Ah! My Goddess Box Set

LABEL: MVM
RUNNING TIME: 650 mins approx.
RATING: 12
VIDEO FORMAT: 16:9 Anamorphic
AUDIO FORMAT: English 2.0, Japanese 2.0
SUBTITLES: English
DVD REGION: 2
AVAILABLE: 7th July 2008


Synopsis
Keiichi Morisato is the most unfortunate guy in Japan. Short, single, terminally short of cash and the butt of every upperclassman at his University, all he really wants is a quiet life – so when a beautiful young lady named Belldandy appears in his dorm-room, claiming to be a Goddess sent to reward him with a wish, he is naturally a little sceptical. Calling her bluff, Keiichi tells Belldandy that his fondest wish is for her to stay by his side forever; little does he know, however, that her claims are true, and his wish is about to be granted...

Review
The most positive thing about re-packaged box sets – a staple in the anime industry, as I'm sure you've noticed by now – is that they provide journalists with an opportunity to re-appraise works that they have perhaps misjudged in the past. Such is the case with the TV version of Kosuke Fujishima's romantic comedy AH! MY GODDESS – actually the fourth animated adaptation of the manga, following a five-episode OVA series, a movie sequel and the rather unusual ADVENTURES OF MINI-GODDESS. Originally released in six separate volumes spread throughout 2006 and 2007, the series was far too twee and saccharine for my tastes on first viewing and suffered due to proximity with more serious titles released at the same time. Taken in as a whole, however, it becomes much more palatable – the difference between crunching up a sugar lump and swallowing a tablespoon of treacle, if you will.

AH! MY GODDESS concerns one Keiichi Morisato, a student and good-natured doormat who spends his days running late for class, wondering why he's always broke and daydreaming about meeting the perfect girlfriend with whom to share his largely uneventful life. Of course, if things were to carry on that way this really wouldn't be anime, and so Keiichi's life is promptly turned upside down when a mis-dialled telephone number connects him to the Goddess Helpline and earns him a wish. Believing the appearance of the Goddess Belldandy – who promptly arrives in his dorm to take his wish in person – to be some kind of elaborate practical joke set up by his house-mates, Keiichi asks her to stay with him forever. The wish is promptly granted (much to Belldandy's surprise), binding the pair together through a magic power known as the “System Force” (a.k.a. The “Ultimate Force” in the OAV version and the distictly Norse “Yggdrasil System” in the original manga) which comes into play every time something or someone threatens to separate them. With Belldandy now permanently by his side, Keiichi is forced to leave his dorm house (which has a strict “No Girls” rule) and find somewhere else for them to live, starting the pair on a series of (mis)adventures that serves to bring them closer together. It is their blossoming relationship that forms the main focus of the series, stringing the audience along with the most frustrating “will-they-won't-they” story thread since THE X-FILES introduced us to Mulder and Scully.

We should, perhaps, get one thing absolutely clear from the start: AH! MY GODDESS is so sweet and concerned with romance that it's practically shoujo anime. If you are the sort of person who likes his animation action-packed and bloody you really should look elsewhere, because this series is the comedic equivalent of wedding cake. If Richard Curtis were to see it he'd weep into his typewriter. Get past that, however, and there's a lot to be impressed with. The first thing that hits you is the quality of the animation. Like most shows of this nature a large chunk of its budget seems to have been spent on a slick and polished opening sequence, but whilst there is a clear difference between that and the more simplified animation used for the episodes themselves this does not, thankfully, mean a reduction in quality. The character designs are, in fact, impressively detailed for all of their simplicity, and the animation itself flows as fluidly as something twice its budget. Make no mistake, Studio AIC (ARMITAGE III, VAMPIRE PRINCESS MIYU) have done a fine job in bringing Kujishima's manga to life. The music, too – especially the sedate, almost-Celtic string piece that serves as the opening theme – adds a lot of character to the proceedings, sweeping the viewer along on an aural gust of wind and getting you perfectly in the mood for the light comedy to follow.

That comedy honestly does have merit, at least after a fashion. Usually this kind of “magical girlfriend” anime inspires liberal doses of slapstick coupled with a great deal of crude innuendo and fan service, but here the proceedings are tinged with a liberal does of earnest and innocence – even Keiichi's bedroom fantasies involve a fully-clothed Belldandy and himself running away in terror. Of course this approach does manifest as a double-edged sword; at times the show is so embarrassingly twee that you want to switch it off. Nevertheless, for the right sort of otaku this series could work wonders.

Ultimately, your view of AH! MY GODDESS comes down to a gender divide – and I realise even as I type this that that statement smells suspiciously of stereotyping, but hand on heart, it's the truth. You see, where women are concerned I generally couldn't hesitate to recommend the show enough; it's cute, it's sweet, and the central romance in more than enough to keep fangirls glued to the set for hours on end. For the guys, however, all of the pink and white icing may be a little too much, so to them I say avoid -- and go hunting for something like BLEACH instead. Definitely a “suck it and see” kind of anime – try before you buy.


Picture
The budget-blowing opening sequence gives way to a more simple animation style, but it's pretty nonetheless. Lots of pastels are used here with very few darks or blacks, which means less chance for artefacting (which is generally more noticeable in a darker picture) but more for motion blur. Luckily, however, the encode here is solid, and there's very little evidence of either.

Audio
The stereo tracks are clear, well-mixed and suit the content perfectly. No complaints here.

Special Features
Creditless opening (which has been encoded at terrible quality, so it's difficult to enjoy the gorgeous visuals that go with the music!) plus a selection of Japanese voice actor introductions and outtakes. More than you usually get with anime sets, but nothing to write home about.




Matt Dillon