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AH! MY GODDESS - FLIGHTS OF FLANCY - SEASON 2: EVERYONE HAS WINGS (VOL. 1) [ADVANCE REVIEW] |
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Saturday, 14 April 2007 |
 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | ADV FILMS | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 16:9 ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | ENGLISH AND JAPANESE DD 2.0 | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 100 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | TV PG | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 05/08/07 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 04/15/07 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | HOLLY ELLINGWOOD |
The second season of this divine anime kicks off with some excitement, a little uncertainty and more comedy and romance to fill the air and warm the heart. Keiichi and the goddess he loves, Belldandy and her two sisters, have all managed to survive their encounter with the Lord of Terror unscathed except for one itty bitty problem: the contract between Belldandy and Keiichi has been lost! Now they have to race to properly remake their contract and have Keiichi utter his wish exactly as it was last time or else Belldandy and her sisters have to return to the Heavens!
It’s all a day in the life of one young man and the goddess he loves. That one crisis is only the first of many mishaps, both comedic and charming that occur in the lives of Keiichi, the goddesses and their friends. Christmas is fast approaching and the Queen of the Campus, Sayoko, is up to her old tricks when she finds a way to interfere with Belldandy’s gift to Keiichi. There’s a telling moment between Sayoko and Belldandy that shows their true natures perfectly and to affectionate impact. Next, with Christmas eve almost upon them, Keiichi is working several jobs to try to get Belldandy the perfect gift. After all, it’s been nearly a year since she first came into his life and he wants to find the perfect expression of his love and gratitude for the woman who holds his heart. However, with Urd trying to ‘help’ and Sayoko entering the picture, can’t anything go smoothly in Keiichi’s unusual life? The final episode takes us to Sayoko’s New Year’s celebration and she’s made sure to invite Keiichi and guests. Naturally Keiichi brings along his sister and Belldandy and her two sisters, Urd and Skuld. What no one could have expected is the firefight that would results between the goddesses, Sayoko’s scheme to one up Belldandy, and how it all backfires when we learn exactly what it takes to get Belldandy drunk! This intoxicated goddess gives a whole new meaning to happy hour.
Fun, with a gentle heart and otherworldly charm, the series is like a delightful warm hug on a rainy day. The characters are endearing. Even the misguided ones such as Sayoko or mischievous Urd have a sweet nature underneath the trouble making. At the heart is the gentle and subtly paced romance ever so timidly blooming between Keiichi, the luckiest unlucky guy on Earth, and the goddess who came to Earth to grant him his wish, Belldandy. Together they are two of the most ideal people in any story that any of us are likely to meet. Their occasional trials and often humorous tribulations give rise to an anime that is joyous.
The anime has a rare timeless quality. With is first having appeared in anime form as an OVA decades ago and later as a movie, this most recent rendition proves that this story and these characters come across as precious as then and that time has no hold on the affectionate power of this story. With the manga series by Kosuke Fujishima the anime is based on still ongoing (volume 26 just came out), this TV series has the advantage and added attraction of being the most faithful to the manga out of any anime incarnation done to date. In this series you’ll see Lind the Valkyrie, Peorth, Hild and more.
Another enjoyable facet is the twist on ancient Norse mythology. Belldandy, Skuld and Urd are the Norns which are the three Fates from Norse mythology, they lived in the base of Yggdrasil, the World Tree that held together the different realms of the Norse Gods, humans and the underworld, as well as Valhalla (Norse heaven) where felled heroes are taken by the Valkyrie (Lind is described as one). In the anime, the Norns and the Valkyrie are very different from their mythological counterparts and the creative turn of making the World Tree into a giant computer system that the gods and goddesses use to keep the world in balance as an innovative stroke.
The animation boasts an astonishing beauty that will overtake you. It’s gorgeous, from the impressive character designs to the detailed backgrounds, wonderful diversity in colors, and incredible opening animation sequence. The opening theme song, “Shiawase no Iro”, is as uplifting as first season’s and is again sung by Yoko Ishida who also sings the ending theme song. For those of you concerned about what the voice acting might be, fear not. The second season of the TV series not only has the main characters still done by the same Japanese voice talent who did the first season as well as the OVA and movie, but they’ve managed to also retain the same English voice cast from the first season of the TV series despite another production house, ADV Films, having licensed the second season. Therefore you can still enjoy the voice talent of Eileen Stevens as Belldandy and the rest of the English TV voice cast. Also, this volume has some English dubbed singing as Eileen Stevens (as Belldandy) sings a tune at the New Year’s party as does Sayoko (voiced so deliciously by Karen Neill).
EXTRAS:
Bonus features include clean opening and closing animation, ADV previews, production art work, and commentary on episode 1 with English voice actors Eileen Stevens who so perfectly captures Belldandy, and Drew Aaron who does such a skilled job of portraying kind and good natured Keiichi.
IN SUMMARY:
Adventure, romance and some celestial inspiration combine to make this one of the most enchanting anime series available. The first volume of the second season sees Keiichi and Belldandy racing against time to renew their contract, enjoy Christmas, and tackle New Years when magic and mayhem combine for fun and merry making. |
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