Kamisama Dolls

Kamisama Dolls is a manga series by Hajime Yamamura, adapted to anime in 2011.

Ordinary College Student Kyouhei moved away from his small village to study philosophy at Tokyo University, hoping to escape the life of a Seki before it was thrust upon him. Unfortunately, Kyouhei finds himself witnessing a string of bloody murders involving members of his estranged clan. Another Seki by the name of Aki escaped his prison in the village and is slaughtering them with the use of a mystical doll known as a "Kakashi." And the only one with the power to stop him is Kyouhei's little sister Utao, who has a Kakashi that Kyouhei was supposed to receive, but little in the way of the experience to fight with it.

Kyouhei finds himself conflicted between wanting to stop Aki before he kills anyone else, and staying away from the affairs of the Seki he left behind.

Tropes used in Kamisama Dolls include:

• Abhorrent Admirer: How Utao views Yurako.
• Accidental Pervert: Kyohei seems to have one of these moments every episode.
  • Ms. Fanservice: Hibino is almost always the victim.
    • In episode 6, she tiredly tells Kyouhei and Utao that she's used to it.
• Alliterative Name: Kyohei Kuga, Shingo Sago (Hibino's father), Kuuko and Kyouske Karahari. Subverted with Kirio.
• Ax Crazy: Aki, Mahiru and Kyouhei. He's just better at hiding it than them. All the fault of the Monster Kakashi trying to eat their minds/souls, apparently.
• Berserk Button:
  • Kuuko doesn't like it when people point.
  • Don't ever mention sensei to Kyohei, if you're Aki.
• Big Brother Attraction: Utao, a little bit.
• Big Brother Instinct: Kyohei towards Utao
• Big Sister Bully: Moyako to Yurako
• Big Damn Heroes: Kuuko in episode 12 with the golf club.
• Blood on These Hands: Aki.
• Bloodbath Villain Origin
• Bring My Brown Pants: Mahiru wets herself in terror during episode 10's flashback. Understandable given the circumstances.
• Butt Monkey: The universe clearly enjoys screwing with Utao's little world. Aki is a milder example; after years of imprisonment he's being now occasionally captured and abused... not by his pursuers, but by passing psycho females with no interest in his past crimes.
• Buxom Is Better: Hibino. Utao and Kyouhei are the only Seki/former Seki who know her beyond some variation on "the girl with the boobs".
• The Call Knows Where You Live: Leaving the village didn't help Kyohei.
• Cast of Snowflakes
• Censor Shadow: In the first episode of the anime, but oddly, only in the first episode so far.
• The Clan: The Seki are kind of like a cult with a surprisingly large reach across Japan.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Mahiru toward Kyouhei.
  • Utao too, but she mostly gets ignored.
• Cool Big Sis: Hibino is this towards Utao.
  • Utao wants to be this towards Kirio
• Cool Shades: Koushiro
• Curb Stomp Battle: Kyouhei-controlled Kukuri vs. berserk Magatsuhi ends with the latter's destruction.
• Curtains Match the Window
• Creepy Doll: Uncanny Valley is not what makes them creepy, as they're far from humanoid.
• Cuteness Proximity: Hibino around Utao.
  • Suou's reaction to seeing Utao is to immediately glomp her.
  • And then there's Yurako too much to her dismay.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Kyohei, very much so.
• Design Student's Orgasm: The OP combines this with the traditional "character roster" approach.
• Destination Defenestration: It's Die or Fly training, Utao.
• Dramatic Chase Opening: First Episode
• Empathic Weapon
• Enfant Terrible: Aki implied.
• Everybody Remembers the Stripper: Hibino is probably the first thing people think about from this show.
• Evil Old Folks: The Elder Hyuga.
• Evolving Credits: Everytime a new Seki is introduced.
• Fiery Redhead: Kuuko
• Friendly Enemy: The Hyuga and Kuga are rivals for influence in Karakami Village, but the interactions between Seki from both clans (barring the crazy ones) is rather friendly.
• Gag Boobs: What Hibino's 'assets' smoothly evolved into.
• Grey and Gray Morality: The Kuga family is A Lighter Shade of Gray, though.
• Half Identical Twin/Long-Lost Relative: Kirio is Utao's and he uses a Kakashi with lightning-based attacks.
  • Separated at Birth
  • Dude Looks Like a Lady: Kirio in a towel can be easily mistaken as Utao, at least that's what Moyako says.
• Hand Puppets: Kukuri and Utao hand puppets appear at the end of each anime episode giving trivia about the series.
• Heroic Sacrifice/Taking the Bullet: Senou sacrifices herself to save Aki.
• Hey, It's That Voice!: This isn't the first time Misato Fukuen has used magic to fly.
  • Black*Star now controls a God.
• Heroic BSOD: Utao in episode 5.
• I Have Boobs - You Must Obey!: Kuuko tries it and fails in episode 2.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Kyohei.
• Identical Stranger: According to Aki, Hibino looks a lot like his and Kyohei's teacher.
• It's Not You, It's My Enemies: Kyohei tries to pull this after the fight against Mahiru. Hibino doesn't care.
• Japanese School Club: Kuuko heads the True Science club. Too bad she isn't good at keeping members.
• Karma Houdini/Villain with Good Publicity: Atsushi ruins Chihaya's life because she slapped him.
• The Kid with the Remote Control: Utao. Although she's still a tad green and can use advice from a Big Brother Mentor like Kyohei.
• Lap Pillow: Not a bad way to wake up, Kyohei.
• Large Ham: Kuuko
• Leitmotif: Every seki has its own signature melody that kakashis play when they are controled,
• Younger Sibling Fetishization: Played for Laughs with Utao.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Hibino was purposedly kept out of the village's secret by her father.
• The Lost Lenore: Chihaya-sensei is a Type A for Aki. Kyohei seems to have gotten over it thanks to Hibino.
• Love Dodecahedron: The series has become this with all the various characters being introduced. Utao and Mahiru are confirmed to be in love with Kyouhei, who seems to have a crush on Hibino. However, in the past he, and likewise with Atsushi were in love with Chihaya. She had a thing with Aki. Aki, in turn, is implied to be liked by Moyako. Yurako, Moyako's sister, also has some sort of crush / Cuteness Proximity thing towards Utao. That's just the major ones too.
• Love Triangle: Many, bordering on Love Dodecahedron. Those included are:
  • Kyouhei->Chihaya<->Aki
  • Moyako->Aki<->Chihaya
  • And Utao->Kyouhei<->Hibino, if the Big Brother Attraction is to be believed.
• Marionette Master: Sekis and their kakashis.
• The Masquerade: Sekis are unknown beyond the village, and The Clan wants it to stay that way.
  • At least partly unmasked by the Seki battles in the middle of downtown Tokyo.
• Meaningful Name: Whenever Utao uses Kukuri it starts singing. "Uta" is the Japanese word for "song".
  • Takemikazuchi takes its name from a Shinto kami, as does Amaterasu.
    • All of the Kakashi, in fact, take their names from aspects of Shintoism.
• Meganekko: Kuuko
• Miko: Utao is not one, but she dresses the part while on the village.
  • Moyako and Yurako Somaki dress that way as well, and they're also not mikos.
• Mind Rape: The Kakashi in episode 10
• Moment Killer: Kyohei got close to asking out Hibino in the first episode... but a drunk Suou barged in.
  • And again same situation in episode 9.
• Mood Whiplash: Seems like a slice of life show about a college student having his first romance. Let's watch the awkward flirt—whoa, dead bodies in the elevator. Okay, let's forget that for a moment and go back to flirting. Scary robot. Cute little sister. Epic battle. Panty shot. Epic battle. Incest joke. Epic battle. Mysterious conspiracy. And back to flirting. And that's just episode 1.
• Mook Horror Show: Aki's Unstoppable Rage at the end of episode 7.
• Moral Event Horizon: In-universe example: Aki thinks he's crossed it. No redemption possible.
• Mundane Utility: In episode 2, Utao tries to practice controlling Kukuri by using him (?) to play a video game.
• Nice Girl: Hibino.
• Not Distracted by the Sexy: Kuuko see above and later she sits on Aki and he's completely unfazed.
• Not So Different: Referring to Moyako, Kirio acts very similarly to Utao.
• Only Sane Man: Kou. The only current Seki willing to talk things out calmly and only interested in his mission to try and recapture Aki rather than pursuing personal vendettas.
• Pay Evil Unto Evil: Aki kills Atsushi by cutting his head from the nose off.
• Power Nullifier: Mahiru's Kakashi, Magatsuhi can do this if another Kakashi is caught in it's barrier.
• Rape and Revenge: That's Aki's Start of Darkness.
• Rape as Drama: Chihaya
• Raven Hair, Ivory Skin
• Refusal of the Call: Kyohei.
• Rescue Romance: How Mahiru fell for Kyohei.
  • Then Hibino towards Kyohei by episode 13.
• Rival Turned Evil: Aki and Kyohei used to be friendlier before the whole incident with Chihaya-sensei.
• Roaring Rampage of Rescue: Kyohei when Magatsuhi goes berserk and grabs Hibino.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Aki after Chihaya was killed, Unstoppable Rage style.
• Scars Are Forever: Kirio, revealed in episode 6.
• Secret-Chaser: Kuuko Karahari.
• Shock and Awe: Takemikazuchi
• Shout-Out: In the trailer after episode 2, Utao mentions the Konami Code.
• Specifically Suspicious Denial: Hibino is not interested in Kyohei. At all. Kuuko, however, is no fool.
• Spoiled Brat: Mahiru, so much.
• Start of Darkness: Aki's, Episode seven.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Utao looks like a younger version of her mother. So does Kirio, of course
• Tailor-Made Prison: Aki's last known residence.
• Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: Moyako.
• Teacher-Student Romance
• Trademark Favorite Food/Sweet Tooth: Utao loves cake.
• Tragic Villain: In the Sliding Scale of Anti-Villains, Aki is a Type II.
• Twice Shy: Hibino and Kyohei until episode 13.
• Uncanny Village
• The Un-Smile: Utao tries to give one to Kirio.

Kyouhei: (to Utao) "You never did learn how to smile, did you?"

• Unwanted Harem: The Kyouhei-Hibino-Utao cluster has evolved into this as Mahiru entered the equation.
  • First Girl Wins: Hibino, obviously.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Aki. While not being so social in the first place, Chihaya grew on him and made him raise a dog, which finally made him smile for the first time. Her death however, changed everything for him.
  • Despair Event Horizon
• Wave Motion Gun: Kukuri has two: in its eye and another in its left hand.
• Weapon of Choice: Kuuko's taser.
• Weight Woe: Hibino suffers from this in the second special. Turns out it was her muscles that's causing the problems.
• When He Smiles: Aki definitely.
• White-Haired Pretty Boy: Aki fits the trope to the T.
• Wild Card: Mahiru.
• Yandere: Mahiru, however she doesn't want to kill Hibino.
• You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Utao and Kirio have purple hair and Mahiru has dark green hair.
• You're Insane!
• Your Other Left: Utao has this problem with in episodes 5 and 6.
• Zettai Ryouiki: Mahiru, oh yes.