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Nov 12 2005

Categories: anime, belldandy, episodic review
Tagged: belldandy

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Wait, Sayoko? Hasn’t it been like six or seven years (Queen Sayoko arc) since she last appeared in the manga? Sayoko never really worked as a true rival to Belldandy as I can argue that Chihiro is more of a mortal rival than Sayoko would be. Even though Sayoko has the “stats” in that she’s popular, sexy, rich, etc, she doesn’t have the intangibles that someone like Bell brings, like her smile or warm nature. Sayoko seems like the opposite of what K1 would look for, and Chihiro seems to be a better match for K1, if only for their mutual addiction to bicycles. Chihiro also has that rare quality that makes K1 even more of a doormat, and it seems that K1 has more problems standing up to her than Sayoko. Still, these two characters are severely handicapped when compared to Bell just because Bell’s a goddess…. in that sense, only Peorth measures up, but she, sadly, joins the three musketeers with Skuld and Urd. I would much rather have a properly-translated (no, I’m not bitter… okay, a little bit) Peorth continuing her plot to seduce K1. May I suggest trying (a) meido (b) nekomimi (c) melon bread?

Since this episode is about Sayoko getting jealous of Bell and trying to hurt her by stealing K1, the episode is flat. I just know too much about the ああっ女神さまっ world to enjoy this particular plotline. Though, this episode does highlight a few of Bell’s absolute strengths– she’s great with animals; she’s great at defusing potentially bad situations; she’s great at trusting people; and she’s great at computer hacking. (And since when did she start hopping from telephone to telephone pole a la Tsukihime‘s Ciel?).

Unfortunately, the first few story arcs for ああっ女神さまっ weren’t the greatest that the series offers. At this point, it’s still trying to feel out if it wants to be a school romance drama or shounen romance series. Oddly, the series doesn’t really shine until it really clamps down the brakes and becomes the slice-of-life story that it is today. I get the feeling that a lot of people will find this pace to be slow, but, that’s how it’s supposed to be for Bell and K1, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.