KamiKatsu: Working for God in a Godless World (2023)
[็ฅ็กใไธ็ใฎใซใใตใๆดปๅ]
Director: Yuki Inaba
Studio: Studio Palette
Starring: Junya Enoki, Akari Kito, Kana Hanazawa
Episodes: 12
Synopsis:
The son of a cult leader finds himself in a new world devoid of gods and religion, where he must start a religion of his own to protect the village of misfits that takes him in.
Impressions:
Because I had been consistently falling behind in my viewing last year, I might have passed over this one were it not for some of the things I'd heard about it, which were too off-the-wall for me to not feel compelled to see it for myself. Hoo, boy. This is pretty out there. You get something of a Konosuba vibe with the cast of oddballs. The protagonist is a delightful scumbag who will do just about anything to achieve his goals. I like the idea of giving someone who's contemptuous of gods and religion a personal goddess who loves him dearly and a situation where becoming a cult leader is the best solution. You can tell the author had to have done his homework on cults and cultic behavior, which adds an interesting element of realism to a rather silly story. Not only the writing but the art direction also embraces the absurd with the most wild art shifts I've seen since Asobi Asobase with such elements as pixel art segments and deliberately crappy CGI that doesn't blend with the rest of the visuals worth a darn. Especially with the CG, I'd normally chalk it up to incompetence, but it certainly feels like the studio knew what it was doing. I also would like to praise the voice cast, which is full of big names, some of whom are doing roles that are rather unexpected for them. Just based on my own impressions, I would rate this show higher, but it's definitely not for everyone and I feel a lot of the content and presentation will prove a tall hurdle for many viewers to overcome. If its merits click with you, it's a fairly rewarding viewing, but because its audience is rather niche, I'm going to play it safe and say take it or leave it.
Rating:
50/50