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- Spoilers -
This is more of an opinion piece than an educational one. I did not do a bunch of research before starting to write this, simply because I wanted to write about my experience with reading Oh My Goddess! rather than about its history. This is in large part because the art style of the manga has changed so often over the course of its 308 chapters. I am not sure if this is because the mangaka (manga creator) Kosuke Fujishima improved his artwork or because a team took over the grunt work for him, but I have to stay that I have not liked all the changes. In the beginning, when I first picked up volume one, I actually wondered if it was worth my time, the art was so strange. I would actually call it borderline bad if it were not for the personality, humor, and sense of style that goes into every corner of it. To summarize, this strange beginning artwork with oddly drawn faces turned into a cute style with round faces, which then turned into a really lovely style (my favorite) that is crisp and clear, and that eventually turned into something that became fairly generic with less character. Below I have added four pictures of one of the main characters as she is drawn in the different art styles. I will give some explanation for some differences in appearance shortly, but for the most part the only way you know this is the same character is by the shapes on her forehead and cheekbones. More on that later, although I suspect some of it has to do with the fact that the series started back in 1988 and did not finish until 2014. I am also not much of a fan of the anime, so I am not going to talk about that.
One day I would like to own all of Oh My Goddess! and at that time I plan to write a new review. For the moment, I will simply explain what it is about and why I love it, and also why not everyone will.
Art Style 1
Art Style 2
Art Style 3 (the majority of my books are from this era)
Art Style 4
(Pictures found on Google Images & Manga Freak)
Oh My Goddess! (ああっ女神さまっ; Ah! Megami-sama!) is the story of Keiichi Morisato, who is the typical below average everyman college student. He is going to school at a mechanics and technology school, where he has always been the bottom of the pack. He is short, poorly dressed (e.g. shirts tucked into high-waisted jeans), untalented, and generally unremarkable. At the beginning, he lives in a house owned by the campus Motor Club, who show up frequently throughout the series. They include Tamiya, the bulky and stupid yet lovable larger than life leader, and his leather jacket-wearing best friend and sidekick Otaki. They treat Keiichi as a house sitter frequently, and order him around. The only really redeeming quality about Keiichi is that he is a good friend and loves motorcycles.
One night, Keiichi is home alone and has to check Tamiya's voicemail as part of his list of chores. When he dials the number, he instead hears someone tell him that he has reached the Goddess Hotline and that a goddess is on the way. At first he thinks that he accidentally called some sort of call girl, then a woman comes out of the mirror on the wall as though it were a window. She is dressed in exotic clothes and jewelry with blue tattoos on her forehead and cheekbones, and announces that she is the goddess Belldandy here to grant him one wish. He has no real wishes, being a somewhat simple guy, so Keiichi jokes that he would love to have a goddess like Belldandy in his life forever. Just as he tries to assure her it was a joke, light flashes from her forehead and she collapses. When she wakes up, she makes a phone call to heaven and learns that the wish was granted and that Belldandy is to stay on earth with Keiichi. She accepts her new role, although we later find out that Belldandy is not only a Goddess First Class but an incredibly powerful member of heaven. Tamiya and the others come home to see that Keiichi seems to have brought a girl into the house, which is against the rules, and kick them out. Belldandy changes her blue hair to brown and transforms her clothes into more acceptable earth garments. (Belldandy's blue hair is signified by the black and white stripey look in the first art style image above. Occasionally we see this, but for the most part she keeps the brown, and at one point might even go white when her true power is released.) They spend the whole night trying to find a place to stay, until they end up at the local Buddhist temple and stay the night there. In the morning, the priest sees Belldandy meditating and senses such a powerful spiritual force from her that he immediately packs his bags for a trip to train with monks in the mountains, leaving the temple behind for Keiichi and Belldandy to look after. They live there for the rest of the series.
Belldandy and Keiichi in the front, then Tamiya on the far right and Otaki in the middle
(Picture found on Google Images)
Much of the story is based on Norse mythology, especially when it comes to names and where the gods live, although there are certain things that are more Christian or Shinto in nature. (For example, Yggdrasil is brought up as being the heaven tree where the goddesses live, and many Norse mythological creatures appear, including Sleipnir the six-legged horse. At the same time, there are demons in this world as well as tree spirits.) Belldandy is an interesting name because it comes from Verdandi, one of the Norns, the Norse goddess of fate. (Another way to look at them is as the goddesses of time.) In Japanese, there is no "V" sound or "R" sound, so this name really is pronounced "Belldandy," which I think was kept universally because it sounds adorable. Verdandi is the goddess of the present, while Urd is the goddess of the past and Skuld is of the future. How this translates into Oh My Goddess! is that Belldandy has two sisters: Urd (older) and Skuld (younger), and the three of them are sometimes drawn together in a way that mirrors the Norse depictions with Belldandy in the middle and her sisters looking back in time (leftwart) or forward into the future (rightward). Through nosiness or protectiveness, they come to live in the temple alongside Keiichi and Belldandy.
http://norse-mythology.net/norns-the-goddesses-of-fate-in-norse-mythology/
(Pictures found on Google Images)
There is a big list of characters who interact and play off each other in Oh My Goddess! Sayoko is the popular, gorgeous girl at school who is constantly jealous of Belldandy's effortless perfection. Keiichi has a younger sister Megumi who sometimes gets caught up in the madness. Other goddesses like the overly confident Peorth will show up to hang around and cause trouble. Mara, a demoness, often comes around to stir things up. The mechanics club members are around, as well as Keiichi's senior classmate Chihiro, who graduates and opens up a garage of her own where many of them work. The best way to describe a lot of the stories is the word "shenanigan." Some stories involve magical things happening involving the giant heaven computer that makes the world function, and others are about how living with goddesses can make more normal activities crazy. To me, it is important that a story be just as interesting when you are simply watching the characters go about their lives as when you are learning the hard hitting secrets about the world they live in. One fun example of how magical energy plays into the goddesses' lives is when there is an energy shortage and all three go into energy saving modes. Urd (affiliated with the past) turns back into a child and drinks copious amounts of alcohol to replace her missing energy. Skuld (affiliated with the future) grows into a woman and eats large amounts of ice cream. Belldandy (affiliated with the present) shrinks to the size of a doll and sleeps most of the day away while Keiichi tries to find them an energy source.
One of the few story lines that lasts the entire length of the series is Keiichi and Belldandy's romance. From the beginning, Keiichi feels very strongly for Belldandy, to the point that something he said as a joke when they first met ending up coming from a sincere enough part of his heart to be approved by the Almighty Himself. (We never see him, but he comes into play now and then.) Belldandy has a soft spot for Keiichi from the start as well, although it started off as more of a duty than a deep fondness. Throughout the series, Belldandy confirms many times that the wish contract is not what keeps her on earth; her love for Keiichi is. Although the two sometimes seem like an odd match since Belldandy is mature, tidy, talented, kind, beautiful, and generally perfect to the point of ridiculousness and Keiichi is a below average kind of guy, their interactions never feel forced. Even when they are incapable of being physically close due to shyness or meddling sisters, Keiichi and Belldandy share a comfortable, codependent existence. They accept each other's faults when they surface, and do anything it takes to save each other. Keiichi is devastated in a very real way whenever it seems that Belldandy has to leave, and Belldandy has nearly sacrificed her life for him many times. There are two instances that stand out to me regarding their relationship, which happen to be in the same book Hand in Hand.
The first is within a story about Keiichi's sister Megumi, who goes to the same school but does not live with them. She attends a popular aerodynamics at the satellite campus that almost all the students ride their motorcycles to. There is a limited number of seats, so everyone has to hurry to get there in time. One girl who calls herself "The Queen" thinks of this as an opportunity to practice her racing skills on her expensive bike, and is flabbergasted when Megumi beats her on an old scrap bike made of spare parts. She confronts Megumi about this, and Megumi says that she will tell The Queen the secret to her good racing skills after they have a little race. The Queen shows up at the starting line to discover that she will not be racing Megumi but Keiichi and Belldandy, who actually have a sidecar hooked up to Keiichi's junk bike. The Queen is confused but goes forward with the race, only to be amazed by the speed and grace of her competitors. Keiichi and Belldandy maneuver the bike and its clunky sidecar beautifully, getting around tight curves at high speeds because Belldandy moves around, shifting her weight. The Queen thinks to herself that they ride with such joy, as though they are dancing, and understands that their love, be it for each other or the bike, is what allows them to push so hard.
The second instance is when Belldandy gets drunk at a party after trying a soda for the first time. (All goddesses react to different substances in different ways, as alcohol affects Urd but not Belldandy.) She runs off granting random wishes in the hopes of making everyone happy, and Keiichi chases after her for hours trying to stop her from turning people into giants when their only wish was to be a bit taller. Nothing really bad happens, and most of the spells wear off by the next day, but the very last wish Belldandy granted before passing out was Keiichi's after he explained that he was not mad at her and that the only thing that could ever make him unhappy was if he could not hold her hand anymore. Subsequently, the two of them spend the whole day with their hands stuck together. Urd tries using her potions to inject a computer virus into Belldandy's spell. Skuld thinks of cutting them apart with a knife since she hates when anyone touches her favorite big sister. Nothing works, and they are forced to deal with situations like using the bathroom, bathing without Skuld killing Keiichi, and riding the train. To some extent, they are both enjoying the closeness since they have never really slept in the same room. In the end, they separate at an almost random moment. Belldandy admits that perhaps the spell took so long to wear off because she was selfish and wanted to keep holding Keiichi's hand. He says that being honest with yourself does not mean you are selfish, and they promise to stay together.
Urd Art Styles
Skuld Art Styles
(Pictures found on Google Images)
As for the magical conflicts that crop up, there are dozens. There are several that focus on Urd, which give us some insight into the workings of the world. As it turns out, the three goddess sisters all have different mothers but share a father. Urd's father happened to be a demon, so Urd could have gone into work as a demon if she had wanted to. Occasionally enemies use this to their advantage, invading her body to use it for evil or splitting her personality in two, creating a goddess Urd and a demon Urd. In another story, we learn more about the angels that goddesses have. (Also in regards to demons, a certain amount of peace is kept between the two races because they will not kill each other. This is not just a law, but a precautionary measure. As children, demons and goddesses are linked to a member of the opposite clan, and then their memories are erased. This way, goddess and demons will never kill each other because you do not know who your life partner is, and killing them will kill you too.) All grown up goddesses swallow angel eggs, which then hatch and become an embodiment of their innermost selves. Belldandy and Skuld both have very angelic, blonde angels, but Urd's comes out with black and white hair, black and white wings, strangely colored eyes, and tattooed skin. Each angel helps enhance and direct a goddesses magic when they are out, and there is emphasis on the fact that our three sisters all have magic joined with a certain element: Belldandy is wind, Urd is fire, and Skuld is water. Along those same lines, they often travel using different methods: Belldandy through mirrors, Urd through TV screens, and Skuld through cups, buckets, or bathtubs of water. We also learn that goddesses can fall in love with different spirits, as Urd did once with the spirit of the plum tree. For a time Urd also worked as the chief overseer for maintenance on the world computer as a Goddess Second Class, while Belldandy worked as more of a high level problem solver and Skuld as a virus catcher.
I am a huge science fiction and fantasy lover, so there is lots to love in Oh My Goddess!, but I also love good characters, comedy, and attention to detail. A lot of the comedy here is quite over the top, which works for the story and sometimes goofy art style, and is an integral part of character interactions and plot twists. As for detail, every page is filled with little things to look at. The rooms of the temple are filled with the characters' belongings (tools in Skuld's room, potions in Urd's room, etc.) and the characters themselves change outfits all the time, and every outfit is unusual and covered with interesting bits and pieces. Each of the sisters has a personal style, as do the other characters, but you never see them in the same outfit twice. Sometimes I will flip through a book just to admire the work that went in to dressing Belldandy. This is part of why I love the certain art style that I do. I think it really brings out Belldandy's subtle sexiness in her conservative clothing choices with high collars and long skirts, Urd's intense sensuality and tight dresses with massive bracelets, and Skuld's fun and girly personal style that includes practical boots and gloves. All the goddesses wear large, interesting earrings and other jewelry. Even the side characters have a distinct way of dressing themselves, especially Peorth, who chooses very unusual, creative outfits that show a lot of skin. And all the hair is drawn so beautifully.
Peorth, from the cover of the book in which she first appears
(Picture found on Google Images)
Oh My Goddess! is a strange mix of things that somehow fall together nicely. Fujishima is clearly a fan of motorcycles and is talented at drawing them, yet he brings so many things to the table beyond that. (In this way, it reminds me of Mars, which is another romance with lots of motocycles in it.) There is otherworldly fashion, futuristic technology, varied architecture, mythological beasts, comedic timing, personality, and good plot. I actually own something of a hodgepodge of books from this series because there are so many stories that you read a lot of them out of order, so long as you have a little background here and there concerning what the current living situations are. This could have easily been a typical harem manga with one guy surrounded by all these gorgeous girls who are in love with him, but it usually makes fun of the harem genre more than include itself in it. True, Belldandy is in love with Keiichi, but Skuld and other circumstances make it difficult for them to do so much as hold hands or give each other a little kiss. Therefore, they usually act more like a very comfortable married couple, although a sexually frustrated one. As I said, Skuld, who looks about thirteen years old, is more interested in protecting her sister from men than she is in actually finding a boyfriend, but she does have a crush on a boy her age. Occasionally it is suggested that Urd might harbor some feelings towards Keiichi, but from what I have read it is mostly speculation. Urd is independent and emotionally private to the point that she really does not seek out companionship, especially since her heart was broken at least once in the past. She also tries to hide how much her mixed blood makes her feel like an outcast, which may be why she can be so nosy and loud and disruptive. Peorth is a goddess who shows up now and then, and she fell in love with Keiichi at one point in the midst of what should have been something of a joke, but ended up accepting that Belldandy is who Keiichi wants to be with. As I mentioned before, the story sometimes makes fun of how much like a harem manga the story can feel. The popular girl at school wants Keiichi for herself because she is jealous of Belldandy's popularity, and really does not love him. At one point a reverse love potion is set on Keiichi and everyone who looks at him falls in love, briefly including his own sister Megumi. The question is frequently asked how such a normal guy ended up living with two gorgeous women and their cute kid sister, now and then getting other hotties attached to him. The reason is actually surprisingly like the answer in any harem story: he is a genuinely nice guy who fights for those he cares about. It is a bit silly and cliche, but it is the reason that I enjoy the occasional harem manga. Yes, the guy is basically a blank canvas that men can imagine themselves being, but there still has to be something about him that draws girls to him. The attraction of all the girls is almost accidental, because he is not trying to get them into bed with him, he is not disrespecting them, and usually he would just fade into the background as a shy, awkward admirer, yet fate brings the characters together. Keiichi is a nice guy who, despite having the normal perverted thoughts of a young man now and then when it comes to dirty magazines or the like, actually really cares about everyone around him. He does his best to help out even when he is fairly useless in a world of gods and magic. Even though he would love more time alone with Belldandy, he does not take Skuld and Urd's company for granted. He is forgiving and earnest, which seem to be the qualities the goddesses most love.
Keiichi "K-1" Morisato
If you break down Keiichi, you get "kei" like the letter K and "ichi" like the number 1 in Japanese.
(Picture found on Google Images)
P.S. I take no credit for any of the pictures. Thank you to whoever made the art style transition pictures! They are so great!
