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There are two planes of existence: the Near Shore and the Far Shore. We, the living, reside in the Near Shore, while demons and evil spirits dwell in the Far Shore. However, these evil spirits can still cause chaos on the Near Shore for the humans. Our only saviors are the gods, deities that wield powerful spirits known as shinki who can defeat the evil spirits. One of these gods, Yato, is a very minor deity with no shrine to call his own. He does odd jobs in order to make enough money to get by, and during one such job he and a middle school girl named Hiyori Iki's paths collide, changing their lives forever.
The plot of Bishamon's traitorous shinki Kugaha continues. He realizes that the only way to take down Bishamon is to separate her from her guiding shinki, Kazuma, and force her into battle in a weakened condition. Unfortunately, he is provided with all the tools for the job thanks to the hapless and unknowing Yato, who Bishamon has sworn to be her enemy.
Noragami is a series that will appeal to fans of action and suspense as well as the general comedic slice-of-life crowd.
Noragami's narrative has gotten to be incredibly impressive as the series has progressed, and the fifth volume has quite a strong story. The story is told from two primary perspectives: Bishamon's friends and followers, and Yato's friends and followers. This allowed the story to maintain the amusing moments and bits from previous volumes despite the darker turn without compromising the tone. While Yato continues his usual hijinks, he serves as a good contrast to Bishamon, whose followers are plotting her downfall. The amusing Yato moments are, if anything, even more clever than usual, and I couldn't help but chuckle at certain bits.
What was most intriguing, however, is Bishamon's present crisis, as it not only has brought a more significant danger to the characters than previous volumes but also serves to tie together several of the plot points from previous volumes, including the history behind Yato and Bishamon's feud. It's a very tense and well-written arc of story, and one that made me unable to put the volume down until there was nothing left for me to read. While the primary villain working with Stray to take down Bishamon is hardly abnormal for his motivations (he wants power, surprise surprise), it is his methods that are particularly engrossing, as they bring out the best in many of the primary characters of the cast from previous volumes by engaging each of them on a personal level. This allows for significant confrontations both for Yukine and Yato, which I can see substantiating even further in the future.
While the story itself is good, there are two artistic elements that really make Noragami an excellent series, elements that I find myself appreciating more and more as the series continues and the quality maintains a steady level of excellence. The first of these elements is the art; Adachi and Tokashiki are very excellent artists, and their panels and style are crisp and vivid. The character designs are anything but bland, and I have had very little trouble identifying characters following their initial introductions because they stand out from the rest of the cast and are easily recognized.
The second element of artistic style that greatly enhances Noragami is something that can be attributed directly to Kodansha Comics USA: the translation is immaculate. I've found myself (despite lacking in knowledge of the Japanese language) consistently impressed by the quality and attention to detail in the translation, details that are made clear in the back by the translation notes. The translators clearly explain their methodology and reasoning for just about everything they can. Through these detailed explanations they not only provide fascinating cultural and grammatical context for the series but also highlight their own knowledge, as they must have identified these situations and made clear quality choices in order to maintain the integrity of the writing in the transfer from Japanese to English.
I have one complaint about Noragami's fifth volume, and that is that it ends on a huge cliffhanger. It was more-or-less like ending at the climax of the story, which was disappointing because outside of this, there were few issues to speak of. The entire volume is incredibly engaging and well thought-out, but it will be incredibly hard to wait until August for the next volume to release. Thankfully, starting this fall the series will begin serializing monthly instead of every other month, so the wait will be less arduous.
Noragami has continued to improve from a good series to a great one, and volume 5 is most definitely a good read. The new darker and more intense story line is placed in with the more comical side of the story in a way that prevents tonal dissonance and creates an intriguing narrative. This is all aided by the wonderful art and excellent translation, making this one of my favorite volumes of manga currently available in English.
Noragami Vol. 5 was published by Kodansha Comics USA on June 23rd, 2015. The series is currently ongoing in Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine, and had an anime adaption by Bones which aired from January 2014 - March 2014. The sixth volume will be released on August 18, 2015, and the series will begin to serialize monthly in English starting this fall.
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*Copy provided for Taykobon by publisher.
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Last month I started a project called Coexist, and I asked for guest posts from readers outside the United States to give us their view of the U.S. as it stands today, and also how our recent behaviour has affected their own country. I received and published several excellent contributions from David, Gary, and Colette in the UK, and John in Canada. At the time, rawgod expressed an interest in writing a post but needed a bit of time.
His words are sobering and remind us that we are indeed a global community, that we are under the microscope and what we do here in the U.S. has far-reaching consequences. I suspect that most of us are completely unaware of the incidents rawgod tells of, and I think it is important for us to see. Thank you, rawgod, for your words, as I know how much you struggled to keep it 'short, sweet and to the point'.
Anonymous Letters, Surreptitious Visits, and Other Events
Edmonton is a metropolitan city of about 1.8 million citizens, capital of the province of Alberta in the nation of Canada. And quite possibly the most hating city in Canada. In 2018 there were two anonymous letters sent to Aboriginal Canadian families telling them their presence was not wanted by white persons in the areas in which they lived. The first letter was sent on condominium board letterhead to owning residents of one of the condos. It basically said that red-skinned Canadians were not wanted by white residents of the condo, and they should go back to whatever reserve they had come from. They were not worthy of living among civilized people. Violence was threatened. A few months later a similar letter, unsigned, was sent to another Aboriginal Canadian family. This time the family had been living in the same house for over 20 years. Violence was not directly threatened, but is was suggested as a possibility if the family did not go back to the reserve. The police are "still investigating" both letters, but no persons have yet been designated as persons of interest.
A few days before the 2nd anniversary of the shooting in a Montreal mosque in which 6 were killed and 19 wounded, four men were discovered infiltrating Edmonton mosques. All four were members of a white racist group called The Clan. The Clan is an offshoot of The Sons of Odin, a member of which committed the shooting in Montreal. Was it any coincidence these 4 persons were snooping around mosques? One man said he went inside to use the washroom. Yeah, sure. Police were notified, and surveillance was increased. Fortunately, nothing further has happened since, but what if these men's visits had not been discovered?
Meanwhile, in Edmonton, there have been a number of instances on Edmonton Transit buses where people of non-white appearance were harassed by white passengers, told to go back home, threatened with violence, and basically mistreated while trying to go about their own business–this includes teenage school and university students, most of whom were born in Edmonton. White people seem to forget they were not the original inhabitants of this land. They seem to think it belongs to them by divine right, or some religious sin. How dare they forget they are the invaders here!
These are not all the hate crimes that have occurred in Edmonton, they are only samples. These feelings have no doubt been around for over a century, but mostly they were hidden. No one dared to declare themselves as the outright bigots they are … And then Donald J. Trump came along, and gave them permission to voice their opinions aloud, with force, and with open hatred.
And then this: I'll let you make up your own minds. By the way, it was written on United Conservative Party letterhead. No one has been fired.
This post shook me … it breaks my heart to know there are people with so much hate in their heart, with such a sense of arrogance and entitlement. Did it start with Donald Trump? No, it's been there all along, but it was the rhetoric of Trump and others who unleashed the storm.

subset: commoncrawl


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Star Fundraiser Award: Karl McPherson
The Star Fundraiser Award an extraordinary individual who has gone above and beyond to fundraise in their local community on behalf of Tommy's. This is Karl's story.
Act of Kindness Award: Zoe Feeney
The Act of Kindness Award recognises a person who has gone above and beyond with an act of kindness to support someone who has gone through a pregnancy complication or loss. This is Zoe's story.
Healthcare Hero Award: Tracy Rae
The Tommy's Healthcare Hero Award recognises a midwife, doctor or other medical professional who has provided exceptional physical care or emotional support to parents in difficult times. This is Tracy's Story.
Tommy's Commendation Award: Georgia Bunning
The Tommy's Commendation Award celebrates an individual who has gone above and beyond in some way, be it through their personal fundraising, their dedication to Tommy's or their quest to bring light to our shared cause and fuelling conversation. This is Georgia's Story.
Partner's Voice Award: Craig Sargeant
The Partner's Voice Award recognises a partner who has spoken out about the myriad of emotions that accompany loss. The winner of this inaugural award is Craig Sargeant. This is Craig's story.
Inspirational Family Award: Briggs Family
The Inspirational Family Award celebrates an extra-special family that has transformed the lives of others, or supported each other through troubled times and come out the other side. This is the Briggs family's story.