Series: Ah! My Goddess: Flights Of Fancy - Series 2: Part 2
Release date: 19th July 2010
Certificate: 12
Running time: 193 mins
Director: Hiroaki Gohda
Starring: Aya Hisakawa, Kikuko Inoue, Masami Kikuchi, Yumi Touma, Gara Takashima
Genre: Anime
Studio: Manga
Format: DVD
Country: Japan
Adapted from a manga written and and illustrated by Kosuke Fujishima and directed by Hiroaki Gohda (Bubblegum Crisis), Ah! My Goddess is an institution, and Flight Of Fancy brings anime fans a return from the lovable Belldandy and her heavenly home-girls.
One year after the goddess Belldandy emerged from Keiichi Morisato's mirror and promised to stay with him forever, a new threat to their happiness emerges, one that could end the contract between Belldandy and Keiichi.
So, we jump into the action with Keiichi unable to pluck up the courage to kiss Belldandy, despite their contractual relationship being placed in jeopardy at the end of the last series. Belldandy's task is to love Keiichi, but it's a job she's forgotten how to perform through events that unfolded prior to this second series.
She is ably assisted/unwaveringly hindered by her two goddess sisters Urd and Skulld, along with newcomer Peorth, who has arrived at the behest of the gods in order to grant Keiichi his true desires, much to the chagrin of Belldandy. The two come into direct competition over the young student’s affections more than once (bizarrely leading to a situation that Keiichi doesn't revel in), and the mysterious Peorth - standing in more or less direct contrast with the innocent Belldandy - ultimately uses her powers to force a conclusion.
Elsewhere, Urd's former lover Troubadour returns from self-imposed exile (although the apparent nobility of this commitment is questioned almost immediately) with tumultuous consequence, not least for Keiichi, who finds himself caught between a vengeful God and a disinterested Urd. And the series culminates in a confrontation with the malicious demon Marller who possesses hidden knowledge about Urd, which she utilises to her own nefarious advantage...
It would be easy to dismiss Flights Of Fancy as a powder puff anime - all pastel and no punch, to coin a phrase. On the face of it, Belldandy is a bit timid, and the series’ only male protagonist - Keiichi - is so unbearably wet that it seems initially as if one might be in for 192 minutes of soppy pain. Even beyond that, most of the supplementary characters seem - charitably - to have the depth of puddles, and the idea of them contributing to anything seems frankly ludicrous, but, ultimately, all of these prejudices prove themselves to be pleasantly incorrect.
If you look beyond what initially strikes you, it becomes clear that there is a reason that Ah! My Goddess has been running both as an anime and a manga for almost twenty years now. People tend to enjoy it, and it's difficult not to find this latest instalment worthy of the massive amounts of affection the series garners with its fans. For, as you work through the episodes, what initially begins as a mild dislike for everyone in the series turns first to apathy, then to slight affection, before ending up as an almost embarrassing warm, fuzzy feeling. The characters are genuinely likeable. Certainly, they don't start with any great depth, and don't really get any deeper as the episodes unfold, but the acting, writing and design combine to mould individuals whose problems and successes you end up taking something close to a vested interest in. The three part sucker-punch of happiness that is J-Pop, plus overly chirpy characters and cutesy design (complete with essentially nothing but pale pastel colours) is frequently a recipe for disaster, but somehow it just works here, to the point where it's hard not to recommend Flights Of Fancy if only for its uncanny aptitude for initiating catharsis.
Ultimately, it's not just good as a tool for helping you to forget your life - it works because the characters are well designed and easy to enjoy, the storylines are involving but simple, and the overall 'feel' is one of unbridled happiness and innocence that never once feels forced or contrived. Belldandy and Keiichi's seemingly hopeless romance is as compelling as something so light-hearted can be.
With the same happy carelessness and cheerful outlook that has turned the series (and initial manga) into classics; this second instalment delivers just the right amount of sweetness without ever being overly saccharine. It's shiny, it's sugary and it's not for the cynical. JD
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