Oh My Goddess is a 5 part subtitled OAV based on one of my favorite manga series. Like the manga created by Kosuke Fujishima, the video is a goodnatured love story. (Granted, it's old-fashioned in spots and weird in others.) The strength of the series comes from the loving characterizations. The gentle and sweet Belldandy, her bossy and saucy sister Urd, the precocious, inventive Skuld and - especially- shy, bashful Keiichi - are sketched in such detail that we can easily imagine them as being real people. Oh My Goddess is refreshing, especially after seeing one too many "epic" anime series.
The plot of Oh My Goddess is *very* loosely based on Fujishima's manga. This is still a strange melange of Norse Mythology, teen romance, and Urusei Yatsura - but unlike the manga, the emphasis is less on set pieces than on telling an extended story. Most volumes of the OAV can stand on their own, but are best watched in sequence. Given that the OAV is so story-driven, it would be unfair to ruin any of the details for the viewer. Nevertheless, long-time fans of the manga series can rest assured that characterization remains constant and that the OAV stays faithful in spirit to the manga. I've read a lot of Dark Horse's high quality reprintings of Oh My Goddess and believe that the relationship between the moods of the Oh My Goddess OAV and manga series is stronger than that of any other OAV and manga series. It's a treat to see the characters come to life onscreen, and each are introduced in an unforgettable manner. Even though much of the manga is drastically rewritten to tell a succinct story, the mood of the manga is retained throughout. And, happily, Fujishima's character designs were not overly simplified for the OAV.
No OAV is perfect. While Oh My Goddess' animation itself is standard Japanese quality, AnimEigo's subtitling leaves a lot to be desired. The lettering was so tiny and was flashed so quickly, for a while I wasn't sure if I was watching a legitimate release or a fansub. The running time for each of the OAV episodes is under 40 minutes, yet the episodes are only available singly - a very poor bargain, even given the gorgeous cover art. AnimEigo could have released two episodes on one tape and three on another. These flaws are not the fault of the original Oh My Goddess production, but detract from enjoyment of the OAV in English.
While the many minor differences between the manga and the anime are worthy of an essay in their own right, one detail should be highlighted. Despite the back cover of Dark Horse's *1-555-Goddess* compilation and the claims of some fanpages, in neither the manga nor the OAV does Keiichi misdial a pizza delivery number. I have no idea how this misinformation got started; perhaps it's a bug that Belldandy's sisters should try to eliminate?
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