Ah! My Goddess

A Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Kōsuke Fujishima. It premiered in the November 1988 issue of Afternoon where it is still being serialized. Every few months, the most recent chapters are published in tankōbon volumes by Kodansha (45 exist as of December 1, 2012). The series centers on the relationship between college sophomore Keiichi Morisato and the goddess Belldandy. As the manga's popularity increased, a five-episode original video animation (OVA) was made based on it. With the OVA's success, the stage was set for two TV series and a film to follow.

Plot
Keiichi Morisato is a good-natured, yet hapless and girlfriend-less college sophomore who is often imposed upon by his elder dorm-mates and brow-beaten into taking phone messages and doing other chores for them. One day, while alone in his dorm, he accidentally calls the Goddess Technical Help Line and a beautiful goddess named Belldandy materializes in his room. She tells him that her agency has received a system request from him, so she has been sent to grant him a single wish. Skeptical and thinking someone is playing a practical joke on him, he wishes that she stay with him forever. To his surprise, his wish is granted. Belldandy must stay with him, but as his dormitory is strictly male-only, they are both forced onto the street. They set off on his motorcycle to find alternative shelter, eventually seeking cover in an old Buddhist temple. In the morning, they are greeted by the temple's sole inhabitant, a young monk, who welcomes them and gives them permission to stay until they can find permanent lodging. He immediately puts them to work maintaining the temple grounds, but when he sees Belldandy use her powers to save Keiichi from injury, he begins to fear that she may be a demon or sorceress. He is eventually convinced of Belldandy's intrinsic goodness when he witnesses her solicitous care of the temple premises and her perfect meditation ritual. When he decides to go on a pilgrimage to India, the priest gives the couple permission to remain in the temple so long as they continue to maintain it.

Production
Oh My Goddess! saw another TV iteration under the name Ah! My Goddess in 2005. The episodes, which followed the manga closely, were directed by Hiroaki Gōda, animated by Anime International Company, and produced by Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS). The season began in Japan, on TBS, on January 6, 2005, and ended on July 7, 2005. Bandai Visual released the episodes in Japan between April and November 2005, as eight DVD compilations each containing three episodes. The two original video animations (OVAs), which had not been broadcast, were released on a special DVD on December 23, 2005. The series was licensed for a Region 1 release by Media Blasters. Six DVD compilations, containing all twenty-six episodes, were released between September 2005 and July 2006. Each DVD contained four episodes, excluding the first two, which contained five each. A premium complete season box set was released on November 7, 2006; the regular set followed on November 27, 2007. MVM Films distributed the series in the United Kingdom, with the individual volumes released between February and December 2007 in six similar DVD compilations. The box set followed in July 2008. Media Blasters confirmed on Facebook that the license to Ah! My Goddess has been expired, leaving the series out-of-print. The success of the first season inspired a second season titled Ah! My Goddess: Everyone Has Wings, released as Ah! My Goddess: Flights of Fancy in North America. Also directed by Hiroaki Gōda, animated by Anime International Company, and produced by Tokyo Broadcasting System, the series covered the adventures of Keiichi and Belldandy in the aftermath of the Lord of Terror fiasco. It premiered on TBS on April 6, 2006 and concluded on September 14, 2006, picking up the story from where the series left off in season one. Season two concluded with episode 22, although the Japanese and North American DVD releases include episodes 23 and 24. It was released to DVD in Japan between July 2006 and February 2007 by Bandai Visual. Media Blasters, who released the first season, passed up on this season and it was licensed to ADV Films instead.[61] ADV Films released the season on six DVD compilations, each containing four episodes, between May 2007 and March 2008. The rights were then transferred to Funimation Entertainment, who released a box set on November 25, 2008. In 2007, Ah! My Goddess: Fighting Wings, a two-episode special to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the original publication of Oh My Goddess!, was released.It was directed by Hiroaki Gōda, animated by Anime International Company, and produced by Tokyo Broadcasting System. The episodes aired on December 8, 2007 and Bandai Visual released the episodes on a single DVD in Japan on February 22, 2008. The episodes have not been licensed for a Region 1 release. TBS announced in March 2010 that it was producing a brand new 7-minute OVA for release only with a repackaged and redesigned boxed set for Season 1. Currently, no plans exist for licensing that special OVA episode. The OVA was the first new anime production since "Fighting Wings" was produced for the 20th anniversary of the manga series. On February 23, 2011, Kodansha released the first OAV for the anime series, bundled with volume 42 of the manga series. Volume 42 of the tankouban series would be released in two versions, in a standard version without the OAV and a limited edition release that would contain the OAV. Kodansha produced a second OAV for the anime series. Volume 43 of the tankouban series includes this OAV for the anime series, and that it was be bundled with the manga release on September 23, 2011. A third OAV is going to be released in the summer of 2013 bundled together with the 46th Manga release.

To learn more about Ah! My Goddess, visit: [http://ohmygoddess.wikia.com/wiki/Oh_My_Goddess| Ah! My Goddess Wiki]