WARNING: MAY HAVE SPOILERS AHEAD

Ahhh...a shoujo manga. When one hears the shoujo genre attached to something, some or most may cringe, and it is definitely understandable.

The shoujo genre has become surrounded with tropes and stereotypes for more than a decade now. First encounters have become formulaic, and the romance and character developments have become predictable. But despite the enveloping ideas that surround what is usually (and somehow supposedly) shoujo, there is always a work that swims out of the cliche ocean and climbs up the excellence ship.

Kamisama Hajimemashita is one of those shoujo manga that at face value resembles its predecessors. Girl meets hot guy? Check. Hot guy has a rather blatant personality? Check. Girl is cheerful? Check. The shoujo genre checklist can go on, but for 14 volumes now, Kamisama Hajimemashita has proven that it transcends the limitations and expectations the shoujo genre has attached to its name.

How so? Below are the following reasons.

1.) ART
The art is unique. It isn't sloppy, nor intolerable. What makes the art shine is the fleshing out of each character's expression. Suzuki Julietta has a very good hand at that. Reading up to 14 volumes, one will notice how the art becomes more ornate, more vibrant, and more fine. The texture of the backgrounds, the shadows, the shadings...Everything is becoming refined. So many manga rarely retains consistency in the art nor improve as they move along, but Kamisama Hajimemashita becomes more beautiful to read than ever.

2.) CHARACTERS
One may argue that the characters are typical. Tomoe is the same as those bitchy hot guys who are very reliable. Nanami is the same determined maiden who will obviously get heartbroken and chase the guy.

So what more can be expected from these seemingly unoriginal characters??

Well, it's because they do not have a uni-dimensional personality. For instance, Tomoe may be cold, but he can be gentle. When he's worried, he is honest about it. Some may say that he's a tsundere, but that trope does not govern who he is. Nanami, on the other hand, may be seen as a damsel in distress, but she is hardly in distress. She falters realistically, but she stands up with determination and tries to accomplish something in order not to rely on others, specifically Tomoe. As these two main leads grow, their personalities also become pronounced, and different sides of them show. Nanami can be manipulative, and Tomoe can be compromising. Nanami can take care of herself, and Tomoe learns to trust Nanami.

The development does not end between the two main characters. It is also important to note that the side characters in this manga have their important roles and growths with interactions with the main characters. Villains are seen in different lights, and there is nothing more complex than the thinning of who's good and bad. In the end, the shoujo tropes that engulf the characters are merely the tip of the iceberg, a counter top, a topsoil to their being. As the story digs deeper, as adventures become parts of the past, the characters grow on you, and such earned concern becomes a gear to curiosity about how everything, how everyone will turn out in the end.

3.) STORY
Just like the characters, the story has a general aspect that resembles so many shoujo manga, but as aforementioned, something deeper lies underneath the pretentious "simple" story arcs. I myself have come to observe hints left unanswered in every arc, and where the manga is right now (past 14th volume in serialization), every hint has turned out to be a thread in an almighty spider's web of a well-thought-out plot Suzuki Julietta has woven from the start. The answers are still in the process of streaming out the well of wisdom, but the twists are showing, and, boy, does it contend to the speculated predictability I and the other readers might have conceived from the first chapter.

4.) ENJOYMENT
The humor in this manga is timed very well. It does not grow old. Should I say more?