Sunday Without God

Sunday Without God is definitely the "surprise masterpiece" of the Summer 2013 season. I picked up this anime at the beginning of the season not because I had heard about it a lot previously, but just because the plot synopsis seemed interesting--Very glad I did. The anime focuses mainly on "Ai," a girl who is attempting to find her path and purpose in life. She lives in a universe where god has abandoned the entire world, which has left some adverse side-effects, naturally. Humans can no longer reproduce, and even if a human dies he is not really dead--He/she still functions as a normal human,but they can never be at peace. Before his departure, however, god appointed "gravekeepers" to preside over the dead. If you are dead, and you can get a gravekeeper to bury you, you can truly die and be at peace. Ai is one of these gravekeepers, and she is on a search to find herself. While I can obviously go no further into the story in order to avoid spoilers, I can say that the story is *extremely* engaging and is constantly developing. The amount of emotion and depth that the studio was able to pump into twelve episodes is staggering. Populating the story is a cast of extremely diverse and lovable characters. While time is spent on certain ones more than others, they all contribute to the story in important ways. Even characters that only appear for an episode or two are still very memorable. Definitely one of the best overall casts I've seen in a while. The art and sound matches up with the rest of the anime in their quality. Vibrant colors and moody lighting effectively bring the world to life. The soundtrack is definitely superior to the average fare, especially some of the tracks meant for more emotional moments. The OP and ED both shine as being fantastic, the ED even more so--It's one of the best I've heard in a while. The voice acting is also top-notch--No complaints here. As short as Sunday is, there's really no excuse to not at least give it a go. The plot is engaging and emotional, the characters are dynamic and colorful, and the quality of the art and sound bring everything to the point of near perfection. I think that I definitely name this one my favorite of the Summer 2013 season.

There are seven days for a weekend. There's Monday through Friday where people work fruitlessly to create a better world. There's Saturday where people gets a chance to enjoy the world where we live in. Then, there's Sunday where there's a chance to relax as the cycle begins all over again. Well if there's God exists, we know that he created a world for us to enjoy. But on Sunday, he decides to take a vacation. Sounds like fun right? Well, maybe for him but definitely not for us. Welcome to Sunday Without God, a world where God decides to forsaken the world. Kamisama noInai Nichiyoubi (also known as Sunday Without God) is a series adapted from the light novel of the same name written by Kimihito Irie and illustrated by Shino. The series tells the story of a young girl named Ai living in a world without God. Apparently, God has abandoned this world fifteen years ago and now, new humans are no longer born and the dead can no longer die. Luckily, there are beings known as gravekeepers that can maintain balance and bring peace to those who are deceased. It's not exactly a pretty story to imagine especially since Ai has taken the responsibility to prepare graves for a village where its people will eventually die. Do you fear death? I'm sure most people do but in this series, it takes on a whole new twist at that concept. For starters, the series takes on a fantasy theme with its setting. In fact, it's clear that the world Ai resides in is not something you'd witness in everyday life. Rather than being realistic, this show relates to the concept of death in a more imaginative way. Ai is an interesting character to take notice of in this show. She is only 12 years old but bears a huge responsibility as a gravekeeper. We can also tell that she had a strong bond with her mother based on various flashbacks that are played throughout the series. But because of her young age, Ai is one of those characters that are a bit naive with how the world functions. Even more complicated though is the state of the current world that she resides in without a God. As this becomes a source of mystery, there are many questions that viewers may be interested in from the start. For Ai though, she has some questions of her own regarding her father and why the world she resides is at this state. As if mysteries weren't enough, we also get to meet a young man named Hampnie Hambart from the beginning. There are even more mysteries regarding this man as Ai is convinced that he might be her father. There's little resemblance (at least physically) between Hambart or Ai. In fact, Ai looks much closer to her mother as opposed to this man. And if that wasn't enough, Hambart's violent debut makes Ai feel a bit intimated with his morals. There is a certain calculating factor about Hambart throughout the show that makes him an interesting character as well. In fact, one might interpret Hambert as more of an anti-hero. One could relate to the fact that he “kills” people in order to lay them to peace with his gun. At the same time, it's clear that he wishes to just put them to peace at last rather than letting them bear their existence in a world without God. More importantly later on though, we learn a shocking revelation about him and his fate might also come as a big surprise. The series focuses on Ai's development but at the same time, we also get to meet others such as Scar, Ulla, Alis, Dee, and among others of interest. All of these characters possesses their own ideologies and their view of the current conditions in a world without God. Of these characters, Alis is a one of the more noticeable ones with a similar resemblance to Hambert. More importantly though, he has the same motivation as Ai in order to save the world but takes on a very different perspective in doing so. Talk about being on a totally opposite scale. Furthermore, most of the characters in this show has their own supernatural abilities of which we get to witness later on. In such a fantasy world, it should be expected. The series focuses its main premise quite a bit but also takes approaches at settling off other directions with its various arc-like format. The beginning part clearly goes straight into the point, second half goes on a more in depth exploration of Ai's character as she meets others while the third focuses on other settings of their world as well as the other characters. Nevertheless, the plot becomes somewhat loose at various occasions as well as feeling in being dragged out. However, you will expect the unexpected earlier on. Tthe series balances between its serious atmosphere along with comedy at many occasions. Various flashbacks played throughout the show also seems to draw a sense of nostalgia for Ai. She is only twelfth years old and already witnessed things that a girl of her age shouldn't see in today's world. Of course, this might be a bit of an exaggeration as the show lacks realism. Yet, it's a mixture of sadness and pity to see Ai venture on her task as a gravekeeper especially later on. Despite not being a battle shounen, the show does venture into the action field in a few episodes. It's also surprising to see Ai being able to fight at someone her age. The phrase 'dynamite comes in little packages' fits perfectly for her abilities early on as we witness her skills in the art of combat. Other characters shows off their skills as well in particular Hambert in the beginning and later on Alis with his skills too. Unfortunately, the series isn't designed to look flashy with combat factors so action junkies might be a bit disappointed after completing this show if you're looking for spectacular action. It's also hard to take the series seriously sometimes especially since shovels seem to function as a source of weapon for gravekeepers. Let's not also forget about Ai's age for someone of her age along with that adorable face. It's somewhat hard to imagine that she undertakes a task that is as grim as being a gravekeeper. Taken a point mentioned earlier though, the series builds on the grim reality of a world where God no longer exists. He literally abandoned the world fifteen years ago, so you might ask yourself “now what?” Well, if we look carefully, there's zombies roaming on the surface and gravekeepers have to bring order. Most of the gravekeepers themselves are cold but Ai is a girl who seems to be cheerful and caring towards others. We might consider the fact if gravekeepers are born differently or how they came to be. There's a puzzle in identity crisis that exists here that I find a bit troubling as most of the gravekeepers goes on unnamed except for a few prominent characters. Furthermore, the zombies that realms the world are depicted as being undead, acts undead, but seems to very much alive. It strikes me here as a bit of silly but also at the same time intriguing factor to notice in such a world. The purpose of the gravekeepers are also sometimes unclear and their moral standards are up for the imaginations. If beautiful was a word to be used, this show would fit that category perfectly in terms of its art standards. Maybe this show could even be titled “Beautiful Sundays Without God”. Madhouse Studio surely set the standards high with its background imagery for this series. It's beauty with expression that is illustrated through its holy like background and sunny atmosphere. At some occasions, viewers might feel as if the world this series takes place in is a dream one might not want to wake up from. (going by art judgement only) On the other hand though, Ai's character might be a bit difficult to get used to with her design especially her petite figure, moe like eyes, and antenna hair. Hambert's albino hair is also noticeable as well. All in all, the artwork expectations are met and I give praise to Madhouse Studio for their production values. The soundtrack of this series maintains its consistency. The OP song "Birth" by Eri Kitamura spells out that holy atmosphere of a world without God. The ED song also illustrates its points through its fantasy elements and background artwork. In terms of OST though, the series retains its theme well especially in more of the emotional scenes. It sets forth that style of tragedy but presents it in a more dramatic way. This is clearly shown in the beginning and other times later on. As for voice acting goes though, average might be a word to describe its casts' performance. Because most gravekeepers seems to lack a personality, there is little to go by with their voice tone. Other times, they are hardly noticeable at all. If God truly took a holiday, then this show would be one living hell for everyone. But we look at it carefully, sundays with no God might not be so terrible after all especially with the gravekeepers in check to keep order. The effort to illustrate a series with this type of style is certainly unique and not something viewers might be too used to these days. With minimal fan-service, this show definitely sets forth its premise standards well. For Ai, she is on a journey of discovery and learning more about the world. For people interested in this show though, I hope you discover an enjoyable experience out of this. God may have abandoned the world but abandoning this show would be a chance of throwing away a golden egg.

After reading the latest Kami-no-inai light novel and following the latest anime episodes (no manga read unfortunately), I've got only one thing to say about this. Magnifique! Gorgeous artwork done in all of the medias of this series, a very different storyline than your average booksale, characters that you would always remember. And god the music, wonderful effects alongside the animation effort done. Oh wait, God should be gone in this anime (haha). As somebody very kindly told me about it, I will edit the review and add thisSPOILERS AHEAD, TURN BACK IF YOU DON'T WANT ANYTHING SPOIL! for the first chapter of the anime. (It is awfully hard not to spoil absolutely anything in a review, how could I explain anything without a tiny little bit of plot? OTL) Story 9/10 As there cannot be any spoilers, and obviously light novel is far ahead of the anime plot, so this is my opinion based on light novel and anime adaption. The light novel compared to animation, is written in more details, describing the adventure of the main heroine, Ai in a mission most people deemed impossible. The story structure (the world) is very different to how a normal reader would find, and in many cases in both anime and novel, you would have to put yourself into the characters, and blend the world's ideals into your own in order to fully understand. As you continue watching, there might be some confusing ideas, and small loopholes that could be neglected. This is the result of cropping the massive storyline of the original plot to fit into the 13 episodes series, and it might result in some unanswered questions. But they also cropped out some of the repeated and long plotlines in the novel, which might bore the readers, and there would be an urge in our minds, wanting the story to progress faster. (especially the Ortus arc, towards the end I just felt a massive drag in plotlines) Art 10/10 Best thing in the anime and the first reason when I bought the first novel from the online store, the gorgeous gorgeous illustration of Ai in the front cover of the book. And I could say the same with the anime, the first episode is absolutely beautiful, and it quickly took me in. The golden mists flying randomly in the atmosphere, the evening skies illuminating a quiet and simple countryside, and the characters populating the area. The artwork is that amazing, that I was slightly surprised when I found out the villagers are not as normal as you think, even though I had read the first book 2 years ago. The artwork also delicately described every possible detail of the characters beautifully, following the novels, so the readers would not feel a massive differences between the animation and manga/novel. And the eyes, the EYES! They definitely drew me in, mesmerizing me and if technology allows, I would slowly walk into the screen and fall into the world. Way too exaggerating on that part, but thats the magic of the artwork. Sound 9/10 Music, soundtrack, although it is not as strongly described as the artwork, but it also mixed into the story very well. Although there isn't a miracle magic happening when the music and the plotline comes in the right moment, but it helps fill in emotions and feelings that couldn't be easily discovered through the anime. And to be honest, an anime with bad or no soundtrack (background music) behind is definitely not an appealing anime to watch. Seiyuu-sans did very well in giving life to the characters, Aki Toyosaki did a great job in voicing Ai, the always growing and learning Ai (although there are still some naivety left in her heart as she is only 12!). But the best seiyuu in the anime in my opinion is definitely Daisuke Namikawa, who voiced Hampnie Hambart, the cold-blooded corpse killer and the first mentor and savior of Ai. When his voice rang up, I shivered slightly from that metallic voice-over, and the two conflicting ideals of the character's mind are shown, with a slight warm feeling in the cold hard demeanor. Music is the biggest factor in pulling the scores up to a 9, the Opening and Ending of the anime is absolutely marvellous, building up such a tension enough that I looped both songs three times before watching each episodes. Character 8/10 Characters! Totally loved them! The authors have amazingly created these characters that are perfectly suitable in the twisted world structure. Ai, the main heroine, is one of the miracle child in the world. Living in a protective dome, surrounded by adults that pampered her greatly, and so she is ignorant of the perils and chaos in the world. But she is also an analyst and a very observant character, and with her limited knowledge of the world she managed to understand by herself (although most people would still deem it naive or mad). Hampnie Hambart is also a great character, in the first few episodes you might think he is a skilled assassin who kills without remorse, but in truth he isn't trained at all, with only the ability of immortality to protect him. The two radically different viewpoints of the character is what makes it a very memorable character in the anime. Sadly he is a side character and we wouldn't be able to see more of him (Really expecting a side story depicting of Hambart's past!) Wanted to score it higher but I reserved a few points for future episodes to see the full cast. Overall 8/10 I scored it 8 in the same reason as the character. I really loved this series and I am absolutely thrilled to see it on animation. And I definitely wanted it to continue past the absolute barrier of 13 episodes. -EDITED PART AFTER THE 12 EPISODES- Enjoyment 8/10 I have scored it 8, bit lower as I have expected. I did not enjoy it as greatly as hoped, and the reading of light novel might have wrecked it. As the light novel is written in much detail, I have hoped the anime staff would choose some favourite parts to re-animate from the books (I have to find all the illustrations arts for the novel as I have lost them :( ) And in the end they have whitewashed the series and made it quite bland in my taste, losing some of the best climax scenes in the novel and left a sour note at the ending. I was totally shocked when the anime staff took away the entire TOWER chapter, its reasonable as it is one of the longest after the Dead City, but it is just pure horrible to see it not even appearing as there are some very interesting philosophies of life and the struggle of mankind, and I recommend any new or fans who have read and enjoyed my review to read the chapter; confusing, but also very interesting. Even though it is not as perfectly ended as I had hoped, but with the mild and warm artwork and music complimenting the anime as it goes, it will still draws me to watch it. (Although not as much re-watch value as the light novel). And to finish up for the edited part, I would recommend every single one of kami-inai fans to read the light novel, at least after dead city (as it is the part where Alis began his entry, and where the story starts to strip away). Shaedowfang 13/10/2013 :)

In the world we live in today, religion is a very big thing. It shapes the minds and the ideals of most, if not all, of the beings on Earth, whether they realize it or not. It's been claimed that the American founding laws were based upon Christian ideals and still plays a key part in the society that America believes in. So when God suddenly abandons the world and leaves the inhabitants of Earth to fend for themselves for all eternity, it's safe to say that chaos would ensue. This is the case that Kamisama no Inai Nichiyoubi presents to us, and expects usto fill in the pieces in between as the story begins twelve years after God's retreat. The story begins with a girl named Ai. She is the central character within this entire series. She receives the most screentime out of any other character and the plot comfortably revolves around her innocent sense of justice. She lives in a small town comprised of people whom she's been around her entire life. Unaware to her knowledge, however, is the fact that everyone around her is already dead, and it is her responsibility to give them all a proper death by burying them. Why does the responsibility rely on her? Because she is a graveskeeper: a being created (somehow) after God's disappearance with the purpose of burying the immortal dead in order to legitimately put them to death. But the surprises don't end there. In comes a mysterious man who runs rampant, "killing" every member of Ai's town in a blind rampage of bloodshed and dismemberment. Why is this man killing everyone? And why now? This is one of many struggles that Ai has to deal with in this series. What Kamisama tries to do quickly and early is establish character depth. To give reason behind the characters' actions and why they choose to believe that reasoning. This occurs with almost every character that appears at some point throughout the series. What Kamisama does differently from others, however, is discard the characters as soon as it feels that the character has been properly developed. While this isn't necessarily a problem, Kamisama is faced with an age-old problem that many other anime have dealt with in the past: time. As you will probably recall as you read this, Kamisama is only a one-cour series. In the course of the series, an estimated fifteen to twenty characters come and go throughout the twelve episodes in this series. How many of these characters are given attempted development? Nearly all of them, in a twelve episode series. How the series believes it can give a proper amount of character development to so many new characters episode after episode is bizarre, to say the least. And when a series doesn't give a character enough development, that character becomes both unlikable and forgettable. This is the case for almost all characters in the series as along with the innumerable amount of characters, the series also gives off an uneven distribution of character attention. Ai gets more screentime than any other character in the series, and it shows, as she's the most identifiable character in the entire series. But whether this makes her realistic is a different story altogether. With any series that involves a deity of any sort, Kamisama has its share of inconsistencies with miraculous events. Within the series, it is evident that even without a God in place, unrealistic events continue to happen. Perhaps this is due to God controlling the flow of logic within the world, but that, sadly, is never explored. And among these unrealistic feats is another age-old cliche that many other past anime have experimented with: wishing. If one wishes for something "hard enough," their wish has a good chance of coming true. Kamisama uses this as plot convenience for the most part, while at other points it becomes the center of the plot itself. What it doesn't do is explain itself. If God does not exist, how can people grant wishes? Who controls the wishes? The only being capable of doing so would be God itself, but It had abandoned the world as previously stated, so what becomes of this? This also ties in with my theory that God controls the logic within the world, but is never developed any further. Inconsistencies also occur as the characters begin to receive any sort of development. A certain trend that this series likes to take is to have the central character, Ai, give a new, innocent perspective to the horrid, cruel world around her to the characters involved in internal conflict. They take the words of a twelve year-old to heart and convert their ideals to match the more optimistic ideals that she comes up with. Perhaps the series is trying to convey a moral of looking at pessimism with optimism. To take a world without God and view it as a world of extra opportunities at living life. If it means wishing for anything you want, that world is soon to be corrupted regardless. As stated above, there are many characters that appear throughout this series, while only a few stay around for the entire series. These rare characters include Ai, Yuri, and Scar. Ai, again, is the central character, and the entire plot revolves around her and her carefree look on life and impenetrable sense of justice. Her development as a character is the most solid of any other character in the series and she becomes the driving force behind most of the resolutions to conflicts that arise within Kamisama. While her development is compact, her likability is a bit shaky. She's likable to the point that she's a cute, innocent child, but that's really all there is to her. She has her own idea of "profound beliefs," but they're hard to take seriously from a child who has been isolated from the outside world her entire life. Combine that with a personality with no visible flaws and you have the reincarnation of God itself. Yuri is a character who is introduced with a dark background. His family had died since God's disappearance and had been wandering around alone before meeting Ai and Scar. He receives some necessary screentime upon his introduction, but the attention on him declines as the series continues. His role eventually becomes "The Father" of the group, which only leaves him enough screentime to remind the viewer that he exists. Scar is a graveskeeper like Ai, but unlike Ai, is devoid of any extraordinary personality. She's calm and collected all the time. Her role in the series is very similar to Yuri's as she becomes more of "The Mother" to Ai as the series continues. As is typical, her character is quickly discarded in order to better develop Ai's character. All other characters who's names I will not mention for convenience sake are either given very little development or are only relevant for a few episodes. Another example of how the series likes to play favorites. One of the things that initially brought my attention to Kamisama was the creamy colors. By that, I mean when the colors of a bold source of light blends in with the characters' expressions or movements that cause them to have unrealistic or bolder facial expressions and shadow features. This type of animation isn't seen much in this current generation and could be considered somewhat avant-garde to new fans of animation. One thing Kamisama does right is make the characters look pretty. The eyes are bold and flashy, and the character design is unlike many seen in any recent anime series. In terms of character animation, I have no complaints. The characters looked okay and they moved okay, despite a certain character's hair color blending into the vivid view of the sunset. It's easy to believe that a fantasy anime would use fantasy elements to help progress a plot in the right direction. What makes this controversial, however, is the decision and logic behind it. What makes the disappearance of God so impactful in Kamisama no Inai Nichiyoubi? After a few episodes, viewers tend to forget that the world is without God, as the series makes little mention of it whenever something goes haywire. The biggest factor in determining the validity of this series is its loyalty to its original purpose: to provide a world that is ruined without God and how the outlook of a single girl can change the views of the people she meets with a single outburst. What makes this world ruined by God's abandonment of the Earth? The viewer is left unsure. The idea that one should look at pessimism with optimism is again apparent with this, but is the world truly pessimistic? Having your wishes granted and being immortal could be a true paradise to some, if not many across the world. What God has accomplished by abandoning the world is never revealed, nor does it provide any sort of clue as to how it accomplishes anything. The only conclusion I can come to after watching this series is that the world can survive without God. All it needs is a mascot to cheer up the denizens among it. In this case, it's a little girl named Ai. May the world rest in peace.