Kamierabi

After receiving a text message offering to fulfill any of his wishes, high school student Gorou Ono successfully enacts his perverted fantasies with classmate Sawa Honoka. However, to his dismay, the granter of his wish materializes in the form of a demon named Lall. She informs him that he is now part of a game that will determine the next God of the world. As Gorou struggles to come to terms with this reality, Sawa attacks him with a giant sword, revealing that she also is part of this twisted competition for the divine throne.

Every participant of the game receives a special power, and Gorou manages to kill his classmate with his ability: the Holy Book of the Fool. But this technique comes at a cost: Gorou's life gets worse every time he uses the book. As he learns more about this seemingly absurd competition, Gorou must find allies and learn how to use his newfound power before he loses everything.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Nojima, Chika Main

Abe, Natsuko Japanese

Akitsu, Yutaka Main

Uchida, Shuuichi Japanese

Futana, Iyo Main

Kusunoki, Tomori Japanese

Sawa, Honoka Main

Matsumoto, Sara Japanese

Lall Main

Sakura, Ayane Japanese

Amano, Tatsuya Main

Shin, Yuuki Japanese

Ama, Kouki Main

Kajiwara, Gakuto Japanese

Ono, Gorou Main

Ura, Kazuki Japanese

Okino, Mitsuko Main

Fairouz Ai Japanese

Ryou Supporting

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Mori, Akitoshi Producer

Shouji, Naoto Assistant Producer

Seshita, Hiroyuki Director

Yamaguchi, Takayuki Sound Director

Reviews

Jan 4, 2025

gigamale1

Recommended

Right from the start, Kamierabi received a remarkably low score by the website's standard. And we can presume that this occurred mostly due to the full CGI animation, in addition to the somewhat fast pace of the first episode. Computer-generated imagery (CGI) do not have a good reputation in the anime community, because of shows like Ex-Arm and Berserk (2016). Therefore, it makes sense that most of us thought that Kamierabi would turn out just like them, But, fortunately, I dont think that was the case, even though the score hasnt changed much since then.

Initially, since the animation is a bit of a controversial topic ... in this case, I think its appropriate to discuss that right away.

(Animation/Art)
As you may see on this page, the main responsible for the production of Kamierabi is the studio Unend. And, as you may also discover though this website, Unend is brand new and it doesnt have any projects before Kamierabi. Naturally, this begs the question: In the other hand, is the staff experienced? Well, as director, we have Seshita Hiroyuki, who directed other CGI animes such as Ajin and Sidonia no Kishi; it was probably his decision to make Kamierabi with CGI. And, by coincidence or not, the art director of Ajin Part 2, Yoshikatsu Matsumoto, and the art director of Sidonia no Kishi, Mitsuo Yoshino, are also here. Regardless, the staff is relatively small and it doesnt have any "big names" that might indicate the quality of the animation.
After watching the anime, I can say that, objectively, the animation is good. If you compare it with the usual CGI used in anime, you can really notice the positive difference and the movements look quite natural. But, of course, this is an objective point of view; in reality, you might take some time to get completely familiar with the animation, maybe 3 episodes or close to it. And you may also be demanding, if you have already watched shows like the ones made by studio Orange, which have the best CGI anime has to offer.
So, if you end up not enjoying the CGI in any way, notice that the studio is fairly meticulous with its background art; it kind of just catches your attention sometimes. For example, in the first episode, while the protagonist, Gorou Ono, enters his room and lays down on his bed, you get a good view of the place and you see, on the walls, a lot of posters of "Iyo Futana" (an idol the protagonist is very much obsessed with), and on the ground, a cardboard box with an open cup noodles on top of it, some clothes laying around, as well as an absurd amount of plastic bottles; you may even ask yourself "why so many plastic bottles?". It is quite telling on his lifestyle.
Also in the first episode, when Gorou gets suddenly attacked by a god candidate, the surrounding area gets dark, the buildings seem to turn into flesh and their outlines acquire a bright red color; Im not sure if this is literal or just an artistic choice, but it sure gave a nice touch to the scene.

(Music)
In the making of the soundtrack, we have studio MONACA, lead by Keichii Okabe, who is usually involved with Yoko Taro's projects. Okabe and his team are mostly knows for their works in games, like NieR, Final Fantasy, Tekken, and anime, such as many arcs from the Monogatari series.
I think that the most notable part of the soundtrack is the eletronic music and the opera, the latter being frequently used in dramatic moments, and the former, in action scenes or when a character activates his/her power. The two genres are vastly different and wouldnt normally be used at the same time but I guess thats one thing that gives a wacky vibe to the anime.
The opening theme song is sung by Elaiza and she isnt involved in any other anime related music, as far as me and this website is concerned. While listening to it, the main impression I have, considering the instruments and the lyrics, is that it is a rather chaotic song. And this is actually a good thing, since the anime also has a sort of ludicrous approach to its story.
Meanwhile, the ending theme song is sung by Alisa, who is also a fairly unknown name in the anime community. The lyrics dont have much to do with the story, but its a very catchy romantic song.
Both songs are accompanied by scenes of the anime, which are edited a bit and transition according to the rythm. In other words, the visuals are not original but they are fitting somewhat.
And, for the record, I like the silly dance the protagonist does by the end of the opening.

(Story)
Unfortunately, the premise of the story isnt unique; its about a battle royale between "god candidates", in which the one who turns out to be the last remaining gets to be "god". You may have seen something similar before, like Platinum End or Mirai Nikki. Besides, the so called "GOD.app" resembles Darwin's Game mechanics a bit.
Some may argue that the first episode was too fast-paced. As a matter of fact, in only one episode, a cat was run over by a car and died, the protagonist gets chosen as a god candidate, he also gets suspended from school for accidentally publishing a video in which he and his friend Akitsu make fun of suicide, then, he turns on a tv and comes across porn that Akitsu was supposedly watching, and by the end of the episode, Gorou gets chased down by a god candidate and almost dies. Nevertheless, I thought the episode was good because it showed exactly what type of events you should expect if you continue watching the show.
In general, just like I said some paragraphs above, the story feels ludicrous, wacky and maybe even edgy (because it constantly depicts heavy/sensitive themes, sometimes in a not so mature manner), it doesnt take itself very seriously and, as a result, we get some funny and/or interesting scenes.
About half of the season consists of random encounters the protagonist has with the many other characters, which is fun for the most part, but its structure can get kind of repetitive. Then, it all leads to a few entertaining final episodes, in which they even hint at plot pieces that should be explored further in the next season. The ending isnt conclusive and it leaves you on a cliff hanger.

(Characters)
The design of the characters, made by Atsushi Ookubo (aka fire force and soul eater's creator), is very simple but also appealing. To each of the main characters, a certain color or a set of colors was adressed, such that you can easily recognize the characters. Its a surprisingly effective way to make them stand out in the scenes.
On the other hand, personality-wise, I think all the characters stick out in their own way too. However, the ones that I see people liking the most are Yutaka Akitsu, who is the definition of a chaotic good character, and Chika Nojima, whose love for science has led her to meet the protagonist and try to convince him on joining the science club, which is currently lacking any members; she acts in a very extroverted way and seems to be a nice person.
The protagonist, Gorou Ono, is also a fairly amusing character himself. Hes a dense, kind of antisocial, weeb teenager, who doesnt seem to have friends besides Akitsu but is a honest and sympathetic person on the inside. It is a very worn-out character trope but I think that the execution here was well done. Gorou gets involved in a lot of unusual situations and its funny to see his reactions most of time. Also, his relationships with Akitsu and Lall are quite compelling.
Including Gorou, basically all the god candidates have some sort of internal conflict that makes them wish for something in their lives to change. Then, in addition to becoming god, the one who manages to win the battle also gets their wish fulfilled.
In order to win the battle, every god candidate has its own unique power, which, I assume, has something to do with their past, their personality or even their goals. One of the clearest examples is Tatsuya Amano's power. Hes bullied at school and, as a consequence, grows vengeful thoughts towards people in general, wishing that they would change and be just like he wants them to be. Then, when he happens to "awaken to a mysterious power", this power is one to fully control the actions of a person, given certain conditions; pretty straightforward, right?

In any case, its good to emphasize a phrase said right at the start of the first episode: "Be forewarned that whats to come isnt a very pleasant story, there are no heroes, [...], its just a bunch of nonsense, so I hope you at least laugh it off". From that, you get to know what to expect from this anime: it shows the very worst of humanity, while hinting at a faint sight of hope and also getting some clowning here and there. To me, because of that, it resembles other works of Yoko Taro, namely, Drakengard 1 and 3. If, somehow, this sounds good to you, I do recommend you to give it a try and see what you think.

Besides, we shall wait and see whats to come in the second season!

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Dec 20, 2023

KANLen09

Mixed Feelings

Informative

KamiErabi God.app — the successor to derided, full-on 3DCG shows like Ex-Arm and Tesla Note...and being a high-stakes battle royale conceived from one of the game industry's most beloved icons? I am shooketh.

Even if you don't play video games, the pellucid name of Yoko Taro should be no stranger to anyone, for his Drakengard (and its subsequent spin-off NieR) franchise of games has become quite the phenomenon that's widely accepted as one of the cult classic games that have gained quite the notoriety amongst fans. And now, he's back with an all-star team to create one of Fall 2023's most divisive anime of the season: ... the high-stakes, battle royale death game that is KamiErabi GOD.app. 

As Ajin and Sidonia no Kishi a.k.a Knights of Sidonia director Hiroyuki Seshita puts it, KamiErabi is not just a mere imitation of famed mangaka Sakae Esuno's Mirai Nikki a.k.a Future Diary, but to quote his words, “I mean, it really is crazy. The world we’re in is already crazy. I mean, it’s super crazy. And what we’re doing is basically matching perfectly the world that we’re living in. From the very beginning, we were saying, ‘Okay, let’s make it so that [the anime feels like] there’s weird going on from the get-go. And every single time we worked on this, we tried to make sure that we infused it with some craziness because that matches our world.” Furthermore, despite being a death-game-themed premise, it actually fits more appropriately into the fantasy genre.

This then brings us to the show's creation, which just so casually happened between Yoko Taro and Hiroyuki Seshita over drinks and praising the former's works, though the latter opted that the former should be credited for the work, and as Yoko Taro puts it, “We were all kind of doing things in our separate ways. After we all got together and really joined forces, it all kind of came together in a kind of miraculous way.” Next, it's adding the eponymous people to the project: Enen no Shouboutai a.k.a Fire Force creator Atsushi Ookubo on character design and the homonymous series composer Jin, who's composed for many series, one of which was the Kagerou Project a.k.a Kagerou Days, which would shape the anime and make it work, quoting "put 100% of his being into creating something “really bold and daring” that would surprise people," push his limits while working on the anime to ensure that it would meet both his and his fellow creators’ expectations. It's the same for said manga creator, quoted: “For me, working on the anime was actually this feeling of total irresponsibility. Like, literally, I didn’t feel the pressure of responsibility at all. It was just pure fun. But if we didn’t have the ass-whipper [Hiroyuki Seshita] to be responsible and get the team whipped into shape, it wouldn’t have happened.”

But the series is best left said and taken in such a way as Jin puts it: “The thing is that even if someone in Japan says to you, ‘Okay, do whatever you want, right? Anything goes. Anything is fine.’ They usually don’t mean it. However, in my case, I literally took them at their word. I said, ‘literally anything goes. I’m gonna do whatever I want. And when I did, I was told by the director and the producer that they were kind of surprised, saying ‘Wow, this is kind of sugoi.’ The momentum [as a whole] that we had as a team plus the individual characteristics that we brought, I think, is what made this successful."

Back to the anime, we've pretty much seen every similarity and/or common fidelity to this genre, from Summer 2021's Deatte 5-byou de Battle a.k.a Battle Game in 5 Seconds, to Spring 2022's Tomodachi Game. As contemporaries of the psychological high-stakes themes set in a fantasy genre, it almost looks as if the base concept is nothing special, of high school students fighting each other in a battle royale for the chance to become God. But what makes or breaks the anime is how flaccid and unpredictable director Hiroyuki Seshita wants to envision the entire show's vision and make sure that "two wrongs (or rather, the many differences between high-profile people) will make a right," going as unhinged as possible so that everything still makes sense by the end of it. And at the very least for Season 1 here, it's only half the battle won, and I did make some sense out of all of the madness that KamiErabi GOD.app has to offer before its eventual return for Season 2 sometime next year.

That said, Atsushi Ookubo's character designs which are adapted into the anime, of which the main characters of Goro Ono (with his devil assistant Lall) and his many classmates (of Honoka Sawa, Yutaka Akitsu, Koki Ama, Mitsuko Okino, Chika Nojima and Iyo Futana) each having quite the eccentricity about themselves to understand that some entity is playing with their lives in the never-ending quest to "make a wish" to become God and rewrite the world, the biggest benefactor would have to been the one who first noticed the changes: Goro himself, being the typical nobody character before facing his crush (of Honoka) who attacks him out of nowhere, only to win and gain a power that builds from the sacrifices of his other fine details in life. It'd be pretty hard to imagine if the show took on full-on traditional 2D drawing, because the 3D models here were definitely purpose-built for a CG series such as this.

However, what would define KamiErabi, is ultimately the decision to go full-on 3DCG, based on Hiroyuki Seshita's experience with the no-name studio that is UNEND's production...I can tell you that out of all of the fully-created 3DCG works since the horrendous days of Winter 2021's Ex-Arm, KamiErabi feels the most polished within the AniManga industry, finally understanding the wane of the former's colossal failure in almost 3 years, though it still looks like ass from time to time, which isn't so much a nitpick if I do say so myself.

The music is surprisingly upbeat and whimsical, as if series composer Jin had put his all into the creation of the OST as well, which, considering the effort he put into Kagerou Days, he certainly did. As for the theme songs, ELAIZA's OP song certainly is one bizarre debut of a decent song, while Alisa had some experience working on her first theme songs for Carole & Tuesday before working on the ED song, which, as expected, is fine and nothing all that special (apart from the song being in English).

Despite all of the community's views about this show, it's ridonculously clear that Yoko Taro had intended KamiErabi GOD.app to be not just a battle royale death game that has the quote, unquote "edgy" theme going for it. Like Winter 2020's Darwin's Game, it too has its fantasy and psychological elements that work as if you're playing either one of his games, and while the ultimate takeaway is a show that either makes you bored or messes with your brain, the unhinge nature of Yoko Taro's vision for this still remains to be seen if it's ever effective at all to be on the same level of either Drakengard or NieR.

Take this show as you wish, putting yourself in the shoes of Yoko Taro, and imagine that score based on personal experience, at least for this 1st half here. I can't quite speak for all, but it's best if you try at least one episode to see if the show is for you.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Dec 20, 2023

knd944

Not Recommended

Funny

This anime could have been good, but it isn't. The story is kind of boring; the the only salvation to this anime is the last two episodes and the soundtrack. Everything else is horrible in my opinion.

The art is 3D. So is the animation. So it's bad. So scoring 2/10.

The characters... The background characters don't have faces. They couldn't be bothered to do the faces. That's why I scored low. And the character development? Is mediocre. However, it is kind of unique.

It was a boring watch. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Not even to my worst enemy.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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