What would you do if you suddenly became a god? When little Yurie, a Junior High School student, discovers that she is a god, she is beside herself in indecision and asks her friends. Thus begins her new life exploring what it means to be a god and her struggle to properly fulfill all the responsibilities it entails. From finding stray gods to dealing with Martians, her life is about to become more than ordinary.
Amazon.com
Junior high student Yurie Hitotsubashi, the heroine of the shojo (girl's) broadcast series Kamichu (2005), arrives at school one day and announces that she's become a god. Instead of calling the school nurse, her friends Mitsui and Matsuri try to determine what kind of god she is. Without really knowing what she's doing, Yurie summons up and disperses a typhoon, brings a runaway god back to Matsuri's family shrine, and frees a captive Martian. Between divine acts, Yurie tries to get Kenji, a boy in her class who's interested only in calligraphy, to notice her. The filmmakers attempt to capture the tone of Miyazaki's Spirited Away: bizarre-looking ghosts and spirits inhabit Yurie's hometown of Onomichi and the many long shots of the city echo Whisper of the Heart. The storyline of Kamichu is a little too weird, although Yurie's three ultra-cute assistants may appeal to adolescent girls. (Rated 13 and older) --Charles Solomon
