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Japanese title
ああっ女神さまっ
Manga-ka/Author
藤島康介 Kosuke Fujishima
Genre
comedy, romance, shounen
Volumes: 20
Distributor: Dark Horse
Classification: 12
Originally serialised in
アフタヌーン
Afternoon
Rating
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Student Keiichi Morisato is down on his luck. Not only is he the least popular
guy at Nekomi Tech, he has also been left alone in his dorm and ordered to mind
the phone. He calls a wrong number while hoping to order a pizza, and to his
surprise he has phoned the Goddess Helpline. Before he can protest, the speaker
on the end of the line promises to be with him shortly; then promptly enters the
room - through his mirror.
Keiichi's visitor, the goddess Belldandy, then offers Keiichi a wish. Convinced
that this whole episode is a prank planned by his dorm buddies (and spurred on
by his lack of popularity with girls), he jokingly wishes for a goddess like
Belldandy to be with him forever. To his shock, however, that's exactly what he
gets; and when he's thrown out of the dorm (men only), he ends up living at a
local temple with Belldandy.
Not only this, but foreign exchange student Belldandy's sudden appearance throws
shockwaves through the students at Nekomi Tech - how did Keiichi persuade such a
beautiful foreigner to stay with him? Belldandy is especially looked upon with
cold eyes by the former object of Keiichi's (one-sided) affections, Sayoko
Mishima. Sayoko, formerly the most popular girl at Nekomi Tech, has suddenly
found her number one place usurped by the gracious Belldandy, and hatches a plan
to separate the two... with potentially catastrophic results.
Soon enough, this turn of events attracts visits from Belldandy's older and
younger sisters, Urd and Skuld, each with their own reactions to Belldandy and
Keiichi's predicament; as well as Keiichi's younger sister Megumi, who is
thoroughly amused with the whole situation. Yet, through all the stress of
keeping Belldandy's identity a secret and unwanted heavenly intervention, will
Belldandy and Keiichi's romance blossom?
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Oh My Goddess!
(only one of the variations in the title of this series) is a true manga
classic, having originally been serialised in Afternoon magazine, in
which the series has been published for well over a decade. Belldandy is most
definitely one of the most famous anime characters ever to have existed.
This series bears a
passing resemblance to CLAMP's
Chobits,
in a few ways - both series follow the pretty much established plot patterns
involving inadequate college students and unearthly perfect women appearing in
their lives. Also, they are both
shounen
series which also widely appeal to girls also. Chobits however seems to
do this more successfully, and personally I prefer CLAMP's drawing style to
Fujishima's. However the fact that this series has well and truly stood the test
of time is testament to its quality.
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Manga
Manga publisher
Dark Horse has released the Oh My Goddess! series in two different
formats. The first is much more complete than the second, but the second is a
more complete collection of the stories collected from Afternoon. The two
series are difficult to tell apart, but can be recognised by the presence of
numbers on the spine. The Oh My Goddess! manga is also slightly more
expensive than most other series. Caution should be taken with this series, as
while in its majority it is fairly harmless, some subjects are touched upon in
some of the volumes which may not be appropriate for younger teens.
Anime
Oh My Goddess!
was first adapted into anime in 1993 with its first OVA
release. This was followed by a film, then a TV special entitled The
Adventures of the Mini Goddesses, in which the characters are chibified for
humourous effect. In 2005, a second version of the anime series was created
under the title Ah! My Goddess, and followed by a second series,
Sorezore no Tsubasa (Everyone has Wings), which began in 2006. The OVA, film
and TV special have all been released in the West.
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