LaBranche Ah! My Goddess

Hello everybody! Welcome to yet another week of my anime blog! As usual, I got a good one for yall! This week we will be talking about Ah! My Goddess, or Oh, My Goddess! To-may-to, to-mah-to, whatever you prefer. We are actually going to be talking about the movie, not the series, just so we are all clear with that.

Now, seeing as how I haven't watched a single episode of the series before watching this series, I think that it is no surprise that I was a tad bit lost at the beginning of the movie. Like, who or what the hell is this?

Looks cute, but I don't even know...

Yeah, I really don't know. 

Nevertheless, I was able to put some pieces together. It took me a little bit, but I eventually figured out that Belldandy and Keiichi were in a relationship. I also figured out that Belldandy was a goddess. Yeah.

I can also tell that this show probably has a comedic element too. I was laughing pretty loudly during the scene where Megumi and Sora are drunk. Really. Loudly. 

Hilarity.

Now, in all seriousness, there are some interesting points that I feel I should bring up. For one, a theme similar to that which we discussed in Princess Mononoke: women and power. I noticed, at least from what I gathered from the movie, that women pretty much have all of the power in Heaven, with the exception of the major head honcho, which I'm assuming is God, and also a male. He is only a floating voice, and only makes an "appearance" (he is never actually seen) in a very small part in the movie. Other than that, the females make all of the big decisions in the movie.

Also, true to Japanese culture, and apparent in most anime, the lines between good and evil are not at all clear or defined. The antagonist, Celestin, is the perfect example of this. His intentions are good-hearted; he wants to end all suffering and hurt in the world. How he plans on carrying out these ideals are questionable though. He erases Belldandy's memories of Keiichi, and uses her. And in order for all suffering to end, a new Earth would have to be created, consequently destroying the current Earth. Of course, this never happens. 

I also find it interesting that all of the protagonists are fighting to keep a world essentially where suffering is everywhere. You would think that they would also want suffering in the world to end, but I guess this movie teaches that suffering is an essential part of living.