Because I'm the Goddess

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pandora-chan's the Goddess! (Official English title Because I'M the Goddess!) is a comedy manga series created by Shamneko and published in Japan by Wani Books.^[1] An English translation is currently being released by Tokyopop. The series uses some of the plot devices of the magical girl genre, but is largely a bawdy satire on that genre and on series such as Ah! My Goddess! which portray divine women in their dealings with mortal men.

1 Plot summary
2 Characters
3 Gifts and their Slaves
4 Themes
5 References

[edit] Plot summary

Beings known as "Gifts" are spreading havoc on the Earth by possessing women who, in turn, enslave men. To recover them, the Goddess Pandora has been sent to Earth. But when the first human she encounters, a young man named Aoi, claims that she isn't a REAL Goddess, and won't believe her until she shows him something. Pandora conjures a tsunami, that wipes out the entire town. Pandora loses her power, when she does magic, and reverts into a body of a young girl. Later Aoi encounters a little girl who was apparently a refugee from that disaster and he befriends her. However when she decides to kiss him, 10 minutes or so after meeting him, the girl turns into Pandora. As a result, she becomes clingingly attached to Aoi and recruits him into her quest, regardless of any thoughts on the subject that Aoi might have.

[edit] Characters

The Goddess Pandora was created to be the epitome of everything mortal men desire. She appears on Earth as a busty blonde with a bubbly personality and the intellectual capacity of a typical household appliance. She exudes an aura of desirability so powerful that all men she encounters will eagerly do anything she wishes, with Aoi being the only (and truly frustrating) exception. Women are not affected by this power, and in fact find her rather unpleasant. Pandora can do almost anything with her divine power, which makes her especially dangerous when combined with her poor impulse control skills, but when she does, she is transformed into a little girl of the apparent age of ten. Only a kiss on the lips from Aoi -- and nobody else -- can restore her once that happens. Pandora is also able to tell when a man is enslaved to a gift and when a woman is possessed by one, and is able to use Aoi's soul (which she transforms into an appropriate tool) to "break the chain" and free the victims.

Aoi is a young man who, despite his punk-like appearance and manner of dress, is well-educated. He finds Pandora's behavior extremely annoying, especially her alarming habit of clinging to him constantly and her lack of any concepts of privacy, personal space, or feminine modesty. However, he recognizes that the Goddess is completely dependent upon him. He actually finds Pandora's child form much more agreeable company, because he brings out his brotherly protective instincts and she is much less self-centered. He is on the run from his family, which is apparently wealthy and prestigious.

Matsun Is Pandora's guardian/mascot. He is a white cat whose only unique ability appears to be speech and his being more intelligent than Pandora. He uses the speech and mannerisms of a flamboyant drag queen and has a personality to match. He divides his time between trying to vainly convince Pandora to focus on her mission and trying to help Aoi cope with his situation by giving him sound, if snidely-delivered, advice.

Maya Amagi is a novice Buddhist monk (apparently 13 or 14 years old) who had been enslaved to a Gift. After he was freed, he decided to assist Pandora and Aoi in their quest. Maya has a surprisingly effeminate appearance, which is compounded by the fact that unlike most monks he does not shave his head.

[edit] Gifts and their Slaves

The Gifts Pandora seeks are beings that possess women, accentuating their will to dominate (especially sexually) and causing those women to take men as their slaves. The slaves, once they are linked to the Gift, will obey her without question regardless of danger or humiliation. Each Gift is an individual being, whom Pandora knows by name.

[edit] Themes

In her appendix of the first volume, Shamneko recalls being given the title of the series by an editor and taking inspiration from the American sitcom I Dream of Jeannie].

IGN reviewer A.E. Sparrow cites the term lolicon in his article, expressing discomfort with Aoi preferring the company of the child Pandora over the adult one. However, there is no evidence at least in the material released so far in English of any sexual interest on Aoi's part, and some evidence of him viewing himself as a protective older sibling.

Transforming from a small girl into an older girl by a kiss is also a theme in UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie.