Ranked #507

Ah! My Goddess Specials

The three episode special of Ah! My Goddess should be looked at in two parts, Episode one and then Episode Two and Three.

Story
The first episode is a recap of the first twelve episodes of the TV Series with commentary from Keiichi and Belldandy. The recap episode reuses previous animations and sounds and provides little new material for the show and involves no advancement in story. The last two episodes take place immediately after the events in the TV Series. The story progresses based on different side-effects the Goddess’s exhibit after the series finale. The second episode focuses mostly on Urd while the third episode focuses on Skuld. The stories of each are cute and silly, similar to many episodes from the TV series. It will feel as if the TV Series hadn’t actually ended.

Art
The art in these episodes are nearly identical to those of the series. All of the scenes and characters are drawn brightly and are colorful. The backgrounds are all drawn well, with just enough detail to feel natural within the show. All three Goddess look beautiful and cute throughout the show. Visually, Keiichi is one of the only characters I can’t stand. His character design at times just looks awkward and out of place in the show especially when surrounded by the Goddesses. The animation is smooth, the lighting is well done, and unique/interesting camera angles help bring the stories to life. By no means will the animation blow you away with stunning graphics, but it does more than what is necessary to get the job done.

Sound
The openings for all three episodes remain the same as all the other episodes in the series, “Open Your Mind ~ Spread Your Small Wings" by Yoko Ishida. While the ending of episode one is the same as the first 12 episodes "願い (Negai)" by Yoko Ishida while the other two episodes have the second ending "Wing" by Yoko Takahashi. The sound effects are well done and accurate for what you’d expect certain actions to sound like. The Japanese voices match the characters very well and they do a great job matching the characters expressions or emotions. The background music is fitting for the scenes and really blends in well with the show. All in all it is an enjoyable listening experience.

Characters
This is one of my favorite parts of the show, I adore all the characters. Belldandy fits in a motherly role quite well while Skuld and Urd have a fairly accurate sisterly relationship. Keiichi on the other hand is caring yet a bit weak especially for a main male lead. It all balances out well between the characters creating a lot of comedic moments as well as cute moments. Although for episode two and episode three, the majority of the emphasis is put on Skuld and Urd instead of Belldandy and Keiichi and it is very interesting to see a different side of these two characters. Since Skuld is one of my favorite characters, I adored these two episodes a lot.

Enjoyment
Episode one is simply just a recap so there really isn’t much enjoyment there. The commentary between Belldandy and Keiichi is mediocre as well. Rating solely on this episode, I’d give it a 6. Episode two and three though are much more fun simply because they are unique in comparison to episodes from the series. They are each very light hearted which explore vastly different situations and scenarios than the series. Both were very cute maybe even a little sad but nevertheless quite enjoyable. If I were to rate solely on these two episodes I’d probably give it a 9. All in all the enjoy-ability of these two episodes should be equivalent to the enjoy-ability from the entire series.

Conclusion
The first episode can pretty much be skipped, it doesn’t do anything constructive with the story or even the characters. It’s only purpose would be if you had forgotten what had happened in the first twelve episodes. If you enjoyed the series, the other two episodes should definitely be watched. You can expect a very similar experience with these two episodes as you did with the majority of the Ah! My Goddess TV Series. If you like Skuld and or Urd then this is a must see! If you simply enjoyed the TV Series I would highly recommend this. Similarly if you disliked the TV Series then you might as well not waste your time because these two episodes fit in perfectly as episode 25 and episode 26. read more

The specials with the Ah! My Goddess series ^.^

Story: The stories were very silly and had no real point to the series itself but were still very entertaining to watch. It was also nice to see Urd and Skuld as main roles instead of Belldandy all the time.

Art: The same art from the series but it seemed to have improved a bit. Good job :)

Sound: The opening theme XD The voice cast also were up to my standards as they were throughoutt he main series.

Character: Very good! The characters of Urd and Skuld are more developed and you get an even better feel for them. :)

Enjoyment: Kinda bored in the final special but overall I really liked it.

Overall: I highly recommend watching these if you have seen the Ah! My Goddess series. read more