Kamichu!

Kamichu! (かみちゅ!) is a Japanese anime television series, strongly influenced by Shinto, that follows the adventures of teenage goddess Yurie Hitotsubashi and her friends. The title is short for Kamisama de Chūgakusei (かみさまでちゅうがくせい). The series was created by Besame Mucho (ベサメムーチョ), which is the joint pen name of producer Tomonori Ochikoshi, director Koji Masunari, and writer Hideyuki Kurata. It was broadcast by the anime television network Animax on its respective networks worldwide, including Japan, East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, where it received its first English-language broadcast.

The series was adapted as a manga serialized in Dengeki Daioh, a shōnen manga magazine, and collected into two tankōbon volumes.

In July 2008, Geneon Entertainment and Funimation announced an agreement to distribute select titles in North America. While Geneon still retained the license, Funimation would assume exclusive rights to the manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution of select titles. Kamichu! was one of several titles involved in the deal. However, as of August 2011, the rights to the series had expired.

Story
Yurie is a shy and otherwise ordinary middle school girl who suddenly discovers that, overnight, she has become a kami, a goddess in the Shinto sense. She has no idea what sort of goddess she is or what her powers are. Her friends give her the nickname Kamichu, a portmanteau of kami (神) and chūgakusei (中学生). In her journey she meets many other divinities and spirits, and learns the ways of the gods in order to become a great goddess herself. During the course of the series, Yurie grows more in being both a better goddess and as a person.

Kamichu! is set in the Spring of 1983 to the Spring of 1984, in the city of Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, on the shores of Japan's Inland Sea. Many of the temples and landmarks shown in the anime are real locations in and around the city, faithfully depicted.

Characters

 * Yurie Hitotsubashi (一橋 ゆりえ)
 * Yurie is the protagonist of the series. In the first episode, she tells her best friend Mitsue that overnight she has become a goddess; how or why this became so is never further explained. She is remarkably naïve and simple-minded, but always has the best intentions. She has had a crush on Kenji Ninomiya for a long time, and gets very nervous and red-faced around him. Whenever she exercises her divine powers, her hair grows very long and she often falls asleep afterward, due to the taxing effort involved. At the end of the anime she becomes Kenji's girlfriend.
 * Yurie is the protagonist of the series. In the first episode, she tells her best friend Mitsue that overnight she has become a goddess; how or why this became so is never further explained. She is remarkably naïve and simple-minded, but always has the best intentions. She has had a crush on Kenji Ninomiya for a long time, and gets very nervous and red-faced around him. Whenever she exercises her divine powers, her hair grows very long and she often falls asleep afterward, due to the taxing effort involved. At the end of the anime she becomes Kenji's girlfriend.


 * Matsuri Saegusa (三枝 祀)
 * Matsuri is the person in charge of the Raifuku Shrine in Onomichi. She runs the shrine with her sister, Miko, and their widowed father, the chief priest. Matsuri is always thinking of schemes to earn money for the shrine or attract more visitors to it, usually through exploiting Yurie's newfound divinity. Unlike Miko, she cannot see spirits without the charms that Yurie usually writes (though in the manga and anime, Miko states that Matsuri had been able to see spirits in her childhood). Her name means "worship".
 * Matsuri is the person in charge of the Raifuku Shrine in Onomichi. She runs the shrine with her sister, Miko, and their widowed father, the chief priest. Matsuri is always thinking of schemes to earn money for the shrine or attract more visitors to it, usually through exploiting Yurie's newfound divinity. Unlike Miko, she cannot see spirits without the charms that Yurie usually writes (though in the manga and anime, Miko states that Matsuri had been able to see spirits in her childhood). Her name means "worship".


 * Mitsue Shijo (四条 光恵)
 * Mitsue is Yurie's bespectacled best friend. She's very down-to-earth, and serves as the "straight man" for her friends, but wishes that her life were more exciting. Yurie often goes to her for advice, which is simple common sense that is always right. She is usually possessed by Yashima when he needs to communicate with people or when he wants to play the guitar.
 * Mitsue is Yurie's bespectacled best friend. She's very down-to-earth, and serves as the "straight man" for her friends, but wishes that her life were more exciting. Yurie often goes to her for advice, which is simple common sense that is always right. She is usually possessed by Yashima when he needs to communicate with people or when he wants to play the guitar.


 * Miko Saegusa (三枝 みこ)
 * Miko is Matsuri's shy younger sister. She does the cooking in the house, and is very polite and respectful to everyone. She helps out in the shrine and has the ability to see spirits. She has a crush on the shrine's god, Yashima, whom she often speaks with. Her name, Miko, is also the term for a Shinto shrine attendant.
 * Miko is Matsuri's shy younger sister. She does the cooking in the house, and is very polite and respectful to everyone. She helps out in the shrine and has the ability to see spirits. She has a crush on the shrine's god, Yashima, whom she often speaks with. Her name, Miko, is also the term for a Shinto shrine attendant.


 * Kenji Ninomiya (二宮 健児)
 * Kenji is the president and only member of his school's calligraphy club. He is quiet, aloof, and rather slow on the uptake. He loves his brushes, and he often does calligraphy for the Raifuku shrine. He only does calligraphy when he is 'inspired', yet it takes him a while to realise that most of his sources of inspiration revolve around Yurie, who has an intense crush on him. At the end of the anime, he becomes Yurie's boyfriend.
 * Kenji is the president and only member of his school's calligraphy club. He is quiet, aloof, and rather slow on the uptake. He loves his brushes, and he often does calligraphy for the Raifuku shrine. He only does calligraphy when he is 'inspired', yet it takes him a while to realise that most of his sources of inspiration revolve around Yurie, who has an intense crush on him. At the end of the anime, he becomes Yurie's boyfriend.


 * Yashima-sama (八島様)
 * Yashima is the local kami of the Raifuku shrine. He wishes to be a rock star, so he often possesses Mitsue (who is totally against this) in order to fulfil his dream. He is also often seen with an Akita Inu that talks. He seems to be close friends with Miko Saegusa, but it is implied that he is more interested in her sister, Matsuri.
 * Yashima is the local kami of the Raifuku shrine. He wishes to be a rock star, so he often possesses Mitsue (who is totally against this) in order to fulfil his dream. He is also often seen with an Akita Inu that talks. He seems to be close friends with Miko Saegusa, but it is implied that he is more interested in her sister, Matsuri.


 * Shoukichi Hitotsubashi (一橋 章吉)
 * Shoukichi is Yurie's younger brother, who likes Miko, attends the same school as his older sister, one grade below. Often, he acts more mature than his sister and often teases her, but he does love her. He has a crush on Miko, and acts differently and blushes whenever he is around her.
 * Shoukichi is Yurie's younger brother, who likes Miko, attends the same school as his older sister, one grade below. Often, he acts more mature than his sister and often teases her, but he does love her. He has a crush on Miko, and acts differently and blushes whenever he is around her.


 * Kiyomi Noto (ノート 清美)
 * A kouhai of Yurie, Matsuri, and Mitsue who is also in love with Kenji.
 * A kouhai of Yurie, Matsuri, and Mitsue who is also in love with Kenji.


 * Ukaru Nishimura (西村 ウカル)
 * A male student at Yurie's school who was competing for student council.
 * A male student at Yurie's school who was competing for student council.


 * Bin-chan (貧乏神(貧ちゃん))
 * A poverty god Yurie takes in after he saves Tama's life. He shares Tama's body.


 * Tama (一橋 タマ)
 * Yurie's pet cat. After she began to share her body with Bin-chan, she exhibits a number of human traits which make Shoukichi suspicious.
 * Yurie's pet cat. After she began to share her body with Bin-chan, she exhibits a number of human traits which make Shoukichi suspicious.


 * Akane Hitotsubashi (一橋 あかね)
 * Yurie and Soukichi's mother.
 * Yurie and Soukichi's mother.


 * Kenkichi Hitotsubashi (一橋 憲吉)
 * Yurie and Soukichi's father.
 * Yurie and Soukichi's father.


 * Ino, Shika, Chou
 * Ino
 * Shika
 * Chou
 * The three tiny spirits that the God Association sends to Yurie as her assistants. Their names are puns, as they were given by Yurie for unrelated reasons but correspond to the animals that they resemble. Chou is a butterfly, Ino is a boar and Shika is a deer. "Ino-Shika-Chou" is also a winning hand in the cards game, Hanafuda.

Anime
There are sixteen episodes in the anime series. Twelve episodes were broadcast on TV Asahi in 720p, omitting episodes 8, 11, 13, and 16. The DVD release included all sixteen episodes. The opening theme was "Fair Weather Followed by Fair Weather" (晴れのちハレ!) performed by Maho Tomita, and the closing theme was "Ice Candy" (アイスキャンディー) performed by MAKO.

On July 3, 2008, Geneon Entertainment and Funimation announced an agreement to distribute select titles in North America. While Geneon Entertainment still retained the license, Funimation would assume exclusive rights to the manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution of select titles. Kamichu! was one of several titles involved in the deal. However, as of August 2011, the rights to the series had expired.

The titles of several episodes are from Japanese pop songs from the 1980s and 1990s.

Manga
Kamichu! was adapted as a manga serialized by MediaWorks in Dengeki Daioh, a shōnen manga magazine, and collected in two tankōbon volumes.

There are fourteen episodes plus one short episode in the manga series. Four long episodes consist of two parts (02+03, 04+05, 09+10, 12+13).

Music
Three Kamichu! CDs were released:


 * 1) アイスキャンディー Maxi - 2005-08-24
 * 2) 晴れのちハレ! Maxi - 2005-08-24
 * 3) Kamichu OST - 2005-10-26

Reception
The anime received an Excellence Prize at the 2005 Japan Media Arts Festival.