Kannazuki no Miko

Kannazuki no Miko by Kaishaku
Overall: Interesting
Smexy Times: Panty-less
Art: Shoujo-y/Special Mix




Today is my one-year anniversary of reviewing manga! I just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who has supported me this year! And next year is going to be even better. Now onto the review!

So my big plan for today was to review one of the most famous yuri manga out there, so I had only a few choices. With my busy schedule until Christmas, this manga was all I could do. Unfortunately, I didn't like this manga as much as I thought I might, but we'll get into that.

Today's manga is about two priestesses, the Priestess of the Sun and the Priestess of the Moon. The whole mythos behind their origin is convoluted as fuck, so I won't get too much into that. But basically, the Priestess of the Moon is the super important one, and they find a Priestess of the Sun to be sacrificed in her place for who knows what reason. For some reason, there have been multiple reincarnations of these girls because they keep failing I guess.
This time, the Priestess of the Sun is named Himeko, and she's a cute thing, even though she's crying in pretty much every chapter. The Priestess of the Moon is named Chikane, a popular girl at school who everyone loves. In secret, these two are friends, even before they know about their priestessness (priestesshood?). But suddenly, GIANT MECHS come out of nowhere and reveal that a more sinister plot is going on, the likes of which are faaaar too detailed for me to explain or even understand. (Plus I think it's a worthy read, if only for it's status as a 'classic' yuri manga.)

As I read this manga, trying my best to like it, I wondered why it was such a yuri classic. I wondered if I just wasn't seeing the magic behind the series. I mean, I do understand that part of the appeal is the pure dynamicness of the manga. It's got yuri, shoujo, mechas, and Japanese mythology all mixed into one two-volume package. People who do not normally read yuri will be drawn to it for other reasons, and perhaps that is one of the reasons that it has attracted so much attention when most yuri manga just flop and fade out of existence before reaching popularity.
But then, why did I dislike this? Well, one thing that I have already alluded to is the overly complicated plot. As the chapters continued on, it just felt like they were adding on more cliches and complications to make the series longer and more dramatic (note: only one of those worked). At one point, a crucial moment in the series becomes completely overlooked for a bullshit, complicated reason.
The other thing about this manga that sits wrong with me is the relationship between the two girls. The relationship seemed very sweet and cute at the beginning, and I thought I just might enjoy these two, but then shit hit the fan. That crucial moment I was talking about? Yeah. Chikane deflowers Himeko. And Chikane just continues to be a total meanie face to Himeko throughout the rest of the series. But Himeko's reaction just makes me sad. Honestly, it reminds me of way too many hentai series. I can't stand watching these characters be raped and then fall in love with their rapists. THAT IS NOT HOW THINGS USUALLY WORK.

However, for all the gripes I have with this series, I account most of it to the fact that it's just not meant for my tastes. I do recommend that everyone try to read this series once in their lives if they like yuri, simply because it is a common yuri manga to be brought up in conversations about yuri. You can mention things like Strawberry Shake, and no one will understand you, but bring Kannazuki no Miko up, and they'll know what you're talking about. It's the same with Strawberry Panic.
Also, as I said before, the manga includes many elements of other genres that may attract viewers. The robots are very well designed, and each of the villains seems to have one, so there are lots of them if you like stuff like that. There's even a little bit of shoujo between Himeko and some guy I didn't care to remember the name of. And, of course, there's Japanese folklore up the wahzoo.
I will admit that the art can be very pretty as well. Mostly, this is in the romantic scenes between the two girls, but I think it's very admirable for the artist to be able to draw such sweet looking scenes one page, and the next, giant mecha battles. This artist definitely has diversity.

All-in-all, I do recommend this manga to an extent. If you have tastes like mine, you may not like this classic as much as you want to, but if you're at all interested in the other elements this series has to offer, you may just enjoy it.

Yeah... that's nice Chikane.