By Kosuke Fujishima (Titan Books)
ISBN13: 978-1-84576-510-1
This volume of the classic manga fantasy romance/comedy of manners finds the mystically afflicted Keiichi still kicking back (as much as is humanly possible) after his semi-domesticated pantheon of goddesses almost destroyed the world. When he accidentally bound the celestial Belldandy to him in a cosmic wrong number incident he knew that there was trouble ahead but he never dreamed that her tag-along sisters were chaos incarnate.
Mischievous Urd believes she now owes him a debt of gratitude and intends to repay it by making him and Belldandy fall properly in love. But in a home filled with meddling deities, and sisters at that, no plan ever works out…
Things are further complicated by the demonic possession of Keiichi’s little sister Megumi by the wicked spirit Mara, the introduction of vacuous himbo boy-toy Senbei, the God of Poverty and Disaster, and the appearance of a new student in the Motor Club our hero spends all his time and money in.
Sora Hasegawa is a different kind of threat: she’s smart and pretty, loves machinery and wears glasses! (In Japanese popular literature and modern fiction there’s a sub-cultural icon called a meganekko or glasses-wearing-girl, who is either a nerd or irresistibly cute and often both. If you need more information set your search engines to look, but don’t touch…). How can the faithful and long-suffering Belldandy compete with this kind of threat?
Beautifully illustrated, consistently charming, this blend of slapstick, fantasy and comedy-of manners is a perennial favourite and a great joy to read. But for the love of Odin, do not start anywhere but with the first volume, and then you’ll have to get ’em all.
This book is printed in the ‘read-from-back-to-front’ manga format.
English language translation © 2008 Dark Horse Comics, Inc.