The Day I Became a God
“Missed Potential & Drama”
We living beings rarely ever know when and how our end will come, because very few things go according to plan. It may come sooner than expected or much later than desired, but when it comes, there’s no going back. So if you were told you have a set number of days left before your certain demise, how would you react? Would you fret and try to change your fate or make the best of those days? I believe I’m the latter, because at least then I’ll be able to move on, having lived a life worth remembering to some extent…
“The Day I Became a God,” also known as “Kamisama ni Natta Hi,” is a 12-episode TV Anime series that aired from the 11th of October until the 27th of December in Fall 2020. It was produced by Aniplex, Movic, Visual Arts, Tokyo MX, Nagoya Broadcasting Network, and ABC Animation; licensed by Funimation; and brought to life by Studio P.A. Works. The main staff includes producers Toba Yousuke and Yamamoto Akira, director Asai Yoshiyuki, and sound director Iida Satoki. The 24-minute episodes feature the Drama genre alongside the theme of Superpowers, earning a PG-13 rating for teenagers 13 years or older. The project is an original anime series that spawned a manga adaptation by the same name, which ran for just two volumes from November 14, 2020, to January 25, 2022. Featuring the genres of Drama and Fantasy, the manga is the work of Artist ZEN, which got serialized in Dengeki G's magazine.
The story revolves around Hina Satou, a young girl dressed in a conspicuous outfit and radiating her eccentric spirit to all those around her. While insisting that she is, in fact, the powerful Asgardian god Odin, she happens to cross paths with the co-protagonist: a boy named Youta Narukami. She then proceeds to use her apparent god powers of precognition to warn him of inevitable danger, stating that an impending catastrophe will mark the end of the world in a mere 30 days, but as a teenager haunted by the typical problems of youth, Youta chooses not to believe such a ridiculous claim. Regardless, he ends up being forced to tag along with her daily antics, eventually realizing the effectiveness of Hina's precognition through his own eyes and accepting that she is indeed capable of divination. But no matter how much Hina claims to be a wise old god, she is obviously just a child with dreams of seeing many things and has yet to experience the wonders of life. Now with the clock ticking against them, the duo and their friends must venture forth into the world to forge undying memories that can be cherished forever, even after the world ends right before their eyes…
The story department has a couple of issues that I think most don’t notice: the plot structure and the overall goal of this tale. It alternates between genres and themes over its entire length, sometimes being slice-of-life, romance, sci-fi, mystery, and, most of all, drama, with a supposed emotional punch. Maybe if this were a long story, they could’ve pulled it all off while giving each aspect its time to shine, but this is just a 12-episode series without nearly enough time for all that. All the initial episodes center around one particular member of the group, which is okay at first, but somehow by the final episode, we see that same MC surrounded by their grown-up versions in various walks of life, and they are all helping him make a movie...? Just before that, we are treated to two whole episodes dedicated to a not-so-important side character, for whatever reason, before an actually decent conclusion graces our presence.
Basically, it is a very scattered plotline, with a proper objective in mind, rushing from one thing to another, while multiple points feel utterly forced and unnecessary. Moving on, the power of divination is supposed to be a big deal, but it doesn’t play out as impactfully as it should, which is sad because it could have steered the story along an intriguing and focused path. Is it foolproof? Is it fallible in very specific circumstances? We don’t know. I felt like it depended on whatever the writer was feeling at the moment. So I did feel like some much-needed attention to detail was missing from this work, especially when it seems to pride itself on such nuanced and emotional thematic points.
The character department is to blame for the aimless story, as each character has so much to do that none of them land as they should. They are all just characters in a group whose entire fiasco has to play out for no good reason, and some of them even break the fourth wall to point out how shallow their characters are. They all have their problems, but once Hina’s trusty gang is on the case, everything will be resolved in the span of an episode, and it never becomes relevant again. Did any of them develop past that point? Do we even learn a bit about their lives? Were there any improvements following the "fix"? Don’t know, don’t care. They don't need to set aside time for it; it could be a backdrop or footnote, but it isn't. These characters lack development to make their arcs impactful, and they have little effect on the protagonists.
This leads us to Youta and Hina, who do not exhibit any personal growth or development because of the plot, as the events occurring around them are merely passing gestures. Youta would have made the same choices at any point in the story. Such behavior would’ve been fine in a comedy of sorts, but alas, this is supposed to be an emotional drama. I’m not saying the characters themselves are bad, as I found them to be quite endearing, but they are severely lacking in nuance and substance for me to feel anything tangible.
I somehow expected better from the Art and Animation department. While it is not bad, I found the animation to be stiff and awkward. There were multiple occasions where I saw body anatomy very off, like misplaced eyes. I usually expect to see great details in the eyes and hair of a series like this, but it was just lacking. However, I did find the backgrounds and sceneries to be beautiful, with consistent colors and styles that made their world dazzling in its own way. Animation itself was decent, but it’s not action-heavy to begin with. Overall, I did like the color palette and the visual vibe they were going for; it’s just that it falls flat in random shots.
The Sound and Music department is pretty excellent. The Opening theme is “Kimi to Iu Shinwa" by Jun Maeda x Nagi Yanagi, which is a wonderful piece that I found hard to skip. The emotional punch and potential beauty of this tale are on full display here, flowing flawlessly with the flute and warm vocals; I still listen to this song, and it’s still as impactful. "Goodbye Seven Seas" by Jun Maeda x Nagi Yanagi, "Takaramono ni Natta Hi" by Jun Maeda x Nagi Yanagi, and "Natsunagi" by Jun Maeda x Nagi Yanagi are the Ending themes, and while they are decent, they fall short of the Opening theme. The OSTs do a decent job of heightening the moment and fitting with the overall vibe, but they are not particularly noteworthy. The voice acting is excellent throughout; I have no issues at all. Every character delivered a stellar performance during whatever arc they were allowed, and I commend Youta and Hina’s VAs for managing to stay consistent and enjoyable throughout.
Overall, “The Day I Became a God” is a missed potential in my eyes. It’s not a poor work, but it could have been so much more if given enough time for the characters to be fleshed out and the story to stride ahead with a clear purpose. Jun Maeda, known for delivering gems like “Angel Beats!” and “Charlotte” that drew tears from audiences worldwide, has created a series that just isn’t impactful enough. Granted, the ending is far better than the mess we got at the conclusion of Charlotte, but there are many other things it needs to improve if it wishes to fight in the same ballpark. If you are a fan of his work, I recommend this show to you because it has its pros, despite being very scattered. But if you’re just looking around for a well-rounded drama, this may not be the ideal choice.
