Past, present and future come together once more to tell another short story of the eternally running Ah! My Goddess! series.

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If you think Kimi ni Todoke is slow, then try 20 years of Ah! My Goddess! with the same drawn out concept: Keiichi loves Belldandy, Belldandy loves Keiichi but no forward movement anywhere. Not ever! But all that is forgivable because Belldandy is such a sweetheart and Keiichi is not your usual dopey male protagonist, although he fits many criteria to be considered one… maybe. In this OVA, Keiichi asks Belldandy out for a date at the amusement park on its last day of business, thus sparking Belldandy’s happiness pulse to an uncontrollable frenzy. 

Out of the three sisters, it’s hard to choose just one, so why not pick (or live with in regards to Keiichi, that lucky son-of-a-gun!) all of them? The ageless older sister Urd comes dressed in her usual skin-tight outfit although I kind of question the full-body wear. And Skuld, my favorite little scientific rascal – how is she a Goddess again? – returns with her whiny little attitude and whiny little defeatist cries. These two are the real reasons why there is a story and not just a stale tale of Keiichi and Belldandy’s daily lives of no outward confession of love. Thanks for the entertainment factors, ladies! 

Like a true Goddess, she manipulates the weather to further clinch her happiness with Keiichi. Rain means no fireworks and no fireworks means no Belldandy happiness galore so all she does is pray and, hallelujah, nasty-looking clouds disappear. By the way, the conflict in this episode deals with Keiichi and Belldandy’s happiness but it’s also a matter of how genuine that happiness is. 

Now if only Keiichi would have the courage to confess his feelings for Belldandy like his puppet counterpart does. There is no question about it that the puppet show is a direct retelling of Keiichi and Belldandy’s romance with a more direct foregone conclusion. Belldandy being Belldandy, the idea of love sinks in but the true desires that she wishes for her own happiness doesn’t quite so. After all, she is a Goddess and she is supposed to wish happiness to everyone, not just Keiichi. I understand her dilemma but, come on!

Surely, something had to be suspicious about Belldandy’s sudden burst of happiness. And the culprit of this bad black magic is Hild’s doing, Urd’s no-good lolita-sized avatar-of-the-mother from the demon realm. Although she makes a great villain, her spell doesn’t quite work against Keiichi’s subconscious thoughts. He must have really enjoyed that play and it really ought to inspire his situation with Belldandy. 

I would make these faces too after hearing Keiichi’s confession. Why? Because Belldandy never hears it due to her still being under Hild’s hypnosis at the time. Well, after all these years, you can almost expect that to happen. Their relationship is meant to be painfully slow to watch. Perhaps the point of the show is unconditional love never needs to be expressed. Oh?!  

These kids will always play innocent. Not only are we not rewarded with a kiss from these two but they come back home with toys. Toys! Well, thank you for always protecting Belldandy’s innocence throughout all these years. My image of her will almost never be tainted, minus some naughty fan art that surely exists out there. 

GO Rating: 2/5

What did you expect? It’s the usual bill from an Ah! My Goddess! showing and the concept never really changes. The OVAs keep coming out because the series is still surprisingly popular. And why wouldn’t it be? Belldandy is still one of my favorite female characters in the anime and manga universe and it helps that Inoue Kikuko has one of the sweetest vintage voices. I find myself every time after watching Ah! My Goddess attaching a “Mr.” or a “Mrs.” title to every object around me, much like how Belldandy addresses everything around her. It’s the influence and will of the Goddess! 

Might be the usual thing from the series but it is still enjoyable and watchable. May you have some of Belldandy’s happiness!