Search - Kamichu!, Volume 4: Holiday Confessions on DVD

A GOD DECLARES LOVE?

Sesho | Pasadena, TX USA | 01/15/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This fourth and final volume of Kamichu does indeed use holidays as a main part of its plot as the first episode starts with Matsuri wanting to ban Christmas celebrations and start a new tradition at her shrine and involve Yurie in the ceremony. She's facing an uphill battle as most of the townspeople have a soft spot for Santa-san, as he is called in Japan. Even her own little sister is against her! The weakest episode on the disk concerns Yurie just lounging around beneath her heated table and doing absolutely nothing on New Year's Day. Then it's on to Valentine's Day as Yurie is determined to make her own batch of chocolate for Kenji. She finds out just how much the people at her school care for her when she accidentally forgets it at home. But the real test will come when she has to face Kenji. Will she be able to declare her love for him?

Except for the New Year's episode, Volume 4 was a continuation and conclusion of a great show that everyone should check out. The animation is comparable to film features and never skimps or cheats like some other shows. The music matches the otherworldly nature of the story and gives a very traditional Japanese feel to Kamichu. But I have to say that the characters are the main reason I fell in love with this show. The writer conveys a strong sense of believing that Yurie and her friends are an absolute Good. Yes, even Matsuri, with her money-grubbing ways, really cares for Yurie and the other townspeople, and wants them to return to their ancestral ways. In addition to the sympathetic nature of the characters, they are just plain interesting, in terms of personality and design. Beautiful! As I've commented before, I also admired the fact that the writer of the show focused almost exclusively on the positive effects a child with divine power could have on the world and those around her. This is a feel-good show. Passionate, positive, and pretty to look at.

For a completely opposite point of view on divine power, you should check out the Death Note manga from Viz."