Reception Kannazuki no Miko received mixed reviews. Carlo Santos of Anime News Network criticized volume one of the manga, describing it as "less than the sum of its parts," and the second volume as "overblown" and melodramatic, with too much "[a]ngst, rage and sentimentality". Carl Kimlinger, also of ANN, described the series as having a strong and emotional conclusion, but also called it "pure poison for the melodrama-averse." Theron Martin, another ANN writer, praised the development of relationships between characters and the musical score, but criticized the mix of genres, "logical inconsistencies, [and] weak animation." Paul Gaudette of Mania praised that the series for having "human emotion fuel the robotic battles," while Connor McCarty of THEM Anime Reviews said that for those who like lesbian romances, "lesbian-lesbian-mechademon love triangles, or unexciting lesbian fan service," the series will be enjoyable, but also said that those who like this "need to get out more." In her review of the series, Erica Friedman (president of Yuricon) criticized the story for its rape scene and its manga ending (in which Chikane and Himeko are reincarnated as sisters and lovers), considering it poorly written. She asks why, "if both [Sōma] and Chikane love Himeko so much, do they allow her to be bullied, outcast and victimized instead of stepping up and claiming their friendship publicly?" Friedman wrote that Himeko "allows the whims of others to take control of her life, she indulges them by not having an opinion of her own, she naively forgives even the basest behavior, and she never once takes an interest in the truth of what is going on"; the story actually revolves around "the love triangle and Himeko's victimization by herself and the people who profess to love her". Friedman said, "Tokyopop's team did as good a job with the material as they could. It's not a good story, nor is it well-drawn, but they made it make as much sense as possible. I applaud them for that. It's not as easy as they made it look." In her volume two review, she said Tokyopop did a "very superior job with this series". Chris Beveridge reviewed the anime series. He described the first episodes as having with a lot of promise which is "beautifully orchestrated" and "enticing" in terms of its animation and pacing. He described later sets of episodes as bringing interest and depth to the characters, and argued