Review -- Ah! My Goddess

My tastes in anime series usually have less to do with genre and more to do with what people recommend. I've been a fan of everything from mecha to slice-of-life to magical girl. But one thing I still typically shy away from is romantic comedy. Not that I don't love a good rom-com. But keyword there is good. I cringe at dates-gone-awry, panty shots, and a complete and utter lack of plot beyond "this boy and girl are in middle/high school and like each other. Cue beach episode." Ah! My Goddess doesn't share all of these traits (see: complete lack of anything sexual, including panty shots) but enough of them to make me want to smack my head off a wall more than once. The main character is an average college student who has absolutely nothing to offer the goddess who has fallen into his lap. His love interest is said goddess, who is literally perfect. And she is bound to stay with him forever.  But somehow, something charmed me into watching all 24 episodes. I can't say I regret it, since I'm watching the second season now. But I also can't say it's anywhere near as good (or unique) as Princess Tutu, Trigun, or Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, all of which I spent last Christmas break watching. Ah! My Goddess is less sexual and more charming than it sounds, but at about the exact same quality level you expect it to be.

Keiichi Morisato is a really nice guy. The anime adds nearly an episode of character development for Keiichi before it reaches the opening scene of the manga where Belldandy appears. Said episode is just an ordinary day in the life of Mr. Morisato in which he does his best to help any and all people around him, but without the annoying "MY LIFE IS DEDCIATED TO HELPING PEOPLE RAWR HELPING-PEOPLE-SMASH" of Shiro from Fate/Stay Night, another series I was led to believe is much better than it actually is. (But that's a story for another review.) In the case of AMG, I was misled by the opening theme. I was playing a "guess the anime by opening theme" quiz and "Open Your Mind" was included. If you just clicked on the link and watched, I think you can understand why. The Celtic-inspired strings and woodwinds and the simple yet appealing animation in the opening were quite intriguing, and I was looking for something light and romantic to watch, so I gave it a try.

So Keiichi is a really great decent guy. His luck is terrible and his life kind of sucks, but he continues to help people. His roommates go to a party and stick Keiichi with all the chores--and he does them! He's in a hurry, but runs into a little girl looking for her mom's wallet, so he stops to help her. By the time he accidentally dials the goddess helpline, we're rooting for him. Upon answering the phone, first-class, second category, unlimited liscense goddess Belldandy (based on the Norse god Verdandi but mis-romanized) pops out of Keiichi's mirror and promises to grant him one wish. Any wish. His lack of self-confidence leads him to believe that she can't be serious and that his auto club buddies are just pranking him because she's so hot and he's a short, penniless loser. After sincerely complimenting him and boosting his confidence about tenfold, Keiichi wishes to have a godddess like Belldandy stay by his side... forever.

Belldandy for one brief moment finds herself panic-ridden at the thought of staying on Earth with Keiichi forever, and then recovers and attaches herself to him--figuratively speaking, as the most romantic the first season gets is looking at each and blushing. I don't know if they even really hold hands. Surely the physically closest they get is that episode where some sort of potion goes awry and Belldandy gets turned into a total tramp. The first bunch of episodes involve Keiichi and Belldandy adjusting to their new lifestyle. Since they are bound by contract, Belldandy must stay by Keiichi's side or risk the wrath of the "system force" which brings about misfortune to those trying to separate the two and thus break their contract.

After school adventures and the system force start to wear out their welcome, Urd, Belldandy's older sister joins the pair. She is followed by Skuld, the younger sister, a handful of episodes later, and thankfully the added women do not cause the series to devolve into a harem anime. Urd is by far the better character, partly due to a great voice actor, partly because Skuld is just that annoying, and partly because Urd is loads of fun. All other supporting characters, from the demon Mara, to the other university students, are almost entirely comic relief and severely underdeveloped. They are cardboard cutouts used like backgrounds to make things look more interesting--and the backgrounds do a better job.  Backgrounds are the high point of the animation, which is just good enough to stay consistent throughout, but not good enough to impress anyone. The overall look of the series is pleasant and as brightly colored as it can be without getting unrealistic, but static.

The high point of the series is Belldandy herself. Odds are, if you don't like her, you won't like the series either and this review is a waste of time, but if you like the series, you love Belldandy. She's completely perfect. She's a wonderful person, always positive, helpful, kind, compassionate, attractive, powerful, a good cook, a fantastic singer, need I go on? She ought to be a total Mary-Sue and completley repulsive. But like Tohru Honda of Fruits Basket, she is completely sincere in her efforts and therefore somehow the most likable of all characters. Her complete (and not altogether unwarranted) devotion to Keiichi is more touching and charming than annoying, which is the series' saving grace. Once we clear that awkward "I'm happy to be forced to serve you for the rest of my existence simply because you wished it" phase and get into the "I'm in love with you and I want to be with you of my own free will" stage, her status as BEST CHARACTER is cemented.

All the dub voice actors save Eileen Stevens (Belldandy), Shannon Conley, credited as Vibe Jones (Urd), and Emily Bauer, credited as Emily Blau (Megumi) are annoying, just to varying degrees. (Peorth of the second season isn't too bad, but I'll limit myself to discussing the first) Mara, Den and Dai, Hasegawa, and especially that pervy guy with the long name are all pretty terrible. Keiichi and Sayoko never get worse than "mediocre" and usually are about average, but they're not winning any acting awards. This isn't so bad for Sayoko, but Keiichi's our main character! His actor doesn't have that much material to work with, though, and he does get some points for a hilarious job in the final episode of the series, but Eileen Stevens gets more points for making me actually care about her character. In fact, Eileen Stevens is my very favorite part of the entire anime, save for the brilliant opening theme.

The music is another high point of the series, though like the backgrounds, it isn't enough to completely redeem it. The opener is one of the best in all anime. The vaguely-Celtic-and-hopefully-Norse-but-I-don't-know-anything-about-Norse-music inspirations for the opening theme (and a little in the first ending theme, too) give it just enough mysticism to set it apart from every other bland pop opening. The waltzing, flowing 3-count matches perfectly to the lyrics and visuals of wind and flying.Yoko Ishida does a great job with both the opening and closing, especially since it is her ending used for the final episode. The animation for the opening is simple, but unlike the rest of the series, very expressive. The bit where Belldandy floats down into Keiichi's arms makes watching the rest of the lame episode worth it. Choosing to play down the rom-com in the opening was the right choice, and makes "Open Your Mind" my new favorite opening theme. The soundtrack is similarly heavy on strings and woodwinds, and is fitting, but less memorable than any of the theme music.

Overall, Ah! My Goddess is a charming little series. It's nothing really special when it comes to anime. You might be better off watching the first and last six episodes and just skipping the twelve in between. It's just school adventure after school adventure. The second season is starting to get quite interesting, and focuses much more on Keiichi and Belldandy's romantic relationship instead of all the things around their relationship. If you need a good romantic comedy, give it a try. If you don't like it after six or seven episodes, then I recommend either skipping ahead or dropping it altogether. It doesn't get much better.

The entire first season is available to watch on youtube from Media Blasters. The second season is likewise available, with the same voice actors, from Funimation. This review does not cover the second season.

Overall Rating: C

+ Belldandy is a great character with a great voice actor. Keiichi starts off strong. Urd is hilarious (also great voice actor!) Colorful, detailed backgrounds. Cute, innocent romance. Nice music. Fantastic opening theme, and a very good first ending theme.
- Romance never gets more romantic than looking wistfully at each other and blushing. Uses "date gone awry" plotline three or four too many times. Characters that aren't Keiichi or the goddesses are underdeveloped and/or annoying. Animation is static. Really fantastic plot lines in the final few episodes are destroyed by pacing and some big fat deus ex machinas.

Review -- Princess Tutu

Princess Tutu is the most surprising series I've seen all year--or it would have been if every single person I know who's seen it hadn't told me how awesome it is. Shakugan no Shana appealed because I was in the mood for some typical shonen, Durarara!! was by the folks that made Baccano!, so I had high expectations, 5D's is both the best and worst show I've ever seen, and Trigun's overrated. But how can you help but expect anything but ridiculous, cutesy, over-the-top shojo from a show called Princess Tutu?

There is a fairly accurate fandom nickname of "Guitar Ninjas" for this show. I don't like the name, now that I've seen PT, because it threw off my expections wildly. I expected Code Geass or Evaneglion, and instead, I got the best fairy tale anyone's ever told. It's not Guitar Ninjas. Nothing comes out and punches you in the face. Rather it sneaks up on you, and before you know it, it's got hold of your heart and you're crying right along with Duck, Rue, Fakir, and Mytho.

The basic plot is simple enough. A duck wants to dance with the princely young man. A young teenage girl wants to be a ballerina. A magical girl wants to restore the broken pieces of the prince's heart. They all just happen to be the same person. Duck is literally a duck, but with the help of a mysterious man named Drosselmeyer, she becomes a human girl. The pendant that allows her to be a girl also has the power to transform her into Princess Tutu, legendary minor character in the fictional fairy tale, "The Prince and the Raven". In the story, Princess Tutu does something small, confesses her love to the prince, and turns into a speck of light because of it. That's it. Duck does not realize her character's part in the old story till a few episodes in, nor Tutu's tragic destiny. Because how can she be the very same character? She's herself, not part of the story written a thousand years ago. Stories within stories within stories that crossover with other stories and reference other stories doesn't even cover how complicated Princess Tutu gets. And yet, the most essential parts of the plot are quite straightforward. The audience's confusion typically mirrors the characters' own confusion, and by the end of the series, everything wraps up nicely.

Speaking of characters, they're all quite well-written. I must admit that I don't like all of the designs (see: Fakir's hair) but Tutu and Krahe's costumes make up for any other shortcomings. Mytho is the weakest character, since the plot point is that he has no emotions whatsoever. But even emotionless Mytho develops over time (well, the other plot point is that he is slowly regaining his emotions...) and Duck, Fakir, and Rue develop three times more than your average anime, movie, book, or any fictional story with character development, and that is the series strongest point. With only 4 main characters, it better be a strong character series. Even the rest of the supporting cast only consists of Drosslemeyer, Edel, Mr. Cat, [insert spoiler here] villain of season 2, and Duck's useless friends. There's a couple more, but for the most part, episodes focus on characters that appear for only their episode. Despite this episodic plot, each episode is carefully written to further the story, and no episode is extraneous. Princess Tutu is truly an achievement in storytelling.

The art's not too bad, either. The animation uses all of the usual anime shortcuts--long shots with no more movement than blinking, but besides these occasional static shots, the animation is quite good, especially in regards to expressions and ballet movements. The design is where the art really shines. Gold Crown Town is straight out of a Grimm Brothers story. I really wish there were more town scenes just so we could see it. The magical Princess Tutu dancing backgrounds are interesting and all, but usually not that detailed. The streets or buildings are usually far more interesting than the empty landscapes that magically appear every now and then during a climatic dance. For Princess Tutu doesn't exactly fight, she dances with people and this lets them realize their true feelings. Since the battle is to regain a piece of a heart shard that has latched onto an unsuspecting victim, this method isn't as stupid as it sounds. The fact that the show is steeped in ballet, ballet, and more ballet makes it all the more believable.

The ballet references are most obvious in the score, almost all of which is taken straight from classical ballet. The rest is just classical ballet music in new arrangements. For example, the series uses many variations on the prologue to The Nutcracker, Duck's theme. Tchaikovsky is the dominant composer, and The Nutcracker and Swan Lake are the two most referenced ballets, so even those of us with little ballet knowledge (see: me) can understand and appreciate the series. And boy, do I appreciate it. It is one of my top five favorite series of all time, and probably the best thing I've seen since Cowboy Bebop. I watched Trigun the week after Princess Tutu and I was bored. Vash is great and all, but he can't hold a candle to Duck, Fakir, Rue, or even Mytho. Poor, emotionless Mytho. (pronoucned "Miu-toh", not "myth-o")

The English dub is very good, and I agree with ADV's decision to translate Ahiru's name into English. Duck is Duck, and she wouldn't be Duck without her silly name. Jessica Boone is my favorite, but that's probably because Rue is my favorite. If I attempted to be unbiased, then Luci Christian as Duck is probably the most solid performance, and with a look at her resume, it's no wonder why. She makes Duck likable and sympathetic, and keeps her from devolving into just annoying, which could easily have happened. Oh, and I should cover the opening theme, though there's not much more to say than it exists, it introduces the characters, and it's cute. The quiet waltzing 3-count is quite appropriate for the series, but not all that memorable. Solid, but not special for the opening theme. The ending theme is so average, I probably only ever watched it once all the way through. Don't even bother with that one.

Overall, a fantastic series, and one I recommend to any fans of entertainment, but especially to anime fans and anyone with any knowledge of ballet. The series is currently available on youtube, but when I went to link to the page for the entire series, it told me "show is not available". Here's episode 1, but watch it now--it might go away. Or you could just buy the whole thing for only $25! Believe me, that's a steal, and well worth the money. You will want to rewatch it and share it.

- Pacing can be a little slow at first before you realize it's all necessary. Character designs get to be a little silly. Talking animals?? Mr. Cat is creepy. Pique and Lillie exist only for stupid comic relief and occasional exposition, and in the second season, Lillie is just downright creepy.

+ Character development is phenomenal. Art is appealing, colorful, and great ballet animation. Tutu and Krahe costumes (and anything to do with the Raven) are all very well designed. Plot is interesting and complicated, but resolves. Music is all taken from ballets. Ending is heartwarming and surprising, and a little hit-or-miss, but I love it all the same.

Rating: A