Noragami Aragoto

Episode 8

The first ten minutes of this episode feature Yato at the happiest we've ever seen him. He's riding high on having acquired a shrine (albeit a miniature one, courtesy of Hiyori) and earning a place in the official society for Japanese gods. However, old habits die hard, and Yato's troubled past bites back in retaliation for his attempted escape. Unaccustomed to success, he falls back into a relationship with Nora and his role as a destructive God of Calamity. He also reunites with the emotional ringleader behind all this toxicity, a man Yato refers to as “Father.” Meanwhile, Hiyori is left frantic with worry in the wake of Yato's disappearance. The episode ends without reassurance – “Father” assigns Yato the task of venturing into the underworld, while only Hiyori expresses concern about his safety. Worse, the longer the two are separated, the greater the chance that Hiyori's memories of Yato will fade. This only makes Yato more reticent to return to her, since he fears that he's already been abandoned.

This clears up a plot hole – if nobody worships Yato, then how has he survived for so many centuries? It's been established that gods gain their longevity from worship. If a well-known god dies, humanity's belief in them will cause them to reincarnate. This almost happened to Bishamon during the last arc. This also applies even if a god isn't exactly revered. Nobody worships Kofuku as a god of poverty, but they recognize and fear her existence en masse, so she'll still reincarnate. The same can't be said for Yato, who has no popular reputation at all. However, it looks like even one person's stringent belief may be enough to sustain a god's existence. That's why Yato is so excited to have acquired Hiyori and becomes so terrified of her absence. Their relationship has literally become his existential tether. Before Hiyori, “Father” was probably the one who kept Yato alive. This connection has now become a threat – do what “Father” (via Nora as a proxy) wants, or he'll kill Yato by refusing to acknowledge him. It's a horribly manipulative situation, especially since “Father” obligates Yato into committing acts that go against his better nature, like flat-out assassinating people.

Some viewers might find it strange that all this happens without a “trigger” – there's no bad incident that draws Yato back to Nora. But this can actually be a normal occurrence for people with traumatic histories of abuse. The source of abuse is damaging, but also comforting. The security that relationship offers is less scary than the world outside, which is one big unknown. Abusive dynamics also train their victims to believe that no matter how bad the situation may be with their abuser, it's better than life would be out there. Yato is miserable with Nora and his “father,” but without them he would be dead - according to them, of course. They've convinced Yato that he's inherently unlovable to anyone else. That's also why Yato is so needy. He has absolutely no confidence in the fact that other people care about him, so he needs constant validation. His happy-go-lucky demeanor obscures a lot of pain.

There were several other incidents around the edges of this episode:

1. We learn that masked phantoms are the result of a god trying to turn a phantom into their shinki. This is an invitation to become corrupted, so gods would never actually do this, except for Ebisu, who is super into the idea for some reason. As a result, he's getting corrupted.

2. While Hiyori's looking for Yato, Tenjin has a conversation with her. He points out that she's spending more time with Yato and the gods than her family or school friends. This isn't really proper for the living, and it could have dangerous consequences. He also points out that she doesn't have a boyfriend. Soon afterwards, Hiyori bumps into a boy from her school who also appears in the opening. Does Yato have competition for Hiyori's heart attention? I'm also starting to wonder which direction this show will take for its ending. While Hiyori will clearly guide Yato through dealing with his long-held pain, will she remain a permanent figure in his life, or will Yato have to stand on his own two feet in the wake of human transience? I want the former because they're a cute couple (and Yato seriously deserves some happiness at the end of this), but the former seems like a more emotionally honest conclusion. Yato's problem isn't just his relationship with “Father,” but his absolute dependence on other people in general. Plus, Tenjin's right – Hiyori's association with the gods isn't natural, and it's bound to interfere with her personal life. I'm sure that as Yato grows more rebellious, “Father” will start targeting her. Now that's a scary proposition.

3. Wanting to be a good exemplar, Yukine begins taking lessons from Kazuma. In particular, he's learning how to bind people, which has everything to do with Japan's rather rigid standards for establishing status in interpersonal conversations. In order to bind someone, you've got to verbally establish them as an inferior. This is probably why it's such a taboo for a shinki to do it to their own god - it's kind of like referring to your boss by their first name when they insist on being called Mr. or Mrs. Something. No bueno.

I wonder, have we met Father yet? The obvious candidate for his identity so far is Ebisu. They're both conspicuously keeping secrets and have their hands on a lot of Phantom Masks. “Father” assigns Yato the task of going into the underworld to rescue a conjurer. Maybe this conjurer can cure Ebisu's blight? This also raises the question – can gods sustain the existence of other gods? I feel like that would be cheating. We'll see.

Another episode of Noragami Aragoto and another heartbreak. This newfound emphasis on Yato's psychology has come at the right moment. He has a lot more going on than I could've anticipated at the beginning, when he just seemed like a lovable scamp. Noragami continues to exceed expectations in its characterization and storytelling.

Grade: A

Noragami Aragoto is currently streaming on Funimation.

Gabriella Ekens studies film and literature at a US university. Follow her on twitter.