The World God Only Kows

There's something decidedly charming and refreshing about The World God Only Knows. It takes all the shonen romance genre tropes, complete with the headstrong girl who punches the male protagonist every time she's remotely embarrassed, but uses them in a quirky way. It even goes as far as to make fun of itself, pointing out genre clichés and showing audiences just how outlandish they can be.

It's just too cute! Too cute to be allowed! The World God Only Knows is the winner of this season's Better Than It Has Any Right To Be award, with its honest charm and good-natured ribbing of the odd social mores that have taken over Japan's visual arts and entertainment industry. The hero of this series, you see, is not an ordinary schoolboy who gets all the girls. It's a pathetically geeky schoolboy who gets all the girls ... in his dating-sim video games. (Philosophical question: if we're watching a 2-D show about a guy who plays games about 2-D girls, does that make the game characters technically 1-D?) This pathetic geek, Keima, fancies himself to be a Casanova-like God of Conquests—until a naïve demon named Elsie mistakes his reputation for the real thing. Due to this misunderstanding, Keima is tasked with conquering real girls in reallife in order to neutralize bad spirits ... or die trying.

Normally, this would result in some horrible cross-breed of clichés—except that the first episode plays it intentionally silly and lighthearted, knowing that taking it dead seriously would just look stupid. Keima, despite being an obvious jerk, somehow becomes endearing as he tries to apply romance-game logic to real life, and the payoff comes in the last few minutes when his ridiculous strategy actually works—with soaring romantic music and a perfectly paced climactic moment to boot. The gradual mood shift from geeky in-jokes and comical blunders to a heartwarming finish may not be a masterpiece-level feat of genius, but it creates surprising artistry out of mundane material. The changes in hue over the course of the episode—from bright afternoon to sunset to nighttime—also reflect this mood shift, the kind of subtle trick that most will miss but perceptive eyes will appreciate. Fluid gesture animation and a distinctive sense of character design also add to the visual appeal.

At first, I was concerned that Keima's mission might mean that he's inadvertently leading these girls on, only to leave them hanging in subsequent episodes, but if the first episode's any indication, he's just giving these girls the shoulder they need to lean on. The World God Only Knows may sound silly, but I'm willing to give this a few more episodes. It's cute and funny, and despite some of the overused gags, it's a new take on an old genre.

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