Noragami: Stray God, Vol. 1

by Adachitoka, Alethea Nibley (Translator), Athena Nibley (Translator)

Yato is a stray god. He doesn’t even have a shrine, not to mention worshipers! Hoping he’ll eventually raise enough money to build himself the lavish temple of his dreams, Yato accepts all kinds of jobs. Of course, he can’t afford to be picky; from finding lost kittens to helping a student overcome bullies, no job is too small for Yato, the god-for-hire! An eccentric story with a charming cast of characters!

200 pages, Paperback

Published September 2, 2014

About the author

Adachitoka consists of two female mangaka, from which the name is derived:

Adachi (安達)
Foreground characters illustrator
Birthday: December 14th
Birthplace: Yamagata-ken Murayama-shi

Tokashiki (渡嘉敷)
Background illustrator
Birthday: November 28th
Birthplace: Okinawa-ken Naha-shi

Reviews

[Phoenix2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since the anime is my favourite of all times, I could not possibly not love the manga as well. Yato and basically each and every character in the manga, are adorable and darkly complex. Since this is the first volume, I can't see any character development yet, but the backgrounds of their past are promising. Finally, the art is very good and suits the story.
*******UPDATE**********
Since I've finished the whole manga series, or at least up to volume 18, as the rest isn't out yet, here is my review for the whole series:
4 out of 5 stars for Noragami
I loved the art, the characters and the story. Even though it was slow at some points, it really had it all, mystery, action, and some love, as well as humor and fantasy parts. Recommended for those who enjoy a good manga and love action and comedy themes.

[ivanareadsalot · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐ for Books 1-23!

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edit: Feb 08/24

***if anyone cares...i'd worked at a bookstore wayyyy back in the day and i'd read these for free (emp. perk), but i can't for the love of yato figure out why i didn't log each book my gawd😑

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS SERIES MAKES ME SOSOSO HAPPY. 😩❤️ It feels so good to finally reunite with my precious babies Yato, Hiyori and Yukine.


Can’t wait to start this series 🙌🏽 The anime was FANTASTIC and I am officially obsessed.

[Krystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, but I think I need more to decide if I'm willing to commit to it or not.

The god of the title appears to help a girl who is being bullied, and I'm afraid it was a weak opening. I was a bit disappointed in the way he behaved so I'm hoping for a LOT of character growth.

The second story was better, and I liked the new characters.

The action is a bit confusing and messy, but otherwise the story flows okay.

I'll probably give the next volume a go but not sure if I'll continue.

[Adam M · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the recommendation of a friend and coworker, thank you Taylor, I was able to read the first 2 volumes of Noragami. This introduction is pretty great as it has lots of humor, action, heart and a really quick reading pace. Yato is a relatively unknown, poor god who is hoping to earn enough money build his own shrine and gain more worshipers. He takes on fairly menial tasks from those looking for any sort of help. As a god for hire he needs a spiritual weapon to fight the various 'demons' that exist in between our world and, essentially, the world of the dead. A Shinki in this case is a spirit who can be called to transform into a weapon, but is otherwise generally annoyed at Yato.

This volume is a great introduction to the world because we learn enough to get a sense of what is happening, but not so much that we don't want to come back for more. It's a nice balance of humor and action that really helped the pacing and lead to some fun dialog from all the characters we meet without anyone having to do a giant exposition dump. I'm looking forward to volume 2!

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

This was a very pleasant surprise! Noragami follows Yato, a homeless god, who wants nothing more than to build his own temple where people can worship him! However, since he is at the very bottom of all divine beings, he cannot be fussy about the jobs he gets offered and in this volume we see him help a schoolgirl who is being bullied, retrieving a lost kitten and helping someone fix their leaky taps! And all for the very cheap sum of 5 yen!! So it’s probably going to take him forever to amass the right amount of money he needs for a temple!

This opening volume was action-packed, fast-paced and full of slapstick comedy. I found myself frequently smiling and laughing throughout (especially the scene involving Yato, Hiyori and the “shinki” Hiyori found)!

I think there is huge potential for this series and I’m aware it’s also an anime so I’m tempted to check that out as well.

A thoroughly enjoyable romp!

[Nərmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I choose to read the first volume at least, only because Yato seemed diferent kind of character. And yes, he is different than other shounen protagonists. Firstly, he is a god. ( one of the minor gods out there ). He has a wish to build his shrine. He is clever and funny. He acts mature and also childish.
And also there is Hiyori, which I liked quite a lot. She has nearly died and now trapped in two dimensions and can leave her body occasionally. She wants her body back to normal.
The story seems cliche spirit-demon-action -battle thing, though. I am sure the plot will get deeper and become complex. Lastly, I liked the artwork a lot. Yato is especially drawn handsome.^^

[Jade Ratley · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.43 on CAWPILE. This one sadly was just not my cup of tea.

[Selena Pigoni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won't lie. This was hard to read. There were pages with too much text and pages where the text was too small or cramped to read. The art was occasionally chaotic, especially combined with random text dumps that take over most of a page, or vice versa.

However.

The story so far is very interesting.

We follow a "God" named Yato, who's essentially running errands (and fighting monsters because come on, anime) and dreaming of the day he can build his own shrine. His motives and actions are often questionable, but that's what makes him an entertaining ball of energy.

We then have Hiyori, a wrestling fan girl/school girl who has a near death experience and wanders out of her body without meaning to. She gets a tail and super awesome fighting abilities learned from years of watching pro-wrestling. She doesn't quite understand this Ayakashi business and does her best to get Yato to solve her out-of-body-experience problems, but at least in this volume, screws it up because she doesn't know anything about how the in-between world works.

The way this world works is also interesting. Yato can use spirits as magical weapons a'la Elemental Gelade and Soul Eater, though the two we meet quickly become disillusioned with their "master" (one even quits in a rather amusing total breakdown complete with Kamehameha blast).

I'm hoping the artwork and text improves with future volumes.

[Rachel Kathryn Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a couple of pages I was completely hooked into the story. It was engaging and thrilling, with highly entertaining characters. With the plot and characters being so good, the art was fantastic and so beautifully done. But it was the characters that really got me into the story because the characters held some complexity to them that helps them stand out from other books with a similar storyline. The characters overall seem very likable and people would be able to connect with at least one of them. Overall, this was a highly enjoyable read that I am looking forward to reading further.

[Allyson Shelton · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

Rocky but great start to the series. It looks like it's leading to a fun and humorous series. I liked our characters we were introduced to excluding the first chapter. I might continue on with the anime though not the manga.

[Christine (myfictionaldays)]

4 stars

Noragami volume 1 was on sale the other month and I decided to give it a try as I loved the cover. Overall quite enjoyable and fun! I really like spirits/soul eater stories and this one perfectly captures the concept. Great start, can’t wait to read volume 2!

[Doc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Noragami is rated Teen which contains some scary looking creatures and some violence so be sure to use your best judgment if you decide to let a younger reader get this book.

All hail mighty Yato. Yato has the distinct pleasure of being a god from the far shore who is looking for jobs so one day he can build a shrine of his own. The only problem is like any offering he only asks for 5 yen per service no matter how difficult it might be. His visions of a grand shrine one day might take a bit of time but thankfully he is a god so he has that, unless of course one of the ayakashi that hides in the blind spots between the far and near shores get him first. What is a wandering deity to do? So be sure to pick up this book to see Yato's quest for greatness through various trials in this humorous action manga. :)

This book had a lot of fun moments for me so if I had to choose a favorite I would say it would have to be when Hiyori (She is one of Yato's clients which you'll see if you read) is trying to find a cat she knows he is looking for so she might remember something about the man she thought she saved in the accident but no one else noticed. Upon finding him he is in trouble though and her reaction to the giant frog ayakashi is great as well as her method of helping making me realize this is not a girl you want to mess with. In fact many of the funnest parts of the book deal with interactions between Yato and Hiyori so I hop you enjoy. :)

[Skye (Skye's Scribblings) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved! Saw it randomly at the library, liked the art, so I grabbed it without even reading the summary (I do this a lot with manga). Was pleasantly surprised to discover a kind of Rin-Ne-esque storyline centered around Japanese religion and spirits, my favorite manga subjects! Will definitely be continuing this series.

[gio · Rating 4 out of 5]

*read up to vol.18

It has already been a pain to add them all, so I'll probably use vol.1's rating as an overall rating for the whole manga so far.

[Carm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m starting to think that “troubled girl summons flawed supernatural being in a bathroom stall” is my preferred manga of choice?

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A distressed young woman hiding in a bathroom calls a number she sees on the wall. Instead of a good time, she gets Yato, a low-ranking god doing his best to make a name for himself. Yato helps the girl, but loses something in the process. Now he’s just getting by, but fate is higher up the food chain than he is and works in such mysterious ways...

That description sounds all so spiritual, and the book is definitely that, make no mistake. For all that anime and manga’s use of Judeo-Christian lore can be very ‘pick and choose’, this book thus far feels a little more devoted to taking Japanese spirituality a bit more straightforwardly to tell the story it wants.

Which sounds far more serious than this book actually is. There are serious moments, make no mistake, and it achieves a gravitas that I appreciated when it needs to, but it also makes no bones about what a deadbeat Yato is. He may have powers that are far beyond our pale, but to other supernatural beings he’s a total loser.

(The cutaway to him fixing somebody’s plumbing is possibly my favourite moment in the whole book.)

With his assistant bailing on him due to his uselessness (I mean, he DOES solve the girl’s problem, just... awkwardly...), Yato soon crosses paths with Hiyori, a teenager who accidentally ends up straddling the line between the spirit world and our own.

So begins our tale in earnest, with Yato trying to gain influence in our world versus Hiyori (and her narcolepsy-prone body) being drawn to the other side. Yato is stubborn to a fault, but certainly carries through on his contracts, so when she asks him for help...

Meanwhile Hiyori learns to enjoy the spirit world, except she is woefully ignorant of the danger she’s brought upon herself (and I’ve never seen a book justify cat tails before quite like this). I like that while she’s not exactly normal, she’s no helpless damsel or generic manga female either.

I dunno, this whole thing really grew on me as it went. There’s a certain charm to the main characters that I really appreciated and Yato’s hopeless quest (shrine offerings not being adjusted for inflation means this could take a looooooong time) is fodder for a bunch of interesting situations.

There are also some excellent translation notes, which I think this book truly benefits from. The gist is easy enough to grasp from the story as it goes, but there’s a bunch of interesting nuance that’s only conveyed to the non-native speaker via the notes.

4 stars. I like the premise, I like the characters, and the whole thing feels like there was thought behind it. An effort was made and I felt like it all came together really well.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, this is really good! Three long chapters with each being a separate story in itself yet they are connected and form a continuing plot. In the first chapter we meet Yato, the self-absorbed, rude yet entertaining lowly god who wishes to make himself the most adored god in the world. Two other characters are in this story but as to whether they will return it is unknown as the final two chapters bring in other characters which proceed with the plot. I absolutely love Hiyori, who keeps dropping her body, as she accidentally falls asleep and her spirit enters the in between world with Yato. The book has some battles and demons called ayakashi (like yokai), lots of humour and so far, great characters who are both entertaining and annoying at the same time. LOL. This was a lot of fun and a great first volume that had lots of story.

[Holly Letson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very interested in trying this series, since I saw that Vol.1 was never available on the library shelves. I figured that fact must mean that it is a really good manga. Boy, was I ever wrong about that! So, finally, I got it and read it. I was very disappointed.

This series has a feel quite similar to *Kamisama Kiss* at first, so my mind kept comparing it to that wonderful series. I love *Kamisama Kiss*, but I didn't like *Noragami* at all. It was a struggle to finish this volume, and I almost DNF'd it.

Series dropped. Reading this volume was a real letdown. I will not be wasting anymore of my time on this series.

[Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve long-loved the anime, but seeing as that seems to be on an indefinite hiatus, I decided to pick up the manga, and I loved it!

The art is solid, the pacing is solid, and all the humor and unsettling vibes of the anime are here, but with more depth. All around a good time. Can’t wait to watch Yato and co’s relationships deepen! Also, Yato is just linked w Meowth in my head, no idea why lol. Anyone else have that connection?

[Stephanie Roxane · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

Interesting story, stunning artwork. I really enjoyed this and look forward to continuing the manga series.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating includes volumes 1-13. I'll continue with the rest of the series soon!

[Roo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series looks like it's going to be hilarious and I'm excited!

[Noura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nostalgia go brrr

[Емилия · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Noragami" е върха. Определено се забелязват разликите спрямо сериала, но не са достатъчно големи, за да ми променят мнението. Даже сега го харесвам повече.

[Aurora Dimitre · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so excited when, after finishing the anime, I learned that the manga was going to be printed in English. I pre-ordered it and set it aside for a day where I would maybe do something like drop a cup of coffee on myself and need some cheering up.

And it worked perfectly for that!

It's so funny and so cute, with a bit of a serious undertone that I adore. It follows two main characters, with a third popping up at the end - Yato, a god with no following, Hiyori Iki, a high school student who gets herself in an interesting situation which causes her to lose her body at inopportune times, and Yukine, a spirit who becomes Yato's weapon.

Yukine is my favorite - he's one of those characters that I just sort of want to take into my home and give them a loving family and help them with homework and things like that. Basically, he makes me feel maternal, and it's a little weird. But he's my favorite. Yato and Hiyori are excellently hilarious and adorable, and I love both of them as well. There are so many funny moments throughout this manga that I was laughing out loud at times - it's definitely worth a read.

And now I'm awaiting the second volume which is, thankfully, set to come out in fairly soon.

[Riana (RianaInTheStacks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have watched all of the anime that is currently out for the Noragami series and wanted more, so I decided to read the manga! That being said, I already knew I would love the story and characters. I love the humor in the series, and it carries over well from manga to anime. I really appreciated the bit at the end of this volume on the translation of certain phrases and other possible meanings and an explanation of how it is being used because I know a lot can be lost or changed in translation. It really helped to explain a couple things I had been wondering about, such as where Hanki and Shinki came from. I haven’t seen a manga include this before, and was very excited about it and hope it continues in the later volumes.

I also like that the manga isn’t basically frame for frame the same as the anime because I have read several series that were so similar I didn’t end up finishing the manga. Great introduction to the characters and basic plot line and setting. I love how complex Yato’s character is and can’t wait to see Yukinae’s character develop in the manga.

[Ken Yuen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting start so far. The characters are certainly pretty good so far. Each with their own quirks and stand-out personality traits. The art is really nice, what great shading.

I'm just going to say it sorta reminds me of Bleach because it'll make Alice mad.

Personal preference, I wish Yato would refer to himself as a deity (I think he does at one point) more than a god, since the word "god" carries too many expectations that don't fit, I think.

Wish they'd call his outfit a "tracksuit" instead of a "sweatsuit".

On the last page, why is it "Yato-saman"? Is this a typo, should it say Yato-sama?

I'm a bit nervous about the translation since it's Kodansha. Looks like it has two translators, but no editor or proofreader credit.

However, I'm super impressed by the depth of the translator notes. There's five full pages of them and they include the panel in question, which is super useful. I wish more notes would provide context like that.

A good start so far!

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I completely agree with another review of this volume I read - it's hard as hell to read at times. The art can be very loud, too busy, all over the place; there can be waaaay too much writing in one little space, or just super tiny writing as other things are going on.

BUT

This is an interesting premise. It had me hooked from the start. We're introduced to the main characters and learn about them from the author SHOWING us, not TELLING us (which I find is a huuuuge problem in a lot of manga series).

I'm super excited to keep reading!

[Chi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to get to the end of this beautifully-illustrated series, but some of the gods flew past my head. I think, had I a better idea of more of the gods, and how the deities associated with one another, I might've had a better appreciation of how things worked.

As it was, what I could understand and piece together was rather intriguing, and I liked that the series ultimately ended in a hopeful note.