Review for Ah! My Goddess: Series 2 - Flights of Fancy Part 3 (2 Discs) (Review)
Thursday, 2nd September 2010, 16:33

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Extras
This is the last time that I'll point out the incongruity of the hack and slash, swords and blood Manga logo, and the sweetness and fluffiness of the Ah! My Goddess franchise. There's no sign of Funimation's presence on these discs, but there is an ADV logo at the start, and ADV are credited on the discs as well.

Also different from the Funimation re-releases are the animated menus, and the distribution of the extras.

Disc 1 gets the textless credits

The commentary on episode 18 from Alyssa Brodsky (Marller) and Kevin Collins (Senbei) is a little more pertinent than the usual anime commentaries. They do talk about the show, their characters and compare CVs, but it's still more of a friendly chat that we are eavesdropping on, rather than a useful commentary.

Disc 2 also gets the textless credits.

The commentary on this disc accompanies episode 23. It's a more useful track from ADR Director Marc Diaraison, and Voice Producer Michael Sinterniklaas, which goes more into the history of the AMG franchise in the US and the casting process. It's quite fun to listen to as well.

Conclusion
Ah! My Goddess: Flights Of Fancy concludes with six episodes that represent the best and the worst of the season, and just like the first season, it then adds a couple of bonus episodes to make parting with the show a little easier. Unlike the first season though, this season's run is just 24 episodes long, not 26, and watching it for the second time, I can't help but feel as if the ending is a little rushed. The build up and conclusion to the first series, with Urd's trip to the dark side threatening existence took a comparatively leisurely four episodes. Here, while the seeds of the conclusion are sowed just as early, the actual episodes of import, the ones that test Belldandy and Keiichi's relationship to the limit are just the final two, more personal and of comparatively small scale, with first Belldandy becoming a demon, and then Hild changing history so that Keiichi met her first instead of Belldandy.

Hild is introduced pretty early on in the proceedings though, as we're still dealing with Urd's split personality disorder following Marller's plan. It's an issue that is beyond the goddesses' abilities to remedy, and they have to appeal to a higher, or in this case lower power. Hild is the ruler of demonkind, and Urd's mother, but she doesn't let her filial responsibilities get in the way of her calling, as a demon to wreak havoc on the world. She's Marller's superior, and is apt to put the lesser demon into a state of fraught nervousness just by her very presence. But when it comes to evil, Hild is really just as much a prankster as Marller, if a lot more powerful. And rather than knock down mountains and raise tsunami, she's more likely to place a few demonic whoopee cushions on Belldandy and Keiichi's romantic loveseat. We have a couple more episodes of such pranks here, after Urd's MPD is corrected, with first a fairly innocuous, and on occasion quite hilarious evil lamp episode, but the Ninja episode that follows is the low point of the series, utterly forgettable, and the plot is lifted wholesale from a Mini Goddess episode. Its only redeeming feature is that it sets up the final arc by making Belldandy lose her licence. It's only for a week, but living as a human is more difficult than they expect when one of Skuld's inventions throws them into the middle of infinity.

The concluding two episodes end the series on the right note, putting adversity in the path of true love, and giving cause for the protagonists to reaffirm that love for each other, and in the case of Ah! My Goddess, having them inch infinitesimally closer together. This is a franchise that exists on the promise of a happy ending, without ever delivering that ending. The X Files managed it for nine years so it isn't exactly a new idea in entertainment. First is the innovative idea of making Belldandy a demon instead of a goddess, and finding out that now only by committing evil acts can she make Keiichi happy. Of course Belldandy's idea of evil is pretty small scale, and the episode is played for laughs, but it does remind her that Keiichi loves her, not the goddess, and he has an inner strength that belies his dithering nature. Of course that is undone when Hild changes history, and the only way to fix things is for Belldandy to get Keiichi to fall in love with her again. It's 'cake and eat it' time for the viewer, as it's the falling in love part of the Ah! My Goddess story that is the strongest. Having to revisit that part of their relationship again only engenders warm feelings in the viewer. If I do have a nitpick, it's that this final story really should have been a two-part episode.

The bonus episodes are quite enjoyable too. The first is a gentle bit of romance, with Keiichi having to keep a promise that his grandfather made years ago to a sick young girl. The girl's spirit has been waiting patiently ever since. It's hardly the most original of ideas, I saw something similar in a Love Hina episode, but this is carried off well, and is a chance to say goodbye to the members of the Nekomi Auto Club. The second bonus episode concentrates on getting Keiichi to confess his feelings to Belldandy, something that the eternal ditherer has been unable to do. As it is, this episode does descend into parody, as it's all too aware that the dithering is what keeps Ah! My Goddess going. Oddly enough, it's all the more hilarious as a result.

As much as I enjoyed this second season, I feel it's not a patch on the first for a couple of reasons. The first is unavoidable, as the strongest part of a romantic comedy is the 'falling in love' bit, and that was accomplished in the first season as Keiichi and Belldandy got together. You can't cover the same ground again, at least not without time travel, so for the duration of the second season, Keiichi and Belldandy are an established, albeit chaste couple, edging microscopically closer each episode, and having their love tested by adversity on a constant basis. The second problem with this season, and one that could have been avoided is the lack of a strong thread running through the episodes. The first had the aforementioned courtship, as well as the Lord Of Terror conclusion, and those 26 episodes stood together as a cohesive whole. This second season is far more fragmentary and episodic, there's no real theme running through the episodes, and it's really just a collection of loosely strung together single or double episode stories, even with the introduction of a few new characters that recur. On the bright side, these episodic stories are for the most part very enjoyable.

Season 2 has a strong start, and while its middle section is a little aimless, but entertaining nonetheless, it finishes very well, reaffirming Keiichi and Belldandy's relationship, before actually poking a little fun at Keiichi's hesitant nature and inability to commit. I enjoyed it almost as much as the first season, and didn't begrudge its episodic nature too much, especially as the majority of the stories were just as captivating. It's been a while in getting here, but the second season of Ah! My Goddess finally makes it to the UK. If you are a fan of all things sweet, light and fluffy, and let's face it everyone can use a little sweet, light and fluffy from time to time, then Ah! My Goddess is the perfect confection, delicate, sugary, and heart-warming, without ever being saccharine and overbearing. For owners of the first season, this is a no-brainer, but if you haven't experienced Ah! My Goddess as yet, you may as well get that first season and Flights of Fancy all in one go. You won't regret it.

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