Who are Yato and Yukine from ‘Noragami?’ The ages, heights, and pasts of the divine duo, explained

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Noragami.

In Noragami, the complex friendship between former God of Calamity Yato and his Shinki and guidepost Yukine is the main highlight of the show, sometimes even overshadowing the romantic undertones reflected in the interactions between Yato and Hiyori Iki, as likable of a pair as they are. Rather than coming off as a third wheel in the dynamic trio, the relationship between the youthful spirit and his divine guardian takes center stage for much of Noragami‘s plot.

Unsurprisingly, the adorable goofiness and tender moments between the divine duo has warmed the hearts of many Noragami fans. As a result, they want to learn more about the two characters, such as what their ages, heights, and pasts happen to be. If this describes you, don’t sweat the answers. We’ve found them for you.

How old and tall are Yato and Yukine, and what were their past lives like?

Noragami‘s lovable “deadbeat” god has been around long enough to make his persistently broke status quite the embarrassment. In fact, although the black-haired, blue-eyed deity es for a man in his late teens or early 20s, he’s actually over a thousand years old (You’d think that in all that time, he could have found a way to make some money, right?).

In contrast, his blonde-haired, orange-eyed Shinki is very young, with his human life having been cut prematurely short before the start of Noragami. He’s only 14 years old, making him a year younger than friend Hiyori, who is 15. Since he didn’t even get the chance to finish middle school, he continues to study school subjects even as a supernatural entity.

In of height, Yato also has Yukine beat, although by a much smaller margin. Throughout Noragami, the deity (along with Hiyori) stands at 5’7″, making him seven inches taller than his assistant, who is 5’0″. (Disturbingly, it’s hinted in the story that the golden-haired spirit’s shortness has something to do with how he was treated in the past, as described below).

Sadly, both of Noragami‘s male leads have tragic pasts behind them. About a thousand years prior to the start of the show, Yato was created through the wish of a sadistic human called Kouto Fujisaki, who turns out to have less-than-savory intentions towards his divine creation. After being trained and utilized to kill people and Regalias as a war god by his sociopathic creator, who happens to have a vendetta against gods, Yato (then known as Yaboku) eventually left that life behind to start fresh, aspiring to become a God of Fortune instead.

Similarly, Yukine was also abused by an authority figure in his life before meeting Yato and Hiyori early on in Noragami. It’s eventually revealed that the boy (whose real name is Haruki Tajima) was actually beaten and murdered by his drunken father, who neglected and starved him as well. Having been locked away in a fridge until he suffocated, the young Shinki is now understandably afraid of the dark, associating it with the terrifying end to his life.