When it comes to impressions, I’m the person that tends to just glance at the key art, skim the synopsis, then dive in mostly blind. Pretty much all I remembered about Kamisama no Inai Nichiyoubi is that the main character looked cute, so I was pleasantly surprised at just how dark this first episode was.
Ai is a “gravekeeper” tasked with burying the “dead”; not long after having created the world, God seemingly abandoned it, with no heaven or hell for the dead to pass onto. At twelve years old Ai is a fairly young gravekeeper, having lost her gravekeeper mother at a young age and tasked with the duty. Taken in by a seemingly loving couple and loved by all the villagers, Ai takes her job seriously but has yet to actually have to bury anyone. That all changes when a mysterious Hampnie Hambart appears in Ai’s village and causes everyone to “stop moving.” Even more mysterious is that the man has the exact same name as Ai’s supposed father.
I liked this more than I initially thought I would. The idea that no one could die, that God abandoned the world, etc was fairly interesting to me, as well as the fact that Ai was tasked with such a large duty at a young age (and doesn’t seem to question it much). There’s an ominous feeling though that Ai is wrapped up in something bigger that everyone else is aware of, as her adopted parents worry over whether or not Ai is actually happy. Still, I wonder what Ai burying the almost dead actually does for them; do they eventually die even if they have nowhere to pass onto?
Hampnie has yet to prove to be particularly interesting, but I imagine that will take more than one episode to flesh out. More than anything he seems a bit annoyed at Ai’s insistence that he’s her father, and wastes no time showing Ai the beginnings of the true nature of what’s going on. Hampie is looking for someone though, but Ai proves to be no help in terms of info. Still, you can’t help but feel bad for Ai when her supposed father shows up and robs her of everything she’s known; He even tells her she’s not a real gravekeeper.
Thus far the anime seems interesting enough to watch another episode at least. I imagine Ai will tag along with Hampnie and slowly realize what’s really going on. I just hope the show lives up to its mysteries.
