Oh My Goddess!

Oh My Goddess!
Belldandy, from the Ah! My Goddess The Movie poster
ああっ女神さまっ (Aa Megami-sama)
Genre	Comedy, Romance, Fantasy
Manga
Author	Kōsuke Fujishima
Publisher	Kodansha
English publisher	Dark Horse comics
Other publishers: Egmont Grupo Editorial Vid Tong Li Comics Daiwon C.I. Pika Édition Norma Editorial Star Comics Egmont-Verlag Comics House Japonica Polonica Fantastica
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Afternoon
Original run	August 25, 1988 – ongoing
Volumes	37
Novel: Oh My Goddess! ~First End~
Author	Yumi Tohma
Illustrator	Kōsuke Fujishima and Hidenori Matsubara
Publisher	Kodansha
English publisher	Dark Horse comics
Volumes	1
OVA
Director	Hiroaki Gōda
Studio	AIC
Episodes	5
Released	February 2, 1993 – May 17, 1994
Runtime	153 minutes
TV anime: Adventures of Mini-Goddess
Director	Hiroko Kazui, Yasuhiro Matsumura
Studio	Oriental Light and Magic
Network	WOWOW
Other networks: Tooniverse (TV channel)
Original run	April 6, 1998 – March 29, 1999
Episodes	48
Animated film: Ah! My Goddess The Movie
Director	Hiroaki Gōda
Producer	Seiichi Horiguchi Kinya Watanabe Tsuyoshi Yoshida
Composer	Shirou Hamaguchi
Studio	AIC
Released	October 21, 2000
Runtime	105 minutes
TV anime: Ah! My Goddess
Director	Hiroaki Gōda
Studio	AIC
Network	TBS
Other networks: GMA, QTV, HERO Animax
Original run	January 6, 2005 – September 14, 2006
Episodes	52
OVA: Ah! My Goddess: Fighting Wings
Studio	AIC Animax
Episodes	2
Anime and Manga Portal

Oh My Goddess! (ああっ女神さまっ, Aa Megami-sama^?), also known as Ah! My Goddess!, is a Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Kosuke Fujishima. A spin-off of Fujishima's series You're Under Arrest, it premiered in the September 25, 1988 issue of Afternoon where it is still being serialized. As of July 2008, the individual chapters have been collected and published in 37 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha. The series centers on the relationship between college freshman Keiichi Morisato and the goddess Belldandy.

As the manga's popularity increased, a five-episode OVA was made based on it. With the OVA's success, the stage was set for two TV series and a movie to follow. Due to its length, only the part of the plot common to the OVA and TV series as well as the manga will be included below.

Contents 1 Plot 1.1 Oh My Goddess! Universe 2 Production 2.1 "Ah" or "Oh"? 2.2 References to Norse mythology 3 Media 3.1 Manga 3.2 Light novels 3.3 OVA 3.4 The Adventures of Mini-Goddess 3.5 Film 3.6 Anime 3.7 Soundtracks 3.8 Video games 4 References 5 External links

Plot

See also: List of Oh My Goddess! characters

Keiichi Morisato is a good-natured, yet hapless and girlfriend-less college freshman who is often imposed upon by his elder dorm-mates and brow-beaten into taking phone messages and doing miscellaneous chores for them. One day, while alone in his dorm, he accidentally calls the Goddess Technical Help Line and a beautiful goddess named Belldandy materializes in his room. She tells him that her agency has received a system request from him, so she has been sent to grant him a single wish. Skeptical and thinking someone is playing a practical joke on him, he wishes that she stay with him forever. To his surprise, his wish is granted. As such Belldandy must live with him, but as his dormitory being strictly male-only, they are both forced onto the street.

They set off on his motorcycle to find alternative shelter, eventually seeking cover in an old Buddhist temple. In the morning, they are greeted by the temple's sol inhabitant, a young monk, who welcome them and gives them permission to stay until they can find permanent lodging. He immediately puts them to work maintaining the temple grounds, but when he sees Belldandy use her powers to save Keiichi from injury, he begins to fear that she may be a demon or sorceress. He is eventually convinced of Belldandy's intrinsic goodness when he witnesses her solicitous care of the temple premises and her perfect meditation ritual. When he decides to go on a pilgrimage to India, the priest gives the couple permission to remain in the temple so long as they continue to maintain it.

Oh My Goddess! Universe

The Oh My Goddess! universe is fashioned quite loosely around the Norse mythology. At least three worlds are apparent, including heaven, hell, and earth. However, it has been stated that many other worlds exist as well. Heaven is the realm of the Lord and goddesses; while Hell, the Daimakaicho and demons. Earth is the realm of the humans, and until recently, is largely unexposed to the presence of either goddesses or demons, as they can unbalance the happiness in the world. Reality is controlled by an enormous and complex computer system, named Yggdrasil, similar to the tree of the Norse mythology.

Each goddess has a certain designation and may or may not have an accompanying angel, depending on their skill and power. Belldandy is a Goddess First Class, Second Category, Unlimited License. Class refers to precision and power level. Second category, for example, is a commercial license; and the limit indicates what you are permitted to do. Urd is a Goddess Second Class, Administration, Limited License. Skuld is a Second Class, First Category, Limited License. Other categories include the Combat division, to which the Valkyries belong. Goddesses may be penalized for dereliction of duty, which includes suspension of their licenses. A typical suspension can last anywhere from a week for the first infraction to 50 years or more, though attending a study hall in heaven can reduce this term [S2E20]. A Goddess using her powers during suspension will have her license permanently revoked [S1E25]. The licensing division is under the Goddess Assistance Agency [S2E20].

Young goddesses often do not have angels, but are given an angel's egg. When their power matures, the angel's egg hatches and the angel becomes the lifetime companion of the goddess [S2E14]. The angels obey the goddesses no matter what, as they are reflections of the goddesses' inner self [S2E14]. The angels are generally born fully mature and cognizant of the world around them. Furthermore, the goddesses typically have three blue markings on their face, two on the temples and one on the forehead; while demons are marked similarly with red markings. More powerful beings may have more complex designs to these markings.

Despite having phenomenal powers, the Goddesses wear power limiters. It is said that a first class Goddess at full power can easily destroy the Earth. Belldandy's power limiter is the second clasp on her left ear [S1E23]. Goddesses also possess particular proficiency in certain magical domains; Skuld uses water magic, Belldandy uses wind one while Urd uses fire magic; though both possess lightning magic. Furthermore, Urd is ascribed to the past; Belldandy, the present; and Skuld, the future. Goddesses may also need to recharge their power via various means, especially in the case of a system malfunction: Belldandy by sleep, Urd by drinking Sake, and Skuld by eating ice cream. Their repertoire of magical skills may vary as well. The goddesses can have various means of transportation: Belldandy by mirrors, Urd by television screens, Skuld by water, Peorth by camera lenses and Lind by windows. Moreover, it's probable that these are only the preferred ways to move (apart from Skuld, as she has less experience with magic) especially for long distances. We can see a few cases in which they show alternative methods of transportation: Urd, Peorth and Mara (Marller) simply appear and disappear (they probably transported themselves to nearby places) and Urd again by water. Finally, the inability to lie appears to be part and parcel of being a first class goddess.

One interesting power demonstrated by the goddesses is a form of psychometry [S2E15]. By focusing their powers, a goddess can identify the aura of a goddess in contact with an object previously and replay the events surrounding that time.

The lifespan appears to differ quite a bit from humans. Their childhood seems to match that of a human, but their adulthood may last hundreds of years. However, the exact measurement of time is unclear, as time in heaven can pass much slower than that on Earth. As such, it is possible that in fact they do age at the same rate as humans, just appearing slower, because they live in a different realm. So, what seems like fifty years to us, maybe be only five days to them. Furthermore, old age has not been demonstrated in the series, so their elder years are unknown. The goddesses' metabolism also can vary from humans and from goddess-to-goddess as well. Belldandy, for example, becomes drunk on cola, something not experienced by humans or Skuld and Urd. They do seem to be able to eat all the same foods as humans, however.

The goddesses' purpose is to bring happiness to everyone around them. Toward that end, heaven has created the Goddess Relief Agency(The Goddess Technical Help Line in the manga), designed to bring happiness to the people of Earth, especially those with great virtue but terrible misfortune. A competing institution, named the Earth Assistance Center, also is staffed by goddesses [S2E7]. In most scenarios, a goddess appears before one that the system has deemed worthy and grants him or her one wish. The wish must be approved by the system, after which a contract is created between the human and the goddess and stored on the Yggdrasil system as a file. The wish contract file is protected by a passcode known to the Goddess [S2E1]. As demons work toward the opposite end, the total happiness on Earth must remain in balance [S2E4]. Heaven and hell strictly abide by an agreement to work through contracts and never kill each other.

Demons have similar class and license restrictions, and are accompanied by familiars instead of angels. A seal exists between the demon world and Earth, named the Gate to the Netherworld. It was "created by the gods and can only be broken by an instrument of the gods." As such, demons require a catalyst to manifest on earth. The demons possess a system similar to Yggdrasil, named Nidhogg. Both demons and goddesses possess the power to seal beings away. The demons also operate in a fashion similar to goddesses by creating contracts with humans and offering them wishes, but often at a price [S2E17].

Other elements in the Goddess universe are programs that can be constructed by either the goddesses or the demons for any number of purposes. One example is the Ultimate Destruction Program, a program written by demons to create a world for demons by destroying humanity [S1E23]. Countermeasures include directly destroying the program or using a vaccine, a program specifically designed to nullify its target program. Programs designed to destroy systems and with self-replicative abilities are known as viruses, much like the computer viruses in the modern world.

Other creatures that exist in the Earth plane are a multitude of spirits that are responsible for almost every aspect of life. These include the spirit of Money, Wind, Engine and such. More specific entities include Earth spirits, which are guardians over a specific area of land. Morgan le Fay, a villain from the movie, is probably a high ranking Earth spirit (or a being from another dimension, but that is less likely because her tragic love story with a human must have happened on Earth) who demonstrates great strength fighting Belldandy and Urd, even though her powers are less potent than the ones of goddesses of their level.

Production

Before starting work on Oh My Goddess!, Kosuke Fujishima created the manga You're Under Arrest. Miyuki Kobayakawa, one of the principle characters of You're Under Arrest, was featured as a goddess character in a "four panel gag strip" in the manga.^[1] While the exact relationship between this initial goddess character and the Oh My Goddess! series is unclear, there are suggestions that Oh My Goddess can be viewed as a spin-off series.^[2] Irrespective of the origin, the concept of a goddess "as a job" interested Fujishima,^[3] leading to the first appearance of the Oh My Goddess! series in the comic Afternoon^[4] in August, 1988.

"Ah" or "Oh"?

Translating the original Japanese title of ああっ女神さまっ (Aa! Megami-sama!) proved to be problematic. Indeed, Fred Patten, in writing the preface to the collection "Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews", stated that fans were still debating whether "Ah! My Goddess" or "Oh My Goddess!" should be used at the time of writing, approximately 15 years after the first Oh My Goddess! manga was published.^[5] When the US-anime import company AnimEigo obtained the OVA rights, they entitled the series as: Oh My Goddess!.^[6] This approach was also followed by Toren Smith and Dark Horse Comics when translating the manga. Released in concert with the OVA series in 1994,^[7] Smith has since stated that he saw the title as a play on "Oh my god!", and thus he felt that there was no problem when translating it. Smith confirmed that his interpretation of the author's intent was correct by consulting with Fujishima.^[8] Nevertheless, Kodansha's bilingual release of the manga used Ah! My Goddess,^[9] as did Pioneer in their North American release of the movie^[10] and the 2005 Media Blasters' DVD release of the TV series.^[11]

When asked about the issue in Animerica, Fujishima stated that "Oh" was closer to his intent, but acknowledged that the title should be rendered so as to make sense within the country that it is published, and specifically stated that movies may warrant different titles to other works ("After all, there are movie titles that work much better after they're changed ...").^[12] He did, however, state that he would prefer to see consistency between the titles of the manga and those of the animations.^[12]

References to Norse mythology

In creating Oh My Goddess!, Fujishima has borrowed extensively from Norse mythology.

• The main example of this can be found in the names of the three heroines of the story — Urd, Belldandy, and Skuld. These are the names of the three Norns, the beings in charge of weaving the fate of the world. Urda, Verdandi, and Skuld represent the past, present and future in traditional Norse and the domains of the three goddesses match accordingly.

• In English translations, Belldandy's name is not written as "Verthandi" or "Verdandi" as would be expected if it were a transliteration from the original Old Norse (Verðandi). This is because the spelling and pronunciation of the name were derived from the Japanese language transliteration used in the manga, not from the original Old Norse. The Japanese transliteration came about as a result of the phonology of the Japanese language. First, there is no /v/ in Japanese, and so it is rendered as [b]. Next, there is no /ð/ in Japanese, so it is rendered as [d]. Finally, due to the fact that the phonotactics of Japanese only allows syllables to end in vowels or /n/, an epenthetic /ɯ/ was added after the /r/. All these changes meant that the original name "Verðandi" was transliterated as, ベルダンディー -, Berudandī. This was then in turn transliterated into English as "Belldandy". In the Swedish translation of the manga, her name is Verdandi.

• The other major example of Norse reference stems from Yggdrasil, the tree that holds up the world; the Norns are said to work at the foot of this holy tree. In Oh My Goddess, the power of the goddesses is regulated by the Yggdrasil system, a physically giant, hopelessly complex computer system.^[13] The Yggdrasil system is used to access and process wish requests transferred by the Goddess Technical Helpline and the Earth Assistance Hotline, as well as to enforce the implementation of the accepted wishes. This system is so important to the dimension inhabited by the goddesses that, when it breaks down after an attack by the Lord of Terror, the goddesses are not able to successfully fulfill their basic life functions. It is during this story arc that readers learn that the Yggdrasil system is also used to convert energy gathered from the earth into that which the goddesses can then use to function. This particular use of Yggdrasil is meant to add dramatic color to certain storylines, and is not strictly held to throughout the rest of the series, as the system seems to be working fine most of the time.

• Other examples include the periodic cameos made by Sleipnir, the heavenly steed, and Belldandy's use of Norse runes throughout the storyline. Also, it is revealed later in the series that the demons have a counterpart system to Yggdrasil — the Nidhogg system. In Norse mythology, Nidhogg is the name of the dragon that is wrapped around the base of the Yggdrasil tree, continually gnawing at its roots.

• Additionally, Peorth is named after one of the runes. Peorth is the mysterious fourth goddess who is employed by a rival agency to Belldandy's. Not much is revealed about her past, except for that she and Belldandy worked together at the Yggdrasil debugging station. However, readers get the direct impression that Peorth is a fun-loving risk-taker who will stop at nothing to achieve her goals. Her name makes sense, then, as the Peorth rune is classically interpreted as risk-taking and mystery. Tied to Peorth is her use of the Vanir bird to refresh Belldandy's memory. The Vanir are another set of Norse gods tied to fertility and peace — the Vanir bird's function is to reveal the past, and thus bring peace between friends.

• Hild, the CEO of the infernal realm, is named after one of the Valkyries, the battle spirits who take the ghostly spirits of fallen soldiers to Valhalla. According to several sources, Hild means "The Battle."

• In the most recent installments of the manga, a fifth goddess is introduced into the character set. Her name is Rind, and she is a member of the Ah! My Goddess version of the Valkyries — special agents who are trained in the ways of battle. In traditional mythology, Rind is an ice giantess who becomes pregnant with Odin's child. In the English translation, her name is Lind.

• Skuld's second android invention is given the name Sigel by Belldandy after a story arc revolving around the question of whether machines are alive. Sigel wants very much to be alive, and so her name is also appropriate — the Sigel rune is the rune of life.

• In the Lord of Terror arc Mara utilized the urn Mao Za Haxon, which contained the Ultimate Destruction Program's bootup protocol, which eventually led Urd to summon a huge dog-spirit named Fenrir. In Norse mythology, Fenrir or Fenrisulfr is a monstrous wolf, the son of Loki and the giantess Angrboða, who is destined to kill Odin at Ragnarok.

• In another installment an exorcist in training accidentally summons Garm. In Norse mythology, Garm is a huge dog which guards Hel, the land of the dead, alongside of Hræsvelgr. Garm was the greatest of all dogs and lived in a cave called Gnipahellir.

• In the movie adaptation of Ah! My Goddess, Peorth is given the order to nullify the threat to the world-tree by using the eradiction spell Gungnir. Gungnir is the name of the enchanted spear used by Odin, the king of the Norse gods.

Media

Manga

Main article: List of Oh My Goddess! chapters

Oh My Goddess! premiered in the September 25, 1988 issue of the monthly Japanese magazine Afternoon. The series is still ongoing and as of October 31, 2008, 242 chapters of the series have been serialized in the magazine. The individual chapters are collected and published in tankōbon volumes by Kodansha. The first volume was released on September 23, 1989; as of July 2008, 37 volumes have been released in Japan.

The manga series is licensed for English release in North America by Dark Horse Comics. The company initially began publishing the series in abridged collections that gathered together disparate chapters. The first collection was released on November 1996, and the contents were "flipped" from the traditional Japanese format of right-to-left to the English format of left-to-right. In 2002, Dark Horse began republished the series in new collections. The flipped volumes included the chapters in their proper, unabridged order, but regrouped them differently from their original Japanese volumes. On January 19, 2005, the first 129 chapters of the series had been released across twenty such volumes, at which time Dark Horse switched to publishing the series in unflipped volumes that used the same chapter groupings as the original Japanese volumes. The first of these volumes, volume 21, was released July 06, 2005. As of August 2008, the series has been published in English up through volume 30. Dark Horse also began re-releasing the earlier chapters of the series in the new format, with the first 10 volumes re-released as of October 2008.

Light novels

The first novel of the series written by Urd's voice actress, Yumi Tohma, with the illustrations done by Fujishima, and Hidenori Matsubara (Animation Director for the OVA, movie and TV series). The story follows the manga, taking place three years after Belldandy and Keiichi first meet. The novel was first published in Japan in 2006 by Kodansha; the English translated novel came out on December 19, 2007 and was published by Dark Horse Comics.

OVA

See also: List of Oh My Goddess OVA episodes

In 1993, Anime International Company, KSS, Tokyo Broadcasting System and Kodansha teamed up to produce a five episode original video animation (OVA) series based on the manga series. Directed by Hiroaki Gōda and distributed by Ony Canyon, the first episode was released to DVD on February 21, 1993, and the final was released on May 17, 2004.

The OVA is licensed for release in North America by AnimEigo, which released all five episodes across two DVD volumes in 2001, then re-released the episodes in a single "Collector's Edition" set in 2006.

The Adventures of Mini-Goddess

Main article: The Adventures of Mini-Goddess

A 48 episode TV series Adventures of Mini-Goddess (ああっ女神さまっ 小っちゃいって事は便利だねっ, Aa! Megami-sama! Chicchaitte Koto wa Benri da ne ) series featuring shrunken versions of Urd, Belldandy, and Skuld in a comedic super deformed style was produced by Oriental Light and Magic and premiered on WOWOW in 1998 as a part of the omnibus show Anime Complex. It is distributed in Japan by Pony Canyon and in North America by Geneon Entertainment. This series departs the most from the basic manga storyline, and indeed, shares next to no continuity with the previous series.

Film

Main article: Ah! My Goddess: The Movie

A film, titled Ah! My Goddess: The Movie (劇場版ああっ女神さまっ, Gekijōban Aa! Megami-sama) premiered in Japan in 2000. It saw the return of the main cast, along with several popular characters from the manga who had not appeared in any of the previous anime. It is distributed in Japan by Shochiku and in North America and United Kingdom by Geneon Entertainment in 2001. The plot does not seem to follow any of the existing canon, but uses plot devices from several different story arcs from the manga.

Anime

Main articles: Ah! My Goddess (TV) and List of Oh My Goddess episodes

In 2005, a new anime TV series of Ah! My Goddess (ああっ女神さまっ, Aa! Megami-sama) began airing in Japan, again produced by AIC and distributed in North America by Media Blasters. In this version, they have 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, or to fix plot holes in the manga, or to just move the time-frame from the late-'80s into the mid-'00s. While this makes good use of the manga, the anime writers do not limit themselves by events in the manga; some episodes do not mirror any particular plot element in the manga at all. This 1st season consisted of 24 episodes plus a special episode (aired between 12th and 13th) being a recap. The Japanese DVD release contained 2 bonus OAV (OVA) episodes focusing on the aftermath of the first season's finalé.

A second season titled Ah! My Goddess: Everyone Has Wings (Japanese: 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 picked up the story on April 6, 2006 from where the series left with the first series and concluded at 22 episodes. There is also a novelisation of the second season. 2 bonus OAV (OVA) episodes were also included on the final Japanese DVD release, giving Sorezore no Tsubasa a total of 24 episodes.

As of December 2006, it has been announced that ADV Films has licensed the second season for release in the US. This is a change from Media Blasters who did the first season. The U.S. release of the first DVD of the season 2 occurred on May 8th, 2007, according to the Amazon.com. It has also been announced by the new Ah! My Goddess website hosted by ADV that the original cast from the first season has been brought back to provide the voices.^[14] A complete set of the second season will be released as a 4-disc set in November, 2008. (Amazon.com has a release date of November 25th.)^[15]

There has also been a UK release of Volume 1 of Ah! My Goddess The first DVD Volume has been rated a PG. The main language is Japanese with English subtitles.

The director of the series, Hiroaki Gōda, would like to animate as much of the original manga as possible, making more episodes a possibility.

A TV special Ah! My Goddess production entitled Ah! My Goddess: Fighting Wings (Japanese: ああっ女神さまっ 闘う翼 – Aa! Megami-sama: Tatakau Tsubasa) was broadcasted in Japan on December 8th, 2007. This special consisted of two half-hour episodes adapting the Angel Eater arc from the manga.^[16].

Soundtracks

Main article: Oh My Goddess! Soundtracks

The seiyū of the series are also professional singers. Either in the form of Goddess Family Club or an Original Soundtrack, the series has led to over a dozen albums.

Video games

An adventure game titled Aa! Megami-sama! for the NEC PC-9801 was released in 1993 by Banpresto. An enhanced port was later released in 1997 for the PC-FX which added voice and other improvements.

A Dreamcast quiz game named Quiz: Ah! My Goddess was released in August 1998.

In February 2007 an Ah! My Goddess game developed by Marvelous Interactive, Inc. was released in Japan for the PS2 console. The game was only released in Japan and was released in 2 editions, the limited edition (also known as the "Holy Box" edition) and the regular DVD edition. Currently there have not been any plans for the game to be licensed and translated into English. However the game could be ordered from websites such as Amazon Japan, Play Asia and Yes Asia.

References

External links

• Official TBS Oh My Goddess! anime website (Japanese)
• Oh My Goddess! (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia

Oh My Goddess! Manga • Novel • OVA • The Adventures of Mini-Goddess • Theatrical film • TV series • List of manga chapters • episodes Main characters Keiichi Morisato • Belldandy • Urd • Skuld Heaven Almighty • Celestin • Lind • Morgan le Fay • Peorth • Troubador • Chrono, Ere & Ex Hell Hild • Lord of Terror • Marller • Senbee • Welsper • Angel Eater Nekomi Megumi Morisato • Keima Morisato • Takano Morisato • Chihiro Fujimi • Toraichi Tamiya • Otaki Aoyama • Sora Hasegawa • Banpei • Sigel • Satoko Yamano • Shiho Sakakibara • Sayoko Mishima • Toshiyuki Aoshima • Hijiri • Koshian • Shohei Yoshida • Sentaro Kawanishi • Gan-chan See also Quiz: Ah! My Goddess • Oh My Goddess! Soundtracks • Goddess Family Club