Ah! My Goddess: Flights of Fancy – Anime Review

Japanese Title: Aa! Megami-sama! Sorezore no Tsubasa

Related: Ah! My Goddess TV (season 1 prequel)

Ah! My Goddess: Fighting Wings (OVA side story)

Ah! My Goddess: The Movie (sequel)

Ah! My Goddess OVA (original version)

Similar: My Bride is a Mermaid

Watched in: Japanese & English

Genre: Supernatural Romance Comedy

Length: 22 episodes & 5 specials

Positives:

Familiar charm.
Drunk Belldandy.

Negatives:

Too little attention on Belldandy and Keiichi, who have become passive.
Resorts to harem humour.
Frustrating relationship progression.

We re-join Keiichi and Belldandy a year into their relationship, still advancing at that familiar glacial pace. Urd continues to encourage them while Skuld does her best to interfere. These jokes were enjoyable in the first season, but now I find them tiring. Kei and Bell’s relationship is at a standstill. Where Keiichi’s shyness was once amusing, it has become frustrating. Furthermore, the fact that Belldandy barely participates in the narrative results in an altogether disappointing season.

A call from the Almighty One. How would you react?

So, what takes the screen time then? All the side characters, of course. Urd gets a few episodes, Skuld gets a few episodes, everybody gets a few episodes! Peorth, another goddess descends to Earth to take Keiichi from Belldandy, her rival, to which, of course, Belldandy does nothing. Peorth leaves soon after for Urd’s devil mother to do the same, only with a more devious strategy. I hate this harem leaning in the humour.

Now, Flights of Fancy isn’t all bad. The first few episodes are good, for they have some actual conflict (covers the second half of the original OVA) and Kei and Bell are the focus. Similarly, in the final few episodes the couple faces a decent dilemma. It’s most of the in-between that bothers me. Filler, that is what it feels like. At least we get to see Belldandy drunk on cola – cutest drunk ever.

You can either take or leave Ah! My Goddess: Flights of Fancy. I enjoyed the start, the end, and a smattering in between; however, if it doesn’t sound appealing, skip straight to the movie.

Art – High

Same beautiful art as season one.

Sound – Medium

The acting is still good and new Celtic music brings nice changes to the soundtrack. However, the weaker script that repeats many of the same jokes from season one lets the team down.

Story – Low

It’s the disappointment factor and the weakening of Belldandy’s character that hit me the hardest, but the heart is still there, and I did enjoy at least ten episodes.