SUMMARY
Keichi Morisato
is a lovable looser. Very sweet, but lacking in self confidence,
he finds himself in situations of his own making.
One such situation is the
day he accidentally phoned a goddess help line, while trying to
get take out. Belldandy is there to grant him his one wish. Thinking
it to be a joke, he wished to be with the beautiful Goddess forever.
Surprised when his wish is actually granted, he learns a valuable
lesson, be careful what you wish for.
From then on, Keichi's life takes
a severe turn. Expelled from his dorm, forced to rely on his younger sister
for help, and now living with Belldandy's sisters, will Keichi
be able to find happiness with Belldandy? Will her sisters Urd and Skuld
succeed in screwing up this divine relationship?
Will he ever make the first move?
DVD VISION TEST
VIDEO:A beautiful
looking transfer, AnimEigo has done a fantastic job. The colors are perfect,
there are no pixels, no wrinkles, no defects. This looks a lot better
than their VHS release. The washed out look is gone.
AUDIO:Good audio mix on both the English and Japanese. Majority of this
title is dialogue based, so don't expect a lot of surround sound elements.
The music and sound effects track only is exactly what it is, with everything
coming from the sides and the back.
With the audio commentary, depending
on your system, you may not be able to hear the guest speakers that well.
On our Pioneer DV 525, it does not sound so good, but on our APEX 2001
with the 3D audio enhance, it sounds great.
EDITS: Well, sort
of edits. You have the option of watching either the AnimEigo clean open
with optional subtitles or the original Japanese open and close. No other
edits exist.
EXTRAS: The most I have ever seen on an AnimEigo release. There is a photo
gallery, a dub your own OMG section (sound and music only), a "silent
movie mode" (sound an music only with subtitles), and two similar
audio commentary tracks (one with subtitles, one with out).
WIDESCREEN REVIEW
STORY: The series is based off of the manga created by well known writer
Kousuke Fujishima. Truly considered a classic on both sides of the
Pacific, the team (supervised by Fujishima) does a great job in translating
his sweet and honest story from printed page to the anime format.
ACTING: The cast on both versions perform very well. On the English
side, this is the best dub AnimEigo has ever done, with the exception
of Your Under Arrest. Scott Simpson as Keichi perfectly captures this
sweet looser. Juliet Cesario is perfect as Belldandy.
It is no surprise that AnimEigo is going to have her play the part of Miyuki
in the "You're Under Arrest" TV series.
For the purists, you have the
wonderful vocal talents of Kikuko Inoue as the ever sweet Belldandy. You
also have Tenchi Muyo star Masami Kikuchi playing Keiichi. Lets not forget
Yumi Tooma as the voice of the very sexy Urd.
FAN SERVICE: Well,
there is Urd, in a bikini. In tight fighting clothes. There is Belldandy
in a swimsuit. That's about it. Unless you count Megumi with lipstick.
CONCLUSION
Oh My Goddess is truly a fan favorite. With most people, when
you ask "What do you think of Oh My Goddess?" invariably, the
response is "It is one of my favorites. Why is this particular
anime so popular? Is it the characters? Perhaps the writing? Or is it
the innocent and sweet representation of life that eludes so many. It's a little of
everything.
Predating the romantic antics
of Tenchi Muyo, Oh My Goddess was the first to introduce Americans to
romantic anime. The love for Keichi and Belldandy has nothing to do with
sex, it has everything to do with love, pure and uncut. Unlike Tenchi,
there is only woman he has to deal with, and, in old-school Japanese style,
takes a frustratingly long time to make his move.
Along with the romance, the situations
that hit Keichi are very close to home. Crazy family members trying to
make you nuts. The struggle to find a place to live and pay the rent.
Trying to balance home, school, and a girlfriend. Hey, most of us are
Keichi. If only we had a goddess. Life would be so much easier.
Knowledge
of the manga is not required to understand what is going on. Actually,
not being familiar with the story may help. If you are new to this
series, you won't know which characters and situations that didn't
make it this anime. With writer actually having a part
in the production, the story is very similar in tone to his long
running manga.
Overall, AnimEigo has a
winner with this DVD. By presenting a very popular story on a well
made DVD, you can't go wrong in buying this. This is one for your
collection.
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