The Day I Became a God

The Day I Became a God (神様になった日) is a Japanese anime television series produced by P.A. Works and Aniplex and directed by Yoshiyuki Asai.[1] It aired from October to December 2020. The story was originally conceived by Jun Maeda, who also wrote the screenplay, with original character design by Na-Ga. Both Maeda and Na-Ga are from the visual novel brand Key, and The Day I Became a God is the third original anime series created by Key following Angel Beats! in 2010 and Charlotte in 2015.[2]

Plot

While preparing for the upcoming graduation exams in the final year of high school, Yota Narukami meets a mysterious young girl named Hina Sato, who claims she is a god named Odin. She tells Yota that the world will end in 30 days, but he remains skeptical despite her making numerous correct predictions. The story revolves around Hina assisting Yota as he helps people around town while she adjusts to her new life. As he spends more time with her, he begins to uncover more secrets about her life and how she became a "god".

Characters

• Sato Hina (佐藤 ひな)
• A girl who wears a veil and claims that the world will be ending in 30 days. She has a complex concerning her surname due to how common it is, and notices how Yōta and his family and friends have names related to gods. She prefers to be called "Odin". The Narukami family claims she is a distant relative and take her in despite Yōta's objections. She enjoys food despite claiming that gods do not need to eat and is very fond of video games. She assists Yota with his attempts to confess to Kyoko by using her omniscience.

• Narukami Yōta (成神 陽太)
• A high school student who unexpectedly meets Hina while playing basketball one day. He is skeptical of Hina's claim of the world ending in 30 days, but goes on to take care of her despite those reservations. Hina offers him her powers to support his goal of wooing his childhood friend Kyoko.

• Izanami Kyōko (伊座並 杏子)
• Yota's childhood friend. Due to her mother passing away while she was young, she has a very calm and passive personality. Despite her calmness, she grew up to be very smart and beautiful, which led her to becoming extremely popular with other boys. Due to her calmness, she often rejects Yota's advances with little thought. She is also very good with the piano and seems to believe that Hina is telling the truth. She enjoys watching baseball.

• Kokuhō Ashura (国宝 阿修羅)
• Yota's best friend.

• Narukami Sora (成神 空)
• Yota's younger sister. She is part of the film club and looks up to her senpai Hikari Jinguji. She initially has a dislike of Hina as she thinks she is very weird. She is a very caring and stubborn person. She aims to make a movie of her own.

• Suzuki Hiroto (鈴木 央人)
• A mysterious young boy with silver hair. He is younger than Yota, but is a hacking prodigy. He utilizes a special set of gloves and hairclip to connect to interface with a variety of devices and networks. He is currently assisting the CEO and his assistant with her plans.

• Jingūji Hikari (神宮司 ひかり)
• Sora's senpai and alumni of the film club at her school. She works at the failing ramen shop known as Ramen Heavenward in order to pay off a large debt.

• Tengan Kako (天願 賀子)
• A very famous lawyer that Yota admires greatly. She has an extreme fascination with the game mahjong and hosts tournaments for it. She meets Yota after Hina assists him in winning a mahjong tournament.

• A mysterious older woman who works with Hiroto to discover the truth behind a scientist's actions before he died. Despite her seemingly cold attitude, she shows motherly affection to Hiroto.

• Oguma Raita (尾熊 雷太)
• Hiroto's supervisor who works for the CEO.

• Narukami Tokiko (成神 時子)
• Yota and Sora's mother. She is very caring and openly welcomes Hina to the household when Yōta calls her.

• Narukami Daichi (成神 大地)
• Yota and Sora's father.

• Shiba Motoko (司波 素子)
• A staff member who cares for Hina at the Yamada Sanatorium where she is admitted. She is wary of Yota, who stimulates Hina with his voice and video games. Twelve years ago, she gave birth to a disabled baby girl, but was separated from her for treatment and died without being able to give her the love she deserved. Regretting this loss, she took her current job. As a result, she seems to be somewhat dependent on saving children with disabilities, just like her own child.

Media

Reception

The series received a mixed reception. In reviewing the first episode, Vrai Kaiser of Anime Feminist said that while the series was not bad, its writing could unearth "a kind of camaraderie in the face of despair," but that these two months were "preceded by 20 minutes of noise," but that there was potential in the series.[51] In a review of the first three episodes, Meru Clewis on the same website said they approached the series enthusiastically due to fond memories of Angel Beats but was apprehensive, saying it had the potential to be "really, genuinely interesting" if Hina's character was improved, and hoped that the series got better.[52]

In another review, on the same website, Noise criticized the series for featuring a "lot of insidious ableism" in the last few episodes, perpetrating harmful ideas about treatment and agency of disabled people, embodying clichés and stereotypes that disabled people often embody in popular fiction, and the ableism of the series' big plot twist as tying into the "disability superpowers" trope. However, he also said that there was an "incredibly uncomfortable sexual undertone", a "coat of romantic sugariness", criticized the series for promoting a "regressive...narrative about disability," and said that the series had some high points, including a touching subplot, while citing The Duke of Death and His Maid as a better example of "coded disability" in anime.[53]

External links