Recap: Wait, what???? We cover this show now????

After encountering Momiji, a god of misfortune, and dismissing her butler, Ichiko tries to continue living her lonely life as usual. Of course things don’t go according to plan as Momiji’s persistence brings a whole cast of oddball characters into their battle for happiness energy. In the process, Ichiko finds herself confronting her inner issues that keep her from getting close to others.

Jel’s Thoughts: I kind of liked Binbogami when we covered it in our wave of first impressions, but between keeping up with my other coverage and Funimation not having their stream available for a few weeks, it slipped through the cracks. I had a chance to catch up with it this week, and I am really glad I did.

On the surface, and perhaps a bit below that, Binbogami is an insane anime comedy. The funny parts tend to run at a breakneck pace with plenty of parodies, references and fourth wall smashing to keep you entertained. Personally I love that stuff, and I’m more than happy to see some characters with some swagger to them. Beyond the madness however, there is a heartfelt strain of reality that really takes off when we meet pseudo-love interest Tsuwabuki and pseudo-best friend Rindou. Both of them are very likable and help make Ichiko progress as a character, something I figured there was ZERO PERCENT CHANCE OF EVER HAPPENING after watching the first episode.

Being able to juggle those two sides of the coin is a difficult task, but Binbogami has done an admirable job of it so far. It’s certainly not perfect – there are still some healthy doses of ecchi to deal with and some people might find it hard to accept the more serious elements in light of the other insane things happening around them. But somehow the writers know just when to hit the gas for comedy (which is most of the time) and when to pump the brakes for a little introspection and character development.

I don’t want to get too much more into passing judgement on Binbogami as there are still episodes left to be watched and I don’t want this to be a review per se. Instead, think of this as a recommendation to go catch up and prepare for the rest of our upcoming coverage. If you like your anime comedies to be fast and crazy with a big heart, you’re very likely to enjoy this as much as I have.