The second half and conclusion of this arc proves (again) that Kami-sama is lacking any direction and focus. And where the first arc ended with a horrible and shocking resolution, this time the conclusion is silly at best where the yakuza are a joke as villains. I also didn’t quite understand the “brilliant” plan of Narumi and why it solves every problem involved in this case, including the yakuza stopping their treats.
Again, the plot can only be described as fragmented and unfocused. It all starts with the Yakuza who threat the shop in a way I can only describe as school yard bullying. The guys are a joke with their silly threat, only to never appear in front of the shop again for whatever reason.
When the Yakuza leave, the A-Team NEET-Team decides to track them down to find out who’s behind all of this. And here’s the kicker: just when I start to think everything might be getting good and interesting, the episode completely ignores the more pressing issue at hand and switches to Narumi, who chitchats with the owner about her past and food (what’s up with this season and all that talking about food? Blood-C constructs whole episodes around bentos and fluffy desserts and now we have Kamisama and talking about ramen and ice.)
I was almost jumping in the screen because of this shitty writing. Sure, we all need to know something about the characters and their backgrounds. But why do the creators do that right in the middle of something important? Why didn’t they add a segment where Alice needs to find out some background information, in other words doesn’t get the information miraculously in a matter of seconds? This would’ve given the story way enough time to flesh out the characters. Oh yeah, and as if the food talk wasn’t enough already: the car tracking is never mentioned or shown again.
Later, the story diverges again with an initiation rite so that Narumi becomes one of the brothers. Although I did understand his feeling of being powerless and useless I wondered why that had to happen at that particular moment? Did his initiation make any difference to the solution of this arc? Nope. It absolutely didn’t because we have Alice who would’ve ordered them around. There was no pressing need to do this and therefore is another diversion. Again, it would have been so much better if the creators moved that segment to the end, where everything gets wrapped up on a symbolic level, marking a new beginning for both Narumi and Meo. Instead of this we get treated to an ending that is rush, incomplete and lacks any power.
Last week I gave Kami-sama no Memo-chou one last chance to redeem itself. I really hoped that it would finally be able to deliver something of quality and focus. But well, as it turned out expectedly a lot of that was wishful thinking on my part.
Kami-sama no Memo-chou: Dropped.
