is a Japanese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written and illustrated by the

manga artist A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a Cartoonist, comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the indus ...

duo Adachitoka. It was serialized in

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

's manga magazine ''

Monthly Shōnen Magazine is a monthly shōnen manga magazine published in Japan by Kodansha. It was launched in 1964 under the name . In 1969 it was retitled as and its publication frequency increased from quarterly to monthly. After suspension in 1974 it started ...

'' from December 2010 to January 2024, with its chapters collected in 27 volumes. The manga is licensed for English release in North America by

Kodansha USA Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC is a publishing company based in New York, US, and a subsidiary of Japan's largest publishing company Kodansha. Established in July 1st 2008, Kodansha USA publishes books relating to Japan, Japanese culture, and man ...

. The story revolves around a minor god named Yato, who is down on his luck and struggling to gain followers. Yato's dream is to become a well-known and revered god, but he does not have a shrine or any worshippers. One day, a high school girl named Hiyori Iki saves Yato from an oncoming bus, but ends up getting hit herself. The incident causes her soul to become loose from her body, leading her to experience an out-of-body existence. Hiyori seeks Yato's help to return her to normal, and in the process, she becomes involved in the world of gods, spirits, and the afterlife. A 12-episode

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series adaptation produced by

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

was broadcast from January to March 2014. A 13-episode second season, titled ''Noragami Aragoto'', was broadcast from October to December 2015. Both series are licensed in English by

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...

. By February 2024, the manga had over 8 million copies in circulation. The series has been well-received, with critics praising its plot, worldbuilding and characters.

Plot

Hiyori Iki was a normal middle school student until she was involved in a bus accident while trying to protect a stranger. This incident causes her soul to frequently slip out of her body, and she becomes aware of the existence of two parallel worlds: the Near Shore, where regular humans and creatures reside, and the Far Shore, where phantoms (demonic beasts) and human souls linger. Through her soul, she meets the strange, nameless

god In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

without a shrine, Yato. Yato is determined to make a name for himself out there by accepting any wish for 5 yen, including Hiyori's to fix her body. Alongside Yato's (or "Regalia")—a weapon forged from the spirit of a deceased human's soul—named Yukine, the trio go through many adventures struggling with their friendship, identity, and pasts.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by the

duo Adachitoka, ''Noragami'' was serialized in

's manga magazine ''

'' from December 6, 2010, to January 6, 2024. Kodansha collected its chapters into 27 individual volumes, released from July 15, 2011, to February 16, 2024. Extra chapters were published in the spin-off magazine ''Monthly Shōnen Magazine+'' since October 20, 2011. Seven of these chapters were collected in a single volume, titled , on November 15, 2013, while other extra chapters were included as add-on content to the limited edition of the 20th volume, released on February 15, 2019, and to the limited edition of the 24th volume, released on October 15, 2021. For the 50th anniversary of ''Monthly Shōnen Magazine'', a 14-volume edition of ''Noragami'' started on December 17, 2024. In North America, the manga was licensed for English release by

in 2014. The 27 volumes were released from September 2, 2014, to December 10, 2024. ''Noragami: Stray Stories'' was released on December 1, 2015. Kodansha USA started releasing the series in a three-in-one volume

omnibus edition An omnibus edition or omnibus is a book containing multiple creative works by the same or, more rarely, different authors. Commonly two or more of the works have been previously published as books, but a collection of shorter works, or shorter w ...

, with the first volume released on September 13, 2022. The eighth and latest volume (consisting of the original volumes 22–24) was released on November 7, 2023.

Anime

television series adaptation was announced in June 2013. It was directed by Kotaro Tamura and produced by

, with character designs from

Toshihiro Kawamoto is a Japanese animator. He is the co-founder and director of the anime studio Bones. He was the character designer and animation director of ''Cowboy Bebop''. Biography Early period Upon graduating from high school, Kawamoto was first employed ...

. Prior to its television premiere, the first episode was screened at 2013's

Anime Festival Asia C3AFA, also known as Anime Festival Asia (AFA), is a series of anime conventions held in the Southeast Asian region, with a core annual convention held in Singapore. The main convention is traditionally held over a weekend in late November to e ...

on November 10, 2013. The series was broadcast for 13 episodes on

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV (channel 9), branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent station, independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city and parts ...

MBS MBS may refer for: People * Mohammed Ben Sulayem (born 1961), president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile * Mohammed bin Salman (born 1985), crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia * Mohan Bikram Singh (born 1935), Nepales ...

, BS11, and TVA from January 5 to March 23, 2014. Two additional original animation DVDs (OADs) were bundled with the limited edition of the 10th and 11th manga volumes, respectively released on February 17 and July 17, 2014. A second season, titled , was broadcast from October 3 to December 26, 2015. Two OADs were bundled with the limited edition of the 15th and 16th manga volumes, respectively released on November 17, 2015, and March 17, 2016. In North America, both series were licensed by

Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...

. They released ''Noragami'' on DVD and

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

on July 7, 2015, while ''Noragami Aragoto'' was released on February 21, 2017. Following the announcement that Funimation would be unified under the Crunchyroll brand, the series was moved to the platform in 2022.

Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, stylized as MADMAN, is an Australian film and television production, distribution, entertainment, and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising ...

licensed the anime for distribution in Australia and New Zealand.

Music

The music for the series was composed by

Taku Iwasaki is a Japanese composer and arranger. His hometown is Tokyo, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japa ...

. Two original soundtrack albums were released by

Avex Avex Inc. ( kabushiki gaisha , commonly known as Avex and stylized as avex) is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi ...

on February 19, 2014, and March 25, 2016; the second album was originally released on November 25, 2015, but the ''Noragami Aragoto'' production committee halted shipments and recalled the discs from stores following a controversy surrounding an improper usage of sounds related to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. The opening theme for ''Noragami'' is , by Hello Sleepwalkers, while the ending theme is , with composition by

Supercell A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone, a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Due to this, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms. Of the four classifications of thunderstorms (su ...

and performed by Tia. The opening theme song for ''Noragami Aragoto'' is by The Oral Cigarettes, and the ending theme song is by Tia.

Drama CD

The limited edition of the ninth volume of the manga was bundled with a

drama CD Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

, released on December 17, 2013.

Video game

mobile game A mobile game is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any Mobile device, portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet computer, table ...

, titled , was released by developer for Android devices on October 29, 2015; an

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

version became available on November 14 of that same year.

Reception

Manga

''Noragami'' was the 14th top selling manga series in Japan during the first half of 2014, with over 1.8 million copies sold. By August 2018, the manga had over 6.3 million copies in circulation. By February 2024, it had over 8 million copies in circulation. It was nominated for the 38th

Kodansha Manga Award is one of Japan's major manga awards. The event is sponsored by publisher Kodansha. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga in its third iteration since 1977. Categories The award was originally called the until 1968. In 1970, it was ...

in the category in 2014. Rebecca Silverman of ''

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ot ...

'' praised the first volume's setup, characters, and artwork, though she found the opening chapter "fairly weak" and noted some

plot devices A plot device or plot mechanism is any technique in a narrative used to move the plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing a loss of the suspension of disbelief ...

were underutilized. She highlighted its "other-worldly feel", humor, and engaging use of

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

mythology, calling it "one of those books that reads faster than you expect". Ross Locksley of ''UK Anime Network'' compared the first chapter unfavorably to

Rumiko Takahashi is a Japanese manga artist. With a career of several commercially successful works, beginning with ''Urusei Yatsura'' in 1978, she is one of Japan's best-known and wealthiest manga artists. Her works are known worldwide, where they have been tra ...

's '' Rin-ne'' and Clamp's ''

xxxHolic ''xxxHolic'' (stylized as ''×××HOLiC''; pronounced "Holic") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the manga group Clamp. The series, which crosses over with another Clamp work, '' Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle'', r ...

'', though his opinion improved after the third chapter. He likened Adachitoka's art to

Takeshi Obata is a Japanese manga artist that usually works as the illustrator in collaboration with a writer. He first gained international attention for '' Hikaru no Go'' (1999–2003) with Yumi Hotta, but is better known for '' Death Note'' (2003–2006) ...

's work in ''

Death Note ''Death Note'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. It was serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen manga, manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 2003 to ...

'', concluding that the volume was "an uneven start for ''Noragami'', but overall a positive one." Matthew Warner of ''The Fandom Post'' commended the story and artwork, particularly praising the backgrounds as the standout visual element. He noted its "nice bit of Japanese folklore" and likable protagonists, calling the first volume "a solid start." Similarly, Danica Davidson of ''

Otaku USA ''Otaku USA'' is a bimonthly magazine published by Sovereign Media, which covers various elements of the "otaku" lifestyle (such as anime, manga, video games, cosplay and Japanese popular music) from an American perspective. The issues were acc ...

'' described it as "a cute start with a nice mixture of supernatural and fun."

Anime

Theron Martin of ''Anime News Network'' praised the series' story, visuals, and balance of comedy and drama, though he criticized the final three episodes as "anticlimactic". He drew comparisons to ''

Beyond the Boundary is a Japanese light novel series written by Nagomu Torii, with illustrations by Tomoyo Kamoi. The work won an honorable mention in the Kyoto Animation Award competition in 2011. Kyoto Animation has published three volumes since June 2012. ...

'' and noted thematic parallels between the God/Regalia dynamic and the Meister/Weapon relationship in ''

Soul Eater is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Atsushi Ohkubo. Set at the "Death Weapon Meister Academy", the series revolves around three teams, each consisting of a weapon meister and at least one human that can transform into a w ...

'', while emphasizing their fundamental differences. Martin concluded that while ''Noragami'' excels at its best, it "tapers off too much at the end and rushes its last arc." Gabriella Ekens, writing for the same website, highlighted the series' worldbuilding and characters, calling Yato the "key" the series' success." She described it as a blend of and elements, positioning it between shrine-focused stories like '' Gingitsune'' and '' Kamisama Kiss'' and supernatural action titles like ''

Bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning. It often refers specifically t ...

'', while also noting similarities to '' Inuyasha'' and ''Soul Eater''. Ekens praised it as "solid, all-around, well-constructed entertainment" with broad appeal. Chris Beveridge of ''The Fandom Post'' lauded studio Bones' adaptation, particularly its worldbuilding and action choreography, which he felt elevated the source material. He called the series "an appealing show that knows how to work its magic", praising its strong presentation. Sheena McNeil of ''Sequential Tart'' commended its natural blend of drama, humor, and emotional depth, calling it "a powerful anime" with lasting impact. Kyle Mills of

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

praised the characters and humor, noting its lighthearted tone despite occasional dramatic beats. While critical of the arc-based structure and underdeveloped antagonist, he deemed it "immensely entertaining" with rich worldbuilding and well-developed characters.

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

included ''Noragami'' among the best anime series of the 2010s.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * {{Bones (studio) Action anime and manga Anime series based on manga Bones (studio) Crunchyroll anime Funimation Kodansha manga Shinto kami in anime and manga Shōnen manga Supernatural anime and manga Tokyo MX original programming Urban fantasy anime and manga Yōkai in anime and manga