Oh My Goddess! Vol 14

After getting a crash course in the Oh! My Goddess story via Animeigo’s OVA collection, I felt prepared to tackle the manga which I received courtesy of Suvudu.com.

Starting off with volume 14 I know I have missed quite a bit, but due to the episodic nature of the OVA I thought it shouldn’t be that bad. Believe it or not I was right!

The manga continues the very episodic feel with four separate stories told over eight chapters. Each story is self-contained and doesn’t present any type of over arcing storyline that most manga tend to have.

The first story deals with Keiichi’s sister Megumi as she gets into a conflict with a motorcycle rider named the Queen. The premise starts off lighthearted enough with Megumi attending the most popular lecture at her college. Only 30 people can get in and the Queen waits for the 30th rider to pass just for the opportunity to race and show off her supremacy. However, as Megumi attends the lectures and continues to beat the Queen in every race she is challenged, the story goes for a more clichéd morale to have the Queen and the reader learn that there is more than just upgrades that matter.

The second story is about Skuld trying to unlock her angel, as impatient as any child could be, and Urd coming to terms with her own history and destiny.

I could keep describing each story but that will just get tedious and boring. I found this volume quite endearing. Yes, I’m a sucker for clichés and lighthearted comedy and some people may not like this book for just those reasons. But I really enjoyed it, it didn’t challenge my mind but it made me just simply enjoy my time spent with the characters. Much like the OVA, the lack of a greater plot didn’t bother me but considering that this is volume 14 I think that even I might have gotten fed up by this point.

This kind of carefree storytelling that exists only to entertain is something I really identify with but reading 40 some odd volumes would just get boring and really cause me to dislike the series. Reading this on a weekly basis, with one chapter per week, would be perfect because you can get your kicks but not feel weighed down by the huge amount of material present.

I really look forward to reading more of Oh! My Goddess but I will have to take my time as to not get burned out.
B