Kamisama Kiss - Ending Explained

The central and most significant plot twist of "Kamisama Kiss" is revealed through Nanami's time-traveling in the 'Past Arc' OVAs. For the majority of the series, Tomoe is haunted by his love for a human woman named Yukiji, who died 500 years prior. It is believed that Nanami is Yukiji's descendant, which complicates Tomoe's feelings. However, the twist reveals that the woman Tomoe actually met and fell in love with was Nanami herself, who had traveled back in time and was inhabiting Yukiji's body or mistaken for her at key moments. It was Nanami who saved him, showed him kindness, and made a promise with him. Therefore, Tomoe has not been loving a memory of another woman; he has been unknowingly in love with Nanami across time.

This revelation re-contextualizes the entire series. Mikage, the former Land God, knew this entire story. He chose Nanami specifically so she could be the one to save Tomoe from a death curse linked to his forgotten pact with a fallen god—a pact he made out of his love for the woman he knew as 'Yukiji'. Nanami's journey wasn't accidental; it was orchestrated by Mikage to bring the fated lovers together and break the curse. The series finale, depicted in the final OVA, sees Tomoe's curse broken. To fulfill their dream of a life together, Tomoe makes a deal to become human. The story concludes years later, after Nanami has graduated high school and relinquished her godhood. She and a now-mortal Tomoe marry and are shown to have a child, completing their journey from a god and familiar to a normal human family.

While the story is primarily a straightforward supernatural romance, some viewers have interpreted it through a lens of female empowerment. Nanami begins in a state of complete destitution and dependency, a victim of her father's actions. Her journey to becoming a god is not just a magical transformation but a path to self-sufficiency and authority. She learns to command powerful beings, make executive decisions for her shrine, and take control of her own destiny, all while refusing to sacrifice her inherent kindness. In this reading, the romance is secondary to Nanami's personal growth from a powerless girl into a woman who can stand on her own, a quality she was taught by her dying mother.