When
I grow up, I want to be like Nanami Momozono. There, I said it, it's true. After
finishing the tenth volume of the Kamisama Kiss manga, it's an
undeniable fact that Nanami is the coolest human kami in the history
of supernatural shojo. And there is no better story of a down on her
luck homeless teen girl who turns into a capable and fearless
homegrown deity than hers.
First
of all, there's something remarkable about the shojo manga Kamisama
Hajimemashita aka Kamisama Kiss. It's a supernatural story, an
inter-species romance, a human drama, a comedy of errors, and a
fantastical action tale all rolled into one, but it is never fully
overwhelmed by one of these elements alone.
And
it's safe to say that Kamisama Kiss has quickly become one of my top
favorite shojo titles. Not in recent years, but ever,
because it's doing everything right and has a fantastic heroine to
boot. Nanami Momozono is a gift from above, a queen in ability who
deserves the crown, a local deity worth worshiping. In a genre where
it seems a lot of heroines are an unfortunate shade of milquetoast,
Nanami is assertive, energetic, and willing to make herself heard to
protect the ones she loves and strengthen her position as the head of
her shrine.
One
could compare Nanami's journey into kami-ness with the path of
another Shojo Beat protagonist, Natsume Yuujinchou's Natsume, who can
also interact with the yokai side of life. Natsume fell into his
abilities via hereditary progression, while Nanami fell into it by a
stroke of fate in a city park. Natsume struggles to balance his
interaction in the human and yokai worlds, while Nanami fights for
recognition in the yokai world while blending in seamlessly in the
human world. It also helps that Nanami's assistant is a pointy-eared
bishonen and not a plump odd-faced cat; Nyanko-sensei doesn't draw
the same type of attention as Tomoe does.
I
think that, if by chance Natsume and Nanami met on the printed page,
they would initially bristle a bit at the other but would eventually
become good friends. It helps that Nanami can make friends out of
anyone with her fresh face and emotional honesty, from the somewhat
standoffish human kami Kayako to the irate and violent tengu leader
Jiro. And Natsume himself is an easygoing person to get along with,
no matter how much he might see himself as closed off at first pass.
One
could imagine that Nanami would understand Natsume's emotional
struggles and give him guidance through his issues and probably teach
him how to use ofuda to make cheap pork buns taste expensive. And, of
course, Nyanko-sensei and Mizuki and Tomoe would all go drinking
together. It's a shame Julietta Suzuki and Yuki Midorikawa will
probably never work together.
But
Nanami is not a super-powered perfect character by any stretch. By
volume ten, she is still coming into her powers as a kami and relies
on Tomoe's strength in several situations. She can be loud and clumsy
and make foolish decisions. But she's growing in both ability and
emotional acumen, especially regarding her feelings for her own
shinshi, Tomoe.
Nanami
is very much a young woman who is maturing in a strange world of
ayakashi and demons, and she's still able to maintain going to school
and serve the worshipers of her shrine while occasionally going on
field trips to kami conventions and help out friends in a bind. And
if that isn't an admirable young lady making her way in the world in
the best way possible, I don't know who else could be.
So
yes, if you are ever in the area, come visit Nanami Momozono's
shrine. It's a little off the beaten path but the residents there
have been doing a great job of cleaning up the place. If you need a
matchmaker or a prayer heard, there's no better place to go. And
perhaps, if you're lucky, you can catch our resident deity between
attending classes and answering her worshipers' requests. I'm sure
after the first trip, you'll become a regular visitor to Nanami's
place as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment