I think we all know what this next episode is about.
No, it’s not a public service announcement.
Down at the local 7-11, Belldandy is tenderly taking care of the customers. In fact, she’s taking all of the waiting customers, leaving nothing for Keiichi to do. Oh well, at least it’s a sweet job. During their break, Keiichi wonders if Kami-sama is peeved about a goddess working at a convenience store. Belldandy says that it’s okay since it’s her wish to work with him and it’s part of her wish have fun with him and see the Earth.
So it appears to be the Christmas season in Japan. And they say the Americans have secularized Christmas… Belldandy asks about Christmas and Keiichi explains the tale of Santa Claus. She says she’s happy that there’s someone that nice on Earth, but Keiichi explains that it’s just a holiday where the parents masquerade as Santa and hand out presents. However, this makes Keiichi think that she deserves something from him… something that a real boyfriend would do.
He’s interrupted by Hijiri (the little girl) who proudly shows off the balloon santa gave her. Keiichi covertly asks Hijiri what kind of gift a girl would like. She responds by taking him to a jewelry store’s display window, where she shows him a ring that her mom was admiring and then runs off. Keiichi stares at the ring and asks if Belldandy likes the ring. She says it’s beautiful and that she loves it. Of course, Belldandy naively asks what’s the matter… oblivious to the fact that Keiichi is trying to hint at whether or not she wants the ring. Being Belldandy, she asks Keiichi for a bottle of soy sauce instead… And they say men have trouble reading women’s emotions.
While Keiichi made Belldandy happy with a bottle of soy sauce, he knows he has to get her a real Christmas gift. Skuld also demands her Christmas gifts, which consist of various expensive power tools. The next day, Keiichi stares at the ring and realizes he can’t afford it. The ring calls out to him… and tells him to buy it for Urd. He looks on his shoulder and sees Urd sitting there, waiting to give advice. Urd says that ring suits Belldandy well and that girls are happy when they receive rings from their significant others. According to Urd, when a girl puts the ring on her finger, she’ll feel the emotions of the person who gave it to her. I suppose Keiichi’s sold now. Too bad it costs way too much. Thankfully, the two senpai come along and snap him out of it by yelling at him about staring at jewelry. I suppose it is rather unmanly… Anyway, they tell him to come take a part time job with them to take his mind off of such girly things. Well, that’s good timing.
On a cold winter morning, we find Keiichi by the harbor, ready to join the senpai for a round of deep sea tuna fishing. Oh boy, go figure those guys go for manly jobs like that. However, this’ll take them three months to finish a voyage… Keiichi runs back to his part time job and decides that he’ll need some other part time jobs. Belldandy says she’ll go home early today to prepare dinner. Before she leaves, he tells her that he’ll be busy so he’ll have to be home late for the next three days and can’t make it home for dinner. She doesn’t act worried at all, so Keiichi wonders why she isn’t worried and she pretty much takes it all in stride and just worries if it might be dangerous. Hey, this is typical Belldandy here…
Keiichi sits alone on a park bench searching the classified ads, muttering how hard it is to find a good job on such short notice. Urd comes along and grabs the despondent Keiichi to goddess knows where. Back at home, Skuld is worrying about the reason why Keiichi is hiding something from her older sister… especially since Urd is gone. Belldandy ignores Skuld’s concerns because she believes in Keiichi.
Urd drags Keiichi down to a cold warehouse filled with tuna. Well, at least it pays a lot. She closes the door behind him as he braves the cold to earn… 10,000 yen. Anyway, he goes back home and finds Belldandy saying that she has dinner ready for him since she thought he’d be back around this time. Skuld interrupts and says that her sister has been waiting all night for a certain jerk named Keiichi. Belldandy tells K-1 not to worry since it’s a goddess’s job to make him happy. Reassured, Keiichi eats his dinner and has found the strength to keep going on with these jobs.
The next day we find Keiichi doing hard labor AND working down at the 7-11. Belldandy pleads with him not to overwork his body but Keiichi says he’s okay. The jobs keep him exhausted and Belldandy does her best to support him through all of this. One night, Urd asks Bell if she knows what Keiichi is up to. In typical Belldandy fashion, she’s more worried if Urd made him do something bad. Urd tells her not to worry because he’s doing something of his own free will, so Belldandy keeps trusting in her Keiichi.
The next day, Keiichi debates with Urd if he should keep this a secret from Belldandy since she trusts him so much. Urd scolds him and says that Belldandy is waiting for him and believes in her Keiichi. He’s a man and should follow through with his plans, especially when it comes to his lover. Rejuvenated, Keiichi keeps going… for Belldandy’s sake, even if his life is at terrible risk. Wow, those tuna are dangerous.
Keiichi finally almost has enough money for the ring and Urd congratulates him for a job well done and that Belldandy will surely be happy. At home, Skuld is growing concerned for Belldandy’s sanity. When he finally gets home, he wants to have a talk with Bell. He tells her that tomorrow will be the last day of this odd schedule. He reassures her that he’s doing nothing bad and she knows because he wears her sweater all the time and their feelings are connected. Before she can finish her thoughts, he forcefully tells her to meet him at 8:00 at the train station for something important. Keiichi’s grown a pair…
Keiichi finally gets all the money together at the tuna warehouse and Urd tells him to hurry. He runs down to the jewelry store… while Urd follows… on a broom. But the ring is gone. Oh, so here’s Sayoko with the ring while her current man-toy is buying it for her. Sayoko realizes that it must be for Belldandy. Well, she’s going to make Keiichi work for it. He gets on his knees and begs her for the ring and that he’ll do anything. This can’t end well…
Sayoko’s compensation? Keiichi and Urd have to wear dorky costumes… and Urd has to polish Sayoko’s shoes. Dear goddess, what is this woman’s problem? Sayoko sees Hijiri crying since she lost her balloon, which has caught high up on a ledge. Sayoko tells Keiichi to go and get it in exchange for selling him the ring. Belldandy sees her Keiichi struggling high up in a precarious situation. He tells her that he’ll be fine and to wait for him. He grabs the balloon but he loses his balance and falls. Belldandy uses her magic once again to save Keiichi from a nasty fall but loses the balloon in the process. Belldandy runs over and demands to know why he did something so dangerous. He finally admits that he’s been working to get her a Christmas present in order to convey his feelings for her but in the end it was her that saved him. But in the end, he still failed, but Belldandy says that he worked hard for his sake and she wants to be with him since she loves such a person.
Urd comes along and says that Sayoko sold them the ring but he has to attend Sayoko’s party. Keiichi takes the ring and asks Belldandy to hold out her hand and he puts the ring on her finger. Overjoyed, our favorite goddess seizes him and gives him a kiss. She thanks her “Santa Claus” for the precious gift and we’re left with that warm fuzzy feeling.
Kinda lacking Skuld in these episodes. Who knows what’s going on in this next episode? The preview hints at Keiichi worrying about whether he’s hogging the goddesses all to himself and whether or not the joy should be spread around. Why do I have a feeling that this is the episode where Bell gets wasted and they get their hands stuck together? Regardless, it seems like another Skuld-free episode. Maybe that’s a good thing…
Christmas is supposed to be a time of merriment and the exchange of gifts (well, at least in the secular world). I’m pretty sure in Japan they’re not having a midnight mass or Moravian Putz show. In Keiichi’s case, he’s put it upon himself to get Bell a nice gift. As we’ve seen in the manga and OAV, he’s going to buy her a ring.
Well, at least this time it seems that he’s earning his paycheck in a more farcical manner than we expected. Oh Keiichi, what won’t you do for your goddess…
The weather is turning cold and we see Keiichi sneezing as he works outside on his bike. Urd tells Bell that humans are vulnerable to the cold weather as she looks on with concern. Later, K-1 asks if Bell wants to take a break from classes since her grades are obviously incredibly high. But what does a goddess do during a break from classes? No, they don’t head to Cancun and get drunk. Apparently they start projects of some sort (for those of you who read the manga, yes, it’s obviously the sweater).
Meanwhile, Sayoko is out on the street, being propositioned by young men who embody the Japanese sense of the Christmas spirit: Proposing to women. Sayoko revels in the attention but still feels empty somehow. Keiichi walks past and says high and Sayoko brightens up. Megumi is teasing K-1 about how lovey-dovey he is with Belldandy even though she’s taking a break from seeing him on campus. Sayoko realizes that she’s empty because Keiichi is the one guy that isn’t falling for her. Well, now that he’s on her hit list…
Back at the temple, Belldandy is almost done with Keiichi’s sweater. Skuld asks her how long is she going to do that and is obviously hungering for attention… or ice cream. Urd asks why she’s doing it by hand since a goddess can obviously do it with her powers, though I must say Urd’s attempt at doing it is pathetic. Skuld’s attempt at a knitting machine is more… um, of an oxygen-deprivation hazard. Belldandy responds to this “help” by saying that if you do it by hand, the sweater will be filled with the feelings of its creator, providing extra warmth. And she plans for this to be a surprise for Keiichi too! Awww… Urd remarks that since Bell came down to Earth, she’s become more like a human female. Bell is excited at this and hears Keiichi come home so she runs off. Skuld and Urd look at each other and consider the complicated nature of Earthlings.
At the campus, Sayoko sits down by Keiichi and offers him a fun-filled night with her on Christmas Eve since Bell isn’t around. Keiichi rebuffs her since he has Belldandy and he’s just giving her some private time. Sayoko wonders what Bell does during her “private time.” That sounds so wrong… Sayoko says she was just kidding and if she was the kind to cheat on Keiichi, she wouldn’t need to go to all this trouble… but she stops herself from going too far with that. Keiichi laughs and says that even Sayoko trusts Belldandy so much. Even if Bell isn’t with him, Keiichi is happy for her regardless of what she does. He says that Sayoko probably has more trouble since she’s surrounded by everyone, so he’s fine. Sayoko stares at her shoes and Keiichi asks what’s wrong but she says that it’s okay. The lesson here? It’s feelings that are the most important.
That night, she goes to a bar and out-drinks all the males there. Bored, she considers that Keiichi rejected her despite her extravagant offer. She considers the lesson that Keiichi taught her and feels miserable about Keiichi ignoring her. On the road, we see Keiichi stopping to help an inebriated Sayoko who’s lying in the gutter. In her drunken state, she confesses her feelings for him… and um, probably pukes on him too.
Sayoko wakes up in the temple and sees some medicine waiting for her. She peeks in the next room and sees Belldandy knitting a sweater for Keiichi. Belldandy finally finishes the sweater. We see her wishing that this sweater, knit with her feelings, will keep him warm. Skuld comes along with some wrapping paper and gives it to Belldandy, and they wrap it up together. Urd calls them over and Sayoko takes the chance to sneak into the room and gaze at the sweater. Oh, and Urd called Skuld over to help her zip up her dress. Love a Riddle (the graphics maestro guy) should volunteer for that… While the sisterly havoc is going on, Belldandy realizes that the sweater is gone, as is Sayoko…
They consider what could have happened to the sweater and all the evidence points to Sayoko, but Belldandy believes that Sayoko isn’t a bad person. Bell calls a bird over and asks him if he saw anything. The bird says that a dog took it away since the package had a delicious smell. Well, it’s all Skuld’s fault as usual. She used the wrapping paper from a package of cookies and well, dogs like human food. Belldandy runs off in pursuit of the guilty person, er, canine.
Sayoko is in her apartment trying to knit a sweater herself, saying it can’t be that hard, but it’s clear that she’s failing miserably. If Bell can do it, she can too, right? Her motives aren’t pure, so obviously she can’t steal his heart away… but she did steal the package! We see a flashback where the dog ran off the package and I suppose Sayoko got it after that. She gets on her cell phone and orders something…
Belldandy is still on the hunt as she goes to every local animal asking them about the package. We then cut to Sayoko seeing Keiichi at school, who mutters something about “the trouble he had cleaning off the smell.” Heh. She says it’s apparent that she put him to a lot of trouble, but he says that it was Belldandy that helped her. Sayoko offers to treat him to a meal but he rejects the offer saying Belldandy has already prepared a meal for him. She says if it’s not a meal it should be okay, right? So she drags him off.
Belldandy watches the sun set and she says she can’t stop looking because that sweater represents her feelings. As the sun finally sets, Sayoko has finished showing Keiichi a collection of classic cars owned by her father. Keiichi reminds her of the time she tortured him by smashing some rare collectible miniature cars, but they both laugh off. Torturing a shirtless, tied up Keiichi is funny, right? Despite the jab, she feels warm inside just because she’s walking with him. Keiichi says they’re like a Queen and her servant and she glares at him. He apologizes and says that he feels like the two of them are really friends now and can talk normally. Keiichi continues that it’s all because of Belldandy because she changed him from his old self into someone that could just talk normally to Sayoko.
Sayoko then hands him a package and says that it’s a gift from her. It’s a cashmere sweater that he can’t afford, but Keiichi says he can’t accept the gift. She says that it represents her feelings. K-1 says that it’s because of that he can’t accept it. He says that Sayoko should give it to someone to whom she really wants to convey her feelings to. Frustrated, she then pulls out Belldandy’s package, which she found on the roadside and threatens to beat him up if he doesn’t take it. She tells him to wear it home and that it’ll all become clear.
He leaves her on the street and begins to walk home. As he leaves, Belldandy comes upon Sayoko and asks if she’s okay. Sayoko says she must have been looking for the package the entire time by that her feelings have reached him now. Sayoko confesses to stealing it and thinking about throwing it away but that she couldn’t do it. Belldandy says that it’s because Sayoko isn’t that kind of person, only to get yelled at. Sayoko says that she’s the Queen of the university, but who is Belldandy? The goddess tells the Queen that she’s a goddess. Sayoko responds by saying that it should be clear that she hates Belldandy, but our kind goddess just says that she likes Sayoko anyway. As Bell leaves, Sayoko mutters that Bell’s a liar since a goddess wouldn’t hand-knit anything for a human like Keiichi. She obviously doesn’t believe anything Bell says about being a goddess because of that. Yeah, real smart, Sayoko
Back at the temple. Keiichi welcomes Belldandy home, all dressed up in his sweater. Belldandy says her feelings reached him and Keiichi says they definitely have as they embrace… to which Skuld drops her jaw. The scene ends with him saying that it’s definitely warm. Awwwwwwww…
Sayoko goes back to her apartment and tosses her balls of yarn into the trash. She says that if Keiichi think she’s given up on avenging her humiliation, he’s wrong. DUN DUN DUN.
I liked this episode better than 80% of the Season One episodes. This was a cute and sweet episode that got to the point. No nonsense about Banpei or futile Marller death threats. Just cute romance and zany comedy that makes you go “Awwwwwww… WTF?!!” Next episode… Keiichi tries to repay Belldandy for her gift. Looks like the “ring” story where he goes berserk on part-time jobs trying to get Belldandy a special piece of jewelry. No, not the OAV story with super-sappy drama. Just a race against the timing of the holiday shopping season.
Do goddesses get in line at 3:30 AM for Black Friday? Nah, Skuld can make her own Xbox 360… modded.
Latest raw episode is the familiar story of Belldandy making Keiichi a sweater and the chaos that erupts when Skuld and Sayoko get involved. C’mon, who the heck gift-wraps sweaters in biscuit wrappers? Not that Sayoko gets any points for yoinking said package.
With all that said, I think there’s a bit more of a twist in the one-sided relationship between Sayoko and K-1 in the television retelling of this classic manga chapter. Just what is that twist? You’ll find out after I wrap up watching the fansub (which has not been released as of now).
Well, the series kicks itself off with a nice Celtic-sounding theme song complete with Bell on the bagpipes, as I’ve mentioned before. The opening seems to hint at some future episodes, including the Velsper, Troubadour, Hild, Peorth, Shiho, Noble Scarlet, and Chihiro stories. Overall, it seems to set up what might be a superior season. Alright, here we go! Token Asian blogging power activate!
Keiichi seems to be in a dream world of some sort, where a goddess holding a rose (yeah, Peorth) explains to him that this will be the story of the love between a goddess and a human. Back in reality, everyone’s favorite monk has returned to the temple. Obviously, he didn’t quite live up to the standard that Belldandy adheres to. He admires the good condition the temple is in and is about to go inside when he is nearly hit by an Urd bolt.
As usual, Skuld and Urd are fighting… except the monk is caught in the middle. A bad place to be… considering someone spilled Urd’s potion and Skuld’s lawn mower is inoperative. While the monk tries to spread is message of love, the two goddesses ignore him and eventually yell at him as if he were a stranger intruding on private property. Mr. Monk futilely tries to spread his hippie message of love and peace… only to receive a lot of ordnance fired back at him. He flees as he believes he requires more training and can’t face Bell in this state.
Megumi is having tea with Bell and K-1, but they all shrug it off as normal. The usual “Megumi intruding on the couple” routine goes down as usual. Bell mentions that it’s been an year since the contract went into effect… to Megumi’s amusement (heh, what could THAT mean?). No Megumi, Bell isn’t a prostitute, it’s a Heavenly contract. Not that an explanation of that sort really satisfies Megumi’s curiosity.
Back up in heaven, everything is back to normal after the Lord of Terror incident. Lind reports that the Goddess Assistance Agency’s database has been deleted, possible invalidating the contract, so she must return eventually. Well, that doesn’t bode well.
Back down at the temple, the two lovers are going to their daily lectures. The phone interrupts them and Keiichi picks it up only to find out that it’s Kami-sama. Well, he’s got a direct line to God himself. He explains that the missing data requires the goddesses to return, but will allow Keiichi some time to prepare himself for them leaving. GOD HAS SPOKEN. LET MY GODDESSES GO.
Belldandy says that it shouldn’t be a problem since there are lots of goddesses at work up in Heaven to cover for her. Urd implies that the missing data is probably Skuld’s fault… most likely. Meanwhile, Lind is trying to repair the data but requires Keiichi’s voice data. Urd gets the call and says that the wish will be reentered. Keiichi picks up the phone and tries to make his wish again. For once, he doesn’t screw it up… I think. It doesn’t work… apparently he forgot the exact wording of the wish. Urd suggests that it was damaged so badly that it can’t be reconstructed via audio. Urd says that Bell should have the password, but Bell says that it’s a protected data that she can’t recite. D’oh!
Time for drastic measures… meaning Urd and Skuld bust out the drugs and machines. Dear goddess… Keiichi protests but the two goddesses say that this method is faster. For I think the first time, Belldandy raises her voice and tells them to stop arguing and that they’ll go to class for a change of scene. Hey, that should clear him right up? Unless it’s midterm week…
Bell tells him not to worry since it wasn’t his fault but he still feels bad about it since he forgot what the wish was. Tamiya and Otaki show up and ask what it is that he forgot. When he responds that it has to do with engineering studies, they say he’s a disgrace and bully him. Belldandy stands up for once and flies him out of class. Errrr… what? Why the sudden use of magic in public?
Urd’s back up in Heaven and asks if they can check the main database for the information but apparently that’s a serious offense. Not that something of that nature ever stopped Urd. And down on Earth… oh goddess, Belldandy is working at a 7-Eleven with Keiichi. A customer asks for his food to be heated and she uses her powers to serve him. Has she lost it? Keiichi wonders what she’s up to. On the way home, she responds that she knows he wants to be alone with him and they only have a short time.
Back at home, Skuld has vandalized the phone is working on hacking into the Yggdrasil system. Bell says that Skuld is worried about him… nah, she spouts out her typical “I’ll do this to impress Bell and make Keiichi look bad” lines as she works. Same old, same old. They creep off and have dinner but Keiichi doesn’t seem to have the stomach for food but he shrugs it off. After dinner, he begins worrying about how to respond to the kind smiles of Belldandy. After all, all he wants is to see her smiles and her love.
The next morning, he decides to take Belldandy out somewhere, though he hasn’t quite figured out where to go on their date. After all, their time is short and he wants to make the most of it. Out on the street, Keiichi’s quite nervous since he called it a date and worries about his courage. Despite his usual indecisiveness, he wobbles off and says that he’ll make it this time. Bell says that it’s a date so they should enjoy themselves.
Up in Heaven, Urd whines that the couple can’t even hold hands together. Apparently she’s collecting data on K-1 for some reason. Thankfully, the date doesn’t seem to be going badly… until he tries to buy ice cream and finds out he is out of money. Belldandy says she has money and pays for them. Her 7-Eleven paycheck must be pretty good. She provides food again for lunch… Keiichi’s not doing well in the “paying for food” department of dating. In any case, they seem to be enjoying themselves and Keiichi says he wishes he’d done this more often.
They decide to go to a lookout point and while Bell runs ahead, he steels himself for the chance to hold her hand. He runs after her but slips on a can as he descends the stairs. Bell uses her powers and catches him so he hands safely in her arms… nice embrace. Bell’s pretty smooth, think she did it on purpose? Unfortunately, people have noticed Bell’s use of magic. Great…
Keiichi says that he’s thankful that she’s saved him so many times but he feels bad that he couldn’t do anything for her today. Bell says that’s not true since he’s always thought of her when it mattered to the extent that she’s forgotten that it’s the contract that keeps them together. They both admit that they want to be together forever. He feels that his feelings will keep them together… even if she leaves, they’ll meet again somehow. Bell says that won’t happen because somehow her feelings will always reach him. Some sappy stuff, but between them, it’s quite sincere. All this emotional stuff makes him recite his wish again so that Yggdrasil reacts and Belldandy’s head lights up… same old, same old. Contract restored? Yes it is! Urd thanks Lind for helping them out and saving them but the Valkyrie shrugs it off and says it was nothing. Though the technician says that Urd didn’t do that much to help either.
Back with Bell and K-1, she asks him to look after her from now on as well. They hold hands as they seal their promise once more. They share a warm embrace and she says that she’ll be by his side forever.
That night, they sit outside on the porch and remark that it’s peaceful and they’ve shared many precious moments and that the future should hold similar things… except Skuld butts in again and complains that she didn’t get to use her machine. Urd hopes futilely that the relationship will progress further.
Wow, I like this ending sequence. The black and white manga panels really do bring back that nice nostalgic feeling. So many years and so many stories. All that time we’ve had to fall in love with our cast of characters… not to mention Bell’s constantly morphing head.
Next episode? Knitting? Sayoko attacks? Probably the sweater story? You know, the one where Bell knits Keiichi a sweater but Sayoko steals it and… oh, you know how AMG stories end by now. Heh.
This new season should probably set some new standards. First, the chronological order in which the manga goes provides them with far more good story material in comparison with some of the earlier stories that were kind of lame. Second, it’s clear they’re not afraid to deviate from the original source material as seen by the reappearance of the monk. My only complaint thus far is that there weren’t any consequences from Bell using her powers in public. It just seemed out of place and unnecessary. Not that it’ll keep me from “tithing” when the R1 DVDs for this hits American shores.
Hey Bell, can I please get a Blue Raspberry Slurpee while you’re at it? Put it on my tab.
Just wrapped up skimming through episode 1 of season 2. AMG doesn’t fail to deliver in a way, I suppose. On the other hand, I must admit that I have no idea what the heck was going on. From the gist of it, I think the goddesses are trying to restore the contract so that Keiichi and Bell can live happily ever after, etc. etc. etc.
Opening sequence is pretty cool. We pan through Heaven with Bell on the bagpipes and we see our favorite characters in the opening… including Shiho AKA “Home Invasion Wannabe Priestess.” Oh, and we see Hild and Skuld’s angel… finally. Hinting at future episodes? I do hope so.
Well, the manga never struck out in this direction… but yeah, he’s back. Yikes. But I am glad that the writers had the guts to expand into territory the manga didn’t cover. This doesn’t seem quite as serious as we… okay, less spoilers.
Before you all jump for joy, this seems like a dream sequence of some sort… so no Fourth Goddess mooching living space down on Earth. Still, it’s Peorth… ANIMATED! That’s cause for some celebration. The AMG movie didn’t do her justice and I hope she’ll see some action in the coming episodes.
Lind shows up again, as predicted. Maybe it’s just the angle and the oddball quality of the raw, but she looks a bit chubbier than usual. Not that she looks bad or anything like that.
Don’t ask. I don’t know why. But Bell’s out and flitting about in public. But if I saw my classmate flying around in class, I’d yell at them to sit down and shut up since class is still in session. Even if it’s Belldandy, class isn’t the place for such distractions.
Ah… the classic AMG comedy routine. Keiichi slips on can, falls down from high elevation, Bell uses magic to save him, she catches him in her arms, all is well. Cue “Awwwwwwwww!”
I really like the ending sequence. There’s this montage of panels from the manga and it really fits the music, not to mention making me feel really nostalgic. Ahhhh… that warm fuzzy feeling. The transition at the end from black and white manga to a color watercolor-ish picture is also pleasing to my eyes.
Need… R1… DVD… NOW! Token Asian want spend!
Oh… did moy have any hand in getting this raw? Just wondering. If it is… good ol’ moy! Danke!
Keiichi wakes up to Skuld’s screams. We cut to see that some of Skuld’s “assets” are bigger and tighter. She’s actually quite happy to see things have gotten… larger. Keiichi walks in and checks out the girl and demands to know who that is, gaining him some dirty looks from Skuld.
Later, Urd comments that the reason Skuld has aged is because each of the three goddesses governs a different aspect of time, so when they’re short on energy, they transform (if you didn’t know, Urd governs the past while Skuld governs the future). Skuld drops in wearing a rather sexy dress and starts comparing breasts with Urd. You can’t win, Skuld. In any case, Urd tells Skuld that she’ll be a granny eventually at the rate she’s aging. With the panicking that results from that, Belldandy calms everyone down and says that Yggdrasil will be restored by tonight.
Enter the Cinderella story… she’s got until night to be an adult, so Skuld decides to make the most of it with Keiichi’s help. When they’re alone, upon Keiichi asking, Skuld reveals to Keiichi that she wants to be an adult quite badly since she’s always treated like a kid (apparently she wants to be accosted in public like Urd, heh). Hey, she does act like a kid in front of ice cream, which Keiichi notes. Skuld shoves that comment aside and decides that she’s going to experience as much of being an adult as possible.
As she steps out the door, she falls to her knees as she realizes she’s hungry. And we all know Skuld eats ice cream to refill her energy. At the local ice cream store, Skuld pwns a half gallon and fills up. Some perverted guys check out Skuld and she decides that it’s quite nice to be seen as an adult. At the motor club, Skuld is introduced as Belldandy’s sister and they… kind of believe her. Urgh, that Skuld. Not to mention that she encourages them to look at Keiichi as her lover. Dear goddess, he’s so in for it. Skuld then runs over and mounts Megumi’s bike, which she can now ride… if she had a license. This can’t end well.
Skuld rides off and we see her catching the eye of Aoshima. He gets into Gendo pimp mode and invites her out for afternoon tea. Of course, Skuld takes this as “flirting,” which it is, but I think she glamorizes it a bit too much. In any case, she gets him to take her out for ice cream. A few hours later, the restaurant is out of ice cream. However, Aoshima expects her to repay it with “favors.” She notes that when he takes her arm that he’s one cold b***** rapists from Law & Order: SVU that Munch taunts every Tuesday night. Apparently Skuld doesn’t understand the mating rituals of perverts.
Skuld runs off with her wannabe rapist chasing her. Where’s Detective Munch when you need him? She runs up a flight of stairs only to find the top door locked. Aoshima catches up to her and asks if they should go now. She cries for Keiichi to help and he hears her. Skuld jumps off the stairs and lands in Keiichi’s lap and they drive off. Urd shows up and decides it’s time Aoshima got some punishment. Urd bolt… ouch.
While they ride along the road in Keiichi’s bike, Skuld thinks to herself how it was terrifying to be touched by Aoshima but it was fine for Keiichi to hold her. Back at the temple, Skuld takes his arm and thinks to herself that she’s fine with him… and her heart is throbbing. Yikes. Anyway, she asks him if they can go out a bit longer with him. Oddly, Bell says nothing about the whole thing… maybe she got trapped in Keiichi’s jacket.
Unfortunately, Keiichi’s only ideas of fun places are engineering-related. Skuld decides that they should head somewhere more female-oriented. Back at the temple, we see Megumi sobbing over her bike, which apparently is undamaged. Urd asks Bell why she didn’t follow them and our miniature goddess replies that she has to prepare dinner when Yggdrasil comes back online. The elder sister says that Skuld is obviously losing her head over Keiichi and that this might be a bad thing since they might fall in love. Bell says that they both love Keiichi. Urd just takes this to mean that they have a stable relationship and there’s nothing to worry about.
At the department store, Skuld tries on makeup… oh goddess, that’s terrifying. Thankfully, they move on to the shoe store. Apparently Skuld hasn’t quite mastered the skill of wearing heels yet. Anyway, Keiichi is forced to pay for the shoes. At the next store, Skuld tries on some clothes and looks at the complicated outfits adults have to wear. She begins to consider that being an adult may have its benefits… but. Keiichi interrupts her thoughts and she finishes dressing. YOW. Adult Skuld in cleavage-enhancing dress is pretty awesome. The store employee comes by and asks if they have some time. She asks them to help model for a bridal salon since Sayoko… is being hauled away in an ambulance due to some stomach problems. Anyway, the employee does think they’re a cute couple. Skuld decides she doesn’t mind…
In the photo studio, they both don wedding garb and have their photos taken. Skuld’s heart keeps throbbing and she decides she can’t take it anymore. The photographer then asks them to kiss for the camera. Now it’s panic time! Keiichi says they’ll just pretend, so it’s alright… still, Skuld has that “feeling” in her heart. This is just terrifying now. He tells her to close her eyes and…. Agh, I can’t watch this. We really can’t tell if their lips touched or not… but I prefer to think they didn’t.
Back home, the system is back to normal and Belldandy is somewhat back to normal size. So if Bell’s back to normal, Skuld should be… heh. Down at the beach, Skuld talks to Keiichi about her impression of being an adult. She had fun, but some things weren’t as she expected. Skuld brings up the time she was walking along with Bell and Keiichi and she saw the two lovers absorbed in talking. Apparently she felt that she would have been taken more seriously in the conversation if she were an adult. Well, she decided that she was wrong since Keiichi never talked to Skuld in the same way he talks to Belldandy despite Skuld’s new appearance. She then asks Keiichi if he loves Belldandy, to which he obviously responds yes. Skuld asks… “What if my present self…” But she hesitates. Keiichi decides it’s time to head home, but she asks Keiichi to close his eyes and turn away. She mentally thanks Keiichi for all he did and leans in towards his face. NO, NO, NO, BAD. Whew, she turned back into a kid. Just in time. If Skuld started falling for K-1, that would just be terrifying.
Keiichi plunks her down in the seat of the bike and says that she can drive here in the parking lot. She demands what this means and decides that he’s just dull as usual. Well, she’s back to her whiny self. When they return home, it seems things are back to normal, but Skuld sits alone in her room and stares at the dress she wore, wishing she was a real adult. Urd says it can’t be helped and says she feels bad for Keiichi as she hefts a tube of… something. We then hear Belldandy screaming and see Keiichi on top of Belldandy on the floor. Skuld obviously see this as Keiichi doing something perverted and begins yabbering at him. Urd comes in and says that they’re so passionate after he comes home and he must have pushed Belldandy to the floor against her will. And that tube? Super glue. Dear goddess, Urd superglued Bell to Keiichi. This can’t end well, especially Skuld going into overprotective anti-K-1 mode. Oh well, no chance of her falling for Keiichi at least, right?
Yup, things are back to normal.
Season two… coming soon. We hope, at least. Sino-Japanese relations aren’t what they used to be… and by that I mean 500 years ago. Please don’t nuke my goddess.
Complete with flashy CGI effects, Belldandy uses her unrestrained goddess powers to restore the damaged town of Nekomi to its original state. Apparently nobody really noticed the giant mythical beast attacking, goddesses flying about, and collateral damage. Kind of hard to believe, considering that a slick lawyer could sue Belldandy for a pretty penny. Anyway, Bell seals up her powers once again as she tells Keiichi that such power is too strong for use on Earth. She’s cuter with the seals anyway.
Meanwhile, we hear Urd attacking Skuld with lightning. Belldandy dismisses it as them playing tag, but when they rush inside, they see that Urd has become… rather small. Urd’s first reaction is to cry about the loss of her cleavage… which we can see quite well as her dress slips off rather easily…
Anyway, our friends conclude that the crash of Yggdrasil caused this to happen to Urd as the goddesses all draw energy from that system. Fortunately, all goddesses have an alternative source of energy, which in Urd’s case is sake. Then… WHAM. Belldandy faints and falls asleep. Well, Belldandy uses sleep to regain energy… Skuld seems unaffected as she has no powers whatsoever… >.>
A mini-Bell pops out of nowhere and decides that they need to buy clothes for Urd. Apparently miniaturizing herself reduces energy consumption. Anyway, with clothes taken care of, Urd stalks off to explore the world in her new form. We then see the scene cut to a young boy apparently skipping school to mess around with his PSP. A policeman yells in his general direction and he flinches, but only to see that our cop buddy is scolding Urd for her public drunkenness (not to mention underage drinking). Urd mutters that she’s not really a kid, then spying the young boy, tossing the sake bottle to him and running off. The confused policeman doesn’t know who to chase and in the confusion both escape.
A rather cute Urd begins to faint as she used up too much strength. The kid catches up with her sake and with the glazed look of an addict, she demands it from him. After boozing it up a bit, Urd thanks the young man for saving her, especially since he saved him without even knowing her at all. When asked what he was doing earlier, the kid starts mumbling about skipping school, but apparently Urd was more interested in the game he was playing. Hey, even goddesses like PSPs.
With some brief tutorials, Urd gets into the mood and pwns her way through some SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo (well, I’d like to imagine so). The time passes quickly and Urd decides that it’s time to call it a night. They bid farewell, but it’s clear that the kid is enamored with Urd and he introduces himself forcefully and asks for her name. Shohei Yoshida, we’ll be seeing you soon… especially if Urd wants to continue this passionate, PSP-induced love story. Same place tomorrow, Shohei… And frack it, he’s late for cram school, but still has time to grab Urd’s forgotten sake.
Back home, K-1 and Bell are heading out after her dad called and said that moon rocks would be a suitable source of alternate energy until the system is back up. Don’t ask me about the details, but apparently engineers can artificially create the chemical composition of random rocks. Ironic, considering I’m at Lehigh and not an engineer… Anyway, Urd tells them not to hurry since she’s having fun, causing Keiichi to believe (correctly) that Urd is enjoying herself.
The next day, Shohei rushes to meet Urd, who surprises him by hanging upside down from a tree. When Shohei pulls out the PSP again, Urd decides to grab his hand and pull him off to have some more adventurous stuff. Meanwhile, Keiichi and Bell are debating chemical composition and apparently their plan should work. Back with Urd, she’s collapsed by a vending machine due to lack of energy. She gives Shohei cash for some booze, but he hesitates. Urd shrugs it off and just buys the sake herself. Yet she offers him her hand again and they continue on the frolicking through the meadows and whatnot. But when they start climbing up trees, Shohei loses his grip and falls, forcing Urd to summon her angel to save him… but did he witness her using her powers?
Anyway, when he regains consciousness, he apologizes for not buying her a drink and says it’s time for cram school. Urd says that if one thinks that they can’t do something, even if it’s simple, they can never do it, and she pulls him along again. This time they head to a construction site and sneak inside. While Urd has no trouble maintaining her balance on the beams, Shohei thinks that it’s impossible. Urd reminds him of what she said earlier and brings up how he brought her the sake yesterday. I guess that wasn’t so difficult, but he realizes the reason why he could do it was because he was chasing after Urd. Balancing across a beam is small fries now.
At the top, they witness the sun setting… and the romantic scene makes Urd think that she’s intervened too much in this young man’s life. When they part ways and he asks where she lives, Urd apologizes and mournfully reminds him that she said she wasn’t really a kid earlier. She disappears, leaving him calling her name. Back at the temple, Keiichi and Bell have the moon rocks, but Urd says that she’ll deal with that tomorrow.
However, we see that Shohei followed her and Bell voices her concern. Urd replies that she did something that she shouldn’t have and that she’ll turn back to normal now. With Urd back to her normal sultry self, she goes outside to meet Shohei. The young man is speechless at the provocative Urd, who asks if he’s looking for her younger sister, who has gone back to her home far away. Shohei is disappointed and Urd apologizes, but he says that he came back to return the sake bottle to Urd. He tells her to thank Urd for all she did and that from now on that he’ll try his best… and maybe when he grows up they can meet again?
Urd says she promises that something along those lines can happen, and she kisses him. Keiichi witnesses the entire thing and is speechless. Urd tells Shohei to grow up fast and he blushes. Cute scene. But there’s still trouble ahead. The next morning, Skuld wakes up with… some extra assets. Scream, Skuld, scream. You’re in for it…
In the original manga, the closure of the relationship between Urd and Shohei was far more solid. The difference here is that Urd leaves it open to the future, where Shohei might grow up and meet her again someday. I don’t have a preference for either ending but I doubt that they’ll be any continuance of this story since it’s years ahead in the future (watch me eat my words in AMG TV season six or something). I’m also unsure whether or not Shohei realizes the truth about Urd… I’m 50-50 on that. And no, this doesn’t count as pedophilia… I think. Urd acted upon feelings she had as a child and clearly told Shohei that he had to grow up first when she returned to being an adult.
Still, I bet he enjoyed that kiss on the forehead.