Oh My Goddess!

Original Title: ああっ女神さまっ
Romanized: Aa! Megami-sama!
Literal: Oh! Goddess!

Plot Synopsis

Meet Nekomi Technical College student Morisato Keiichi. He's a little unlucky with the girls due to his being... vertically challenged, but basically average. Until, that is, one day when he's sitting around the dorm playing answering machine. No sooner does Keiichi dial a wrong number while trying to order lunch than he's looking a goddess in the face and being offered a single wish. An offhand remark later, and he's nabbed himself his own permanent goddess, the beautiful and supernaturally sweet Belldandy. This would be great if it weren't for his men only dorm... and her sisters.

And that's only the beginning of the trials and tribulations that come with living with a beautiful goddess... er, exchange student. Make that goddesses: Urd, her older bombshell of a sister, and Skuld, the youngest of the trio and a mechanical genius.

Review

Rating: 4.5 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2006-08-06

Oh My Goddess! has long been a fan favorite, and deservedly so--it has to be one of the sweetest anime series ever made. The story has its share of comedy, and dramatic moments too, but the overriding theme is just a good old fashioned so-sweet-your-teeth-hurt romance; you're just not going to find a cuter love comedy anywhere.

In general, the story is well written and fun, but other than being rather mellow relative to its more dramatic or comedy oriented kin, it definitely doesn't tread any new territory in the genre. Oh My Goddess! is categorized as a comedy, and that tends to be the tone of the story--after all, you can't stick three goddesses and a college student in a temple together and not have some pretty funny situations arise. But the comedy is relatively low key, and the story also has comparatively high ratio of drama, although the problems of these lovers tend to be pretty trivial.

The lack of serious drama isn't an issue, though, because the two main characters are just so nice that you never really get the feeling that anything could pull them apart. Fortunately, the story never goes overboard with the inevitable tense moments. All that applies to the first three parts of the series--in the final installment, things take a significantly more dramatic turn (though there are still a few light moments). One thing that surprised me was how well the uncomfortable situations and light drama throughout the series worked; it had just enough of a tug at the heartstrings to keep you riveted. The reason for this would probably be the flip side of how cute the main couple is--their relationship is so innocent and sweet that even the minor trials have enough impact to keep things interesting.

But the story isn't what has made Oh My Goddess! so popular. As with any super-popular series (including Kousuke Fujishima's other one, You're Under Arrest!), the thing that carved a special niche in the hearts of fans is the characters. Not that they're necessarily original, but you've got a great mix of personalities, and you just can't help but like them. I suppose some people might be put off by Urd (though I wasn't), and you might not be the biggest Skuld fan (then again, you might be), but it's almost impossible not to like Belldandy--she's just too sweet and innocent not to love.

he character designs are a treat--clean and attractive. They're based on those from the manga at the time the series was produced, which (due to artistic improvement) actually look much better than the art at the beginning of the comic. The costumes are also noteworthy--the clothing is stylish and imaginative (true to the original), and is beautifully drawn as well.

Other than the great clothing and character design, the art in the series isn't particularly noteworthy; the backgrounds are generally simple and use soft colors. In fact, the whole series frequently has a kind of soft, hazy look to it. It isn't a big deal, but it makes for a distinct feel, and works well in the flashbacks and the few scenes that take place in the heavens. The animation never gets to flex its proverbial muscles since there isn't much action in the series, but the character animation is smooth, natural, and generally very well done. It isn't the flashiest of series, but it is still a pleasure to look at.

Finally, the voices. The original Japanese dialogue is well cast and features some of the better voice actors in the business. All of the primaries are very well acted, but Belldandy in particular has a smooth, never-too-perky tone to her voice that stands out from the norm. Even the minor characters are well acted, and all the performances are very distinctive; Megumi, for example, is chipper with an ornery little sister edge, and Keiichi's former dormmates are an amusing lot. The subtitles, as expected from AnimEigo, are of uniformly high quality.

Although I have not personally seen the dub, I have it on good authority from someone who actually tried out for the part that the guy who got it couldn't have done a better job. The rest of the casting is also good, with a particularly great performance behind Belldandy's voice.

Summing up, Oh My Goddess! is one of the love comedy classics of anime, and deservedly so. The story is light but not over the top, and has enough drama to keep you interested and involved. The animation is very nice, the character designs and clothing are distinct and a joy to look at, and the characters themselves have everything that anime fans love. If you would even consider watching a sweet love comedy, this is the one to get.

Related Recommendations

If you liked this, you'll probably want to give Fujishima's other series, You're Under Arrest!, a try. It's funnier, has more action, and is much lighter on the romance. There are also three other Oh My Goddess anime incarnations: A movie, which is significantly more serious, Adventures of the Mini Goddess, a pure-fluff side-story, and the much newer TV series.

US DVD Review

Animeigo originally released the series on two hybrid DVDs, then later on a combined special edition. The original discs boast digitally remastered video, audio commentary by voice actors Juliet Cesario, Scott Simpson, Pamela Widener and the dub voice director, Scott Houlel, a music and sound effects only audio track, and an image gallery.

The box set adds "Dub Your Own OMG," an interview with Producer Toru Miura, "Inside Nekomi Tech," karaoke, and even more images.

Content Guide

Almost nothing objectionable in the story, except for a few of Urd's not-so-subtle hints, making for a 10-up at most.

Violence: 1 - There are a few tense moments, but never anything serious.

Nudity: 1 - Some bathing suits.

Sex/Mature Themes: 1 - Mostly just innocent romance, but Urd gets a tad raunchy once or twice.

Language: 1 - An occasional expletive.

Notes and Trivia

A five part OAV series based on the long-running and extremely popular manga series by Fujishima Kousuke (available in English from Dark Horse). Interestingly, Fujishima's other well-known work, You're Under Arrest!, also features an exclamation point in the title--the guy likes those, doesn't he?

Dark Horse's original English release of the manga (in standard comic format) skipped some parts, which later appeared in the now-defunct monthly anthology Super Manga Blast. There has since been a second edition of manga-style books published, which include the formerly skipped material.

As noted in AnimEigo's always thorough liner notes, the names of the goddesses are based on the Norse gods of the future, past, and present--Skuld, Urd, and Verthandy, respectively. Where did Belldandy come from? When you try to pronounce "Verthandy" in Japanese, about the best you can do is "Berudandi", which AnimEigo decided to translate as Belldandy. Another translation note is that the original title was Aa! Megami-sama!, which very literally translates into Oh! Goddess! Due to the very similar English expression, AnimEigo added the "my" to it.

As always, AnimEigo's extensive liner notes are available on their site.

Availability

Available in the US from AnimEigo on a 2-disc hybrid DVD set. Was previously available on two hybrid DVD volumes. Was originally available on 5 subtitled or dubbed VHS tapes, or a set of three bilingual LDs, all of course out of print.

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