The chapters of the Japanese seinenmanga series Oh My Goddess! were written and illustrated by Kōsuke Fujishima and serialized in the monthly manga anthology Afternoon. The series, premiered in the September 1988 issue; 308 chapters in total have been serialized. The series followed the daily life of college student Keiichi Morisato, after his wish for a goddess to stay with him forever is granted by Belldandy and her two sisters.
The individual chapters are collected and published in tankōbon volumes by Kodansha. The first volume was released on August 23, 1989;[1] Forty-one volumes have been released.[2] The series has been adapted into a five-episode original video animation (OVA) series released between February 1993 and May 1994; a 48-episode anime television series titled The Adventures of Mini-Goddess that featured super deformed versions of the characters; and a feature film released in 2000. In 2005, the manga was adapted into a second, 48-episode anime television series by Anime International Company that aired in Japan from January 2005 through September 2006. The series has also been adapted into a novel titled Oh My Goddess!: First End by Yumi Tōma, the voice of Urd, which was released by Kodansha on July 20, 2006;[3] it was licensed in English by Dark Horse Comics and released on December 12, 2007.[4]
Oh My Goddess! is licensed for an English-language release in North America by Dark Horse. The company initially published the first 112 chapters individually, with the first chapter released on August 1, 1994,[5] and chapter 112 on September 1, 2004,[6] until volume 19/20, after which they only published the collected volumes. They also serialized individual chapters in their defunct manga anthology, Super Manga Blast!.[7][8] The first three volumes have had three different releases; they were initially published in a single abridged volume titled "1-555-GODDESS" on November 1, 1996,[9] and were later re-released in unabridged volumes between June 5 and October 7, 2002.[10][11] The first 129 chapters were redistributed between volumes 1 through 20 so that each volume better followed story arcs; after this reordering, the English release had 19 volumes. The fourth volume was released on October 15, 1997;[12] volume 19, which Dark Horse numbered "19/20" and which ended on the same chapter as the Japanese volume 20, was released on January 19, 2005.[13] After this release, they began republishing the first 20 volumes, this time following the Japanese chapter layout and using a new translation; they also continued publishing volumes from 21 on, these also followed the original Japanese chapter layout. The third re-release of volume 1 was on December 7, 2005,[14] and the re-release was concluded with volume 20, which was released on February 22, 2012.[15] Volume 21 was published by Dark Horse on July 6, 2005,[16] and volume 41 was released on April 25, 2012.[17] Editor Carl Gustav Horn noted Dark Horse's accelerated printing schedule of "new volumes every four months": when Dark Horse released volume 21 they were nine volumes behind Japan; at volume 41, they were only at four volumes behind; and that the English volume 44 was released five months after the Japanese release of volume 45, so he considered the publication caught up.[18]
Keiichi and the Goddesses return home to find the program has settled in Velsper, the demonic cat. Chrono must defeat Velsper but she is frightened because she was traumatized by a cat when she was younger. After some encouragement, she fights Velsper with martial arts, enabling Belldandy to restore the program. Chrono returns home a bit embarrassed that she was conned into wearing a maid uniform. Later, Hild is surprised by an attack by demoness Hagal. Keiichi and Chihiro get a visit from Megumi who wants Keiichi to buy her a cute little motorbike as it is Keiichi's birthday. Belldandy, meanwhile, has bought a watch for Keiichi. They are about to celebrate when Hild suddenly drops in and destroys Whirlwind.
Hagal has taken over Hell, and immediately sets out to grant people's wishes with unexpected results, leaving Hild with no choice but to ask the Goddesses for help to restore the balance between good and evil. Peorth and Lind head off to Earth in response to the worldwide chaos. Keiichi asks to come along. Peorth and Lind surprise Skuld and they practically destroy the home again when Hild "borrows" Skuld and some of the wish-fulfilling demons appear. Hild and the Goddess sisters strategize on how to defeat Hagal and then plan to use a gate to transport everyone by the power of three demons: herself, Velsper, and Marller. Peorth and Lind arrive and briefly attack Hild but learn of the situation and lend their support by staying at Earth. The demon trio opens up the gate.
Hild has given Keiichi a kiss, which makes Belldandy a little jealous that she inadvertently summons a tornado that flings away Hagal's monster minions. Hild then sends Keiichi and the Goddess sisters off. Keiichi rides Glühende Herz while the sisters follow, and they arrive at the first gate of hell where they see a doorbell. Keiichi, Urd, and Skuld think it's a trap, but Belldandy pushes the doorbell anyway, and a girl greets them and escorts them down a narrow walkway (the abyss to each side) to the next door. She states how they must face various trials to get a key to unlock the next room. She gives Keiichi the first key for free. Keiichi opens it and they face a girl who specializes in darkness magic. The girl is able to beat Urd and Skuld, but Keiichi realizes the girl uses echo-location like a bat and tries some ideas such as shouting to fight her off. Belldandy summons a tornado and tries to counter her sound magic with her own.
Urd taps into her demonic power to destroy the device that sucks the goddess powers away, however, she goes out of control, so she asks Skuld to stop her. Meanwhile, Hagal tries to tap the rest of Belldandy's energy. Keiichi realizes that his missing limbs are actually an illusion. Belldandy asks Keiichi to terminate their contract and start a new one in which he is to unite with Belldandy under the condition that he accept all trials. They execute the contract with an oath kiss, which floods the area with flowers. Hagal tries to stop them but Keiichi blows the tiny avatar of Hild into her ear, allowing her to control Hagal and force her to make a statement that frees Hild and restores her position. After Urd blasts into the demon room with the two demon sisters, Skuld sets an anti-proton bomb to go off, and dares Urd to do something about it. Urd manages to contain the explosion, and returns to normal.
Hagal explains her actions: she was worried that Hild was going to die when her term as CEO expires. However, Hild takes advantage of a loophole where, if her power is usurped and she reclaims it, her term is reset. Hild notices that Belldandy has given Keiichi the Kiss of Truth, which, coupled with her changed contract, unlocks Keiichi's sealed sexual desires for Belldandy. This causes a situation where Ansuz, the Interracial Romance Inquisitor and Belldandy's mother, arrives. She puts Keiichi and Belldandy to a trial where they are to enter a Judgment Gate to prove their relationship. When Keiichi enters, he becomes a guy by a lake where he is confronted with a puzzle of choosing between two harps.
291. "Visions I Want You to See, Music I Want You to Hear"
292. "Onward, to That Place Beyond"
293. "Beyond That Ocean Yet Unseen"
294. "Determination towards Determination"
295. "The CEO of Heaven's Barrier"
296. "The First Challenge"
Belldandy and Keiichi learn that the man and the Goddess of the Lake were in love just like they were, but she fell from grace out of despair after the inevitable death of her loved one. Together, Belldandy and Keiichi change the tragic fate of the goddess, clearing the first part of the trial.
Belldandy's father, possessing the body of a gateway, appears before Keiichi and reveals that to complete the second part of the trial, he must clear and intricate race track with an exact replica of his motorcycle, thus "creating a miracle" by his own power. After being saved from falling to the death by Belldandy, Keiichi is assisted by the Goddess of the Lake in gratitude for their help and clears the track.
Having successfully completed the trials, Belldandy and Keiichi are finally allowed to live as a couple, and after receiving the blessings of her parents, rush against time to return with Urd and Skuld, before the gateway closes and traps them in Hell, while Peorth and Lind struggle to keep it open. Once reunited at the Human World, the Goddesses, with Hild and Mara as witnesses, celebrate Belldandy and Keiichi's wedding.
^Fujishima, Kosuke (2013). "Letters to the Enchantress". Oh My Goddess! Vol. 45. Dark Horse Comics (published November 2013). p. 174 (comments and replies by editor Carl Gustav Horn, July 2013). ISBN978-1-61655-298-5.
^ああっ女神さまっ(39) 藤島康介 [Oh My Goddess (39) Kosuke Fujishima] (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on July 27, 2009. Retrieved August 8, 2009.
^ああっ女神さまっ(40) 藤島康介 [Oh My Goddess (40) Kosuke Fujishima] (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on April 26, 2010. Retrieved November 20, 2009.