The Comical Trio of Yato, Yukine, and Hiyori from Noragami

I have been rewatching Noragami lately. The show deals mainly with gods and shrines - which represent Japan's cultural traditions - set in modernity. But Yato the god is not all-powerful - in fact he seems like a shady guy who dresses and acts weird; he doesn't even have a shrine. Yato is served by his Regalia, Yukine. And implicated in Yato's schemes is Hiyori, a girl who has brought a task to Yato. Thus, the three are tied together.

 So many themes could be isolated for analysis from this show but there's one that has momentarily grabbed my attention. From the moment Yukine meets Hiyori, he seems quite attracted to her. He always helps her argue with Yato while offering Hiyori no disdain at all. And, most obviously, he acts both awkwardly around her and familiar by standing closely, both of which usually indicate attraction. What feeling am I hinting at? Lust, of course.  Noragami presents this theme in a rather humorous way. When Yukine has his most distinctively lustful thoughts, Yato feen.ls great pain and is usually depicted reaching for his back. (Yato can sense Yukine's thoughts as a result of their contract.) In episode five, Hiyori wants to take Yukine to her house because Yato can't take care of him properly without a shrine of his own.

We see her hug Yukine tightly enough that his head rests below her neck as she demands that Yato back off. As expected, Yukine blushes; at the same time, Yato acts like he has just been wounded and demands that Yukine get away from her. Though he complies hesitantly, Hiyori does the same action again as she attempts to protect Yukine from Yato.  Lust is usually absent or excessive, but Yukine's behavior paints it as a true emotion that can exist in a range of states. Lust can then be seen as not just a physical response but also an emotional one. Yato's searing anger at Yukine for what he calls perverted thoughts is quite hilarious but it manages to make lust seem so  very human.

 After all, Chitanda insists in Hyouka that all the deadly sins are important in small doses. Though she never specifically mentions lust, clearly she means that these emotions can be healthy, even if their more extreme form is considered sin. Lust is an emotion carried to such extremes as to eliminate its standing as a true emotion, yet anger, greed, and laziness all have their place. Noragami's use of humor highlights and strengthens this conception of lust as emotion not simply physical feeling.