Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai

The World God Only Knows (fuck Kami Nomi, get that weeb shit outta here) follows Keima Katusragi, a dweeb who, in real life, would be one of the ugliest fat motherfuckers out there (or either really skinny) and a socially incompetent (or at least, antisocial) doofus (which is actually true in the pilot chapter, funnily enough), is the God of Conquests. He has played so many VNs (the gal games, you know, the one where you pick the girl) and mastered so many routes that one day, he is selected by Hell to free girls (and only girls, yeah, we'll get to that) from being possessed by spirits and is given an assistant to help him. Unfortunately, said assistant, Elsie, is dumber than a rock. But it's OK, because she can be competent sometimes. And so begins Keima's adventure of a lifetime. By exorcising spirits. Using lines from the VNs he plays. Which somehow work. Multiple times. For some reason.

Alright, let's get this out of the way, there's the premise. Exorcising spirits unlike stuff you'd see in The Exorcist would be pretty interesting. This isn't one of them. There's the obvious problem with Keima using lines from fucking VNs to woo girls. Instead of, y'know, getting to know them better by being yourself. Even considering the tone, this really stretches the realm of believability. I'd buy it if it only happened a few times, but he successfully exorcises spirits using these methods most of the time. And it doesn't help matters is that the manga later states that there's other methods to exorcising spirits. And in one chapter showing one of those methods, the method was shown to actually work. So why haven't Keima and Elsie tried another method?

Considering Keima's personality, you'd think there'd be a chapter dedicated to him trying out a new method, but that doesn't even happen. Or hell, a short moment where he thinks it probably wouldn't work and, as much as he hates to admit it, the one he's using is perfectly fine would've worked just as well. And really, the more I think about it, Elsie herself said that Keima has to conquer girls' hearts with love. Where did she get that idea? I know she's dumb but if she never knew, then how would she know how to do her job? It couldn't be her boss who gave her the idea, she's far more competent than Elsie.

And speaking of Elsie, I don't think they ever give an explanation on why Hell sends her to help Keima. There's clearly other, more competent people who could do her job far better as we see later on. Hell, I don't even think there's a mention of her needing experience and having her grow as a Spirit Hunter or something like that. Of course, I could be wrong, but still.

I'll give credit where credit's due, Keima using the VN method doesn't work in other times, and it's more like Keima teaches the girls to accept a part of themselves they've repressed, but he still uses the goddamn VN lines even then. But it is refreshing when he isn't using the VN methods and just be himself around the girls. For example, near the end of the Kanon arc, the aforementioned target flirts with Keima, who loses his cool, and eventually pats her head. This was a cute moment which actually made me smile a little.

On to the other bad parts, there's the fact that if Keima doesn't help in exorcising the spirits, he gets beheaded. Along with Elsie. What the fuck? I get that if left too long, the spirits possessing the girls would turn them into empty shells and cause massive damage, but Jesus Christ. These are the good guys and they're punishing this guy who didn't know any better (and would you blame him?) by death. Along with his assistant too. And they can never take it off unless they capture a huge amount of spirits (about 6000). So Keima has to live the rest of his life with a collar that could kill him at any moment. Fun, fun, fun! I wouldn't complain so much if it wasn't so inconsistent with the tone.

The manga's humor is chuckleworthy at best and well, just not funny at worst. So it's not terribly unfunny nor is it a laughfest. Except for the illegitimate daughter bit. I'll admit, that was pretty funny. The art's pretty good. Character designs are varied and easily identifiable and they look good too. Backgrounds are nice and the manga makes good use of shading. Overall, the art is pretty good, but it's nothing outstanding. Character-wise, it's actually not too bad. They're pretty cookie-cutter for the most part, but I did like Keima's and Kanon's development. With that said though, it does ask too much to forgive a character's flaws sometimes.

In the Jun Nagase arc, said target (who is a 20-year old college student, btw. And even kisses Keima, who is a minor, on the lips. Ech) who works at Keima's school for a while as an assistant teacher. It turns out that she closed down the basketball club because everyone else just didn't have the same enthusiasm she has. And that's the only explanation, btw. The team didn't gradually get worse or anything like that. She just closed it down because everyone else wasn't feeling it like she did in the court.

Story-wise, it's not too bad. It used an episodic structure, which worked perfectly fine for this series. And despite the rather jarring punishment given to Keima and Elsie, the manga does stay true to its tone most of the time and tries to keep the melodrama to a minimum......And then, the Jupiter Sisters arc comes and shits all over the perfectly fine, harmless story. It was laughable and dumb when the manga showed Keima's homeroom teacher to be some sort of badass who could do demon ass-kickings, but then, it tries to get serious. For example, one of the earlier targets, Kanon, almost gets KILLED. By a knife. IN THE MANGA ABOUT A GUY EXORCISING SPIRITS WITH VN METHODS. And of course, they gotta go through all this melodramatic bullshit, about who Keima has to choose and blah, blah, blah. Said arc also has Keima trying to save the world.

And the worst part is, the humor is still there, but with this sudden shift in tone, it just feels jarring after the moment where there's a crazed bitch trying to KILL the protagonists. Really, the entire arc is awful. Which is saying something when the final arc is WORSE. Especially with that ending. So, you know those Satyr guys who are the main antagonists? They're defeated offscreen. OFFSCREEN. After TWO goddamn bullshit arcs of being the main antagonists, they're defeated offscreen. And it turns out Elsie is a powerful demon who can stop time. How? I DON'T FUCKING KNOW! Ask the goddamn writer who clearly pulled this out of his ass.

Finally, about the ending, so, um, Elsie? Why did you remove Haqua, your best friend's, memories of you? Doesn't that go against your character? Also, fuck that twist about Elsie's boss actually being Keima's teacher all this time through time travel bullshit! And another thing, Keima. You chose Chihiro? Really? Not the idol chick who'd totally ride your dick and loves even the real you and not your VN bullshit? You stupid motherfucker!

All in all, The World God Only Knows is harmless. You're not gonna get an orgasm of great writing from it nor will you be offended by how dumb it is, but it's harmless. Up until the moment the Jupiter Sisters arc starts. Quite frankly, just imagine a better ending for the manga that is completely in line with the tone pre-Jupiter Sisters arc. It'd be much better. Now, once the Jupiter Sisters arc starts, it becomes bad. Melodramatic bullshit, jarring tone shift and a bullshit way of building tension in a manga with such a light tone before. And that's not even getting into the final arc. Which is worse.

Tl;dr:TWGOK is harmless until the moment it tries to take itself seriously later on. Not recommended.

The World God Only Knows (TWGOK) is a manga created by Wakaki Tamiki. This manga is really great and easily enjoyable, everything is nice. The story, which is unique, made it's readers love this series. Also, the characters are really lovable, starting from the otamegane* Keima to the sweet Elsee, each one takes the spotlight. I like how the story is divided into arcs, it gives a different shot. Also, the targets, each one has a different attitude, a tsundere* girl, a sporty one, tough or shy girl------ name it! The Art, though not really that outstanding for a shounen manga, is nice. Wakaki's art is simple yet appealing, so the readers will really love to see those characters.

If TWGOK will be adapt into an anime, I have my seiyuu picks. For Keima, I think Satoshi Hino (Other Roles: Saito Hiraga of Zero No Tsukaima, Yuji Sakai of Shakugan no Shana) will be fine. Well, I can't really think, hehe. For Elsee, I think Yui Horie's voice would really fit. Yui Horie (Other Roles: Yuuki Cross of Vampire Knight, Ayu Tsukimiya of Kanon) is really good, and she can deliver her voice really good. (And besides, she's one of my fave seiyuus toooo!) For Hakua, I bet Rie Kugimiya (Other Roles: Taiga Aisaka of Toradora!, Alphonse Elric of Full Metal Alchemist) will be the best option. Since Hakua is a tsundere-type, and Kugimiya voice tsunderes, there is no one you can ask for. And for Tenri's voice, Mamiko Noto's gentle voice will be good. (Other Roles: Nodoka Miyazaki of Mahou Sensei Negima, Ai Enma of Jigoku Shoujo.)

All in all, TWGOK is a totally awesome manga, and recommended for all otakus there.

NOTES:
*otamegane- combination of otaku and megane.
*tsundere- type of characters who hates something/someone, but really loves it.

Before I begin this review, I will start off by saying that I am not the most serious critic. I don't shove false facts down peoples faults, and I don't try to force people to watch it. With that, let's begin.

I read Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai a while ago, after watching all of the anime series. I really wanted to see what happened after that, and why so many content was skipped, so I decided to go and read the manga. Since I did not have much time to read per day, it took me around two months to finish the manga, and boy, was it amazing. I've never seen such a good harem series, well, in this case "read" such a good series, but... it's absolutely amazing.

Story: 8/10

The story is pretty simple, but it entertains you until the end. I'm not going to sit here explaining the synopsis of the series, because it's right here, on freaking MAL. So, screw it, but I'll explain it a bit. Keima Katsuragi is a 17-year old teenager who does nothing but play video games all day, including when he is in class. I'd do that, but, yeah, too dangerous. Plus, don't have a portable console. Anyway, he plays video games and pretty much has no friends. One day, he receives and email, and then some random demon woman comes outta nowhere and tells him to capture runaway spirits. Runaway Spirits hide within the gap of people's hearts, by people, we mean really "odd" girls. To fill that gap within the heart, Keima uses "love" but it is revealed that any method can be used to draw out the spirit.

Art: 8/10

The art style for this manga is decent, actually, it's pretty good. Well, it's what to be expected, since this manga was made around 2008, so, yeah, the art is bound to be somewhat good.

Character: 10/10

Every character in the show, including the capture targets; Ayumi, Chihiro, Tsukiyo, a lot more people... I love every character in the show, so, yes, I like Chihiro, gunna bitch to me about it? Reason for me saying that, is, that a lot of people do not like Chihiro, and I have no idea why. So, that's my reason for saying the above, but I love every character in the series.

Overall: 10/10

I love this series, it's great for a harem series, harem being my 5th favorite genre. I'm not going to explain genres in-depth what I like, but, harem is one of my favorite genres and I love this series for a harem/romance. It's absolutely amazing, and I recommend anyone to read it, possibly before watching the anime. They missed around 7 arcs in the anime series, and those arcs are really good.

For the main part of the story, it is divided by arcs. It is actually the frst time i read a manga with its arcs so clearly divided. The main character's development from a guy who only cares about girls in his games and rejects everything realistic from studying to people, to someone who cares for the girls around him and even falling in love, which is a pretty predictable development but u can feel the difference so much that well it just make you forget how predictable it was. The other characters do not have much development other than during their arcs,as time progresses i actually feel that they are just there for the story, although at some point i did get emotionally attached to some characters. In between u might feel bored of the story as there are some part where u will jus feel it is not smooth and some that even might defy ur logic, but that might just be for me. The ending... I just have one word for it, underwhelming. it ends with something kind of predictable, but the author still did a decent job about it, it has some part left untouched, but it's enough for a closure. Geneally this series has brought me great enjoyment with its whacky interaction and just how the whole thing went on. It is a good series not to be missed.
p.s I know my language is bad but I hope it is useful :)

Warning this review my contain spoilers


First impressions, so my first thoughts going into this was that this was was going to be a more complete story than the anime which stopped 3/4 in and so i read this to get the full package because I thought this worth the price of entry and to some extent it was because it a bit different from your usual harem.

Story, 6/10

Now I know that this is going to sound quite generic but please beer with me as I explain this isn't a problem.
So the story begins with are main character keima who kind of a outcast that doesn't really care for much besides playing dating sim games.
Which In fact he's pretty good at you could call him a grand master of dating sim games,
So much so that he called the God of conquest.
One day he get a mysterious email which request him to conquer girls
Thinking this is for a game challenge he agrees.
In repose he meets a air headed demon named elise who tells him that he has signed a contract with her to find and capture lost souls which love are evil spirits which hide in the hearts of girls, that can only be removed by love.
He first refuses to help because he has no interest or experience with real women,
But than finds out that if he doesn't he and Elise will be killed on the spot.
So now he is forced to use his dating sim skills and knowledge to surprising effect in order to have these girls fall in love with him and get the lost souls.

So as far as harem story's go I thought this was probably one of the more interesting ones I have read.
Now I not saying it revolutionary or anything like that,
Like quite a few people are saying it is.
Because it plays out pretty much like most harems,
Except for the fact that the main character doesn't give a fuck about these girls and there problems.
Kind of plays out like a video game when I think about it.

the first half of the story can be summarized as girl of the week.
With the Main character using his skills to Solve these problems.
Which was for the most part the usual teenage problems,
Like my family I don't get along or I have daddy issues or I am very shy.
That kind of crap Nothing really that deep or thought provoking.
Except for a few exceptions here in there,
When they where fixing problems that wasn't related to high school students .
But how they handled I thought was kinda interesting and should get credit for trying to be at least somewhat interesting.
Although it still held back by that it's most set in a high school so your opinions are going to be very limited.

The second half is where it actually starts getting a plot and becomes more serious and focused.
Because when he helps a girl they forgot all about him,
So he can continue playing video games and fixing more girls problems without much of a hitch.
But now there are actually some girls that do remember him because they contain goddess in them.
Which are now being attacked by remnants by an old faction of demons.
So there are more higher Stakes now because if he fucks up he's not the only one getting the chop, it now the whole world and hell.
So as he continues this quest to find and help these goddess and there hosts he actually starts to find that he actually fully cares about this one girl,
That got to him and made him question himself around the end of this goodness arc.

Which I quite like because here we have some actual impact and it still going to remain because there no forgetting this time.

Then after that arc is done and dusted what do they do,
They actually go into more and focus on the main character with his issues and what not, that they hinted in the story arc previous.
It basically his character arc where the explain what his deal actually is.

Which I think is very interesting and they handled it quite well actually.
So to summarize my positives,
It is probably one of the more interesting harem out there,
Just because of how they handle it and also when it gets serious it deliverers very well.
It has some ok pacing.

But of corse there are a few problems,
I think the story shouldn't have been as long as it was.
Like they could have cut some of the girl problem arcs or made them shorter.
Because some of them took much longer than they should have.
Like I not saying it pacing is bad.
but a feel it didn't have to drag out as long as it did.
Also it there are some parts to it that kinda predictable,
And made it dry in those parts.

Another problem I kind of on the fence about is that even though this try's to be different from your usual harem,
It still get trapped in the usual pit falls that is a harem gene.
Because on the one hand it tries to be more than most harem,
But at the same time its still a harem.


Characters 6/10

The Main character can pretty much be summarized as a very loner like anti social person who just wants to play his games and carry one with his life and he kind of a asshole about it.
Which I quite liked able to relate and also he a lot more interesting than most harem
Leards.
He also has a very nice development as the story goes on he become less of a dick,starts to take an interest in reality and actually cares in a sense some of the girls he is trying to help.
It not like a complete 180 Of his character it just now he is a little different from before.
I also like how they explored his character.
And his reaction to his situation was pretty interesting as well,
Because he was so detached from all these people,
Like the girl drama thing is pretty much like a job to him,
It's ok next.

The side characters.

Most of them are just the usual types of characters in any harem,
Like you have a tomboy, school idol, teacher, the child hood frend, etc

There drama made most of them sightly noticeable and interesting for about a spit second, but sadly that's not enough to make them memorial characters,
Most of them don't develop past there stereotype and drama.
Except for a few of the girls.
All though that's because they are part of the actual plot around the end.

The characters interaction where quite fun to watch for me,
Especially when people start remembering the things they shared with the main character.
there one scene in particular i remember, that I found especially funny.
Is this part where this chick who has a goodness in her confesses to the main character in front of everyone in the class and shit hits the fan.
It just so funny to see it all play out.

Art 5/10

The art most of the times looks very poor or very unfocused.
There are some manga pages that look quite nice.
But usually the art looks like shit.
Like for example the background are pretty much little lines drawn in a very disorganized fashion, it like the pen or pencil got sick on the page or something like that.
It very ugly to look at.

It has this very upbeat moe-ish like style to it,
Like the eyes are like really wide and they express a lot of emotions.
It art style reminds me of something you would see in the looney toons,
Like this very cartoonish look but with a splash of moe in it.

I kind of like the character design,
It's moe which I kind of dislike in a sense but not this time.
Because it not trying to be overly cute about it.
So I found it more tolerable.
They fit quite well,
But I kind of wish the demon designs where a bit scary or threatening.



Enjoyment,6/10

I quite enjoyed the fact that this at lest tried to be different.
And that's made it more enjoyable for me.
I also really enjoyed the main character.
And really enjoyed the overall storyline.
Other than that nothing much else is worth mentioning.


Overall 6/10

If you really like harem then check this out,
Because it one of the better harem story's out there.
if your looking for a harem that's a little different.

If you don't like harem or moe then probably stay way.

As this is the first real manga that I've read (besides School Days... ugh), I don't have any relative basis for my scoring. Like some of you, I started reading this manga after finishing season 3 of the anime. The review is targeted at those in the same boat.

That being said, if you're hesitant about starting to read manga for the first time, the hardest part was learning to read right to left. Otherwise, it was surprisingly enjoyable.

The anime really cuts out a lot of the details from the manga. Lots of characters are introduced in the beginning of the 3rd season, and each character has a backstory that is explained in the manga. I feel like it should be mandatory to read those missing chapters before continuing onto the 3rd season of the anime.

After the arc that the 3rd season of the anime covers ends, I felt that the story really dawdled. The trials and tribulations that occur are weighty enough, but how everything is handled at the end seemed forced. Luckily, the story for The World God Only Knows was good enough as a whole that it was bearable.

I don't have much to say about the art except that the fight scenes were hard to follow.

The characters aren't bad. All of them had realistic problems that manifested themselves in interesting ways. However, at a certain point, they stopped developing and remained static characters. With so many characters, it's difficult for all of them to keep evolving, I suppose. Their behavior became predictable, and it was like watching a bad comedy skit. There are a few touching moments that sort of redeem them, but not that many.

I started reading this manga because the ending of season 3 was unacceptable. I had to know what would happen next and who would end up together. All I'll say was that I was sorely disappointed.

A fascinating premise with a wonderful start bogged down by a vague plot and stale characters in the second half leaves this with a score of 7.

Hey everyone this is my first review I've ever written, but plain and simple the world god only knows is FANTASTIC! This story follows Katsuragi Keima as he teams up with his loose soul hunting demon sister Elsie de Lute Irma. Together they conquer each girl who has a loose soul growing inside of them by filling the empty gap in their heart with love.

All in all it is a perfect manga. Its story and characters all flow smoothly together. The comedy involved fits in perfect and each chapter isn't too lengthy either. I give the world god only knows a 10/10

Story: 8/10

Otaku is now a god!? That wasn’t a bad thing. What if you became a god? What will you do? Then you entered a contract without knowing what the contract is? And you can’t end the contract that easily, and by the way the contract will end your life if the conditions didn’t meet.
The reason that I read this manga was because of the harem genre. There are currently 7 female excluding Elsee/Elsea/Elly or whatever and Hakua. Still the girls or the harem factor is still growing. The story became confusing on chapter 90-110 it wasn’t so clear (IMO). The story became random instantly. And the antagonist only has short time compare to the protagonists.

Art: 9/10

I really don’t have an eye when it comes to manga. But the art of this manga was good. Especially when the two protagonists are in their chibi forms. Also the noticeable form when it comes to chibi is Elsee when she sees a fire truck.

Characters: 9/10
There are so many characters to review so I can’t really point out some to review. First let’s focus on the antagonist that this manga lacked.
The antagonist has only 1 Colum per uhhh, didn’t know I think I saw him only 2 times while reading the 11 volumes of this manga. And he’s only line was “tch” or whatever he is saying.
Keima can now interact on different people after meeting Elsee his “buddy”. And he is forgetting that he is an otaku when he and Elsee got a “capturing” mission.
Elsee, she didn’t change one bit. But the fact that she loves fire trucks is unbelievable. But when she is depressed or sad is also unbelievable.

Enjoyment: 10/10
This manga made me teary, laugh out loud, sad, excited or should I say that I felt a lot of mixed emotion when reading this. I really enjoyed this. I started reading it only for the jabs but I was wrong! After reading 30 chapters it gave me already the excitement what will happen in the next chapter.

Final Score: 9/10
Why 9 you say? Just try to read the volume 1 and you will be quickly hooked on the story. I can’t say anything anymore. Well that’s because this is my first review (on manga) after 1yr of watching animes and reading mangas that are scattered on the Net: P

this is what i call a masterpiece yeaah the story is very good and will make u read till the end but there is no end couse it's still airing and they are making an anime adaption.well i can't say anything about it but the manga was pretty good and i liked it.well the storie is:

Keima Katsuragi, a second-year high school student, is an avid Bishōjo game player. He is known on the Internet as "The Capturing God" for his legendary skills to be able to "capture" any 2D girl in games. However, in his actual school life, Keima is known as otamegane. considered nothing but a gloomy geek with thick glasses.At the start of the series, Keima receives an e-mail offering him a contract to "capture" girls. When he accepts it, thinking it is an invitation to a game, a demon from Hell named Elsee appears. She asks for his cooperation to help her in catching runaway spirits. These spirits hide themselves inside the hearts of girls', and Elsee suggests that the only method to force the spirits out is by "capturing" the girls hearts—making them fall in love with him(kissing the girls to :DD:D) and filling up the gaps which the runaway spirits hide in. Interested only in 2D girls, however, Keima is appalled by the idea and refuses the assignment as has no romantic real life experiences whatsoever. Nevertheless, with the contract already executed, Keima has no choice but to help Elsee no matter what; if they fail, it is Elsee and Keima who will lose their heads.

well that's it well if u like :ecchi,romance,comedy,shounen and ero game's go 4 it :D

For a long time, I avoided the world only god knows because it was a harem manga. I especially disliked it when i read that the main character was purposely making the girls fall in love with him like the were just merchandise to go through. But, I finally gave it a go and I'm glad I did! This manga is a really enjoyable read for anyone who likes comedy, romance, and a little supernatural phenomenon.

Story: 8
The plot follows a basic structure. Keima tries to win a girl's love to dispel the dark spirits residing in the emptiness of her heart. After he "conquers" a girl, he moves onto the next one, erasing the prior's memories. Of course, this gets more complex with each girl, as everyone of them is different. And of course, eventually a deeper mystery and threat is revealed to Keima and his companion, Elsie.

Art: 9
The art is cute and sleek looking. It is also high-quality, as if it's still-shots right out of an anime. The art style isn't realistic but more simplistic like any other anime-inspired style.

Character: 10
Every character is unique and lovable. Keima, though intelligent and practical, is balanced with his comedic obsession with otome video games. Elsie is his adorable but gullible sidekick who drags him into the whole mess. Every girl is based on a trope in otome games but is fleshed out and seen as their own persons, not simply for fan service.

Enjoyment: 9
It was really fun reading this. Every chapter was entertaining and if not, brought a deeper understanding to the characters and to the world which only god knows. And the girls themselves aren't some one episode only type characters or trope embodiment, but good examples of people with their own goals and struggles. So +1 for feminism in anime :D

Overall: 8
I really liked the world only god knows, and I would've given it a 9 if the execution of the ending was done better. It is to my understanding that the author was ill and had to wrap it up quickly. But overall, this was a really great manga that anyone could enjoy!