Kamichu is the story of a young girl in junior high named Yurie Hitotsubashi. It sounds typical, but there's a catch: She's just become a god. The problem is that she's not sure what kind of god she is, nor what she can do. But with the help of her friends Mitsue and Matsuri, she'll figure it out. Somehow.

When I first heard about this series, I was mildly intrigued. Was it just going to be another magical girl anime, the likes of which I'd seen far too much of in my time to care about any further? Don't get me wrong, every so often a mahou shoujo series comes along that can catch my fancy, but they're few and far between. Well, there's something about Kamichu that has me hooked.

First, it's not really a magical girl show. There aren't any transformations, very little in the way of rainbow-lit special moves, and so far no villains of the week. Rather, Kamichu is more like "slice of life" mixed with the supernatural. Most of Yurie's powers are not invoked by waving a wand, but by uttering a word of power as she concentrates her feelings on a task. The word "Kamichu" comes into play when the girls need to find Yurie her special word of power to invoke her abilities with. Literally, it means "junior high god," combining the word "kami" (god) and an abbreviation of "chuugakusei" (junior high student). A fitting title if there ever was one.

In some ways, Kamichu feels reminiscent of a good Studio Ghibli film. This is partially due to the sheer number of Japanese folk elements introduced, and partially because of how likeable the characters are. Yurie herself is unassuming, somewhat gullible and naïve, but very pure-hearted and altogether adorable. She's easily sleepy, and a little overwhelmed at the task before her -- understandably of course! Her friends, Mitsue and Matsuri are polar opposites. Mitsue is low-key, difficult to fool, and tends to complain that nothing interesting ever happens in her life. Matsuri on the other hand is full of energy, and has grandiose plans for Yurie to help her restore the town shrine that her family cares for.

Add to these three the local town god Yashina who has aspirations to become a rock star in Tokyo (despite having no talent), Yurie's three helper gods (who frequently argue and scuffle), and the fact her entire school asks her for help once it's out that she's a god (which brings no end of trouble), and you have the makings of an incredibly entertaining story.

Perhaps now is a good time to discuss the term 'god' in the context of Japanese life. The term being translated into 'god' is 'kami', which denotes the presence of something divine. A better term may be 'celestial', since not all the kami discussed can be considered gods in the sense that most Westerners think of them. Nonetheless, the term is rendered as 'god', and includes spirits of various objects, spirits of elements, gods in a more powerful sense of the word, and even various individuals who have become gods in human form. Yurie fits in this last category. All of this is part of Shinto belief, one of Japan's two primary religions, the other being Buddhism.

Throughout the series, Yurie becomes aware of all the gods around her town. Some, like the testicle frog, make you wonder just how transferrable Japanese mythology is to Western ideas. But thankfully the DVD comes loaded with some extras on the various spirits, complete with explanations as to what they do and where they come from. It's quite amusing, and an interesting look into how Shinto belief has been integrated into pop culture.

Of course, portraying all these things can't be easy, can it? The animation works overtime to bring Kamichu's world to life. The animation starts off quite lush and continues this trend all across the board. Movement is well crafted and there are very few 'still' scenes with the characters just talking. All sorts of details pepper the streets of Yurie's hometown, including the wide variety of gods that take care of such strange tasks as rolling cans down the street or looking for stray cats. In general, Kamichu is delightful to watch. The visuals never slack off, and while some of the character designs are uninspired (like the calligraphy student Kenji and a Martian in episode four), most of the world is quite lively and well developed.

Anyone catch that comment about the Martian? Yes? Good. Here's my only sticking point thus far. Episode 4 introduces a Martian invader, and Yurie is called in by the government to deal with the situation. It's a little jarring. While most of the episode is enjoyable, it breaks just a little too much of the setting, and becomes a little preachy. Hopefully future episodes don't follow this trend. Thankfully, because of Kamichu's regular setting, it shouldn't.

The intro song for the series is "Hare nochi HARE" by Maho Tomita and proves to be quite enjoyable. It doesn't quite compare to the outtro "Ice Candy" by MAKO however, which is accompanied by some of the cutest visuals this side of Mahoromatic's three-girl troupe (if you haven't seen or heard Mahoro DE Mambo, go and fetch it now). Overall, I was quite pleased with the music and sound quality in the series, including the use of BGM and vocal work. Mako herself does the voice of Yurie, lending her quite a bit of the necessary enthusiasm required to bring the character to life.

The general themes of Kamichu integrate Yurie's search for the meaning and purpose of her godhood, Shinto lore and its effect on Japanese society, the interaction between Yurie, Matsuri, and Mitsue, and also Yurie's affections for a fellow classmate, Kenji. Kenji is in fact the catalyst for Yurie using her powers. Out of a wish to first have him fall in love with her, and then later to save him from the consequences of her power, Yurie awakens to her godhood. The sad part? Kenji barely remembers her name. He's wonderful at calligraphy (despite receiving very little appreciation for it), but incredibly thick when it comes to girls. But Yurie doesn't give up.

Thankfully the series hasn't gotten sappy yet, and it seems the romance is treated as a natural part of the series, rather than a linchpin. More important is the relationship between the characters themselves, with Kenji frequently helping write down spells and talismans for Yurie to use, while Matsuri and Mitsue contribute to one hair-brained scheme after another, helping the newborn god discover her powers. It's this four-person dynamic that really gets the series moving, and keeps things interesting amidst the catastrophes and triumphs of the larger drama.

In general, Kamichu is a delightful series. It may not change your life or wow you beyond belief, but it's not made to do that. It's meant to touch your heart a little, make you smile, and amuse you all at the same time. And hey, you get to learn a little about Japanese mythology while you're at it. I'm anxiously awaiting the second disc, and I hope you will too.