This is my review for Noragami. I'll be referring to the characters by what they are most commonly called in the manga. Please note that this review is structured around how I personally felt about the manga: objectively, it deserves an overall rating of 10, and subjectively, I give it a 10 as well.

Story: 9/10

The premise of Noragami sounds interesting enough, and is completely original. You wouldn't find many other manga out there that is related to Gods and Japanese mythology with some twists, now would you? The basic plot is that the minor God, Yato, is constantly trying to gain recognition in order to gain worshipers that acknowledge his existence, and ultimately, to receive at least one shrine dedicated to him. Unfortunately, he is out of options since his sole helper has left him and his is forced to do jobs for next to nothing. By a twist of fate, Lady Luck is on his side for once and he comes into contact with two people that believe in him, for the most part. They are Hiyori and Yukine, the former being a normal school girl who gets caught up in the mess and the latter being Yato's helper. Their lives, especially Hiyori's, changes forever and dramatically. Noragami tells the story of the struggles between the real world and the "other" world, and Yato's quest for recognition. From chapter to chapter, the general plot isn't too hard to follow and they are related to each other. Every chapter provides the reader with a little bit more of the adventure that these three characters go through to try and achieve their goals, although there are some chapters that are more relaxed. The elements of the story were blended beautifully, and the genre tags certainly all apply to Noragami, but the romance is more subtle and a subplot to the main story. It is there though; there is definitely romantic tension. The first chapter may not seem very appealing, but it's a given that it certainly gets better from there. Very deserving of a 9/10.

Art: 9/10

The artwork is pleasing to the eye. Both the characters and background work are done very nicely and with careful attention to detail. The author, Adachitoka actually contains of two people, with one of them working on the foreground characters and the other on the background. With their work split up like that, it makes sense that the quality of both aspects is superb. Credits to where they're due, the character designs are fantastic. Yato has the appearance of a homeless person that is trying to get by, and also has that mischievous look in his eyes. Hiyori is drawn like the normal teenager sh e is, but that pink tail of hers whenever she "wanders off" is a nice addition, and Yukine's clothes and appearance match his slightly childish attitude and behaviour. The supporting cast are also drawn uniquely so that you can instantly tell them apart from each other. The background is nothing to scoff at, either, because it isn't overly simple as some art for other manga might be. There is conscious attention to detail in the background so that it really enhances the reader's understand of what's going on. The artwork shifts slightly at times to match the situation, such as showing the reactions of the characters and their faces. There is a little bit of fanservice here and there, but most manga will have a little of it and this doesn't really detract too much as a whole. Overall, the art for Noragami stays consistent from the beginning all the wall to the current chapter. For all the positives mentioned above, this section is a 9/10.

Characters: 9/10

Noragami has a fairly strong cast in terms of diversity. Among some of the characters there is one who's a bit of a clown at times but still lovable, another that is very caring and motherlike, and one that's always causing trouble for others but doesn't mean any harm. Although the descriptions are a bit vague, see if you can identify the characters in Noragami that match. Each of the characters had their flaws and quirks, which is why it made Noragami so interesting to read. There is character development involved, such as Yukine being much more mature than he was when he first met Yato, albeit he's still a bit childish, which is to be expected. Many of the characters also become stronger mentally as the chapters go on, although they are sometimes weakened at points due to traumatic pasts, as is the case with Bishamon being an example. The story is told from a third person perspective, so there is jumping around from character to character during the interactions instead of getting a detailed outline of a specific character's thought process. Most of the characters are lovable, although there are some that are not, because they serve as villains, which is normal. For example, I doubt many people will like Yato's father that much for all that he has done to his son. A job well done here too, 9/10.

Enjoyment: 10/10

Time for some personal opinion! A little information first: I really, really, loved Noragami and was a bit sad when I learned that it seemed to be on some sort of hiatus because it has been a while since chapter 74 was released, the current chapter at the time of this writing. I really thought that many of the elements in a good manga, were present, such as an interesting plot, pleasing artwork, and lovable characters. That's why my enjoyment of the manga was so high. Personal bias here, I really loved Hiyori and think she would make a great girlfriend, with her character design, her personality, ability to act like a normal girl, and all those times she puts up with Yato's antics. There's a reason why she's my profile picture on this website, and so many more other sites on top of that. Some people might prefer the more popular girls like Asuna from Sword Art Online or Kurisu from Steins;Gate, but for me, Hiyori outranks them all. Now, with that out of the way, here's the last little bit of the review. I definitely would recommend this manga to anyone, even if they don't read or enjoy the genre tags for Noragami as much. Definitely a memorable series for me, and a sure top 3 on my all time favourites. I hope that I have sparked you, the reader, into picking up Noragami and giving it a go! The sky's the limit, go ahead and start that first chapter if you haven't already!

That's all I have to say. Thanks for reading!