Ah! My Goddess - The Movie (Animated) (DVD)

...OMG is also known as Ah! My Goddess over in Japan as 'Ah' is what they say in place of our 'Oh'. After being westernised by the company AnimEigo, they thought it would be more appropriate for us English users if it was changed.

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Story:-

So what the heck is the story about? Well it revolves around this average, easy to pick on, motor vehicle ...
...named Keiichi Morisato (pronounced K-EE-CHI MORE-RIS-SAT-TOE) who is living at his college dorm. Being the guy that everybody pushes around, he was made to look after the dorm while everybody else was out having fun. His tasks were to take phone calls, receive packages and to keep girls out. Yup, they have a strict NO GIRLS ALLOWED rule at his dorm. Well our mild mannered guy is chilling is his room when all of a sudden hunger decides to pay him ... more

Introduction:-

Oh! My Goddess (from now on referred to as OMG because typing the entire thing out over and over again is annoying) is a feel good romantic Japanese animation comedy. Created by the car and motorbike fanatic Fujishima Kosuke in 1988, it rose from being a little newspaper comic strip to having it's own entire series of comics, a 6 episode video series, a 'Mini Goddess Adventures' spin off series and having it's own feature length movie. Well it's done pretty well don't you think since Mr Fujishima Kosuke is a rich little bugger because of it.

OMG is also known as Ah! My Goddess over in Japan as 'Ah' is what they say in place of our 'Oh'. After being westernised by the company AnimEigo, they thought it would be more appropriate for us English users if it was changed.

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Story:-

So what the heck is the story about? Well it revolves around this average, easy to pick on, motor vehicle fanatic college student at the Nekomi Institute of Technology (NIT) named Keiichi Morisato (pronounced K-EE-CHI MORE-RIS-SAT-TOE) who is living at his college dorm. Being the guy that everybody pushes around, he was made to look after the dorm while everybody else was out having fun. His tasks were to take phone calls, receive packages and to keep girls out. Yup, they have a strict NO GIRLS ALLOWED rule at his dorm. Well our mild mannered guy is chilling is his room when all of a sudden hunger decides to pay him a visit. Growl... time for some grub! So he picks up the phone and tries to ring up for a takeaway delivery. Unfortunately all the places he phones are either closed or they put him on hold for ages. In desperation for some nourishment he dials the wrong number from the phonebook and gets in touch with 'The Goddess Relief Office'.

Oh no, wrong number! But before he could hang up a pretty girl appears before him through his mirror. She turns out to be a Goddess called Belldandy (pronounced BELL-DAND-DEE. Ok you already knew that, just messing with ya!), and tells Keiichi that he can make any one wish. Keiichi, thinking that it was a joke by his dorm mates, wished that she would be his girlfriend forever. After a sudden flash of light and pillar of energy shot out of the roof from Belldandy's forehead she declares that the wish was successfully granted since he qualified (having a good and pure heart apparently).

Oh dear, even though she is a Goddess she is still a girl and now she is stuck with Keiichi at his dorm. The guys who were out all come back home and are all shocked to find her in his room. They all immediately pack his bags and carry the both of them out of the dorm and onto the streets for breaking the rules. Because of this they go home searching and finally find an old temple, which Belldandy makes all brand new again with her magic so they can both live in it together. Sounds just like a primary school cartoon at the moment doesn't it?

Ever since then all sorts of things happen to them, some good, some bad, and even some very naughty! The Mini Goddess series is a spin off for younger viewers (between 5-12 years of age) and the Movie continues where the video series left off. You need to watch them to find out what happens next!

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Main Characters:-

Keiichi Morisato -
The 21 year old star driver of the NIT Motor Cycle Club, he is also rather short with messy black hair and is rather thin. Being short he has never been out with a girl before, so he finds himself the luckiest guy on Earth after being stuck with a beautiful Goddess. He is pure of heart and soul, making him qualify for the ridiculous wish he made with Belldandy. After being kicked out of his dorm for having a girl in his room, he relocates to an old and crumbling temple made brand new again with Belldandy's magic. There they spend their time living together and going through weird situations because of Belldandy being a Goddess, and also because the 'ultimate force' is preventing them from being apart. He has a sister Megumi (pronounced MEG-GOO-MEE) who visits him a few times at his new home and torments him how siblings are usually good at. He gets bullied into doing things he doesn't volunteer for by his upper classman and college mates, but he bares them no ill-will and does the job until it’s finished. He has daydreams about Belldandy in seductive poses a lot and always wants to do something to make her happy though it never comes out according to plan. A very likable and average guy!

Belldandy -
Age: 21-ish in Earth years estimated
Measurements (inches): 32 - 23 - 33
Goddess licence type: Grade One, Second Class, Unlimited License
Travelling medium: Mirrors
Domain of influence: The present
Source of energy on Earth: Sleep
Angel: Holy Bell

Belldandy is one of the only two Goddesses to have the highest ranking licence in the series. She has long flowing light brown hair, a unique fashion sense (weird flowing frocks), brown eyes and is usually found with a very nice smile on her face. She can practically do whatever she wants with her powers, but because she is so good, pure and nice she doesn't abuse them at all. She has a thin elongated diamond mark on her forehead (the mark of a powerful Goddess). Her domain is the present and on Earth her method of recharging her powers is with sleep with a few cups of tea. She can travel anywhere she wants using mirrors and has her Angel the Holy Bell to assist her in everything she does (the Holy Bell isn't really a bell but a very pretty blonde hair blue eyed white feather winged angel). After granting the wish made by Keiichi, she is now stuck with him forever as his girlfriend, but she has no qualms about it and smiles all the same. A fantastic cook, is extremely loving and caring, but suffers from inexperience in dealing with the world and its hazards.

Urd -
Age: 24-ish in Earth years estimated
Measurements (inches): 36 - 24 - 36
Goddess licence type: Grade Two, Restricted, Limited License
Travelling medium: Television screens
Domain of influence: The past
Source of energy on Earth: Alcohol
Angel: World of Elegance

Urd (pronounced ERRD) is Belldandy's elder sister and is the most outgoing, flesh showing, seductive member of the sister Goddesses we are shown in the series. This is because Urd is really half Goddess and half Demon, and it's the Demon half of her that makes her wilder than the other Goddesses. Due to this her Goddess licence is very limited and it shows on her forehead as a triangular mark (the sign of a Grade Two Goddess). She has long flowing white curls, a tanned complexion with green eyes and likes to wear revealing clothes. Her domain is the past since she always leaves problems in her wake that come back to haunt her and her method of recharging her powers on Earth is enjoying some lovely alcoholic beverages. She is the series' own love goddess as she tries to help Keiichi and Belldandy fall more deeply in love with each other (since watching them from Heaven she's grown fed up with Keiichi always screwing up), but her plans always messes things up i.e. love potion but different girl... oops... Her only talent in the series is mixing up potions of weird concoctions so she always has a flask or bottle hidden somewhere on her body. Her task in heaven is the Yggdrasil system maintainer (I'll explain later). She makes her entrance when Belldandy and the sister Megumi go out food shopping. Keiichi is left at home alone and has a weird parcel delivered to him. After opening up the parcel it appears that it’s a very interesting video tape, one of the triple X kind. Well since no one is around, might as well have a quick view of the tape! But as he watches it, the 'actress' on the video tape starts talking to him directly, this freaks him out of course but it doesn't end there either. She flies out of the TV set and declares to him 'I am your Goddess of Love' before rubbing her chest all over his face. Bastard...

Skuld -
Age: 12-ish in Earth years estimated
Measurements: None-of-your-business (besides she's too young so don't even think about it!)
Goddess licence type: Grade Two, First class, Limited License
Travelling medium: Water
Domain of influence: The future
Source of energy on Earth: Ice cream
Angel: Noble Scarlet

Skuld (pronounced SKOOLD); she is the youngest of the Goddess sisters and forms the third body of the holy Goddess trinity for this series. Skuld isn't as mad as Urd so her licence is less restrictive but she still possesses the triangular mark on her forehead for a Grade Two Goddess. She has dark long hair, dark brown eyes and enjoys wearing her Goddess outfits to Earthly clothing. Her task in Heaven is the Yggdrasil system's debugger. The Yggdrasil is a massive computer type system that takes care of things governing all things on Earth be it life, death, even the 'ultimate force' keeping Keiichi and Belldandy together. However bugs do appear in the system (funnily enough they are shaped as bugs) and as the debugger Skuld uses a giant mallet to get rid of them. After Urd left Heaven, Skuld has had it hard trying to keep things in running order all on her own so she leaves and joins her sisters on Earth whilst trying to win back Belldandy from an unworthy Keiichi. She makes her appearance when Keiichi is having a bath and she materialises from it resulting in a rather typical anime "AHHHH PERVERT! SHAKING HOUSE! SOMEBODY GETTING SLAPPED!" She is a mechanical genius and hates any machine that isn't tuned to perfection. She is too young to understand that the wish Keiichi made is all binding and no matter what she does she can't separate them, but she does try and it comes to some disastrous results.

Peorth -
Age: Unknown but older than the other goddesses
Measurements: Unknown either but appears to be well endowed
Goddess licence type: Grade One, Second Class, Unlimited License
Travelling medium: Camera lenses
Domain of influence: Forever
Source of energy on Earth: Unknown
Angel: Gorgeous Rose

Peorth (pronounced PERTH) isn't related to the Goddesses from Heaven and works for the Earth Assistance Centre, a rival agency out to help humans from despair. She has dark reddish long hair, deep brown eyes and enjoys wearing skimpy clothes to try and get Keiichi's attention. She can summon her angel Gorgeous Rose to assist her when it is required but prefers to do things on her own (Gorgeous Rose isn’t really a rose but a gorgeous blonde haired green eyed Angel that has her bits covered from view with rose thorns.) Peorth was Belldandy's childhood friend and is as powerful as her. She only appears in the comics and the movie, but her influence on the comic series is felt as she causes a lot of trouble for Keiichi. Peorth first appears when Keiichi makes yet ANOTHER bad phone call and ends up ringing the Earth Assistant Centre. Peorth then materialised from a camera lens and finds out that Keiichi's main desire is for intimacy. Trying to help him she decides that being his girlfriend was the best method and does everything to try and be close to him. This of course doesn't work so she tries a love potion using Urd's ingredients but messes up as the potion makes any girl (including his own sister) fall in love with Keiichi on sight. She does like Keiichi a lot and tries hard to try get him away from the other Goddesses since they are 'a rival agency' and also because Belldandy did something to insult her in the past. They eventually end up in Goddess duel involving calling out their Angels to battle each other in the series, with Peorth losing due her inability to withstand tickling.

Mara -
Age: 24-ish in Earth years estimated
Measurements: Unknown
Demon licence type: First Class, Unlimited
Travelling medium: Doesn't need them can teleport
Source of energy on Earth: Hot Springs, probably coffins to.

Mara is the main villain of this franchise. She only appears in the comic and the Mini Goddess series. A very powerful demon with 2 elongated marks on her forehead that make her look angry as a testament to her powers. She has long flowing blonde locks with dark eyes and is found most of the time with a smirk on her face. Mara is from Niflheim (basically Hell) and works for Demon Office that has the Hell's version of the Yggdrasil, the Nidhogg. Her main task is to prevent the Goddesses from doing their job and to make humans sign inescapable contracts that forfeit their souls, but she spends most of the time trying to make Belldandy feel miserable for her own pleasure. She was Urd's childhood friend and although now they are enemies, Belldandy is still kind and gentle towards her despite her evil flaws. Funnily enough, even as a demon she does have morals and won't go beyond a certain boundary. She comes into the series after one of Keiichi's dorm friends purchases a Demon CD from a record shop. Realising later on that he didn't have a CD player, he puts it on his record player and the Demon Mara appears before him and declares to him that she is a Demon first class and will grant him a wish for releasing her. In a fit of rage and fear of her being a demon, he tosses a can at her and tells her to bugger off. So she does, taking that request as a wish and then goes to plot against the Goddesses.

Gan-chan
Age: 1
Type: Rat
Likes: To eat and sleep

Gan-chan is a happy-go-lucky rat that appears only in the Mini Goddess series. He likes Belldandy a lot and enjoys eating and sleeping as other rats do. But living with a bunch of Goddesses isn't good for his health as mini Urd and mini Skuld are constantly dragging him into hilarious life threatening situations. Poor rat...

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Art & Animation:-

The art and animation for this series is very good. Originally a comic by Fujishima Kosuke, his art style was distinguishable from other comics since his characters were so lavishly dressed. Later on in the comics he improved his art technique and style giving the ladies more formed figures and Keiichi has shorter, easier to draw hair. The pictures shown for this review are the updated and improved drawings by the master.

The animation for the video and mini goddess series is extremely good, very smooth and detailed. The background art are of a high standard and fully detailed so that you can make out what it is etc. For the Mini Goddess series the characters are all super deformed midget versions of themselves but are drawn superbly and look really cute.

The quality of the animation and art really comes into it's own for the movie. The fantastic use of colours and effects compliment the beautifully drawn characters and environment. The best drawing are found here in the movie make no mistake, plenty of eye candy for animation fans!

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Sound & music:-

This only applies to the animated series and the feature length movie. For the series the music is very happy and bouncy with lovey dovey lyrics, very girly Japanese pop music-ish. It plays appropriate music at the right time such as heavy metal guitar for the racing bits and dramatic piano bits for the ‘oh my goodness what a predicament’ scenes. Sound effects are effectively played as well for magic casting to advanced computer button presses. All in all it has very good use of sound for this romantic comedy.

The movie though is where the sound truly excels. The music is mostly orchestrated for a more cinematic and dramatic feel compared to the light hearted video series. Watch out for the part near the end of the movie when all 3 sisterly Goddesses are singing in tandem to save the world for a really ‘heavenly’ musical score. The sound effects though are more or less like the video series as they are trying to keep a familiar feel to the movie but make it obviously that it tackles a more serious issue.

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Cost of buying this series:-

The video series is available on DVD by MVM with two 25 minute episodes per DVD for £18.99. There are only 6 episodes so you would need to purchase 3 DVDs to complete this set. The movie runs at 1 hour 46 minutes and is also available on DVD for the price of £19.99.

The mini goddess series on DVD and the comic isn’t available in the UK yet, so prices may differ according to where to buy it from, the exchange rate and tax. The mini goddess series has 48 episodes running at 7 minutes each and each DVD has 12 episodes for around £10. There are 4 of them to collect for the entire series.

The comic though has been running for a long time and there are over 27 volumes for you to collect. The cost is about £5 per comic, but after paying for overseas delivery and tax it may go up.

Is this good value for money? If you are a fan then yes it is, but if you don’t like this series then of course you will think it’s not. Give it go and decide for yourself.

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What I think overall:-

I think this a great series with a good story and character development. It’s definitely a feel good animation for you to watch and laugh at after a hard day’s work. Macho men will hate it, Japanese animation haters will hate it, but for us anime fans it depends if you like romantic comedies or not. The cost for owning the entire collection is expensive I’ll admit, but for collectors of anime they will be used to it since nothing is cheap in the Japanese animation world. I personally enjoyed it a lot even though I am a guy and I would recommend it to anyone, try it before you think its crap, you may end up liking it!

Bonus:
The 3 Goddess sisters are actually based on Norse mythology. They are known as the Norns and are present during a child's birth. The 3 Goddesses are Urd, Verdandi and Skuld. The Japanese names are based on those names, but since the Japanese alphabet does not have a 'V' sound they change 'Verdandi' to 'Belldandy' with a 'B' sound. They live in the Ash Tree, the Yggdrassil located in the Well of Life.

Mara's name comes from a Norse demon who sat on people's chests while they were sleeping and gave them bad dreams.

Peorth isn't based on the mythology but her name was taken from a celtic letter in the Norse alphabet. My guess was becuase it rhymed with Earth since Peorth is from the Earth Assistance Centre.

Gan-chan the rat simply has a vey basic Japanese name since he is a rat after all! :D 

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