Ah! My Goddess: The Movie

Okay, I'll admit, I'm probably the only person out there who should not be writing a review about Ah! My Goddess (or Oh! My Goddess if you want to argue translational context) because...well, I have actually never seen anything Ah! My Goddess. Not the TV series, not the OVA, not even the manga themselves! The only real link I had to anything in this film is the name Nobuo Uematsu, a co-composer on the film. Most of us, I am sure, know the name of the good sir Uematsu from his work on the Final Fantasy video games (and now I see why he wasn't involved in Final Fantasy: the Spirits Within...He was spending his time on this! WELL SPENT if you ask me!). But actually, I didn't even know Uematsu was involved in this piece until I read the credits at the end of the film, after purchasing it and watching it straight through (something I almost never get a chance to do with movies).

No, it was an advertisement that drew me to this wonderful work of animated film. I was reading Animerica Extra when I saw the full-page, color ad on the back of an issue for the DVD that I almost immediately fell in love with it and purchased it as soon as I could! The animation reminded me of the First Tenchi Muyo movie, with its character designs and astounding production values. Its sound and picture quality are top notch theatrical quality. I also enjoyed the story. Everyone loves love stories, even poor single guys like myself. There is nothing in this world that complements outstanding audio and visual spectacles as a good narrative to give them all purpose. The character psychology surpasses almost every other film I have ever seen, from the devotion of Keiichi and Belldandy, to the raging jealousy of Morgan to Keiichi and Belldandy, to the domineering control of Celestin over Belldandy. Every character serves his or her purpose, there are no mini-parts...only mini-goddesses, and they do just fine thank you very much! I especially loved the character of Morgan, the fairy princess. She could be compared to Iago in her role in the film. And there is no better villain than a well-meaning one! It annoys me to no end that works such as this receive no theatrical venues in the United States. Fortunately (yet sadly unlike most of my fellow anime lovers) I have the astounding luck of having a rather elaborate home theater system which allowed me to fully immerse myself in what would be my first introduction ever to the world of Ah! My Goddess. I would urge anyone in recent acquisition of a home theater system (anime fan or otherwise) to go out and obtain this fabulous piece of animation.

Like most anime based on Kosuke Fujishima's comics and character designs, this visually splendid film presents a lush, romantic and rather lightweight story. The original audience was presumed to have already read the books and seen earlier shows, and therefore to be familiar with the characters, general setup and a fair amount of back story that precedes the events here. However the story--what there is of it--is so straightforward that even the uninitiated viewer will probably get the general idea. In the universe of this film, heaven is an enormous, multi-layered bureaucracy (an ancient concept in Asian fiction) staffed by various "gods" and "goddesses," some of whom have come to live with Japanese college student Keiichi Morisato in Tokyo. Over the course of a few days, the actions of a rebellious archangel disorder heaven, endanger the earth and present serious relationship problems for Keiichi and Belldandy, the goddess-first-class to whom he has become romantically attached. Along the way other characters familiar from the previous series make mostly cameo appearances. All in all a light, beautifully animated, non-threatening and enjoyable film.

I bought this DVD because I recognised the picture on the cover from an image in a 3D modeling competition.

At first, I thought I had bought myself a dud as the story starts off quite slowly. But then the plot thickens as the story starts to unfold.

It's difficult to place this movie under a singular genre as it contains a little of everything. The characters (even the more background ones) were developed well and one gets drawn in by both the main characters and the story line. I did not manage to guess what the ending would bring, up to the last few scenes. The music is emotional and lovely. The animation is brilliant and what's truly striking is the attention to detail the artists put into this movie. I cannot say a single bad thing about it.

This is a must see!!!!! Definitely worth buying the DVD.

This movie takes place two and a half years after the events chronicled in the original Aa Megamisama video series. As such, the relationships between the main characters (in particular Keiichi and Belldandy) have evolved offscreen to a certain point, and some characters that had been introduced in the manga only now make their first onscreen appearances.

However, that doesn't detract from this wonderful film, which, though very much a fantasy, is a story that is sweet, without being boring, and if a touch melodramatic, then not excessively corny.

Aa Megamisama the movie seemingly follows two tracks - examining the relationship between the mortal Keiichi and the seemingly submissive goddess Belldandy who has come to live with him - and examining Belldandy's own past, which is not as perfect as one would think. Especially when someone from that past starts a chain of events that could bring down all of Heaven.

It might take a while for this movie to be distributed on US shores, but it'll certainly be worth the wait.

As implied in the title, I strongly recommend watching a couple, better yet all of the episodes of the TV series before this movie. Or, of course, read as many episodes of the manga as possible, but the TV series will be easier to acquire. The OVA might also help, of course, especially if you don't want to invest a couple of hours of "preperation" for the movie.

Why? First of all, obviously for chronological reasons, because the events in the movie occur ca. two years after the series ended. But more important is the fact that you will lack important background knowledge if you jump into the universe of "Ah! My Goddess" with the movie. For example, you would simply have to accept the fact that a Japanese student lives in a buddhist temple together with three goddesses without further explanation, among many other details (calling heaven via telephone - huh?).

One of the strong concepts of the series is that the key characters are slowly and sequentially introduced, allowing the viewer to grow on them. While it might not be necessary to actually watch all episodes of the series or the OVA, I think it is mandatory to watch at least the first ones until Urd and Skuld are introduced. The more, the better...

You will get sooo much more out of the movie if you don't have to wonder why the goddesses live on earth under rather mundane circumstances. Watching the romantic relationship between Keiichi and Belledandy being endangered will touch you far deeper if you are already acquainted to the AMG universe and actually watched it grow and blossom in the first place.

Imagine watching this latest Star Trek Movie with the young crew (e.g. Kirk and Spock being rivals in a time prior to their deep friendship) without knowing the series or earlier movies. You might enjoy the movie anyway, but will get only a fraction of the experience out of it compared to a trekkie.

I hope you get what I mean - watch the series first! :)

So far soo good. Well, what will you get out of the movie if you know the manga and/or the anime? In a few words: more than you would have expected! But let's first comment one some missing elements.

One would be the lack of near-nudity and (sexually) emberassing situations which would frequently occur in the series as comedic elements. No big deal - I loved them in the series, yet didn't miss them at all in the movie. Notable though, since they were one of the key elements in the series. I guess it's better this way, because the movie can be presented to a broader viewer spectrum.

Also I was a bit surprised that some key characters from the series did not appear at all in the movie (Marller, Hild and Sayoko). A new villain is introduced instead, and in a very clever way which makes it impossible to apply black/white thinking.

A refreshing element of the plot is that while in the series Keiichi ended up with some naked women, goddesses, even the devil himself in bed every other day, accidentally drank love potions etc, I cannot recall any episode where it was the other way round - and in the movie we actually get exactly this scenario. It is the first time (at least the first I can think of) that Keiichi gets a serious rival.

Furthermore, it is the first time since the invasion of the bugs at the very beginning of the series that the AMG universe has a really big problem and the future of the whole world is at stake.

There is not really much more to say... If you liked the series or the manga there is no doubt that you will love the movie. It is a worthy sequel for the series (as well as a worthy representative for the manga). The animation is beautiful and elaborate, the soundtrack is awesome. If you have a soft, romantic spot, prepare for it to be touched. If you don't, maybe you can enjoy the great artwork, but probably you will find most of the scenes a bit cheesy.