Oh My Goddess!

Belldandy, Urd, and Skuld        A wise man once said, "Be careful what you wish for. You may get it." Keiichi Morisato is about to learn just what that wise man meant, the hard way. It all starts one day when he's left behind in his dorm to take phone messages while the rest of his dorm mates are out doing other things. As the day drags on he soon finds himself getting hungry and decides to order a little something to be delivered in hopes of quieting his rumbling stomach.
        In the course of trying to find a restaurant that is both open and willing to make a delivery he accidently miss-dials the phone and, after a slightly confused conversation with the pleasant voice which answers at the other end, he ends up being surprised by a woman climbing out of the mirror on the wall. She announces herself as Belldandy, a representative from the Relief Goddess Office, and tells Keiichi that she has come to grant him one wish - anything his heart desires. Of course, this is all a bit much for Keiichi to take in at once. A Goddess? To grant him anything his heart desires? This has gotta be a joke, right? Probably his dorm mates playing an elaborate prank with a trick mirror and a beautiful girl just to rub in the fact that Keiichi has a hard time getting a date. Okay, he's willing to play along with a joke and just to let them know he's aware of their plot he's come up with the perfect wish. With just a bit of bravado he announces that he wishes for Belldandy to be with him, forever!
        What happens next will change the rest of Keiichi's life, but whether those changes are a blessing from the Heavens is sometimes hard to tell. Especially once Belldandy's sisters start showing up... 

        Easily one of the most entrancing anime's I've come across in awhile, Oh My Goddess! is a romantic comedy created by Fujishima Kosuke originally as the manga series Aa! Megami-sama. Currently there are only five videos based on the original manga available domestically from AnimEigo® in both subtitled and dubbed formats. Beyond the five videos, the only other domestic source for OMG stories is Dark Horse Comics which has been putting out translated versions of the original manga. Alas, they have been skipping many chapters because of the prevailance of fan translations which they feel will impact on the sales of those chapters. While it's not uncommon for the hard-core fans to purchase the original manga and then hunt down a fan translation, us casual otakus will have to settle for whatever Dark Horse deems worth translating. Oh My Goddess! is an exceptionally popular comic and as such you may find yourself hard pressed to find back-issues at your local retailer. Dark Horse does offer back issues which you can order from their direct order number (see their website for details), but even they have sold out of several issues. Fortunately, Dark Horse has published a trade paperback collection of the first three issues of the first series and the last three issues of the second series which should be available from your favorite comic book store.  

Belldandy, Urd, and Skuld in a cafe.Update:  AIC's homepage (the company that produced the first OAV series) has listed word of a possible movie in the not too distant future on their rumors page. Considering their stance as the producers of the first OAV series this tends to make the rumor a little more substantial than normal. Often their rumors end up being official before too long so, while not as good as an official announcement, this is still reason to be happy. I take this rumor to mean that the movie is in the planning stages and no official decision has been reached yet, but I would imagine one would be coming soon.

Good RatingLes' Review:
        I simply can not rave enough about this series. After finally having seen all five of the dubbed tapes I am addicted more now than ever.  As a result, I've updated my review section appropriately.
        AnimEigo® has earned my undying loyalty for providing me what is, in my opinion, one of the best anime series one is likely to see. And for providing it in a dubbed format that is just excellent. I've fallen in love with Juliet (Belldandy) Cesario's and Lanelle (Urd) Markgraf's voices. Scott Simpson makes a very likeable Keiichi and Pamela Weidner does a great job as Skuld. The whole English voice cast deserves high praise for their efforts as it really shows in the quality of this dub.
        The Dark Horse translations of the manga are also worth tracking down if you like the anime. Fujishima Kosuke's artwork alone is worth the purchase price as it is full of detail and shading which more than makes up for it being in black and white. If you like romantic comedies then you should love Oh My Goddess! and should make plans to add it to your collection as soon as possible. Be forewarned, the last two tapes in this series are sure to bring tears to the eyes of anyone who's a sap for love stories like I am. I can't wait for them to add more to this series.

Good RatingHairboy's Review:
        I really wish there was more to the anime than just the five volumes currently available. As far as the story goes, it's nothing too original, but the execution and animation more than make up for any lack of originality. I must also say that AnimEigo did a very good job with the dubbing (although I would get the subbed version myself). The artwork truly captures the style of the manga. I know I may get flack for this next comment, but doesn't Urd remind you of Storm from the X-Men, only ditzier and with more of a sex drive? Huh, maybe not. Now if they would just put more than 29 or 40 minutes on a tape. After all, they put four TV episodes on each tape of their Urusei Yatsura release. Even so the prices are very reasonable.
 
 
Eric's Review:
Eric's review is pending...
 
Mirahla's Review:
Miri's review is pending...

The following web pages are among my favorite Oh My Goddess! sites for learning more about the characters and background behind the series. Be sure to check out the AnimEigo® and Dark Horse Comics home pages as well.

I'm not sure how I overlooked putting this site in the list as it's one of my favorite OMG sites. Still, no better time to correct an oversight than the present. If you stop by only one OMG related site, make this the one. Very worthwhile and excellently laid out.

Aa! Megami-sama Overanalysis is devoted to just that. Overanalysing the hell out of everything and anything related to OMG. Particularly notable for it's tribute page to Scott Simpson and Juliet Cesario.

Aa! Megami-sama is one of the best sites for learning more about Oh My Goddess! with plenty of nice pics, sound files, and movie clips as well as the background and character info you need.

The Relief Goddess Office has great background on the characters and series, but the link may be a little slow.

Aa! Megami-sama Satellite Shrine uses the original manga title. It's got a nice layout with lots of info.

Ah My Goddess! This site has some of the more beautiful drawings of Belldandy and friends along with background info on the series.

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Obligatory Copyright Notifications:
Images and music from Oh My Goddess! copyrighted by AIC/AnimEigo.