This is a review for the second printing of Oh My Goddess! Volume Two.

Oh My Goddess! Volume Two
Written by: Kosuke Fujishima
Publisher: Kodansha
English Publisher: Dark Horse Manga
Release Date: April 25, 2006

The early portion of this volume places an emphasis on Keiichi and the Motor Club. During this portion of the volume, there is an emphasis placed on Keiichi, the goddess Belldandy, and Sayoko Mishima (who is trying to get Keiichi away from Belldandy). I recognized the drag race portion of this story from the Oh My Goddess! OVA anime series. The main difference is that the drag race shows up later in the OVA than it does in the manga. Also, the character of Sayoko wasn’t used in the OVA episodes, so this angle of the story is completely new to me.

Next, Keiichi receives a strange videocassette in the mail. By the title, it appears to be porn. However, as Keiichi watches it, another goddess emerges from his television screen. This is Belldandy’s sister, Urd. She has seen that Keiichi and Belldandy’s relationship isn’t progressing, and says she wants to help things along. Urd’s “help” usually causes misunderstandings between Keiichi and Belldandy. It turns out that Urd has gotten in trouble with the Goddess Relief Office, and is forced to remain on Earth. Now, not only does Keiichi have to deal with Sayoko, he also has to contend with Urd.

While the basic setup for Urd’s arrival is the same between the manga and the Oh My Goddess! OVA anime series, some of the events that take place after her arrival are a little different between the two tellings. The addition of Urd to the story adds another obstacle for Keiichi and Belldandy’s relationship, but I know there’s potential with Urd from what I’ve seen in the OVA. I’m not entirely sold on Sayoko, but I know this is due to the fact that I saw the OVA several years before I started reading the manga.

The end of this volume includes a “Letters to the Enchantress” section and an editor’s commentary; both of these are written by Carl Gustav Horn. I really enjoy Horn’s writing style for these sections, because he takes what could potentially be dry reading and makes it interesting and amusing for the reader. If you read the Oh My Goddess! manga volumes, I would also recommend reading Horn’s writing at the end.

Oh My Goddess! is off to a good start, and it’ll be interesting to see where the series goes next.

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