Ah! My Goddess (TV series)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ah! My Goddess

Ah! My Goddess logo from season 1
Genre Television anime
Created by Kosuke Fujishima
Directed by Hiroaki Gōda
Voices of Masami Kikuchi
Kikuko Inoue
Aya Hisakawa
Yumi Toma
Rei Sakuma
Composer(s) Shiro Hamaguchi
Country of origin Flag of Japan Japan
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 53 episodes (24 in season one with 3 bonus episodes, 22 in season two with 2 bonus episodes, and 2 anniversary special episodes) (List of episodes)
Production
Story editor(s) Hiroaki Gōda
Hiroshi Watanabe
Running time 24 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel Flag of Japan Tokyo Broadcasting System Flag of the Philippines QTV, Hero TV Flag of South Korea Animax
Picture format NTSC
Original airing January 6, 2005
External links
Official website

On January 6, 2005, a new television anime series of Ah! My Goddess! (ああっ女神さまっ Aa! Megami-sama!?) began airing in Japan, again produced by Anime International Company and distributed in North America by Media Blasters[1]. This version has returned to the manga roots of the series, retelling events much closer to their original form. Though there are minor differences, typically based on what is considered unacceptable for television, this version follows the canon of the manga quite closely. Although only 24 episodes and one recap were aired, the Japanese DVD release had two more bonus episodes that haven't and will not air on TV.

A second season titled Ah! My Goddess: Everyone Has Wings (ああっ女神さまっ それぞれの翼 Aa! Megami-sama: Sorezore no Tsubasa?) (titled Flights of Fancy in the U.S.) had resumed the story on 6 April 2006 from where the series left off in season one.

Director Hiroaki Gōda has already stated that he'd like to be able to cover all of the manga in the TV series, making future seasons beyond the 2nd a likely possibility[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] Story

The plot and story of the TV series sticks as close as possible to the manga, however some changes have been made. The order of occurrence of some events has been changed, while other events have been replaced with similar events that borrow concepts from the manga but place them in the context of a new story.

[edit] 1st Season

The 1st season of the Ah! My Goddess TV series, consisting of 24 episodes and a flash back special episode, follows the manga from Keiichi's first meeting with Belldandy up to the "Lord of Terror" ("Terrible Master Urd" in the Dark Horse version) story arc. In general, the 1st season covers the same territory as the manga up to that arc with some minor omissions. There are also some additions, mostly from later chapters, notably the events of chapter 50 (meet me by the seashore) now occur before the Lord of Terror arc and not after, also a new story involving a women's kart race is inserted that borrows elements from chapter 121 of the manga. Also, events concerning the angels of the two elder goddesses (Belldandy and Urd) are inserted (since the angels themselves make an earlier appearance in the anime).

After the original 25 episode run, 2 bonus episodes based on the "Trials of Morisato" story arc were added to the DVD release

[edit] 2nd Season: Sorezore no Tsubasa [Everybody Has Wings(Flights of Fancy in the U.S.)]

Logo from season 2
Logo from season 2

The 2nd season, consisting of 22 episodes, while still following the manga, takes a bit more liberty with the events. After a few one-shot episodes, this new season jumps straight into the "Fourth Goddess" story arc, seemingly rearranging the order of the story arcs. The series also skips the "Welsper" arcs and rewrites some of the later events that feature Welsper.

Two bonus episodes were released with the final DVD on 23 February 2007.

[edit] 20th Anniversary Specials: Tatakau Tsubasa [Fighting Wings]

Recently, two special episodes have been produced under the title "Ah! My Goddess: Fighting Wings". They both aired 8th December 2007 on the Japanese TBS channel. Those episodes were based on the so-called "Angel Eater" arc of the manga.

As with most of the first and second season of the TV Series, episodes are centered around a certain character and their affiliation and realization of people around them and in their self, that being said Fighting Wings is purely the back story of Lind. Fans of Ah! My Goddess noticed the change of animation compared to the relevant TV Series, having a more feature film-like cinematography rather than the simple screenplay layout of its sister TV series episodes. It also seems in Tatakau Tsubasa that Keiichi has had a haircut, following the same hair style as in the movie, in contrast to the TV series. It also featured the new character, Bodarsis the God.

Ah! My Goddess: Tatakau Tsubasa marks the 20th Anniversary of the long running Ah! My Goddess franchise.


[edit] Episodes

[edit] International Broadcast

[edit] Soundtracks

Composed by Shirou Hamaguchi

Opening Theme:

  1. Season 1: "OPEN YOUR MIND ~小さな羽根ひろげて~ (OPEN YOUR MIND ~Chiisana Hane Hirogete~; OPEN YOUR MIND ~Spread the Small Wings~)" by Yoko Ishida
  2. Season 2: "幸せのいろ (Shiawase no Iro; The Color of Happiness)" by Yoko Ishida
  3. Tatakau Tsubasa: "愛の星 (Ai no Hoshi; Star of Love)" by Jyukai

Ending Theme:

  1. Season 1: "願い (Negai; Wish)" by Yoko Ishida (eps 1-12, 24)
  2. Season 1: "Wing" by Yoko Takahashi (eps 13-23, 25-26)
  3. Season 2: "僕らのキセキ (Bokura no Kiseki; Our Miracle)" by Yoko Ishida (eps 1-11)
  4. Season 2: "恋人同士 (Koibito Doushi; A Pair of Lovers)" by Jyukai (eps 12-24)
  5. Tatakau Tsubasa: "ハナムケのメロディー (Hanamuke no Merodii; The Melody of a Farewell Gift)" by Jyukai

[edit] Differences between manga and TV series

Although the TV series mostly follows Fujishima's manga adaptation, the series has a few differences. In episode 11 of the first season, Keiichi is turned to a Honda Cub by Marller, but in the original manga it is Keiichi's sister Megumi Morisato who is turned into a car by the demon first class. In episode 7 of the second season, Keiichi mentioned about wishing to Peorth for making Valentino Rossi to be the champion for 2006 MotoGP season. In the original manga, Keiichi mentioned for Kenny Roberts instead. In episode 17 of the second season, Urd was the one used as part of the ritual instead of Peorth, who was used in the original manga version of the story. Welsper was also not in this episode. In episode 18 of the second season, Peorth and Welsper were not featured as part of those who were trapped by the cursed lamp. Instead, Toraichi Tamiya, Otaki Aoyama, Sentaro Kawanishi, and Megumi Morisato were added to those who were trapped by the cursed lamp.

[edit] See also


[edit] References

  1. ^ Ah! My Goddess (TV) (English). AnimeNfo. Retrieved on 2006-06-12.