Summary: If you just want one sample of the original series, which is a classic, Volume 1 of the El-Hazard video (dubbed or subtitled) should suffice. There is unfortunately no individual DVD release. If you want the entire original series, the DVD Box Set is a good buy, which will also give you El-Hazard 2. If the lower animation quality of El-Hazard 2 is acceptable to you and you want still more of what has turned into a formulaic plot, go on to El-Hazard: The Alternative World. As for El-Hazard: The Wanderers TV series, comparing it with the original OAV series provides some insights between what is considered acceptable risque adolescent humor in Japan's video market versus what is acceptable for family TV programming.

Oh My Goddess! V.1 - 2.
OAV series, 1993-1994. Director: Hiroaki Gohda. V.1, 3 episodes/87 minutes; V.2, 2 episodes/69 minutes. Price & format: DVD (bilingual), $24.95. Distributor: AnimEigo.

One of the genuine fan hits of the 1990s, to the extent that there were impassioned arguments among fans as to whether the Japanese title Aa! Megami-sama should be translated literally as Ah! My Goddess or more loosely as Oh My Goddess! to get in the English pun on "Oh, My God!''; until creator Kosuke Fujishima went on record in favor of the latter. It began as a manga in September 1988; another variant on the teen "magical girlfriend" formula, but with an unusually sweet and romantic plot. By 1992 the manga was so popular that its beginning was adapted into this five-episode OAV release. College freshman Keiichi Morisato is the stereotype of the nice guy who lets everyone impose on him. He is shocked when young goddess Belldandy appears to grant him a wish. He wishes that he could have a girl friend just like her; and Belldandy herself is assigned to remain on Earth with him. The "Relief Goddess Office" in Heaven alters reality so that the two teens are able to set up housekeeping in absolutely chaste circumstances, with Keiichi's younger sister moving in to provide a chaperone. The setup is so proper that Belldandy's more extroverted older sister goddess Urd joins them in episode #2 to deliberately spice things up with some mild femme fatale humor. Episode #3 brings in their youngest sister, Skuld, a tomboy whose magic runs toward mechanical gadgets. Having set up the basic plot, the last two episodes throw it into jeopardy. The goddess' attempt to leave Fate running on automatic while they are on Earth is breaking down, and God orders them back on the job. Keiichi and Belldandy are heartbroken at being separated. Urd and Skuld determine to help the two lovers, even if it means risking the wrath of God...

Oh My Goddess! Volumes 1 - 2. Images courtesy of AnimEigo.

The OAV skips much background, assuming viewers are familiar with the more detailed comic-book serial. Fortunately, AnimEigo included extensive notes in its 1994 American video release, which are also in the new DVD version. Belldandy (present), Urd (past) and Skuld (future) are the three Fates from Norse mythology ("Belldandy" should be Verthande), Heaven is Asgard and God is Wotan. In the myths the three Fates guard the world-tree Yggdrasil from the monsters and demons that would destroy it. In Fujishima's version Heaven is a futuristic computer center, Yggdrasil is the master program that controls Fate, and the three sisters are the programmers who keep the fate of humanity running smoothly. (Skuld "debugs" Yggdrasil by chasing after the bugs -- spiders with rabbit heads -- with a mallet.) Many more revelations appear gradually, although they are less important than the interplay between the characters. Oh My Goddess! is a rare title in which the story is less important than the attractive personalities. Keiichi, Belldandy, and the others are so darn nice that you would want to spend an evening with them if all they did was sit around drinking tea and chatting. Fujishima's comic book, which goes on far past the events in the anime, is one of the most popular translated manga in America, appearing monthly from Dark Horse Comics since August 1994.

The five-episode OAV was one of A.I.C.'s highest-quality productions. The first four half-hour episodes appeared quarterly between February and December 1993; the 40-minute finale did not come out until May 1994. The animators clearly took enough time to do a good job. The music by Takeshi Yasuda has been a fan-favorite CD import for years. AnimEigo's DVD includes not only the usual options of both English and Japanese audio tracks, with or without subtitles, but a "dub your own" option for would-be voice actors with the music and sound FX but no dialogue.