My two initial reactions were "Oh! how sweet!" (not the usual reaction of a middle-aged heterosexual male to anything) and "Ah! in Japan they have romantic comedies for men." Since my first viewing, I have learned that Ah! Megamisama!, both the manga and anime are very popular seinen romances--romances for young men.

Every aspect of the anime is beautiful--the music, the animation, the voice-acting (in both the original and the dub).

The plot? Keiichi Moriato, a very ordinary everyman character, is left by his sempai (a term of respect for social superiors--in this case upperclassmen) to take messages at the dorm. He decides to call for takeout, and manages instead to reach the "Helper Goddess Hotline". Moments later, the goddess Belldandy arrives (she travels via mirrors) to grant him a wish.

Thinking it is a joke, he wishes for her to be his girlfriend forever, and the wish is granted. Being thrown out of the all men's dorm for having a woman with him is just the beginning of the trouble which ensues, and get worse when Belldandy's sisters Urd and Skuld, and Keiichi's sister Megumi show up.

The five-episode OVA is a comedy in the classical sense of happy-ending story, and is often funny, but mostly it is just sweet in a peculiar way which touches the male heart. Somewhere else, I described Belldandy as "the most loving, nurturing face of the Eternal Feminine rendered on animation cels."

No problem letting the kids see this one--no nudity or violence. That is unless you're one of those weird parents who would object to the slightest hint of sensuality (Urd and a brief fantasy of Belldandy by Keiichi) or to the portray of a platonic cohabitation. If you're of those parents, why are you even reading this site?

Ratings (out of 5, 1 being worst, 5 being best)