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Feb 23, 2011

Manga Introduction: 神のみぞ知る世界

Title: 神のみぞ知る世界 (The World God Only Knows
Author: 若木民喜 Wakaki Tamaki
Difficulty: 3.5/5 (1 easy, 5 hard)
Furigana: Yes
Format: 漫画 (Manga

神のみぞ知る世界 has several primary qualities: romance, comedy.

The primary focus of this series is romance, which is actually done quite a bit different from its normal form in manga series. The romance essentially consists of the main character getting close to various female characters by using the tactics found in gal games. The comedy stems from the main characters obsession with said gal games and his disdain for real girls (reminds me of a certain imageboard).

Plot: I've already started talking about the plot a bit, but the basic outline is that a young lad named Katsuragi Keima is the renowned god of gal games. Because of his legendary status online and his ability to “capture” any girl, he finds himself in a contract with a devil named Elsie. Because of this contract, Keima must now capture the hearts of real girls to cast out the demons hiding within – or suffer a dire consequence.

Art: The art is somewhat simplistic feeling, but very nice to look at. As can be expected, the girls are all quite cute (as they should be in a series that is focused around them).

In summary, this series is by no means a literary masterpiece, but it's a rather amusing read. The main character's disdain for real girls and love of gal games may in fact be something many of you can relate to. The series is also riddled with cliches, as many of the heroines fit into the mold of the typical archetypes seen in gal games. The language can get a bit heavy at times, as the main character likes to get into deep rants, but the series is definitely worth at least giving a try.

View The World God Only Knows on Amazon.co.jp

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5 comments:

  1. I actually tried reading this in Japnese before. It has some Japanese slang in it that was nice to pick up. I mostly keep up with it translated, but it's one of the manga I check up in Japanese every now and then.

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  2. I was thinking of picking this up (translated) since I quite liked the anime, but maybe I'll consider the Japanese version. It's a daunting prospect though, since I know I'd spend far longer looking up a dictionary than actually enjoying the story.

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  3. I actually love the simple art. Looks interesting I'll have to look into it

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  4. i swear this is one of the best manga ive read in a long time i love the story

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