keeping up with keima
Categories: manga
Tagged: the world god only knows
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It’s been almost twenty chapters since my last The World God Only Knows post? Heaven forbid!
The big thing about TWGOK is that it just gets better and better. The art is noticeable better now than the earlier chapters, the characters are much better fleshed out, and the story arcs are more complex. Instead of just two or three chapters for each new haremettes, it’s almost a full volume per now. Not only do they all have their own unique twists and turns that Keima has to navigate, but each one is told in a slightly different way.
I enjoyed how serious Keima was in trying to capture his (substitute) teacher acknowledging capturing a teacher type is on par on difficult as capturing Jiiya in Sister Princess. I just wish Obama would take health care reform as seriously as Keima took capturing Jun. The one-shot about his web site was fantastic as well; if blog好ã were even an ounce as awesome as Fallen God, I’d be satisfied.
Between Hakua and Elsea, TWGOK has the cutest imagining of hell ever. This ain’t no Dante’s Inferno. And I liked how they repeated the nakkid bath scene with Hakua and Keima (that Elsea and Keima had)… with the same predictable results.
The Rozen Maiden-influenced astronomy arc. I said too much. But let’s just say I thought this arc was obsoleted, since we got a better blueprint for the ending. From Hitagi Senjougahara.
(Where does Keima get the cash to support his gaming habits? I mean… he has mounds of mounds of games and PSPs, yet where does his income come from? And is the PSP the premier dating sim platform these days? Like wouldn’t he have a netbook as well to play PC-only titles?)
The Minami arc was fantastic as well, as it was told from the haremette’s POV. It’s hilarious how whenever she views Keima, he’s like an absolute stud– like Brad Pitt crossed with Robert Pattinson with a dash of Hosaka. Only… we know the truth. Keima is a pimp dawg. He’s gotten more action so far than a typical harem male lead. He’s up to the double digits in “real” girls, and he’s up in the seven digit range for “fictional” girls.
(Seitokai‘s Ken plays eroges, but he’s not in the same league as Keima. Ken actually plays eroges to get his harem, whereas Keima plays eroges in spite of his harem.)
The Tenri introduction arc was told a good deal through flashbacks, and I was glad to see Keima being Keima even when he was younger. Elementary school Keima Capturing God Mode is pretty cool. I liked the cave scene where he breaks out eight portable gaming systems for light sources and wonders if 100 batteries are enough. And the scene where Tenri was surround by GBAs was cute.
Also enjoyed the introduction of Nora during Tenri’s arc… at first, I thought she would be the voluptuous and mischievous Urd type. Nope. She’s the homicidal Dokuro-chan type. Ouch. Plus, remember the “BMW” test for little sister types? Well, Keima’s “TOYOTA” test for childhood friend types zooms right by it.
(Keima mentions at the beginning of this arc that in games “a childhood friend is a future mate,” and Tenri’s the only haremette so far who genuinely likes Keima.)
I like how the arcs are done, with an ending or side story chapter after each resolution. Now this is a manga that knows how to end things. Other things I continue to like: Elysea’s obsession with shiny red fire trucks… it has surpassed Shana’s love of melon flavored bread for the most one-sided love with an inanimate object award. Also like the random end-of-chapter gags, which only Keroro does as well as TWGOK.
(Remember how I compared T-Mac to Nodame… uh… yesterday? TWGOK would be LeBron. It’s not a question of LeBron going into free agency or TWGOK getting an anime, it’s what team is LeBron going to. Or what team is animating TWGOK. I am hoping for Kyoto… and… strangely… Shaft.)
The best part is that all the stories have been uplifting with positive messages. Try your best, be honest, never give up, and play plenty of eroges, and nothing is out of your reach. Come on. I dare you to find a more inspirational manga series.
14 Responses to “keeping up with keima”
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The primary thing I love about TWGOK is something you brought up quite often in this post- Keima is an interesting, fun, often hilarious character. I’m at the point in my manga reading life that I’m officially done with boring, milquetoast protagonists. It doesn’t matter how good the haremettes are, or anything else; I can not fucking stand uninteresting male leads anymore. Keima can be kind of an asshole, but at least he’s an interesting asshole (plus, he always gets sucked into seriously going after each girl in spite of himself).
I’d say SHAFT but they’re to busy animating whatever Nisioisin that they can get their hands on. They’ll animate Medaka Box before TWGOK. But the uniqueness that TWGOK has would get a good feeling with SHAFT. It would definately be colourful. But I would want KyoAni if only to have Keima’s dad come home and turn out to be Itsuki………
To be honest, Jason, your post depth has gone down regarding TWGOK. I can’t put my finger on it, but it just feels awkward.
–long post snipped due to not getting the spam protection question right and thus getting everything deleted-
Anyways, I think that the reason TWGOK has been so successful has been with its marketing strategy. The title belays the mood, Keima draws people in, and the supporting cast keeps them in~
My favorite part of TWGOK is each of the main characters is fleshed out and interesting. Even the temporary haremettes hint at a deeper character. The series also seems to hint that Keima is being set up for a Clannad-esque “Save everyone who then will save you” plot. I am interested in where this series goes.
>>Where does Keima get the cash to support his gaming habits?
Honestly, I think gaming companies just ship him games and consoles. Having “The Capturing God” playing your game is probably the best advertising a company can buy.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Keima is a betatester for eroge companies.
Would it be bad if I say I won’t mind JC Staff getting their hands on TWGOK? Or Madhouse.
Any chapter with Hakua in is instant win. It’s as simple as that. Aside from that I loved Minami’s arc too (“Being a senpai is a love potion you get for free!”), and the 2 chapter K-ON skit for the returning haremettes.
If the manga ever gets animate, I know you will be the first one to find out. Because you’ll probably have threatened a dozen studios by now, if you did not make a partition and mail a passionate letter to SHAFT by the time I ended my sentence.
aw, misleading picture, i thought someone somewhere is finally making this series into anime!!
I actually fell behind once the childhood friend showed up- seemed like things were actually getting serious, which is not what I read it for. As for why he uses a “PFP”, of course it ‘s a terrible choice, but a PC wouldn’t give him the flexibility to play anywhere, and a laptop is still kind of clunky- he’d be saddled with a backpack or bag.
The PSP was a darling of hackers when it first came out. I wouldn’t be surprised if a homebrew exists that allows one to play PC eroges.
I started reading this when you featured it,and I haven’t been disappointed. Thanks!
I’m liking the look of the new girl! A cheongsam and a ramen obsession!
>Where does Keima get the cash to support his gaming habits?
I don’t know, donate button?
I want JC Staff to do the animating instead.
Well Keima does have a walk through site where he’s hailed as the Gaming God. So Google Ad-sense maybe? With all the traffic he’s bringing in he probably could easily have that much money