsatisfying romantic plot. Still, the most pressing issue that I have with Kannagi is that it simply has nothing to say. At the end of the experience, I was left with only a feeling of, "well yes, that happened." A goddess moved in with a boy, they did some silly stuff that sometimes made me laugh, and they both sort of like each other. Behind all of the big-eyed teenage girls and the half-baked attempts at romantic comedy, Kannagi has no substance, and that is ultimately its greatest failure.

weak.

Clearly I've been more naughty than nice this year. It's the only thing that makes sense, considering the three anime chosen for me by my "Anime Secret Santa." The project, run by the Reverse Thieves, has a wide cross-section of anime bloggers trading review requests Secret Santa-style, with the goal of the choices being things that the reviewer on the receiving end might like despite having never seen before.

Somebody, however, is not out to make my Christmas a happy one. Whoever you are, my undercover friend, you should know right now that I shall never forgive you for what you have done. I shall hunt you to the ends of the earth, though you may hide behind the guise of Internet anonymity. "Why the hatred?" my readers might ask. "Why this open loathing for one whom you have never met?"

The reason, as the more astute among you may have already guessed, is that my Anime Secret Santa has had the courage (and cruelty) to request not one, not two, but THREE anime series straight out of the bowels of the dread spectre of moé (not exactly my favorite genre, to put it lightly). My friends, I am now tasked with choosing between Air, Kannagi, and True Tears.

So let it be known that I accept your challenge, oh mysterious fellow blogger. My poison of choice is Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens, the Next Big Thing from Haruhi director Yutaka Yamamoto. I am prepared to stare without fear into the gaping maw of the moé menace. Do your worst.

My review of Kannagi will be posted on or around December 24. The pairings for the Secret Santa Project will be revealed on the 25th.

As it turns out, the "Aniplex TBA" panel at Otakon 2009 was dedicated to Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens, and featured Yutaka Yamamoto as well as members from the Aniplex team. The American production team from Bandai Entertainment spent most of the panel asking Yamamoto et al about specific developmental aspects of the series.

As with most introductions, the easiest thing on which to elaborate first was how the series came to be. This was mostly due to a professional relationship Yamamoto had formed while working with someone on the project “Swing Big.” After Yamamoto climbed in the ranks, he caught her attention, was taken more seriously, and, more importantly, was given the chance to help make Kannagi a reality.

Another query was one of change, specifically those needed/wanted between manga and anime. Here, Yamamoto relayed that the anime team was devoted to the idea of completely complementing the original. As the original manga author (Eri Takenashi) was asked to be directly involved, the anime team made sure never to subtract, but only add when necessary and according to the author’s permission.

The process of voice actor selection was also of interest. As it turns out, a voice talent agent supplied more than 30 people for the main character. Each was asked to try out for all the female roles, and Ms. Tomatsu, who would eventually win the lead, was thought to be equally well-adept at each one. So well did she portray each character (according to the sound director as well as the Takenashi), that her assignment to the lead came down to that fact that she physically resembled the 2D character.

A rather interesting aspect of any show that is rarely given any credence, much less justification or explanation, is the opening/closing credit sequences. While demanded by the studio (probably due to the success of Haruhi Suzumiya), Yamamoto ensured they would be metaphorical. The opening was expressive of the main character’s pop-idol attributes, while the closing exemplified her more divine aspects (minds out of the gutter, boys. We’re talking spirits and goddesses, not heavenly curves).

In a reverse Q&A session, seeing as the Americans already got to ask their questions, Yamamoto was asked to pose any queries he might have for the American production staff or fans. His question was concerned with how viewers in the United States would accept the divine aspect of the series. Seemingly expecting negative feedback, Yamamoto’s face beamed as his translator conveyed that members of the panel audience said that America is big enough to accept all ideologies, that it welcomes the stories of other cultures in their own context without feeling encroached upon/preached unto, and that spirituality in art can be taken metaphorically and without offense.

The Bandai Entertainment panel at Otakon 2009 was unfortunately without any licensing announcements, though the huge crowd in the room and the tremendous energy and charisma commanded by Bandai's marketing director, Robert Napton would have led one to believe that a brand new license was coming up. The panel, held late Friday night, was defused in part by Bandai's surprise announcement the day before of the license for Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens.

There was an interesting dub-sub question that came up during the panel. Napton announced that Kurokami, which was streamed and dubbed near-simultaneously with the Japanese version, will see a bilingual release on both DVD and Blu-Ray on an unspecified date. However, Kannagi, which released on Friday, a mere day after the licensing announcement, will not have a dub at all. This was surprising to me, since Bandai had more time to dub Kannagi, and since Bandai dubbed the other two Yutaka Yamamoto-directed shows that they released – The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Lucky Star.

However, when asked about the reason for not dubbing the series, Napton had this to say: "It's a different situation [...] Because if you're talking about making something exclusively not at the retail level [...] Obviously, when you're dubbing, it's a much more expensive process, so it has to be more of a mass situation. We're doing something a little more focused." From the looks of it, Bandai looked at similar shows like Haruhi and Lucky Star, and realized that depsite their huge fanbases, they just didn't sell. It makes sense, then, that they decided to focus the release of Kannagi and save money on a dub that would be widely panned by the hardcore otaku fanbase of the show. That would explain not only why there is no dub, but also why the DVDs are releasing exclusively at online retailers for the time being.

On a side note, however, the Bandai press release regarding their Otakon panel had a quote from Napton regarding the potential for Kannagi moving to brick-and-morter retailers later on: "Furthermore, when we do make this sub only version available to the mass retailers at some point down the line it will be the same product for a HIGHER SRP – not less expensive as being speculated, so the obvious inference is to get it for less, get it NOW." It sounds like Bandai is planning to ease Kannagi into the mainstream market instead of shoving it out there and crossing their fingers as they did with Haruhi and Lucky Star.

Other than all the industry inside baseball, there were a few small announcements, mostly pertaining to the many events that Bandai has been heavily promoting. One of their biggest new events is the theatrical screening of the Eureka Seven 'good night, sleep tight, young lovers' movie, which will be seen in "approximately 432" theaters on September 24, 2009. Additionally, if fans show up in cosplay at the event and send pictures of themselves in costume to Anime Cosplay Paradise, they can win prizes from Bandai. The distributor will also hold a "Eureka Seven Day" to celebrate the film's release on September 20th at Kinokuniya Bookstores, in conjunction with the New York Anime Festival, as always.

And as a final note, when Mr. Napton asked members of the audience to "raise your hands if you bought Kannagi in the Dealer's Room today," the crowd of screaming and cheering Nagi fans all dropped their flailing hands. One guy sort of half-raised his hand before he realized that he was the only one. How's that for a visual representation of the pirating problem with otaku?

Bandai Entertainment, one of the leading distributors in the North American anime industry, just pulled what some gaming fans might call a "Saturn." For the past few days, advertisements on the sidebar of the Anime News Network linked to a website called omgitscoming.com, which contained nothing but a simple countdown. As of the completion of said countdown at 3:00 pm yesterday, Bandai (who we now know is the creator of the countdown) put up a new page featuring the official announcement of the release plans for Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens. The shonen romantic comedy was a smash hit with Japanese otaku, and is commonly seen as one of the successors of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Lucky Star. (Interestingly, all three were directed by this weekend's Otakon guest Yutaka Yamamoto.)

But a license for Kannagi is not surprising in itself, since the show has a lot of fan support if Internet discussions are to be believed. What is surprising is Bandai's release plan. Their announcement page includes an embedded video of episode 1 from Anime News Network's video service, which is currently hosting the first two episodes and which will presumably host all future episodes. Most importantly, however, Bandai claims that the Kannagi DVDs will be available in stores "immediately." SEGA famously attempted a similar strategy for the 1995 release of the Sega Saturn, but their too-good-to-be-true announcement that the console was already out resulted in severely disappointed sales. I'm not expecting a similar outcome, since anime DVDs and video game consoles occupy entirely different sphere. The distributor hasn't given us the details about the DVD release, but according to the Amazon listing, it looks like 7 episodes per $26 DVD. We'll be sure to press Bandai for more details at their industry panel today (Friday) at Otakon.

And on that note, I just want to say that this is a terrible time to make this announcement. I was unable to post about the announcement when it came out because I was sitting on a charter bus that was thens speeding me toward Baltimore. For countless other bloggers and journalists who were also either on their way to Otakon or checking into their Baltimore hotel rooms, this announcement only got to them later in the night at the earliest. Bandai probably would have gotten a veritable explosion of publicity had they announced this at 3:00 on Wednesday, but instead, they've caught a significant portion of the anime press world by surprise.