We must ask the evergreen question: for someone who is unfamiliar with the manga, or with any other iteration of the material, how would a full-length film hold up on its own merits? Well, the fact that we're thrown headlong into the plot from the outset without even the slightest exposition is not encouraging. Who is Belldandy? What are her powers? What is her connection to Keiichi? Who is anyone? These super-powered beings are also all standalone conduits for some type of universal celestial Internet, apparently? The best case scenario is that we'll find all this out in time; in the worst case scenario, maybe we'll just have to figure it out for ourselves as the minutes tick by. Even setting this aside the writing feels terribly forced and inorganic from the get-go, with heedlessly brusque, swift pacing, rough sequencing, rushed and inchoate plot development with lacking elucidation, incomplete character writing, and so on. It's a rather inauspicious start for 'Ah! My goddess: The movie.'
Such issues persist as the length draws on, never entirely going away and giving the unknowing viewer a very disparate and very patchy rendition of what should be a whole image communicated with total fidelity. The good news is that the picture does actually dispense more information bit by tiny bit, gradually revealing more about the universe in which the saga operates, our characters, the scenario, and the plot as it progresses. It's an extremely challenging approach taken here, and a risky one, that is decidedly uncommon in fiction at large: it's one matter to tell audience members more as a story goes on - that's the fundamental nature of narrative fiction, of course - but it's another to withhold enormous chunks of basic, crucial concepts until the story has already been moving forward. In some measure I admire the gumption that produced that course, whether the responsibility lies with screenwriters Yokote Michiko and Tomizawa Yoshihiko, or filmmaker Goda Hiroaki. Still, the fact is that the doing here is clunky, unwieldy, and questionable, making a very poor impression at the outset. Bold moves require a delicate touch to pull off, and the success here is very mixed at best.
Provided one can get past the initial upset, it could still be argued that the film is somewhat imbalanced as the presence of goddesses in Keiichi's very normal life on Earth as blended unevenly with the development of a plot beyond the bounds of our world - a tale of conspiracy, manipulation, rebellion, and a hubristic grab for power, set against the unyielding dominion of Heaven. Nevertheless, by the time the first third of the runtime has elapsed the feature has begun to gel, and even with the sorry start, there's a lot to like here. The story is compelling and rich with flavors of fantasy, action, adventure, and romance, and I can easily see how its compression into a single full-length movie is not its ideal form; the extended expansion of an anime series or manga does seem the natural and preferred way. Even at that Yokote and Tomizawa give us an absorbing saga, with what turns out to be fairly strong scene writing, and treatment of characters, and in the very least, I have a taste for more. Commendable voice acting and Hamaguchi Shiro's dynamic, enticing music are just nice bonuses.
Meanwhile, even if it's not the absolute top of the line, we can consistently rely on animation houses in Japan to turn out superb work, and AIC's contribution here is really just as great as we'd hope. With some arguable occasional exceptions the animation is terrific, in most all the ways we anticipate: gorgeous backgrounds, whether interiors or exteriors, landscapes or structures of civilization; splendid, often imaginative designs for characters, creatures, and other active elements; excellent detail and texture, and consideration for lighting, shading, and perspective; fluid movement and dazzling action, marvelous and eye-catching effects, and judicious, sparing use of 3D stylization; and so on. Wonders can be achieved with animation that simply cannot in live-action fare, at least not without gargantuan expenditure of money and resources, and even as I've only recently begun to dip my toes into anime, it readily seems to me that the industry in Japan has a veritable stranglehold on mastery that the most esteemed counterparts in the United States or elsewhere can scarcely dream of. This title has its problems, but its animation is definitely not one of them.
The beginning is difficult, the writing is flawed generally, and there's no doubt in my mind that the material is being shortchanged all the while, to one discernible extent or another. Yet even with all its troubles I see the outstanding ideas that 'Ah! My goddess: The movie' boasts, notions that are ripe for a much bigger and grander epic. If at first this flick had me doubting, the sum total can claim value that well outshines its most dubious weaknesses - and considering how harsh my judgment was at the outset, that's saying a lot. It won't appeal to all comers, and I can understand how others will impugn it more heavily, but I find myself pleasantly surprised at how this turned around and proved its worth. Faults and all, 'Ah! My goddess: The movie' is entertaining and satisfying, and both its storytelling and its animation are ultimately a real treat. It's hardly a must-see, but if you do have the opportunity to watch and are willing to abide the shortcomings, then I'm quite happy to give 'Ah! My goddess' my warm recommendation.
