Version I saw: UK DVD release (subtitled)
Actors: 6/10
Plot/script: 4/10
Photography/visual style: 6/10
Music/score: 7/10
Overall: 5/10
The anime series Ah! My Goddess, based on Kosuke Fujishima's source manga, is fairly iconic and formative of its genre, but I haven't seen it, so I went inot this movie cold.
It appears that this is a sequel to the anime series. The classic harem of female characters is there, but main character Keiichi and the titular goddess Belldandy are a firmly established couple. There was a lot left unexplained though, and initially I had to conclude that I was missing information known to fans of the anime.
As the story went on though, more things happened that I could not explain. Unsignalled flashbacks and dream sequences, a hackneyed old amnesia plotline that only works because nobody is open with the amnesiac, a male lead apparently devopid of any personality. It all adds up to a bit of a flop.
It's a shame, because there are moments of quality writing in there. The events surrounding a motorbike crash in particular neatly encapsulate the relationship between characters, developing the story in an understated yet effective way. I note that there are two writers: Yoshihiko Tomizawa, a novie who went onto no great success, and Michiko Yokote, already well established before the film and in constant demand ever since. It is tempting to ascribe any good elements to Yokote and problems top Tomizawa, but I suppose we will never know for sure.
The orchestral soundtrack is impressively lush, with just the right lilt of romcom whimsy, the visuals appear to be an appropriate step up in quality from TV level at the time, and the voice cast is universally solid, if never inspiring enough tostand out... but the writing is a problem.
As the story went on, I got lost, and my interest in the proceedings waned to a sliver. By the time the villain revealed his motivation (a well-worn one that you will probably have seen variants on a dozen times over), I was more interested in my own mental deviation regarding the mythic origins of several character names. The film was lost to me.
Maybe your reaction will be different if you are already on board with this world and set of characters. For me, it is not good.
For my full review, see Cinema Inferno, my independent film weblof on Blogspot.
The anime series Ah! My Goddess, based on Kosuke Fujishima's source manga, is fairly iconic and formative of its genre, but I haven't seen it, so I went inot this movie cold.
It appears that this is a sequel to the anime series. The classic harem of female characters is there, but main character Keiichi and the titular goddess Belldandy are a firmly established couple. There was a lot left unexplained though, and initially I had to conclude that I was missing information known to fans of the anime.
As the story went on though, more things happened that I could not explain. Unsignalled flashbacks and dream sequences, a hackneyed old amnesia plotline that only works because nobody is open with the amnesiac, a male lead apparently devopid of any personality. It all adds up to a bit of a flop.
It's a shame, because there are moments of quality writing in there. The events surrounding a motorbike crash in particular neatly encapsulate the relationship between characters, developing the story in an understated yet effective way. I note that there are two writers: Yoshihiko Tomizawa, a novie who went onto no great success, and Michiko Yokote, already well established before the film and in constant demand ever since. It is tempting to ascribe any good elements to Yokote and problems top Tomizawa, but I suppose we will never know for sure.
The orchestral soundtrack is impressively lush, with just the right lilt of romcom whimsy, the visuals appear to be an appropriate step up in quality from TV level at the time, and the voice cast is universally solid, if never inspiring enough tostand out... but the writing is a problem.
As the story went on, I got lost, and my interest in the proceedings waned to a sliver. By the time the villain revealed his motivation (a well-worn one that you will probably have seen variants on a dozen times over), I was more interested in my own mental deviation regarding the mythic origins of several character names. The film was lost to me.
Maybe your reaction will be different if you are already on board with this world and set of characters. For me, it is not good.
For my full review, see Cinema Inferno, my independent film weblof on Blogspot.