Yay! The next installment of Ah! My Goddess! (actually it's been out since May 30th and just recently posted her at Epinions) Welcome back fellow watchers, and if you’re not a fellow watcher, then you should be. Haha. Truly, if you’re not familiar with the series you can’t start here. After all, you wouldn’t know the characters, and be missing out on a few important things. Otherwise, onward (and to ruin my non-anime run with sleeper54, wahahaha!)!

Episode 19: Urd is up to her usual tricks of trying to get Keiichi and Belldandy to hook up more than they have been (if at all). Skuld is up to her usual tricks of thwarting anything that might develop between Keiichi and Belldandy. Naturally when the two cross, things get very interesting.

Episode 20: Urd and Skuld have to return to Heaven to perform some maintenance on Heaven’s main computer. But before you start thinking Keiichi and Belldandy will have peace and quiet together, you should know something about that dessert Skuld left for Keiichi (you think the boy would have known better by now…).

Episode 21: *gasp!* Do we finally get to see Urd’s angel?? And Skuld is doing stupid things again?? Wait, no, that second part isn’t a surprise.

Episode 22: Well, it’s not really a pot, more like a vase or urn. Anyway, it’s not a very pleasant urn, which is exactly why Marller’s gotten her hands on it. But is there more going on than usual?

Ah! How about it?

When it comes to the animation, voices, and music, everything is still the same as is has been. Animation is nice and smooth, voices are good (I still prefer the Japanese version), and music fits the series perfectly. It’s always neat to see Holy Bell, so I was really excited when episode 21 showed up – ooohs and aaahs should be ready.

As for the characters, well it’s the usual hijinks and mishaps for them. As bad as it may seem, I liked Urd’s plan. The result was quite interesting, props to Keiichi for not taking advantage of the situation, but then he wouldn’t do the same if it happened naturally anyway so maybe congratulations aren’t in order. He’s such a dope sometimes. Ok, all the time. Putz. So much better in the OAV. And why doesn’t Urd lock Skuld up or something? Skuld is to blame for everything that seems to happen, which is why I don’t like her, though the situation in #20 was again her fault, the initial problems posed were pretty funny. And you should know how I feel about any appearances Marller makes, haha.

To the ‘rents: If you’ve been letting your children watch this series, you might want to check things out yourself before forking it over. Urd and Megumi have tendencies to push Keiichi into getting a few bases more (or one at least) with Belldandy, and other vague references have been made about their living together, but some kids might not pick up on it. Still, in this series the adult humor is more present. A few more notable scenes include episode 20 and Keiichi’s transformation into a woman, during which he checks for his, ah, cash and prizes, and then later on when Urd is complaining about his breasts being larger than hers, one in each hand. It’s funny to someone like me because it’s so ridiculous, but if you’re a parent, you’re going to have to make the decision.

Overall: Depending upon what you’re looking for in anime, I think it will be hard to find yourself let down with this series. If you go into it without any series expectations and are simply looking for a good time, you should be pleased. I found it nice to kick back on my bed and watch a few episodes in a row before bed. True, I think it might be more girly, so I’m not sure what guys might think of it. Ah well, at the very least, even with the circumstances, the episode 20 might have you finally yelling, “Whoo hoo!”

NT

Episodes in Volume 5:
19. Ah! Don't Gaze At Me With Those Eyes?
20. Ah! Save the Goddess, If You're a Man!?
21. Ah! The One I Yearn For Is A White-Winged Angel!
22. Ah! A Devil's Whisper, Along With A Pot?

NT

Ah! My Goddess Series:
Volume 1: Always and Forever
Volume 2: Love Plus One
Volume 3: With or Without You
Volume 4: We’ve Got Tonight
Volume 6: Last Dance

Ah! My Goddess! OAV Volumes:
Oh My Goddess! DVD Vol. 1
Oh My Goddess! DVD Vol. 2

The Movie:
Ah! My Goddess!: The Movie


Because it’s confusing to try and keep track of who is who, I’ve decided to supplement my Ah! My Goddess! reviews with the English voice actors of that particular animation.

Drew Aaron .... Keiichi Morisato
Eileen Stevens .... Belldandy
Vibe Jones .... Urd
Annice Moriarty .... Skuld
Alissa Brodsky .... Marller
Emily Blau .... Megumi Morisato
Karen Nell .... Sayoko Mishima
Marc Diraison .... Toshiyuki Aoshima
Marc Thompson .... Tamiya-senpai
Scottie Ray .... Ootaki-senpai
Zoe Martin .... Sora Hasegawa
Sean Schemmel .... 3rd Class Earth Spirit (yay!)

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening