The World God Only Knows (神のみぞ知るセカイ, Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai) is an anime series based on the manga series of the same name by Tamiki Wakaki serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday magazine. The anime is produced by Manglobe, directed by Shigehito Takayanagi, series composition by Hideyuki Kurata, character design by Akio Watanabe, art direction by Ayumi Satō and Kayoko Tokō and sound directed by Yoshikazu Iwanami.[1] The first season aired from October 6, 2010 to December 22, 2010 on TV Tokyo, TV Hokkaido and TV Setouchi and on later dates on TV Aichi, TV Osaka and TVQ Kyushu. A second season titled The World God Only Knows II aired from April 11, 2011 to June 28, 2011.[2] A third season, titled The World God Only Knows: Goddesses (神のみぞ知るセカイ 女神篇), aired from July 8, 2013 to September 23, 2013.[3]
The series follows the exploits of Keima Katsuragi, an intelligent, gloomy teenager who is known on the Internet as "The God of Conquest" for his legendary skills to "conquer" any girl in Bishōjo games, yet does not like girls in real life, where he is known as the Otamegane (オタメガネ), a derogatory portmanteau of the two words otaku (オタク) and Megane (メガネ, lit. glasses). One day, out of pride, he accidentally accepts what he assumes to be a challenge for a Bishōjo game when in reality he has accepted a contract from a bumbling demoness named Elsie who asks for his help in capturing runaway spirits from Hell who are hiding in the hearts of girls. The only way to force the spirits out of the girls hearts is by replacing the spirits in the girls' hearts with himself (metaphorically speaking) by making the girls fall in love with him, much to Keima's horror. With the threat of death for both of them should he refuse, Keima has no choice but to help Elsie. Together with his intelligence and knowledge of the dating sim genre and Elsie's magical powers, Keima is about to embark on his greatest challenge.
An OVA episode, titled 4 girls and an Idol (４人とアイドル, Yonin to Aidoru), was released with the limited edition of the 14th manga volume on September 16, 2011. The episode's opening theme song is "Natsu Iro Surprise" (夏色サプライズ, lit. "Surprise Summer Colors") which is once again performed by Tōyama and the ending theme song, "Hajimete Koi o Shita Kioku" (始めて恋をした記憶, lit. "Memories of First Love") is performed by Kana Asumi. It is based on chapters 54–55 of the manga, in which Chihiro Kosaka forms a band called the "2B Pencils".[4]
A two-episode OVA, based on the character Tenri Ayukawa and titled Tenri Arc (天理篇, Tenri-Hen), was released together with the limited editions of the 19th and 20th manga volumes on October 16, 2012, and December 18, 2012, respectively. The ending theme songs, "Hikari no Kiseki" (ヒカリノキセキ, lit. "Miracle of Light") and "Mirai e no Tobira" (未来への扉, lit. "Door to the Future"), are both performed by Eyelis.
A fourth OVA episode, featuring the character Kanon Nagakawa becoming a magical girl and titled Magical Star Kanon 100% (マジカル☆スターかのん100%) was released together with the limited edition of the 22nd manga volume on June 18, 2013. The episode's opening theme song is "Kanon 100%" (かのん100%) and the ending theme "Kimi-iro Love Song" (君色ラブソング, lit. "Your Multicolor Love Song") are again performed by Tōyama.