Oh My Goddess

Review Date: 2007 June 26 15:48

Reviewed by: Azure

Released by: Titan Publishing

Publishing Country: UK

Author: Kosuke Fujishima

Age Rating: n/a

Page Count: 192

ISBN-13: 978184576485

ISBN-10: 1845764854

Summary

Keiichi Morisato is a nice guy, but the problem is nice guys finish last. Everything changes when he dials a wrong number and ends up connecting to the Goddess technical help line, a real Goddess named Belldandy appears and offers to grant him any wish. Thinking it is all a prank Keiichi wishes for Belldandy to stay by his side forever

Review

Since Keiichi's college dorm doesn't allow girls Keiichi is kicked out and is forced to search for an appropriate place for Belldandy and himself to live. There's a rather amusing sequence as they journey from place to place, including crazed Otaku's lair until Belldandy intervenes and finds them an old temple to live in.

Oh My Godess! is a classic wish fulfilment series. Belldandy loves to cook and clean, she's also super smart and can run circles around Keiichi's engineering lecturers. All the guys love her, and here is where the conflict occurs the guys often try to woo Belldandy away which in turn incites the wrath of campus queen Sayako. Sayako is a bit of a missed opportunity, whilst her spiteful tricks cause a bit of disruption, they pale into comparison with Belldandy's powers which can easily reverse her tricks. If there's one flaw with this series it's that Belldandy is just too strong, she can after all fly, read minds and manipulate matter.

It's when Oh My Goddess! deals with relationships that it's at its best. Whilst it initially may seem Belldandy and Keiichi were forced together, they quickly develop a trusting relationship. Keiichi did after all wish to be with Belldandy over anything else he could have dreamt up. The trouble is neither is really sure what to do in a serious relationship, Keiichi's never had a proper girlfriend before and Belldandy is utterly naïve and innocent when it comes to real life. The best chapter in this volume follows Keiichi as he tries to follow a "going steady for dummies book".

Reading Oh My Goddess! is rather nostalgic as it was probably one of the first romantic comedy series I encountered via the original OVA. At that time there was only one episode per tape, so I never progressed very far into the story. Having not gotten around to watching the TV series yet much of this volume was a nice surprise. The artwork has dated a little, but still retains a lot of appeal. Especially nice for existing fans of the series is the fact that this volume also includes colour pages, which are a real treat. Older fans might also appreciate the fact that these editions are numbered and printed unflipped.

Oh My Goddess! exudes charm, there's a reason it's a classic and that's the characters. Somehow very quickly on they manage to make the reader care about them, and will for Belldandy and Keiichi's relationship to last.

Rating: 8/10