Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 1

神様はじめました [Kamisama Hajimemashita] #1

by Julietta Suzuki

Nanami Momozono is alone and homeless after her dad skips town to evade his gambling debts and the debt collectors kick her out of her apartment. So when a man she's just saved from a dog offers her his home, she jumps at the opportunity. But it turns out that his place is a shrine, and Nanami has unwillingly taken over his job as a local deity!

Nanami has all kinds of new responsibilities she doesn't understand, dangers she's unaware of, and a cranky ex-familiar who's... actually pretty hot. What's a new-fledged godling to do?

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels, Young Adult, Shojo, Paranormal

200 pages, Paperback

First published September 19, 2008

About the author

鈴木ジュリエッタ
Suzuki Julietta is a Japanese manga artist born in the Fukuoka Prefecture. Her pen name comes from a character named Julietta Sakamoto from the seinen manga series, Air Master.
She likes cats, koalas, and sharks. According to an interview with Hakusensha, she first started drawing when she was in her second year of elementary school in a sketchbook of Japonica.
During her free time, she meets her friends, goes for a drink, or out for a meal. She states that although she doesn't read much, she enjoys works by Junji Itō. Her favourite character is Ashia and mentions that male characters are easier to draw in general.

Reviews

[Ria]

Anyone else who's a fan of this anime/manga series feel free to fangirl/boy with me HAHAHA my favorite part of this volume has got to be when Himemiko meets Nanami for the first time and Tomoe and her fish-servant have a fight and Nanami uses the word-power-command thing to make Tomoe apologize for almost turning him into a fried fish dish. And his face is literally like (O__O) the whole time. I laughed so damn hard, and the anime made it even better.

THIS SCENE

[Lois Bujold]

I actually started this with Vol. 2, after having seen the DVD series, and as usual wondering if the manga would make more sense/develop characters that interested me. Not really, for both, and I'd give it 3 stars overall but upped it to 4 because the art is very pretty. And it is very inventive, after its own lunatic fashion. Have now plowed through Vols. 2 - 18, as my public library had a complete run (except for an insufficient number of Vol. Ones.)

Very shojo manga/girl gets magic powers followed by the whole boy band, the bb in this case consisting of various supernatural entities who appear in the form of bishonen.

Amusing.

Ta, L.

Later: I revisited this, to find my library now had all volumes through to the end at Vol. 25. A satisfactory conclusion. I am even more charmed by the drawings of the fox yokai co-protagonist, Tomoe. His ears are so expressive!

[R ♥]

I just finished reading this and it was amazing! It was so much like the anime and I can't wait to read the incoming volumes. The characters were amazing, I loved the humour, plot, and EVERYTHING. TOMOE IS THE BEST MANGA CHARACTER I HAVE EVER READ, I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. 10/10 would reccomend it!
/
I watched the anime for this manga 3 times and I am OBSESSED. I can already tell that I'm going to love the manga so I can't wait! I am going to be reading the manga as soon as possible.

instagram | goodreads

[Bookishrealm]

I’ve been waiting forever to start this series and watch the anime and I’m so glad that I finally started. This was such a cute manga. And I loved that I learned so much about Japanese deities which I’m not familiar with. It was hard some times to follow the placement of the text but other than that it was a smooth read. If you’re looking for a cute, funny fantastical manga I would definitely recommend trying this out. I’m interested in seeing how Nanami is going to adjust to being in this world. She doesn’t seem to want to necessarily go back to the human world but readers can tell that there is some nostalgia. I’m looking forward to continuing the rest of the series.

[Katie Colson]

⭐️3.5

Aw, I really enjoyed this!

This was so cute and fun and funny.
Wish there was a box set cause it's complete and there's 25 volumes. Don't know if I see myself collecting all of them individually. I might watch the anime though.

I'll check my library but I don't know if I loved it enough to invest in the series.

[SHOMPA]

I really enjoyed the fun back-and-forth between Nanami and Tomoe. It's what keeps me hooked on the series. There's so much potential there. I just hope the next volume dives even deeper into the storylines and gives each character more depth and complexity.

[AℳY♔Queen of Fat cats♔Ain't no lie Baby Byebyebye]

Adding because my AMYzing friend Umaiya-chan says it's similar to Red Winter. It looks like Inuyasha!!!!


Art by Kay-i
https://www.deviantart.com/kay-i/art/...

[Zala]

Placeholder for volumes 1-21
a classic. that i will probably never finish because it's been too long since i stopped reading it and there's no way i'll reread everything just to see how it ends (i do know they live happily ever after; no other outcome is possible).

[alex :)]

please i’ve missed them so much. they’re just as cute as they were years ago when i first discovered the anime 🥹

[Kathe L]

Mangas are adorable! I discovered my passion of reading because of mangas, most precisely shoujos (shoujo=romance). While this manga here doesn't show the 'love' thing from the very beginning, it most definitely shows you that there is a girl, Nanami, and her familiar, Tomoe, and you can imagine for yourself it they are going to be a couple or not. That is the best part, in my opinion. Some shoujos throw the couple at your face in the very beginning, while this one leaves everything at your imagination and takes its time.

What to say about the story? Nanami was thrown out of her house by her dad. Wandering around, she starts talking to this man in a park and he makes her a proposal: she would be the god of his temple (it was his job until that moment), and she gets food and a place to sleep in return. Guys, it's a manga. Don't over-analyse the fact that she talked to a stranger And she accepts, obviously, since she has no other place to go. Her mission as a God is to clean the place and things like that, but mostly attend to the wishes of the people who go pray there. Being a god, though, there are a lot of monsters who would want to have her power. And that's where Tomoe gets in. His mission as her familiar is to always protect her and do everything she asks hehe

Guys, if you're not a big fan of fantasy, I wouldn't suggest this. But the magic in a manga is that everything flows, it's funny, imaginative, and one chapter different than the other one. In a shoujo, it seems like the main couple is never going to be together until they do. There's doubt, fear for the main characters, and otherwise everything that I love in a book. This manga started in 2008 and it's still rolling until now. That's what I love about mangas, if you follow from the very beginning (not my case), it seems like this beautiful story is never going to end.



This manga is just so cute, really. Everyone should give it a try!

[DianaRose]

one of the best classic shojo mangas, and it still holds up to when i first read translated chapters back in 2010-2011 💗

[libby]

This is such a comfort read😭😭😭

[Yesy (The Book Vagrant)]

one of my all-time favorite series tbh

[Victoria ✮⋆˙]

This has always been such a favourite for me!! I’m really excited to be reading it physical!!

[aleeza♡]

oh how I love kamisama kiss

[Chmurson]

Mam pewne zastrzeżenia co do treści, ale ogólnie było przyjemne w odbiorze i sięgnę po drugi tom⭐️

[tomatnyu]

4,5☆

зачем мне ирл мужики когда все хорошие эмоции мира мне дарили только 2д пацаны такие как томоэ

[Theresa ♫]

Sorry, this might turn into a rant.
Not about the book of course, you guys know my Theresa reviews . . . its about . . . it's about

THE FACT THAT I WAS WRITING A REVIEW AND THEN GOODREADS JUST FREAKING GLITCHED OUT ON ME . . . and deleted everything I was writing.
They should (*smiles sweetly) really (*smiles wider) really (*smiles murderously) FIX THAT.

But anyway, I guess I'll just . . . I'll just type it again. ;-; This is not the first time it's happened like that . . .
BUT ANYWAY.


This poor unfortunate girl, NANAMI (because the first time I wrote this review, I forgot her name . . . I mean how do you forget the main character's name . . . when you really really like the book she's in? That's embarrassing . . .) gets kicked out because of a father throwing away money for gambling . . . and he mysteriously runs away from his daughter, letting his daughter get kicked out of a house and becoming homeless.

Lately I've been reading a lot of manga about a girl becoming either really really really really stress-stroke or homeless because of some gambling guy . . . that's NOW one of the normal cliches, don't you see?
Like how in some novels, the author makes two parents DEAD . . . so they're not around.

Is it because parents are no use to the main character in the story? Is it just to get them out of the way?? :O
(Well . . . yeah . . .)

The whole InuYasha part of the story is how a Kami gives her his Kami authority, and she goes to a shrine full of paranormally paranormal beings.
She meets a familiar named Tomoe...and two little figures with masks, and they realize that she is the new Kami, and THAT, my lovelies . . . is how this beautiful stories begin.


Okay . . . okay . . . . . . . . . okay.

THIS BOOK IS GREAT.

GREAT. Gets my thumbs up. You know what, it's original and cliche BOTH AT THE SAME TIME, but I haven't been obsessed with a specific anime in such a long long long long long long long time!

I mean I love it when a love starts out with two people hating each other, and then gradually falling in love. IT'S CLICHE. TERRIBLY CLICHE. HORRIBLY UTTERLY CLICHE, but its in this story, and it's more addicting that opium to opium addicts.
.....
.....
.....
..
Actually no, it's not that crazily addicting, opium can freaking KILL YOU, but oh yes, this comes very very very close.


I mean how many stories do you actually read about Kami and shrines? ........actually, there are a lot, but none really quite like this one.
For some reason I thought this was going to be one of those manga that has a lot of names for things.
Like JK Rowling's Harry Potter. THERE WERE SO MANY NAMES FOR SO MANY FREAKING THINGS...species of trees, supernatural beings, certain chemicals, freaking certain SAYINGS FOR EVERY SPELL. I thought this was gonna be one of those.
Like those little creatures that follow Nanami around? They could be called some kind of really long complicated name and have some really long complicated powers that take ages and ages and ages to actually explain and there's a whole "Guide to the world of Kamisama Kiss" book somewhere out there. That's what I thought.
BUT THIS BOOK IS PRETTY SIMPLE TO UNDERSTAND.
I love Harry Potter but come now . . .

This is a romantic paranormal anime story and I will admit this: besides magical girls and vampires and Inuyasha with various demons, this book is fairly original.
It's like Inuyasha in a way, but it's not.
I mean if you're a die-hard InuYasha fan and you only like InuYasha for its demons and gore and shounen features and that fact that there's like a whole entire WORLD filled with all kinds of characters, I will not say that Kamisama Kiss is like that . . .







P.S. THERE'S A BEAUTIFUL ANIME!
I was humming the theme as I was typing this, ooh! LA! LA!

[Rereader]

I feel like such a dick giving this volume such a low rating, but PLEASE hear me out:

I became interested in this series about three-four years ago, when I was trying out new manga series after spending several years reading the same stuff. This was one of the first shoujo romance w/ a folklore twist series that I was introduced to and I took a liking to it. So much so that I purchased the entire series despite only reading up to seven volumes (yeah, really FUCKING dumb move on my part, NEVER do that). The problem now is that I have now been blessed with reading series like Noragami, In/Spectre, The Ancient Magus's Bride, Kakuriyo Bed and Breakfast for Spirits, and Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts, and unfortunately this series doesn't match up.

Nanami and Tomoe have little to no chemistry, Tomoe is the stereotypical "asshole with a hidden heart of gold" leading man and Nanami is just kind of annoying though I like her desire to help others. The artwork is fine and I like the designs of the yokai, so there's that. This just wasn't an engaging first volume for a woman who has seen this done multiple times over and better. Will give it a few more volumes, but I doubt I'm gonna finish this.

[Selena Pigoni]

I liked that one a lot more than I thought I would. I really like the characters and how they interact with each other. It makes for a fun read.

[Sarah]

This manga is just so incredible. I loved it so much. I also just watched the anime and am loving it as well. I love Tomoe he is my favorite character in this manga definitely.

[Henz]

Manga is still ongoing ... ugh! I can't believe it just stopped right there!!! I'm gonna cry ...

[Beth]

Nanami, suddenly homeless after her deadbeat dad skips town, just as suddenly becomes the tochigami of a shrine not far from her previous home. Tomoe was the previous tochigami Mikage's shinshi--his primary attendant--but similarly to Nanami's dad, Mikage also skipped town... twenty years ago. The shrine is worn-down, but Nanami will do her best to restore it, with the assistance of a very reluctant Tomoe, who is now bound to obey her.

This first volume of Kamisama Kiss is the only one I own. After reading it, I wondered why, because this is a funny and lightly sweet story that I enjoyed a lot. Maybe I glanced through it after buying it (it has a Kinokuniya label on the back, so it must have been wrapped up in the store), and wasn't impressed by the art, so stuck it on my shelf and never went back to it. I rather regret not keeping on with it, since I've come to love yokai stories, Japanese supernatural stories, isekai, and liminal spaces, and this title has a little of all of that.

It reminds me of Natsume's Book of Friends in its rather sentimental approach to its side characters, and Inu Yasha in its prickly relationship between the two leads, mainly because Nanao can literally be told to "sit!" by Nanami when he acts up, just like Inuyasha. Much like Kogame and Inuyasha, in the end these two have the same motivation underneath it all, and I'm sure they'll get closer as the story goes along, even if Tomoe remains grouchy.

Unfortunately, this series is out of print, and I know without looking that used copies will be going for a premium. Thankfully, my library has most or all of the rest of the series, and I've already ordered in the next three volumes. Hooray for libraries!

September 2026 Manga Alphabet Challenge: J. I didn't have any unread titles starting with J, and ended up having to scour my home bookshelf looking for an author name starting with J. I'm glad I found this one. If it continues a similar vein, it will quickly become a favorite. Maybe I'll add it to my digital library later. We'll see.

[Tabby]

I really enjoyed this first volume! I always love a fox spirit and love the setting being at a shrine. I also liked all the different Yokai we got to meet in this volume. I can’t wait to continue the series!

[Shannon]

3.5

[Yue]

I am a sucker for 'I love you/I hate you' relationships in books, especially if there is a good reason and if there is chemistry between the 2 main characters. And that is what I found in 'Kamisama Kiss'. Again there is a master/servant relationship, something I have read a couple of times, but that so far, it is not bothersome.

Nanami, as the new Land God in this Shrine, has Tomoe, a fox yokai, as her servant. Usually I am not a fan of 'ears' (like in Loveless, Volume 1) but it suits Tomoe. Both of them are amusing together. Both are sarcastic and stubborn. The elements of fantasy are interesting: the other two loyal servants, Onikiri and Kotetsu have funny looks, and the rest of the characters that we meet in this volume, such as The Princess of the Swamp, her servant and the rest who were in the other world.

So far it attracts my attention, so I'll continue reading this manga.

[Dani ❤️ Perspective of a Writer]

The art is so beautiful, I admit I am drawn to series because I love how the story is expressed through the art. I especially love how Tomoe and the two little familiars are drawn. I love the premise, it is cute and so culturally Japanese. Chapter 3's art is especially beautiful.

The details that advance the story are very subtle and woven in that it makes for a great read. Nothing stands out but everything that happens works toward the story. It's well written as well as well drawn. The plot of this first volume is centered particularly around a kiss and that is hilarious but also so symbolic. Then we move on to helping our first shrine worshiper. Very, very cute and I love the use of yokai, they make things fun. The characterization of the fish lady in particular is well done, you know this author loves yokai too to think even the sounds she makes so well thought out.

[Tami (tami.letters)]

Me encanta lo directa que es Nanami para decir todas las cosas. Leí este tomo hace años y sigo amando a Nanami y Tomoe igual que antes. Me encantan los personajes y su personalidad.
Ademas es divertida la historia en muchas partes y las caras de Nanami son muy chistosas a veces 🤣

Me encanta ver cómo el personaje evoluciona desde el inicio y acepta los cambios sin mayor complicaciones 🥺

Y enserio que el poder de diosa de Nanami está muy cool 😍 y el poder de las palabras que tiene sobre Tomoe es muy divertido, porque por su forma de ser, a veces le da órdenes de forma inconsciente 🤣🤣
Y la mejor parte es cuando obliga a Tomoe a disculparse y le da la mano a la aleta del pez 🤣🤣
Y las ironías de Tomoe a Nanami son divertidas, siempre la molesta aunque igual se siente orgulloso 🤭

[Delaney]

**This review is for the entire, finished series because I FINALLY got around to rereading it and finishing the updated chapters.**

THAT ENDING WAS PERFECT.

I didn't think I would get emotional to finish the series and I didn't think it would hold up as a favorite manga...but I can't seem to take it out of my favorites shelving. That's just it, this is one of my favorite shoujo manga out there! They don't just make this kind of stuff these days anymore!

[MAG Scrittrice]

Rilettura.
Un altro manga che ho amato, sia in versione fumetto che anime. La bellezza di questa storia è la capacità di far sospirare d'amore e divertire al tempo stesso. E poi Tomoe è... indescrivibile. Str*nzo da sbatterci la testa nei primi volumi, ma dopo... Adoro!