Anime Catalogue
Ah My Goddess TV Series Boxset 
Details
Director: Hiroaki Goda
Catalogue Number: MVD6029
Certificate: 12
Date Released: July 7th 2008
Screen: 4:3
Languages: Japanese; English
Subtitles: English
Duration: 10 hours 50 minutes
Synopsis
Keiichi Morisato is an engineering student and the top
driver of the campus racing club. While calling for take out, a wrong
number puts him in contact with the Goddess Hotline. One misplaced wish
later, Keiichi finds himself blessed with Belldandy, the perfect girlfriend
and a bonafide goddess.
Unfortunately, she doesn't have any idea of how act in the human world,
and her presence quickly gets Keiichi kicked out of the dorms. But Keiichi's
troubles have just begun...
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Review
The course of true love never runs smoothly in Anime
Land. Even when you’re a good-natured but shy, nerdy guy like Keiichi,
whose wish to get a girlfriend is granted in the most surprising and delightful
way, obstacles start piling up that keep the sweethearts from pursuing
their relationship any further. And, just as in real life, the most annoying
and persistent obstacles can so often turn out to be your nearest and
dearest.
When the Goddess Helpline Agency sends Belldandy in answer to Keiichi’s
request, he believes that his run of bad luck is about to change. Poor,
deluded Keiichi! First of all, his younger sister Megumi turns up to scrounge
board and lodging. The sassy young lady has been awarded a place at the
same technical institute and has decided that she will camp out with her
big brother while looking for a place of her own. But matching her exacting
requirements and limited budget proves almost impossible until the footsore
flat-searchers are offered a place that seems too good to be true. There
is a slight problem…it seems as if the place is haunted. The vengeful
ghost turns out to be a Third Class Earth Spirit. Will Belldandy be able
to help to get Megumi the apartment of her dreams?
Next to arrive, is the foxy, silver-haired Urd, Belldandy’s older
sister, who just can’t understand why Keiichi and Belldandy haven’t
consummated their love, let alone even kissed! Sexy Urd does everything
in her power to bring the two closer together until the last of the three
sisters comes down to earth, little sister Skuld, the scientific genius.
Skuld adores Belldandy and is so insanely jealous of Keiichi that she
spends her time dreaming up ever more ingenious ways to separate the unfortunate
pair. One of her inventions is Banpei, the robot who frequently comes
between Keiichi and Belldandy. And when later on the sisters have to return
to heaven for a little while, Skuld makes sure that Keiichi won’t
be able to make any moves on Belldandy by temporarily turning him into
a girl, leading to all kinds of misunderstandings.
Meanwhile Belldandy’s presence has also attracted the attentions
of a female demon; Marller is determined to avenge herself on the goddess
and, having read the hearts and desires of some of Keiichi’s fellow
students, soon sets about finding a way to get her own back. Marller’s
constant mischief-making eventually leads to the unleashing of the Lord
of Terror on earth and Belldandy is forced to unlock her true powers to
try to save the world - and the man she loves.
A favourite episode of mine is the final one, when Skuld wakes to find
that she has grown up. No longer the frustrated pre-teen, she has become
a desirable – though hopelessly naïve – young woman (although
her passion for ice cream hasn’t decreased). When Keiichi rescues
her from some unwelcome male attention and offers to take her out, she
reads a little more into his kindness than he intends. So how do they
end up dressed as bride and groom? You’ll just have to watch to
find out what happens…
There’s much to enjoy in the twenty-six episodes of this sweet-natured
romantic harem comedy. While it may be difficult to understand Keiichi’s
bashfulness in the presence of the beautiful Belldandy (it’s so
much easier to identify with Urd and urge the bashful pair to just get
it together) and while it may irk some female viewers that Belldandy is
the embodiment of male wish-fulfilment: beautiful, devoted, and painfully
eager to please her man, we get to see another side of the goddess altogether
when the forces of evil infiltrate her happy little household and threaten
even Valhalla itself.
The US dub works well enough, although as the Japanese cast includes
the charming original Belldandy, Kikuko Inoue, they have a considerable
advantage! The character design by Hidenori Matsubara provides an attractive
updating of Kousuke Fujishima’s 1990’s manga drawings and
the animation is slickly done.
In Summary
Given its subject matter, ‘Ah! My Goddess’ could so easily
have declined into a sugary froth. However, thanks to wicked little flashes
of acerbic humour, it stays fresh and fun, building to an surprising and
exciting conclusion on Disc 6. Enjoy! (Anime UK News)
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