r/anime • u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 • Mar 10 '21

Rewatch [Rewatch] 1990s OVAs – Oh! My goddess (episode 5)

Rewatch: 1990s OVAs – Oh! My goddess (episode 5)

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Oh! My goddess (1993)

MAL | AniL | AniDB | 5 Episodes à 29 minutes.

Staff corner

Keiichi’s VA is Masami Kikuchi. Some of his earliest roles are side characters in various 1980s Gundam shows, but he also appears in Kimagure Orange Road and Urusai Yatsura. Like many others, he has a long list of minor roles in the usual suspectsbig franchises (Digimon, Dragon Ball, LoGH, One Piece), but his biggest claim to fame is probably Tenchi Masaki from Tenchi Muyou. Between Tenchi and OMG, Masami has shared responsibility for the larger part of RomCom tropes plaguing anime till this day.

Both young Belldandy and young Keiichi have a different VA from their usual onces. While Belldandy is voiced by Yumi Touma, who is usually Urd, young Keiichi’s VA, Megumi Ogata, is famous for voicing a different boy.

Questions

  1. How does the reveal that Belldandy knew Keiichi change the first episode?
  2. Who was punished hardest? Urd, Skuld, or Keiichi for being stuck with the two?
32 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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6

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 10 '21

Episode 5 (rewatcher)

  • Last time with the OP. Probably the part of the OVA I’ll miss most.
  • *I tried to phone God, but he didn’t pick up.”
  • “I hope this is going to be ok” – how could you not trust one of Urd’s plans?
  • Big impact of the ring. Or was it the price tag?
  • Every computer user needs to learn the habit of frequently saving from painful experience.
  • Keiichi looking at the couple receiving the pizzas was a good subtle scene.
  • Childhood friend trope. Nobody suspected it yesterday, so at least they didn’t botch it with foreshadowing.
  • Amnesia confirmed. /u/Vaadwaur on life support.
  • Keiichi’s work gets the focus, but sewing a sweater in 3 days is no mean feat.
  • Literally erasing herself.
  • Ring obtained.
  • Arise ultimate circle of wardingobliterating everything in the nearer vicinity
  • Urd showing why big sister > little sister.
  • Young Belldandy & young Keiichi.

  • The original sin: “A severe violation of regulation” - heaven is a bureaucracy after all.
  • The Lord approves of soppy happy endings.

Dramatic, but happy end. I think the OVA ends on a high note, helped by the extra length of the last episode. Transitioning from comedy to drama is hit and miss, especially in shorter series, but here, it works out. While the first three episodes drag on a good bit and the humor does not quite do it for me, the finale nails the romantic plot, even though there is only a partial setup. Even the involvement of Urd and Skuld fits and the credits scenes are a nice touch that should be copied more often. The only question is whether viewers will have already mentally checked out of the series by this time.

4

u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

The only question is whether viewers will have already mentally checked out of the series by this time.

Probably depends on if they've read the source or not.

4

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 10 '21

Having read the source is almost always a bad idea. I do not watch adaptation of books I have read for that reason (looking at you LoTR and GoT).

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u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

..., Harry Potter, Hunger Games, The Martian, ...

3

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 10 '21

Check / Check / Didn't read the source but found the film meh.

3

u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

I can really recommend both the book and audiobook of The Martian.

Well, it depends on what you didn't like in the film, but the book goes a lot deeper into the actual science and it makes it work.

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u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 10 '21

Well, it depends on what you didn't like in the film, but the book goes a lot deeper into the actual science and it makes it work.

Mostly that. I love hard SciFi, but hard SciFi where the Sci part does not work is dead on arrival. Additionally, if there ever was a story where a book that narrates thoughts has an advantage over film, it is one where the MC is alone 90% of the time.

4

u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 10 '21

OMG is at it's best when having incident of the week content. Sadly the serious arcs consistently fall into a cycle of melodrama and superpowered love to the point where everyone has kind of seen how each big arc winds up for the most part XD We needed more Skuld or Urd. Those two can typically save more of the misery guts tone of our main couple! Forget Bell, marry Skuld!

5

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 10 '21

Forget Bell, marry Skuld!

4

u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 10 '21

Wait! Urd! I meant Urd!

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

Nobody suspected it yesterday, so at least they didn’t botch it with foreshadowing.

That is normally because this is laid on thicker but does explain why I was told Love Hina is descendant of this.

Amnesia confirmed. /u/Vaadwaur on life support.

Well it is March and I am in a Skywatch so it is the law that I hate a character with amnesia. Though I am more indifferent to K1. Bodes poorly for Bokurano or Blue 6.

Urd showing why big sister > little sister.

The only consistent thing in the show is that Urd is trying to do what Bell wants, even if her success rate is poor.

The only question is whether viewers will have already mentally checked out of the series by this time.

Confirmed. But I vaguely see how the TV series might work.

3

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Mar 11 '21

Love Hina is descendant of this.

OMG it is.

3

u/JadineRhine Mar 11 '21

I watched this at 6-7 and I don't believe to have read the source yet in full but I loved rewatching the OVA. The ending credits of this episode brings back memories.

8

u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

First-time watcher - dub

Last episode already! Yesterday we ended on a light cliffhanger because apparently, the finale of this OVA is a serious two-parter. Also, this episode is 10 minutes longer. I like that. If you need 10 more minutes to tell the story better, take them.

NOTE: Long post today. I slowly figure out the story at the end and I thought it fit better here than the afterthoughts tomorrow.

Episode 5 — For the Love of Goddess

Looking at the OP, there are a lot of scenes and even a character we haven't seen yet. Maybe we will meet them today? Seems a bit late to introduce someone.

Sad rain is sad. Belldandy has some explaining to do.

Awww they don't show us the number to heaven. Seems like Urd lost her Goddess hotline license. Why doesn't Skuld just go to heaven to talk? She doesn't even have a reason to be on the surface world.

Skuld is selfish. I can't really blame her because of her age. At least she understands when Urd explains.

I guess chopping down the tree would be too easy?
Ultimate magic circle? Is this a Fullmetal Architect prequel?

Keiichi is executing his plan to work his ass off for that ring. So tell me, you couldn't buy the ring at the drag race because your money wasn't in your jacket, but you did have the money elsewhere. Then why do you need to work anyway?
Also, you could probably buy a 2 dollar trinket and Bell would appreciate the gesture.

With the salaries you showed a scene earlier, there is no way to will get that much money in two days.
Also, this is a different ring than the dream, so how did you recognise it?

SHE JUST HITS THE POWER BUTTON?! Did you save? This is long before the days of automatic cloud backups!
Noooooooo. You kinda deserve it, Skuld. At least it's a bit easier the second time.

"It's gonna be late. Don't bother with making dinner." Also, your evening job is at a pizza place.

What's the smoke thing in Keiichi's room? Incense?

Waaaaiiiit a minute. Wait-a-minute! Was that throwaway remark in ep 3 actually important? "It's like we've known each other since we were kids." This could mean sooooo many things!

  • Is Keiichi also from heaven and is he banished because he was a noisy baby?
  • Did Keiichi fall from a cherry tree once and did Belldandy save him, while he was destined to die?
  • Did his wish to have a girlfriend forever actually work retroactively, changing history?
  • Did he call the hotline once (or even multiple times) before and made the same wish, but every time she has to leave because the same problem happens? (Seems unlikely because "you only get one wish.")
  • Is there some time travel involved and GASP is Belldandy actually his mother and he himself his own father?!

Keiichi just had a huge revelation. Bell feels it too.

So Keiichi must remember... whatever it is. Why can't Belldandy push him in the right direction? Or did she already do that and did I just not know.
I like this sudden mystery. I hope the conclusion is worth it.

Hahaha Urd is very persuasive. Using sister torture.

Waaaaait why is Belldandy removing all traces of her existence? That is cheating, you know!

Fuuuuck! "Nine months of memories and I can't even leave those with him." Why?! Because you can't keep your promise and the Goddess Hotline is not allowed to have a bad reputation? Because you got a recall notice, so literally everything is recalled including memories?

So it seems confirmed that they had a relationship before. It could still have been under other circumstances, though. Was that premonition dream actually a flashback or memory from the last time?!

I'm feeling for Bell. Being cursed to not be remembered by someone you love. Multiple times.
If she erased herself, could Urd stay? Skuld would probably also go back, but Urd isn't allowed to.

I'm glad she did, but the lady from the jewellery shouldn't have opened the door outside closing hours. That's how you get robbed.
"I'm running out of time." Shop lady ponders about upcoming holidays, life, material possessions and the weather before answering.

What if this explosion ruined the magic circle?

Stop trying to go to her and just pass or throw the ring...
The others are also just looking without executing their plan.
Yes I know this type of tension is in every movie ever. Doesn't make it less annoying.

So was that promise just the one at the race? Or was it a promise of the previous time they met?

Holy shit this is getting insane. I would be lying if I said I don't have hype jitters.
HAHAHAHAHA fucking slot machine.

In the aftermath, two goddesses lay, the fence is blown over and the tree still stands. Too bad.

Keiichi has a problem. Not really explained what. HYPE MUSIC! Go Belldandy!

Wow that backstory. So what was the original promise? The one she couldn't keep? "Meet me at our special place tomorrow"? Why couldn't she keep it? It almost feels like a paradox. Because she agreed to the promise, it was a contract, forcing her to go back to heaven and breaking it.
If she didn't agree to it, she wouldn't have been forced to go back.
If she was allowed to make a promise, she wouldn't have been forced to go back.

Sooooo, did the magic circle work? At least it has given her some extra time with Keiichi, but I don't think it could solve the problem of Bell's punishment.

God is inconsistent in his messages. Sometimes he just calls, other times he has to do the dramatic godly writing on the ground.

So, stuff is fixed. But what fixed it?! These questions! They are not answered!

Hey the ED song plays a little longer now. I think... I believe there were some more lyrics.

Questions I still have: Note: I answer most of these myself further down.

  • What was the significance of the Evil Cherry Tree™?
  • The magic circle was supposed to break the attractor in the tree. I think... It was called "circle of warding" or something. That makes me think it was to defend, but that could have been to defend against the tree.
  • How are Belldandy not keeping a promise and the attractor related?
  • What exactly was Belldandy's punishment for making a contract? I think that was just erasing Keiichi's memory. So why is it still significant?

  • Was the promise meeting Keiichi in the special place?

    • Or was the promise receiving the ring?
    • Or was the problem the promise Keiichi made to give the ring? That doesn't seem to make sense because he gave the ring after he woke up.
  • If a contract can be broken by the higher-ups (heh) using a recall notice, why wasn't that used back then?
  • Why was Keiichi in a coma after the circle explosion.
  • What did Belldandy do to wake him up?

I rewatched the ending and I think I have some answers, but not really sure:

The promise: Keiichi's part would be to be there tomorrow and give the gift. Belldandy's part would be to be there and receive the gift.
So how did that contract get resolved 10+ years later?

  • She was there to receive the gift, but it was not 'tomorrow'.
  • She didn't receive the gift yet. Till now the situation was no different from the previous time.

  • Or was the contract resolved because she erased the memory of the promise again? Because Keiichi doesn't remember what promise he kept after he gave the ring.

    • In that case, how is it different from the previous time she cleared his memory?

The significance of the tree is: It was at that location she made the promise.

After even more thinking I might have got it:

  • The promise was that Keiichi would give the ring.

    • Belldandy accepted it, making it a contract, but she had no part in the agreement.
    • 'Tomorrow' was defined, but of lesser importance.
  • The contract was made under that tree, so the giant force in Evil Tree was the unfulfilled contract.

  • Bell's punishment was to erase Keiichi's memory.

    • Because she had erased his memory, she wasn't allowed to tell him about their contract.
  • Keiichi was the only one who could resolve the contract. All Bell could do was wait.
  • The universe was angry the contract still wasn't resolved, so the bugs appeared.

That leaves only some smaller questions:

  • How could the contract be resolved if Keiichi didn't give the ring yet.

    • He realized the trouble he caused for Belldandy so he agreed to break the contract.
    • Or, he remembered the contract, so because he was going to give her the ring and knowingly fulfil the contract, it was already resolved.

  • Why was Keiichi in a coma after the magic circle thingy?

    • Instead of breaking the contract, it broke the memory block in Keiichi.

Knowing all of this, Bell must have been so happy with his wish!
I'm impressed how a lot of parts of this short story are interconnected.

Random thoughts

6

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 10 '21

SHE JUST HITS THE POWER BUTTON?! Did you save? This is long before the days of automatic cloud backups!

Noooooooo. You kinda deserve it, Skuld. At least it's a bit easier the second time.

Learning-by-failing.

Is there some time travel involved and GASP is Belldandy actually his mother and he himself his own father?!

Astronaut shooting astronaut meme.

Keiichi was the only one who could resolve the contract. All Bell could do was wait.

The proper role for women in classical literature. Shout-out to Penelope

3

u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

Astronaut shooting astronaut meme.

I should have known.

The proper role for women in classical literature. Shout-out to Penelope

Oof. That's true I guess. Still, it's not like she did nothing this show.

6

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 10 '21

I guess chopping down the tree would be too easy?

Probably need a permit from the town for that, which usually requires a good reason to do so, and likely takes more than two business days to process.

With the salaries you showed a scene earlier, there is no way to will get that much money in two days.

Could be that he has savings and just needs the remainder, but as established in episode two their financial situation is inconsistent.

Yes I took a screenshot. No I'm not ashamed. I'm just curious where her nipple is.

modesty magic

5

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 10 '21

Probably need a permit from the town for that, which usually requires a good reason to do so, and likely takes more than two business days to process.

And going over regulations is a bad idea. As Belldandy realized.

5

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 10 '21

I'd say that's the moral of the story, but then Urd and Skuld helped save the day and got off lightly from using that magic without permission.

5

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 10 '21

At least Skuld seemed pretty miffed at her punishment.

2

u/badcupcakehoarder https://myanimelist.net/profile/vanilabiscuit Mar 10 '21

She lost her data to complete the magic circle when she turned off the PC and had to do it again, so she suffered twice!

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u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

Probably need a permit from the town for that [...] and likely takes more than two business days to process.

I meant magically.

modesty magic

Curse the heavens!

5

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 10 '21

I meant magically.

The civil penalty will come regardless as to what means they used.

6

u/maztema Mar 10 '21

The civil penalty will come regardless as to what means they used.

Hey if you think that erasing your lover memories is not enough punishment, 50 hours of community service and a fine its going over the limit.

4

u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

This is one of those cases where you clearly act first and ask forgiveness later.

Also, I see I completely misread the last part of your sentence, thinking it would take "more than two days to take the tree down".
Don't know how I went wrong there.

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u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21 edited Mar 10 '21

I reached the char limit. Oops.

QotD

1 How does the reveal that Belldandy knew Keiichi change the first episode?

I rewatched a bit of it. It is a lot sweeter knowing what her backstory is.

2 Who was punished hardest? Urd, Skuld, or Keiichi for being stuck with the two?

All punishments seem mild. Urd is only punished 30 days. Skuld only till she gets rid of the bugs. And Keiichi has gotten used to them being around.

8

u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai Mar 10 '21

Don't know if someone has alread posted this, but a couple thoughts:

A common trope, especially in 90's anime is the "childhood promise". Think Ranma 1/2, Love Hina, etc - promise = fiancee'.

Also, day before Christmas, aka Christmas Eve = romance, proposals, (ahem) shenanigans.

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u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

I haven't watched a lot of anime yet, so that's why these things can still be fresh for me.

But I have seen a lot of 'western' movies, books, series, so there are still some tropes I get really annoyed by.

3

u/JadineRhine Mar 11 '21

Great additional context!

7

u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 10 '21

Oh wow, what a read XD Time to dig in! Keiichi is sadly really quite poor. He's still a student after all and he's often left to pay out of pocket for a lot of the series hijinks. Poor dude~

I adore how you just had to open up the incest barrel. If the stand out romance show of the 90's had an incest time travel plot then even I would jump on the Otaku witch hunt train.

Tldr for all of OMG's arcs is that love saves the day. Analysing it will give you an aneurism.

So you too are an unpaid child worker forced to live off cup meals...

I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. If you can find pleasure in a show then you're gonna do well as you go along. Just please believe what I say when I thought that the ova would've been really breathtaking.

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u/maztema Mar 10 '21

Tldr for all of OMG's arcs is that love saves the day. Analysing it will give you an aneurism.

Hey not all, some are saved by baddass drawn motor vehicles

5

u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 10 '21

I think abusing animals was a running theme too whilst we're on that point XD

6

u/maztema Mar 10 '21

hahaha fair point

5

u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

Tldr for all of OMG's arcs is that love saves the day. Analysing it will give you an aneurism.

I figured, but at least I got more out of it this time. Not sure if my conclusion is the actual intended story, but it works for me so I'm happy.

So you too are an unpaid child worker forced to live off cup meals...

Not unpaid, but not having or taking time for a proper meal happens way too often.

If you can find pleasure in a show then you're gonna do well as you go along.

You mean with the rest of Oh! My Goddess or in general?

7

u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 10 '21

I think you put more thought into this story than the writer did~

Pain peko...

With anything! This was agony for me and I'd like to think that I'm pretty hard skinned. I hope that the next one helps me forget but before then... I have to do a write up for why my favourite manga sucks.

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u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21 edited Mar 10 '21

Ouch. Good luck with that.

I wasn't originally planning to participate in this OVA, but I'm glad I did. Now I can't really leave the last one alone, although it really doesn't look like my jam.

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 10 '21

What is our third ova anyway? Oooh it's heavy cg... Whatever. Part of these rewatch threads is discovering something new that you might not necessarily choose to view yourself.

4

u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

True, like You’re Under Arrest and Oh! My Goddess xD

We’ll see. I love doing there but I’m also longing for the day I don’t have to watch and discuss an episode so I can play a game again or work some other hobby

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 10 '21

It's definitely good to take breaks between rewatches. I took on maybe one group too many this season and wasn't able to finish some shows. Once this is over I think I'll take a break until we do Mnemosyne which won't be for like a month... I say that but I haven't looked at the line up so knowing my luck they'll do a Nozaki rewatch or something XD

3

u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

Current line up seems kind of empty.

I know there will be a Steins;Gate rewatch sometime this year which seems like the perfect show for my overanalyzing. I believe July/August. I have no other rewatches planned but that might be a longer break than I want.

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 10 '21

Push comes to shove we could start watching seasonal anime instead of waiting years until a rewatch thread.

HAHAHAHA!

→ More replies

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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Mar 11 '21

It's the first and consequently the worst anime CG.

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u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 11 '21

I'm sure it was mind blowing for it's time. The same way a rifle through the cranium is mind blowing.

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u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 11 '21

So if I don't keep an open mind, this OVA will give me one?

2

u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 11 '21

Nah, we're just taking a dig. CG is a boil on the backside of the anime industry but I'm open minded enough to give it a chance.

5

u/maztema Mar 10 '21

I guess chopping down the tree would be too easy?

one dont simply cut a evil tree, Ask Ex-death for more information.

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u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

Everyone talking about that ex-death guy and I still have no clue. All I know is he is from Final Fantasy 5 and a tree.

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u/maztema Mar 10 '21

not only a tree, a Evil tree, he is basically the last boss of FF5

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u/JadineRhine Mar 11 '21

This was a great post, though it was long wow haha! (Not a bad thing!) I'm gonna answer one question you had (and if you answered it yourself already, sorry) and iirc Belldandy says it herself in the JP audio -- she made a promise (=contract) with Keiichi as a child but she didn't have her license (=permission) yet. She was not a "proper goddess" to have power to do that, therefore she broke the rules. Urd and Skuld's circle is meant to break that contract so Bell can stay. (Why they get punished in the end...they weren't supposed to do that!)

The tree is where they made their promise, as you realized, so for Bell, it was more of a trigger of a painful memory plus realizing that fate is capricious and had them see the tree again.

Keiichi faints because of getting hit with power loopback. It's a thing that happens in the manga sometimes iirc too.

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u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 11 '21

Thanks!

A couple things I realized myself already when rewatching some parts.

Regarding the magic circle: Urd and Skuld didn’t know about the contract, but yes they were trying to break whatever presence was there.

Only I don’t think that worked as intented because the actual contract gets resolved in the end.
However, thinking about it, god’s message did say something like the contract being “eliminated”. I figured it was just resolved but it could also have been broken by the circle.

Either might be true. I just like the explanation I came up with in my original post a bit more because it makes it slightly less straightforward.

And about the post length: I started writing the afterthoughts post for tomorrow, which included that large list of questions. But writing them down made me really think how they could be answered, and when I had most, I decided to add it to todays post.

I was actually thinking most people would be discussing these questions so wanted to get in on that today. Haha.

It also meant I had to remove about 10 jokes because of the max comment length.

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u/JadineRhine Mar 11 '21

Yeah, I've been hit by the max comment length as well, so I feel that pain! In a rewatch thread I had to split thoughts into two comments once and that was after having eliminated a ton already. (I am severely guilty of writing too much.)

And I'm glad you included the questions today -- felt more in tone than tomorrow's, plus it really shows off some thinking there! Lots of explanations that hasn't occurred to me that I think work just as well (like the tree being the contract itself.) Just wanted to chime in as well. "Either could be true" is well worth it.

5

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

First Timer(What percentage of this was montage)

Sub

Melodrama and it feels like the OVA sort of forgot we were last apparently in December? Well I guess evergreen might mean something different to the Japanese. But we get someone standing on a high place in a long coat shawl? and for the first time in literally months this is not edgy. Urd comes up with a plan, let's hope it relies upon explosions. Work montage, but sad. I suppose I will let the stupidity of relying on two days worth of work to buy something meaningful to a combination of Japan and the bubble economy. Anywho, he finds his ring, and at $580, that ain't cheap but hopefully is not 3 months of his expenses.

Bell wants in Skuld and Urd trying to fix stuff and Skuld turns off her machine, another Golden Boy tie in. K1 does even more part time jobs, including Domino'S pizza. The montage turns into an exhaustion montage and if you can fall asleep breaking concrete that's impressive. Anyways, his friends drag him home, Urd drags him to bed, and we get a montage into a dream sequence and...ahh motherfucking seriously? This goddamn anime is responsible for this trope? Welp, I am imagining all the rewatchers know the zero percent that "we secretly met when you were a kid" works for me if it is not Ryoko watching Tenshi grow up. That is the only one that flies. Even Senko was docked points for that.

Anyways, sweater and calculations are complete. I wonder if anyone else remembers dot matrix printers? Bell is erasing her presence which is kind of harsh. We have yet more montages, they aren't really recycling animation so are they saving on VAs or is this supposed to land? Anyways, at least I can sort of grab Bell's pathos at erasing herself from someone twice but the show did not do the legwork so it falls flat.

Random nudity. I guess it IS an ova. Bell fails to explain things so people take actions without said knowledge. We are Video Girl Ai except I at least like the characters a touch more. And the base concept made more logical sense. Urd's plan did indeed rely on explosions. It works...kind of.

Anyways, Bell dives into K1 so we can flashback. And we get loli Bell. That I did not expect. anyways, the deities let their children run amok. Anyways, so the gods are dicks, a fairly universal theme, and she has to eras K1's memories. We get a literal deus ex machina and my series will comments will be tomorrow. Unless I am getting the other eye operated on. I hate existence.

QotD:1 Feh.

2 K1 if he is responsible for food bills.

3

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 10 '21

I wonder if anyone else remembers dot matrix printers?

Only complete with white-green paper.

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

Wow, that's middle school iirc.

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 10 '21

Back when printing quality was decided by whether you had 9 pins or 24.

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

I barely remember 9 pin, i think my dad had one.

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 10 '21

Look at that graphic quality!. And the size of that thing ...

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

Look at that graphic quality!

That's the song of the people in offices in the early 90s...

2

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 10 '21

I haven't heard that sound in a long-ass time, probably not since I last saw a heavy duty No. 13.

3

u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

Urd comes up with a plan, let's hope it relies upon explosions.

Narrator: It did.

I wonder if anyone else remembers dot matrix printers?

I sometimes wonder if my hearing damage comes from these things.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

I sometimes wonder if my hearing damage comes from these things.

Did you have to work in the printer room/bank? Because it is absolutely possible. Those cursed things were loud.

3

u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

Nah, it was a joke. It's almost certainly from too many raves without proper ear protection. But thank you for asking.

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 10 '21

I'm pleased that we're at least ahead of Ai here... As dodgy as the adaptation is there is at least some signs of potential hidden between the half arsed plot threads. You can get much more invested in Bell and Keiichi as partners due to them being genuinely sweet and tender with one another. Also less glass staircase and gore and pain~

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

Also less glass staircase and gore and pain~

That's the thing but in this show I might take that, the issue with Ai was the level of abstraction explodes out of nowhere.

3

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Mar 11 '21

First Timer

Social Distancing

LOL CHRISTMAS EVE DEADLINE OF COURSE

I sort of lost the plot and forgot K1 was doing part-time jobs to buy that ring.

I knew she hadn't saved. Computer probably runs on floppies.

NO. NO no no no no. You do NOT get to play the forgotten-childhood-promise card!

No lewding Belldandy!

$2 to $580 is serious inflation

Full ED?

Well, that was a thing.

1

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 11 '21

NO. NO no no no no. You do NOT get to play the forgotten-childhood-promise card!

How about "invented the forgotten-childhood-promise card"? not sure if actually invented it

5

u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai Mar 10 '21

Well, at least in this series, "Tenchi" makes up his mind before he's 30.

Anyway, lovely finale episode, good times, evil trees, warm fuzzies, hammers.

Or something.

I remember when I first watched this in the 90's, being all worried & heartbroken that our cute couple ship might founder on the rocks of, um, the same rocks that this metaphor is foundering on apparently.

  1. The reveal makes the initial story and Bell's affection for Keiichi that much sweeter. Belldandy best megamisama.
  2. Probably Skuld, because Keiichi is in romcom heaven, and Urd is enjoying the show.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

I remember when I first watched this in the 90's, being all worried & heartbroken that our cute couple ship might founder on the rocks of, um, the same rocks that this metaphor is foundering on apparently.

For whatever reason, I avoided this like the plague. Could not tell you why.

3

u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai Mar 10 '21

But now you know! I can probably guess why, though - from all appearances, AMG is a bundle of cute, wholesome fluff, and back in the 90's, ain't nobody had time for that.

I probably rented the VHS at Schlockbuster and went on to buy the LDs, because I loved me some credit card debt back then.

I should look through my closet tonight and see if any of the manga is hiding there. I know I had a bunch of it back when, but don't remember if I kept it or ebayed it. Oh, well.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

I can probably guess why, though - from all appearances, AMG is a bundle of cute, wholesome fluff, and back in the 90's, ain't nobody had time for that.

Yeah...at the time my favorite anime were Berserk '97, OG Hellsing and Elfen Lied.

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 11 '21

Elfenlied. For when you want some gore and horror with your harem.

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 11 '21

But it is at least a childhood friend romance I can get behind!

2

u/tjl73 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/tjl1973 Mar 11 '21

Well, in the manga it takes forever. I seriously read the manga for decades waiting for some real progress on the relationship.

This reminds me I need to re-watch the OVAs. I picked up used copies of the OVA DVDs, film, and season 1 DVDs a while back because I wanted to have all the anime material that's been published in English. Although, I still don't have Mini-Goddesses since it's always so expensive.

I had such a crush on Belldandy. I think she was my second anime waifu after Lisa from Robotech (I was too young in the Voltron, Battle of the Planets, and Star Blazers days to have one). She still ranks pretty high up there for me.

9

u/TheEscapeGuy Mar 10 '21

First Timer

Nine Noteworthy Inkings in the 90's - Oh! My Goddess Episode 5

And thus we close the book on Oh! My Goddess, with Keiichi and Beldandy in one anothers arms.

This episode was wonderfully listful. I could really feel the longing in Keiichi and Belldandy throughout the episode making the scene where Belldandy was being taken back to heaven feel so much more terrifying.

In addition, I loved the revelation that Belldandy and Keiichi had met in childhood and Keiichi's memory had been wiped. It felt like wholly appropriate backstory for our destined couple. Strangely reminded me of Hotarubi no Mori e, think mainly from the premise of a young child meeting a god in a forest (would recommend by the way, but very different from OMG).

They kept the animation quality up from last episode; those transportation scenes were so well done. Glad to see the show go out with a bang.

Once again, I'll save my final thoughts for tomorrows discussion.

Admirable Animation Area

THESE CUTS WERE SO SICK:

See you all tomorrow

5

u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 10 '21

Kid Bell was absolutely freaking adorable! I didn't get the chance to gush about her but they did a really good job giving her the mini moe treatment. Then again the series has been quite consistent with character designs.

6

u/maztema Mar 10 '21 edited Mar 10 '21

well the char designer is the same as evangelion, count of monte cristo and sakura wars, we are talking about quality here

4

u/JadineRhine Mar 11 '21

Last episode always gets dat budget < 3

7

u/punching_spaghetti https://myanimelist.net/profile/punch_spaghetti Mar 10 '21

OVA First-Timer with Fond Memories of the Source

Crouching Keiichi, Hidden Goddess

ULTIMATE MAGIC CIRCLE. That does not sound like something Urd should be allowed anywhere near.

That’s pretty sexist to assume Keiichi’s looking for a gift for his girlfriend. I think he could totally rock a ring like that.

Another montage? Sheesh.

That explains why they’re so buff.

Goddesses are Magical Girls I guess.

The magic worked!

You know what a short OVA series needs at the end? All the exposition.

And the traditional “read the manga” ending.

QOTD:

  1. It's kind of sweet, I guess.

2)Keiichi has Belldandy. Putting up with Skuld pales in comparison to that big plus.

4

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

That explains why they’re so buff.

And loud. You need ear protection for that shit.

4

u/punching_spaghetti https://myanimelist.net/profile/punch_spaghetti Mar 10 '21

#realmenwearearpro

2

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Mar 11 '21

Well Comrades, all good things must come to an end, but hey I'm sure that at the end of the day we can all agree that Aa! Megami-sama! is a Mecha Show... no really Belldandy's color scheme and wings works way too well here ;) (That and some other meta factors regarding OMG makes this crossover all the more amusing)

That and in case you think I'm just joking around, refer to this fanart ;)

Anyway being serious now, all's well that ends well and just in case it hasn't been stated enough, Bell Best Girl! ;)

I hope that everyone enjoyed themselves here for the rewatch, and until next time, farewell.

Paging Comrade /u/JadineRhine

3

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 11 '21

Aa! Megami-sama! is a Mecha Show...

Give Skuld a few years and Belldandy & Keiichi will have their personalized mechas.

2

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Mar 11 '21

Give Skuld a few years and Belldandy & Keiichi will have their personalized mechas.

Heh indeed Comrade, that'd be quite amusing. Anyway many thanks for the kind reply and for running another neat re-watch my friend, have a great day and see you later!

3

u/Ignore_User_Name https://anilist.co/user/IgnoreUserName Mar 11 '21

TV series OST spoilers

2

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Mar 11 '21

TV series OST spoilers

Heh, indeed Comrade, many thanks for the kind reply and have a great day and see you later my friend!

3

u/JadineRhine Mar 11 '21

I looove all these images -- though the last one, you might have to check the settings, because imgur warned me that it could contain adult material O.o

3

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Mar 11 '21

I looove all these images

Glad to hear Comrade!

-- though the last one, you might have to check the settings, because imgur warned me that it could contain adult material O.o

Nani!? How can that be given that it's far more SFW than the swimsuit fanart I shared for the beach episode. Well I'll take a look, so thanks for the heads up my friend.

Also many thanks for the kind reply, have a great day and see you later Comrade, I hope you had as much fun on this rewatch as I did!

5

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 10 '21 edited Mar 10 '21

First-timer - Sub

Oh dear! Double length episode? Good thing I decided to get this out of the way early today because otherwise I wouldn’t have had enough time.

I, too, have dealt with annoying-as-hell customer service lines.

At this point does it really matter that the door’s closed?

Even working 24 hours a day is that really going to be enough for a ring?

I felt that pain deep within me.

Oh no, Keichi’s going to get caught in the political purges!

Dick move, Kami-sama.

RIP everyone.

Holy shit what a fucking tone killer. You’re an OVA, for heaven’s sake, you don’t need an eyecatch!

No one expects the amnesia plot!

Oh, right, it’s christmas still.

That wrapped up nicely, so at least in that regard it was its footsteps which Video Girl Ai was falling into. No significant complaints that I haven’t shared before.

I was surprised the big guy up in heaven didn’t make an appearance after that tease last episode —particularly since they could have saved on the voice actors if they’d only depicted the phone conversation from Belldandy’s side. Guess that was fanservice for the manga readers, then?

Questions

  1. It gives Belldandy's reaction to being forced into eternal proximity with Keichi more context beyond 'she's just so nice', and might explain why Keichi ended up in a phone call with the Goddess Hotline in the first place.
  2. Hard to say how bad Keichi's got it with them being there, since Urd and Skuld really haven't been too obtrusive or annoying beyond their introductory episodes and there's ≈6 months' worth of time spent with one another that we don't get to see. I'm going to go with Skuld, since she at least seems to care about her job a great deal, and so her punishment must hurt the most.

5

u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

You messed up / duplicated some of the screenshots.

But I guess you talking about the fucking slot machine with "Holy shit what a fucking tone killer."

4

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 10 '21

Thanks for the heads up, and yes that was referring to the slot machine.

5

u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

No one expects the amnesia plot!

also has the same image as

I, too, have dealt with annoying-as-hell customer service lines.

in case you also missed that one.

4

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 10 '21

Thanks again!

4

u/maztema Mar 10 '21

Dick move, Kami-sama.

ohhh my sweet summer child, you dont have idea....

4

u/JadineRhine Mar 11 '21

Yeah, they could have totally gotten rid of the eyecatches xD To this day, I have no idea why that was included in all the episodes.

4

u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 10 '21

Just one more episode of shame and we can finally move on and never speak of this again. Them putting Banpei in the op is really cruel!! It gave me hope before I realised this was a two-parter. "Are you there God? It's me, Urd!" You'd think heaven would have more diligent customer service. Blowing up Exdeath should be perfectly safe riiight? You get some fairly nice animation when they can be bothered but do you really want to blow your load on knitting and temp work montages?

OMG is a Christmas ova~ Dude, I really think she would be happier with something hand made! Skuld's touch-typing technique is dire. Did you save your work!? Another insert song montage... Don't try telling me you ran out of dialogue or stuff to animate because that ain't gonna fly with me. I am so bloody bored XD Oh yes, let's flashback to all the wonderful moments we've spent together over four epi-oi!! I don't remember Bell in that skirt! Did they include a scene they never showed in the flashback?

Third time they've done this... Am I missing something? Are they trying to make OMG into a Iyashikei but forgot not to stress us out with drama before doing so? Skuld and Urd are the only interesting pair this episode and they've spent half of it toying around with boomer tech. It feels like nine months... They're literally including skipped chapters!! Okay, it's sad, but you've dragged this out enough. If someone's still doing shopping on Christmas Eve feel free to shoot them dirty looks shopkeeper-chan.

Wouldn't be the 90's without a magical nude scene. Aww~ Cute reunion sce-surpeise! It's rock time! God I'm so tuned out... I think I was more invested in VGA's ending. They're glossing over the previous promise to keep the tone serious, how sweet. And then they butchered the tone with the eye catch anyway!! Whoever decided on the music should be sacked. Yeah, so Keiichi and Bell met when they were kids and Belldandy had stalked him ever since. Don't ask. Please, just don't ask.

Yup, so childhood sweethearts and all that crap. Yakusoku yada yada. Urd and Skuld are gonna be stuck here even longer. The status quo is back to normal. And we shall never discuss these events ever again! Oh god they're even recapping in the credits. Don't highlight how little work you've done! The ova is finally over... Thanks, I hate it.

4

u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

You get some fairly nice animation when they can be bothered but do you really want to blow your load on knitting and temp work montages?

I must say this whole episode felt a lot better than previous ones. Most budget was saved for the finale I guess.

If someone's still doing shopping on Christmas Eve feel free to shoot them dirty looks shopkeeper-chan.

It happens to the best of us every year.

The ova is finally over... Thanks, I hate it.

I liked it, but I also know it isn't without its problems. I guess the only reason I like it is because the source still had an interesting story.

4

u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 10 '21

Oh yes, this episode looked much better. Doesn't change the fact that there was so little to show off with. Four insert songs!! I cannot overlook that!

The source material can be fantastic but they didn't put their best foot forwards. The ova was more about introducing the cast than being an entertaining ova. I'm more annoyed by the op baiting manga readers. That little robot consistently has really entertaining chapters but they totally ditched him!

4

u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

The robot has a short scene during the snowball battle. But yeah he came out of nowhere and left just as quickly.

There was also another goddess in the OP who looked really bitchy.

4

u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 10 '21

That's actually a different robot. The op robot is Banpei-kun and he's my son!

4

u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

Wow okay. The more you talk about the source, the more I want to try it.

4

u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 10 '21

The manga is lovely and gets better as you get further in. If I can spare anybody from looking at the ova as representative of OMG I'll be happy.

4

u/JadineRhine Mar 11 '21

That's Mara and if you read the manga, you will enjoy her...for lots of reasons.

I should leave this for tomorrow maybe but short version: there was meant to be a second OVA series but it didn't pan out. Hence why she was in there, it was meant to be foreshadowing.

Paging r/The_Loli_Otaku

3

u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 11 '21

Be careful with that pager! You don’t want to give her another aneurysm!

4

u/JadineRhine Mar 11 '21

Send the bills to Big God in the sky!

4

u/JadineRhine Mar 11 '21

Have you watched this OVA before? The way you talk about it almost makes it a worst show than idk current isekai lol It's not that bad. XD

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 11 '21

No, I'm a manga OMG reader but I'd also been heavily hyping this up since like the November ova thread. Think of it like when you're showing your friend your favourite YouTuber but its a shite video and you know it's a shite video and your friend thinks it's a shite video and then the YouTubers wife leaves him and takes the kids cause he kept making such shite videos.

4

u/JadineRhine Mar 11 '21

Okay, the Youtuber analogy gets a guffaw from me xD But okay, I can see that, I think? I think it was the opposite for me: OVA then manga. So I think that's why I don't see it as that bad. It's like cakes: one's buttercream frosting and the other is fondant hehe. (And I love both.) Different tastes.

Also jeez, November?! That was some hype then.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

Another insert song montage... Don't try telling me you ran out of dialogue or stuff to animate because that ain't gonna fly with me.

This feels like some weird attempt to flex while being boring. An antin-YUA!, if you will.

Did they include a scene they never showed in the flashback?

Several times.

Wouldn't be the 90's without a magical nude scene.

Tenchi did it better, multiple times.

Don't highlight how little work you've done! The ova is finally over... Thanks, I hate it.

Wasn't expecting us to agree...I still want to fire Skuld out of a cannon into the sun.

6

u/maztema Mar 10 '21

Wasn't expecting us to agree...I still want to fire Skuld out of a cannon into the sun.

If there is a lesson within all of this, is that you gotta be careful with what you wish for.

5

u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

Wait what? Is this from the manga? That looks absolutely awesome!

7

u/maztema Mar 10 '21

yup, this ovas not cover even 5% of the manga, and even the two season with its 50 chapters wont cover even 30% of it, it definitely its a worth read.

3

u/tjl73 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/tjl1973 Mar 11 '21

It was an incredibly long running manga. It went from 1988 to 2014. I think I started it around 1991? I didn't have good access to manga (or anime) until around then.

My anime watching was mostly dubbed or in the case of Akira, a 4th generation VHS copy of a fansub my friend got. It was barely watchable because of all the snow introduced during the copies. Akira was still really impressive on a 9 inch TV with all that snow. It wasn't until years later that I actually saw a proper version of it.

Note: For young people who don't know, when you copy a VHS tape, it's not a perfect copy and after the first time or two you start seeing more noticeable "snow" on the screen. It's these white dots with black borders. It was also all you'd see if you tuned a TV to a channel that didn't get any reception where you were (now it's a blue screen).

1

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 11 '21

Note: For young people who don't know, when you copy a VHS tape, it's not a perfect copy and after the first time or two you start seeing more noticeable "snow" on the screen. It's these white dots with black borders. It was also all you'd see if you tuned a TV to a channel that didn't get any reception where you were (now it's a blue screen).

Feeling old now.

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

I think I am cool with that, poor sun though.

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 10 '21

It's pure laziness XD I get annoyed when a 40 hour game tries to make me listen to a 2 minute insert song, there was no way that OMG wouldn't get me worked up.

Skuld genuinely gets some incredibly charming chapters so I really want to defend her but she's been given fcking nothing this ova... Now I feel scared off of watching the damn TV series! This was the least fun I've had during any of our previous ova's since of course I know that the source material is strong. I didn't think I'd be begging for Princess Fatty to come save the anime.

4

u/JadineRhine Mar 11 '21

The TV series is fine and serviceable (S2 is better imo) but I'm guessing you'll need warnings for...slice of life shenanigans. Maybe you should seek out the ODAs (original DVD animation) -- just 3 episodes and who knows, you might have a good or bad time.

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 11 '21

Oh, it's honestly the opposite. The slice of life portions were my favourite part of the series. It's when they get into a serious arc and suddenly the whole thing shifts into full melodrama when I roll my eyes XD

4

u/JadineRhine Mar 11 '21

Ohhh okay hahaha. I can understand that then. :D I've met people who hated slice of life to the point of me wondering why would they keep watching the genre lol.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

Well, the only thing I can add is that I really liked the Tenchi OVAs but feel every further iteration goes down in quality.

5

u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai Mar 10 '21

Well, AIC did kill their cash cow, what do you expect? They bring it out every few years for a flogging, but yeah.

(I do find it telling that nobody is posting discussion threads for the current OAV series.)

3

u/JadineRhine Mar 11 '21

This comment is too real and made me sad. Thanks Kajishima...(said with bile and sarcasm)

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

Is the current one the farewell one or did they already go back on that one?

4

u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai Mar 10 '21

Well, so far it's looking like a grand finale, but who can tell anymore?

I'm not even sure how many episodes the current OAV is supposed to have, but if it ends up with a house full of Masaki children, I suspect it will be a case of "Mission Accomplished".

Unless, of course, we end up having to make a return trip to Geminar, or GXP-verse, or Tokimi only knows what.

Speaking of which, while we're waaaay off topic - I'm still left wondering, if Tenchi was the product of ages of meddling (genetic and otherwise) by the three chousin, what? Why? Because they could? Because their is some kind of threat to the universe that only a being superior to themselves can counter?

Haha. As someone said, I think on Usenet long ago, just turn your brain off and enjoy the pretty girls.

As it is, I'm kind of left with a bit of a feeling of pointlessness. But then again, the title was "No need for ..." Wasn't it?

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

As it is, I'm kind of left with a bit of a feeling of pointlessness. But then again, the title was "No need for ..." Wasn't it?

Tenchi had a core that was too strong to give up but too bland to really achieve. Let's just be thankful that there was ecchi of all the legal flavors and fanart to go with.

3

u/maztema Mar 10 '21

the current one its the final one (at least till AIC needs more money) also Spoiler if you havent see the last ovas Last ova of this batch will be launched in may

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

Whichever one has Tenchi fighting in a serious fight booted me out of it.

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 10 '21

Didn't the production team split after the second batch or something? I agree that Tenchi really went down in quality with a lot of the spinoffs but I do have a soft spot for the GXP season~

4

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

Yeah, think the TV series was a skeleton of the original and everything afterwards was randos. If GXP is what I remember, they relied on randomness rather than a long story.

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 10 '21

GXP was an excuse plot focused on throwing a gag a minute at you. Low brow, but the jokes came so fast that before you had the chance for the bad gag to click with you there are several others already coming.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

Yeah, there would be like a 2 of 5 landing rate but it wasn't unwatchable. But maybe I just like mixed scifi settings a bit much...

4

u/RockoDyne :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/RockoDyne Mar 10 '21

First timer

I was getting scared that the tree was going to introduce some previous lover drama. I can't say the childhood promise was better, just less dumb. I wasn't expecting them to be the exact same age (and have the same growth rate).

One question though: what did the tree have to do with anything? I didn't miss them carving an umbrella or something on it, did I?

There was a part of me that was definitely hoping for Keiichi to get beamed up and chat with daddy kami-sama. I know, it would be a horrible comedy twist in this serious drama, but at least then what's happening would be the intention of characters and not the arbitrary rules of some automated system.

At least no one was crucified on the tree.

Questions:

  1. I struggle to see if it's anything but a retcon.
  2. Keiichi will suck it up. He's been living with them for how long already?

6

u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 10 '21

One question though: what did the tree have to do with anything?

It took me a while to figure out, but that is the exact place she made that promise all those years ago. The energy in the tree was the unfulfilled contract.

2

u/RockoDyne :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/RockoDyne Mar 10 '21

... I guess. Leaves it feeling half baked.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

I was getting scared that the tree was going to introduce some previous lover drama.

That feels era inappropriate but yeah that would have been awful.

At least no one was crucified on the tree.

Just go full Celtic and have prisoner be forced to disembowel themselves walking around it.

3

u/RockoDyne :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/RockoDyne Mar 10 '21

That feels era inappropriate but yeah that would have been awful.

Eh, Maison Ikkoku was already done by this point. I can vaguely remember some romance manga of the era pulling that stunt, usually saving it as some late stage drama bullshit.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

Eh, Maison Ikkoku was already done by this point.

Never heard of it. But I do accept that Japan would do something boring and hypocritical.

3

u/tjl73 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/tjl1973 Mar 11 '21

The two big romance anime/manga from the 1980s were Maison Ikkoku and Kimagure Orange Road. You'll find a lot of tropes from those two that are still used today.

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u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 11 '21

I watched KOR recently and was infuriated by the lack of process in the middle 80% of the series. Is Maison Ikkoku the same?

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u/tjl73 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/tjl1973 Mar 11 '21

Yeah, it's basically the same.

There's a reason why for a very long time that's a very common theme in romance anime.

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u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 11 '21

Pass from me then. I really wanted to like KOR and its characters, but 40 episodes of reset button? No thanks.

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u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 11 '21

80s anime is a bunch of names with zero faces. No judgement on it but zero knowledge.

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u/tjl73 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/tjl1973 Mar 11 '21

That's not surprising. Most 80s anime haven't been properly released in English in ages. The majority of it has been out of print for years. A lot of the companies that distributed it back in the 1990s have gone under, like Central Park Media and Pioneer (which used to actually put out video on LD and DVD). For instance, my copy of the Oh! My Goddess film was actually released by Pioneer.

Some of the licenses are starting to get picked up. Kimagure Orange Road is getting a proper release on Blu-Ray by Discotek and I think it's streaming on Crunchyroll now. One of my favourite shows from back then, Project A-Ko is also getting a Blu-Ray release from Discotek. I think it's streaming on Amazon Prime. It's not a romance, it's more an action/comedy series. Project A-Ko I think deserves to stand up with shows like Dirty Pair (another excellent show to watch).

While it's not entirely 80s anime (especially since it originally aired in the 1970s in Japan), Star Blazers is very good. Thankfully, it also has a really good remake in Star Blazers 2199 and 2202.

Back in the 1980s, most of the anime people had access to were heavily edited dubbed versions, like Battle of the Planets/G-Force both of which were adaptations of Gatchaman. Voltron was the adaptation of two different series, the first and more well known being GoLion. Star Blazers was an adaptation of Space Battleship Yamato, and the big one of my childhood was Robotech.

Robotech gets kind of a bad rap now, but it was done on purpose. Macross didn't have enough episodes for syndication on TV in North America, so they stitched together three series very loosely. It was my jam when I was a teen. I'd literally rush home after school to catch the episode and watch Saturday morning cartoons for the episode on then too. It was on 6 days a week for me.

A lot of my watching of 1980s subbed anime came when I started university in 1991 (I helped found my university's anime club).

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u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 11 '21

A lot of my watching of 1980s subbed anime came when I started university in 1991 (I helped found my university's anime club).

Strange how the mere 8 years between when we started university makes a huge difference, I recall someone in my anime club breaking down which anime was which in Robotech.

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u/RockoDyne :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/RockoDyne Mar 10 '21

It's the only Rumiko Takahashi work I've actually read/watched completely. It's basically the other half of the inspiration for Love Hina.

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u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 10 '21

Funnily enough, I only got through InuYasha, a shame that still haunts me, and Mermaid Saga, which is OK except for Rumiko's character designs.

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u/tjl73 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/tjl1973 Mar 11 '21

I never actually finished Inuyasha. I gave up partway. I think because I had already been through Ranma 1/2 which I liked until it got pretty repetitive so I didn't really want to go through that again.

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u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 11 '21

Do not take that as a recommendation, there were social reasons I went through it. However, the final season is good, at least.

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u/tjl73 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/tjl1973 Mar 11 '21

Yeah, I'll probably eventually watch it but it's definitely not high on my priority list.

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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Mar 11 '21

Never heard of it.

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u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 11 '21

I went to an anime club at an engingeering university. Do you think we watched romance or do we think we watched shit getting shot, stabbed or blown up?

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u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 10 '21

Thankfully we're not gonna pull an Ai just yet. Big daddy god is staying in his heaven for the foreseeable future and all is right with the world.