 Take one part Maria-sama ga Miteru (Gokigenyou!, private school life and yuri elements), one part Gravion (giant mecha combat), mix well, and you get Kannaduki no Miko. I can't think of much more of a bastard mix of genres - the possibilities are positively scary - but somehow, it works...
1 - Country of This World
Himeko has something of a secret - each day she goes to secretly meet
school idol Chikane, the girl so desirable she has millionaires chasing
after her. She also has Souma, the school's top male, chasing after
her. On her birthday, though, something happened - the sky turned dark,
the sun disappeared, and evil was unleashed inthe form of the Orochi.
Souma, overcome by the Orochi's curse, is ordered to 'destroy the
priestesses' - Himeko & Chikane...
2 - Overlapping Sun and Moon
With their town and school destroyed, things aren't likely to be the
same for Himeko, Chikane & Souma. Having broken the spell of the
Orochi, Souma is determined to defend Himeko from their efforts to kill
her - and conveniently now has a high-powered mecha to help him do it.
Souma's older brother, a local priest, summons the girls to explain
what has happened, and what their role is to be in the coming events.
Before long, though, the second Orochi tracks them down, and they're
forced to rely on Souma to defend them again...
I think this is what's called 'trying to cover all the bases'. I can
just see the planning meeting - "Guys love giant mecha shows, and MariMite's been a big hit lately too. If we can combine the two, we'll definitely have a hit on our hands!". And so Kannaduki no Miko was born - probably. Add a thumping KOTOKO soundtrack (OP/ED theme tunes Re-Sublimity and Agony), and they certainly got my attention... If anything the yuri element is even more to the fore here than it is in MariMite,
no doubt in an effort to draw the drooling fanboys in (works for
me...), with an interesting love triangle forming between Souma, Himeko
and Chikane which seems as if it will play a key part in coming events
(I can see Souma having problems protecting Chikane if/when the rivalry
really kicks off).
The two episodes here follow the same rough outline - the first half
of the episode is slice-of-life stuff dealing with the lives of the
characters (more emphasis on Chikane here), before the second half
switches to the latest attack of the Orochi (which is where Souma gets
his airtime, as resident mecha pilot). It's handled quite well, with
the change of style between the two aspect happening quite smoothly.
The combat stuff is fairly standard fare, with the expected loud
shouting and special moves being the order of the day. It's not bad by any stretch, but it's the most formulaic part of the show.
The day-in-the-life side works better - it 'feels' less like they're
following a formula (even though you know they are), and the
relationships between the characters (minor and major) are what really
makes the show.
I'm loath to recommend a show that it so obviously playing for the widest audience (or am I being far too cynical here?), but Kannaduki no Miko is definitely greater than the sum of its parts. Well worth watching. |
