So you want to get into Noragami…

The world of Noragami expands to 2 mangas, 2 anime seasons and 4 OVAs. To be honest, getting into it shouldn’t be too hard, but Bones likes messing with the timeline, so it can get confusing for newcomers.

Here we go!

IF YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE SERIES AND WANT TO START WITH THE MANGA

Congratulations, you have chosen the easiest option!

I know saying this is a cliché, but the Noragami manga is waaay better than the anime. The anime is pretty good, but there are many things that are left unexplained, while many others are added or slightly changed. The manga offers a lot more information and clarification on things that are going on, character development and small details that will make you fall in love with the story and its characters. Basically, the anime is the “light” version. I truly believe you can’t really grasp what makes Noragami so special if you don’t read the manga. Besides, the art is so pretty!

There are 2 Noragami mangas. The first one is the official story (Noragami) and the second one is Noragami Shuuishuu (Noragami: Stray Stories) and is a collection of short chapters. These are all written by the same authors as the original work (Adachitoka), but are often more light-hearted and comedic. However, they still contain spoilers, so you should only read it AFTER you’ve caught up with the manga:

Noragami -> Noragami Shuuishuu/Stray Stories

If you want to watch the anime after that, read the guide below for the watching order.

IF YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE SERIES AND WANT TO START WITH THE ANIME

The official order of release is Noragami -> Noragami OVAs 1 & 2 -> Noragami Aragoto -> Noragami Aragoto OVAs 1 & 2. However, this is not the right order of events.

Things you should know:

• The first season actually had a big amount of filler. The Rabo arc, which starts around the second half of Episode 10, is filler. So is the eternal fall in Episode 4. This season only covered the first 3 volumes of the manga (Yukine’s arc). It serves as an introduction of the three main characters and the Noragamiverse, but it doesn’t delve much into plot or big story arcs.
• The second season covers Bishamon arc and Ebisu arc (Volumes 4-10). Even though it was a better adaptation overall, it still skipped a big chunk of Kazuma’s flashback with Touma and it did mess with Ebisu arc A LOT. Seriously, if you want to know what really happened in this arc or want to start reading the manga, read chapters 30-39 as it’s crucial to understand future events
• The Noragami OVAs go IN THE MIDDLE OF ARAGOTO. Seriously, don’t watch this before Aragoto or you’ll be spoiled BIG TIME! 

This is the exact order of canon events:

Noragami (Ep 1-9 and beginning of 10) -> Noragami Aragoto (Ep 1-6 (you might want to read Chapter 23 for the full Kazuma/Ma clan backstory) -> Noragami Aragoto Episode 7 right until the opening -> Noragami OVA 2 -> Noragami OVA 1 -> Noragami Aragoto Episodes 7-13 -> Chapter 40 -> Noragami Aragoto OVA 2.

As you can see, Noragami Aragoto OVA 1 is not necessary, as it adapts a super short chapter of Noragami Shuuishuu, and 80% of the OVA is filler anyway.