Mar 31, 2009
I saw the original Ah! My Goddess! OVA first, and although it was enjoyable, it was essentially a heavily-abridged version of the manga's storyline. Understandably, packing such a lengthy story into five episodes would be too much to ask for, yet I was still left wanting something more developed. The Ah! My Goddess! television series is just that.
The storytelling, typical of romantic comedies, is rather gradual. Perhaps too gradual, as Keiichi's and Belldandy's romance develops rather slowly, often succumbing to "Just say it already!" syndrome, leading to a laundry list of missed opportunities to push the relationship further. Still, those moments when they do share
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their feelings and develop as a couple are genuinely heartwarming.
From a visual standpoint, the series is absolutely stunning. The character designs are nice and varied, and the animation is very fluid. The background art is especially nice - From the busy city to lush open fields, each backdrop is incredibly detailed and beautiful. Artistically, Ah! My Goddess! does a fantastic job.
The music does an excellent job setting the mood. In addition to its remarkable opening and closing, Ah! My Goddess! has a great selection of background music. I highly recommend the soundtrack, whether you're a fan of the series or not.
More importantly than anything else, I think what really makes this show(And to some extent the OVA before it) work so well is its rich cast of supporting characters. Though the show centers on Keiichi and the three goddesses, the side characters are well-developed and positively brimming with personality. From Tamiya's and Otaki's comical antics to Megumi's snide commentary to Marller's scheming, I found myself actively liking every character on the show for their endearing and memorable personalities.
A minor complaint of mine would be a somewhat anti-climactic ending. Without spoiling the specific details, the last two episodes of the series felt very detached from the otherwise gripping story arc leading up the final battle. While it was nice to see Urd and Skuld each get more character development as a result of these episodes, I feel their place at the very end leaves us with a very jarring and inconclusive ending.
Still, overall, Ah! My Goddess! is a fun, humorous, and even touching series that I think will greatly appeal to fans of romance stories. I recommend checking it out, and give it my score of 8 out of 10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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