Kamisama Kiss

Kamisama Hajimemashita is a Shōjo manga series by Julietta_Suzuki, focusing on a teenage girl who inadvertently becomes a land god living in a shrine. It is currently being serialized in Hana to Yume, and has been licensed by Viz Entertainment under the title Kamisama Kiss.

Characters

Momozono Nanami: A teenage girl whose father ran out on her because of his gambling debts, and she was evicted from her apartment the same day. She was often mocked for her poverty by her classmates.

Shortly after, she met Mikage and was offered his "home" to stay in. She discovered that his home was a run-down shrine run by his familiar Tomoe and two attendants Onikiri and Kotetsu, and that by kissing her forehead Mikage bestowed the mark of the land-god on her. She doesn't have much power just yet, but works hard at balancing her godly duties with her schoolwork. She is strongly implied to be romantically interested in Tomoe, and is often upset when he flirts with other women.

Tomoe: A fox yokai who serves as the familiar of the land god. At some point in the past, he seems to have been a human being since he has flashbacks of being a sick young human boy. Several centuries ago, he was a wild and cruel fox who served the Evil King, but occasionally took mercy on girls who showed spirit. Tomoe is also somewhat scarred from the twenty years spent without Mikage, which caused the shrine to fall into disrepair and forced him to take up a god's duties despite not having a god's power.

He has a very cynical, often mocking demeanor, partly because he is distrustful of others, but he can be very charming when the occasion demands it. He often criticizes and mocks Nanami, which initially make her despise him. However, he is secretly fond of her and worries a great deal, as well as doing things such as cooking to please her. He is also extremely powerful, and is able to apparently disable other familiars and independent demons without much effort (such as turning Kurama into an ostrich, or the fish princess' assistant into a helpless fish). However, his power is restricted by Nanami's words; if she orders him to do something, he must comply.

Tomoe has straight silver hair, claws, pale skin, a fluffy tail and a pair of fox ears sticking up from the top of his head. He can transform into a human by using enchanted leaves, and can also transform other creatures with the same leaves. Despite claims to the contrary, he appears to be falling in love with Nanami.

Mikage: A mysterious man who was once the land god of the shrine, and who left twenty years ago for unspecified reasons. He met a newly-homeless Nanami and bestowed the land-god mark on her, saying that she was better suited to be the god than him. He has light hair and glasses, and wears a trenchcoat and hat.

Kurama: A wildly popular pop idol with the gimmick of being a "fallen angel", with goth makeup and a bad boy attitude. In truth, he's a crow tengu who wished to become the land god instead of Nanami by eating her heart. After being thwarted by Tomoe, he became more friendly with Nanami and even allowed her to stay at his apartment when she temporarily lost her godhood. It's even implied that he has fallen in love with her because of her kindness toward him. He does, however, have a lingering dislike for Tomoe and enjoys tormenting him.

Mizuki: A snake familiar at the Yonomori shrine. Nanami saved his live from her cruel classmates by releasing him out a window, he fell in love with her, so he left an engagement mark on her wrist. After a day, he arrives at her school and whisks her away to the shrine, which she is unable to escape from.

Unlike other snakes, he was apparently raised in a greenhouse and has little knowledge of how most snakes behave. Mizuki is also very lonely because his god has vanished; she once existed when people visited the shrine and believed in her, but now no one lives in the valley and she has dwindled away to nothing. However, he still believes that she exists and will return. As a result, he wants Nanami to live with him forever at his shrine, but when she refuses he tries to rape her and is interrupted by Tomoe.

It is revealed that the shrine is an illusion meant to hide his god's favorite plum tree, which Mizuki treasured. Nanami promised to come look at the blossoms with him whenever he felt lonely. Like Kurama he seems to still be harboring a crush on Nanami, and even comes to cook for her when she's ill.

Onikiri and Kotetsu: The two attendants at Nanami's shrine. They appear to be two bald childlike yokai wearing masks, but like Tomoe they are able to shapeshift. They are extremely fond of Nanami and Tomoe both.

Isobe: An annoying classmate of Nanami's, who enjoys calling attention to her poverty.

Narukami: A bratty, selfish sky god who has an unrequited crush on Tomoe. She steals Nanami's mark and shrinks Tomoe into a toddler, and takes control of the shrine for a short period. She is very demanding and apparently goes through attendants at an unheard-of rate, and seems to take sadistic delight in abusing her familiar.

Himemiko: A catfish who became a swamp deity, and lives in a palace underneath her swamp with her many fish attendants. Ten years ago she fell in love with a young boy, and she asks Nanami to help her reconnect with the boy once again. As repayment, when Nanami visits her palace she allows her to wear one of her luxurious kimonos so she will look her best in front of Tomoe.

Despite rarely speaking, Himemiko is very perceptive and seems to be one of the few characters who has figured out that Nanami is in love with Tomoe. Initially she appears very "fishy," with bulging eyes and a fishlike noseless face. However after getting a makeover from Nanami, she maintains a more casual "human" appearance so she can meet the boy again.

External links

• Anime News Network's Page