Death Soldier
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Post by Death Soldier on Jul 17, 2004 18:53:49 GMT 10
I found some cool stuff about the movie, with other references, which I thought was pretty interesting... Source: g2g.iverse.com/AMG/Anime/AMGMovie-Trivia1.htmThe opening sequence of the movie was significantly changed in production. As shown in the original story board, Morgan was going to have to fight her way through a squad of the same guardian beings. The bulletin board Keiichi is putting the NIT Motor Club recruitment poster on at the start of the movie has a number of other posters on it that seem to have been borrowed from the manga or Mr. Fujishima's life. Surrounding K-1's poster is the one from Robot Wars (DH issue IV-1, K chapt. 40, Dec. 91) announcing the robot competition that Skuld and Megumi face each other in, and the Manager Wanted poster from the NIT Women's Volleyball Club door in On A Wing And A Prayer (DH issue III-3, K chapt. 24, Aug. 90). It is also suspect that the woman featured on the row of posters at the top of the board is one of the voice actresses, possible Kikuko Inoue, but I'm not familiar enough with how she looks to really say (just a couple of old pics on old sites). tinypic.com/sua1 [/img] There are also a few posters advertising a horse race with the English words Blood-Horse on them. Blood Horse is the name of an international organization, magazine, and website for the breeders of thoroughbred race horses. It also seems to be of some importance to the Japanese horse racing community, but what the purpose of having a poster with its name on it on a Nekomi Tech bulletin board eludes me. Any ideas? Has anyone heard of Mr. Fujishima or the Ah! Megami-sama crew being involved in horse racing? I wouldn't put it past him considering all his other hobbies. Artist: Raekwon Title:ONLY BUILT 4 CUBAN LINX Manufacturer: RCA Released: 01 August, 1995 Audio CD Features: Explicit Lyrics The album cover on the sign is the same one that's on this CD, and the crew around the table look kinda like the group's members. So someone high up in the production crew of the movie is a big rap fan and stuck in a real rap group as a cameo in the movie, possibly as homage or as a favor. tinypic.com/suaf[/img]The four vehicles shown by the motorclub at their recruitment show are; the hill climb motorcycle from "It's lonely at the Top", K-April 1993, the go-cart from "Winner Take All", K-June 1990, the fuel conservation racer from "Mystical Engine", K-Feb. 1991, and the Honda Super Cub funny bike from "Leader of the Pack", K-Aug. 1989, all from the early years of the series. And of course, Bell and Keiichi are driving the side car racer from "The Phantom Racer" arc, parts 1-4, K-chapt. 110-113, Sept.-DEC 1997 (the year the movie was announced). Just like with the character montage at the start of the OAV series, an effort to tie the movie and the manga together.
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Death Soldier
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The Dark Soldier
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Post by Death Soldier on Jul 17, 2004 18:57:48 GMT 10
Just like with the character montage at the start of the OAV series, an effort to tie the movie and the manga together. tinypic.com/suah[/img] tinypic.com/suaq[/img]The calendar over the phone in the Morisato household was dated 2001, the year the movie was released just like with the episode dating in the manga, and was for the months (3 and 4, meaning March - April). Cherry trees blossom in mid-April in the Chiba prefecture. Interesting yeh? Not that it makes much of a difference…just lots of references and ideas..heh heh tinypic.com/suax [/img] When Urd takes off to rescue Belldandy after her phone call from Peorth, did you recognize the broom? Several people besides myself have identified it as Stringfellow, the flying broom from "The Goddess's Apprentice", K-chapt. 80, April 1995. (Note the attached charm) I'm sure a lot of people noticed this but I'll mention it anyway. If you look carefully at the Yggdrasil command station being (WO)manned by Chrono, Ere, and Ex you'll see the controls they're working are in the form of threads and shuttle cocks on a weaving loom. This is undoubtedly a reference to the mythological tradition of the Norns who take care of Yggdrasil being weavers. I think everyone who's watched the movie at all closely and knows the manga spotted Skuld's Kyupon Inhaler-Z (from Belldandy's Tempestuous Heart, DH issue IV-4, K chapt. 43, Mar. 1992) on the floor as she attempts to restore Belldandy's memory, but did you spot her Quantum Space Expander (from Wide, Wider, Widest, DH issue 93, K chapt. 106, June 1997) next to it? And the control in her hand for the memory restorer is, I believe, some sort of game controller like she used for the space expander. The gamers out there can probably ID it. As you probably recall, at the conclusion of "Childhood's End" when Skuld and Bell are going home, Belldandy says they'll get Skuld a bicycle the next day. But we never hear or see anything more about it. At least until the movie. For lo and behold, in the shed next to Keiichi's broken BMW are two bicycles, one of which is definitely Bell's from that story and the end of Peorth's arc, and a smaller yellow one leaning against the wall that is probably Skuld's. In the scene where Belldandy goes into Keiichi's room to clean up after she's cooked that oversized breakfast, you may remember she drops a photo album she'd just picked up. It falls open as it hits the floor, revealing pictures of her past that Bell finds strangely effecting. Well, thanks to having just spent several days rereading the story for another topic, I've recognized the first two photos as being the girls in their softball uniforms from "Play The Game", K-June 1993, the story where Megumi drafts Keiichi and the goddesses to help her softball team defeat the NIT baseball team. Further investigation has shown that the next two photos are from the hot spring vacation in "Karaoke Hell", K-Aug. 1993, the story that starts the "Demon Urd" Arc (check the yukata the goddesses are wearing), and the last two are from "Sorrow, Fear Not", K-July 1993, featuring Bell, Keiichi, and Marron, the dog Megumi found and asked them to look after. (The other pages just seem to be general pictures, but maybe others can spot additional connections.)
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Death Soldier
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Post by Death Soldier on Jul 17, 2004 19:08:25 GMT 10
((continued...)) In the scene where Belldandy goes into Keiichi's room to clean up after she's cooked that oversized breakfast, you may remember she drops a photo album she'd just picked up. It falls open as it hits the floor, revealing pictures of her past that Bell finds strangely effecting. Well, thanks to having just spent several days rereading the story for another topic, I've recognized the first two photos as being the girls in their softball uniforms from "Play The Game", K-June 1993, the story where Megumi drafts Keiichi and the goddesses to help her softball team defeat the NIT baseball team. Further investigation has shown that the next two photos are from the hot spring vacation in "Karaoke Hell", K-Aug. 1993, the story that starts the "Demon Urd" Arc (check the yukata the goddesses are wearing), and the last two are from "Sorrow, Fear Not", K-July 1993, featuring Bell, Keiichi, and Marron, the dog Megumi found and asked them to look after. (The other pages just seem to be general pictures, but maybe others can spot additional connections.) The second hot spring vacation photo is a group shot of Urd, Bell, and Skuld, with a fourth female face to their left half obscured by the photo's frame. She has orange-bronze skin the same color as Urd's, an eye like Urd's, and wavy, curly blondish hair. There also appears to be a shadowy triangular cheek mark. Now who do we know that was at the hot springs with the goddesses that might fit those characteristics? Unfortunately, between her hair and the degree of picture resolution, I can't see if there's a diagonal marking on her forehead That would cinch the identification as Mara, but there's still enough similarities to make me pretty sure that's her in the left hand corner of that photo. In the scene in the movie where Belldandy and Celestin watch Morgan and her friend get separated by the Judgment Gate, we never learn who the friend was. He was possibly early European, such as a Celt, and had a harp or lute on his back which might make him a bard, Myyridin. That's an early Celtic name for a mythological figure who later became Merlin. Myyridin (or Myrddin) started as a celtic bard who went mad when he lost all his loved ones in a battle. He ran off to live in the wilderness, could talk to animals, and gained the gift of prophesy. That he could be the guy with Morgan is possible, several versions of his story have him being the one who taught Morgan Le Fay her magic Celestin's punishment in the movie also tells us something about how things work in Belldandy's world. Essentially, his access to Yggdrasil or its heavenly equivalent was turned off, making it impossible for him to create a body, and his animating spirit was placed into an object that couldn't be manipulated to move or function in any way. His intelligence remained, but could no longer influence the reality around him while still remaining linked to a physical object. When Morgan rescued him and agreed to be his partner, he could then access Yggdrasil through her connections. So when his intellect becomes dominant, her body changes to his because that's how Yggdrasil recognizes him. When he possesses Keiichi though, he can only make external changes, clothes and external program markings, because Keiichi's body is separate from his intellect and it would require a separate transformation to change it to resemble Celestin's, and that might mess up Celestin's access to Yggdrasil. - - - Right after Urd arrives at the convention center and threatens Celestin after he's freed Belldandy's memories, he lets go of Bell, who turns around and weaves about for a bit before focusing somewhat on Urd. We see by a confusion of images that Belldandy is having flashbacks to the vordhr (guardian angel) attack on Celestin and levatates off the floor. Then (this is the subtle part) if you watch closely, she shrinks slightly in her clothes before announcing "Don't harm Celestin!" to who- ever she thinks is there and attacking Urd. After a short, but intense, battle between Bell, Urd, Holy Bell, and World of Elegance, Urd warns Bell she's being used. This gets through to Belldandy's inner consciousness, she shudders, then goes into an emotional collapse, symbolized by Holy Bell retreating in pain back into Bell and her wind element powers raging out of control around her. Then Keiichi arrives, and once again saves Bell from her torment by providing her a focus to grab onto, one true emotional point, as it were, when all others are suspect. Bell grabs hold of her emotions and passes out. Then we have what at first seemed a rather confusing scene with a naked grown up Belldandy rising out of a watery surface to confront, comfort, and embrace a younger looking Belldandy. The gist of this conversation is that older Bell would accept and feel the other's pain and together they would face whatever was to come. Then she wakes up to discover Keiichi in a soggy state next to her, and based on her sleeves, she's returned to her normal size (important). When Urd gave that potion to Belldandy, it didn't erase the emotions of loss and betrayal that were incapacitating her, it just separated them from her active consciousness. (Urd even says at one point that not even heaven can permanently erase memories.) In other words, it transferred all Bell's telemetry records for the events involved to a separate file that she couldn't access. The movie depicts this rather graphically in the scenes after Urd gives Bell the potion. First Bell sheds a tear, which splashes and becomes a blue ball, which then rises past Belldandy in her bed. As it floats past the bubble becomes transparent revealing a young, nude Belldandy clasping herself in a position of grief, the same position she's seen in later in the water scene. This left a break in Bell's life's records at the point where Celestin revolted, the absence of which caused a vague confusion but didn't really effect her functioning. (Celestin did something similar with her memories of Keiichi.) When Celestin unlocked those memories, he unlocked her telemetry as well, causing Ygdrassil to go back to creating Bell's physical body at the age she was when it happened. Belldandy came to thinking at first that it was the day Celestin was captured and resumed defending him, and her body changed to reflect this younger Bell. Hence the shrinkage. If you watch carefully, as she bends backwards while floating, her arms recede into her sleeves and her bust becomes smaller, symbolizing that her body now reflects the younger Belldandy we just saw in Celestin's flashback. Finally Urd got through to her current consciousness, which caused Bell great internal confusion as she tried to sort out the conflicting memories and emotions. She was losing this battle until Keiichi called out to her, giving her a strong emotional link to focus on, but the shock caused her to pass out. The water scene then symbolizes the current Bell confronting the younger, emotionally damaged part of her life that had been separated and sealed. Now older, more mature, and supported by a love she can count on, Bell accepts the pain and loss that had incapacitated her before, and recombines it with her main memories. This makes her far stronger than she was, and ready to face further possible loss, something she hadn't been able to do before. It also returns her to her normal physical form.
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Death Soldier
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Post by Death Soldier on Jul 17, 2004 19:20:43 GMT 10
In the big movie fight scene in the conference center, Belldandy successfully defends Celestin from all of Urd's attacks and easily keeps her eldest sister on the defensive. But didn't she say early in the series that Urd was much more powerful than her? She did, but I think it was a matter of her perception (and/or Mr. Fujishima changing his mind). As Urd's younger sister, Bell grew up with the knowledge that Urd was initially more powerful than her because of their age difference. And lacking any real aggressiveness except in defense of people she loves, Bell doesn't put the force and effort into her general attacks that Urd does, so she just kept assuming that Urd was stronger than her. And Urd has been quite willing to go along with this perception, even though she KNOWS who's really the most powerful now, having seen what Bell can do when motivated. That's one reason she's a little afraid of what might happen should Belldandy lose it completely. She's been there and knows she couldn't stop her. Of course Urd was also holding back in the fight. Like I said, she wouldn't want to hurt Belldandy, just Celestin. And I'm sure you've noted the difference between what she tosses at Belldandy and what she produced at the end of the movie to attack the scythe monster. That was an impressive bit of lightening, easily up to the level Belldandy was describing back when she was telling Keiichi how powerful Urd was right after she arrived. (like mother, like daughter, that's Urd) Her attacks at the convention center were barely on the map compared to that. - - - - - -- - - Skuld's magic shows a great deal of improvement in the movie. When she impulsively lashes out at Celestin, she's strong enough to injure him (and Morgan), and floods the area with the backlash of her water-element powers. The movie also shows her levitating herself and being able to both teleport and lift Keiichi. She's seen supporting Nobel Scarlet at goddess levels and using her with skill and power. (As seen in the final singing scene, Skuld and Scarlet are holding their own with the others). Obviously, Skuld has matured and become a lot stronger in the movie than she is in the current Dark Horse releases. As for why she could take out a god as powerful as Celestin, he's really only as strong as Morgan could be, and isn't particularly aggressive. In the whole previous fight he just stood there while Belldandy did all the work. And I don't think he was expecting any serious attack from Skuld, the last time he would have seen her she was still very much "just a kid". So he really wasn't prepared for it. Finally, as seen in the Sentaro arc, Skuld was already capable of surges of adult strength power back then. Her level of surge power could only have increased. So in a moment of rage, our goddess of the future and her angel should have been able to produce quite a powerful attack, and Celestin wouldn't have been expecting it. - - - - ElementsEach goddess has talents and abilities besides their elemental power. Belldandy can restore things and has great empathy for living things, allowing her to understand and help them. Urd is a master of potions and computer operations, and is a self proclaimed goddess of love and luck. And Skuld is a mathematical and technological genius, capable of devising machines to do anything her sisters would do with magic. But they each have an elemental power that is unique to them. These elemental powers are not so much powers restricted to a given element, but rather cause their powers to be manifest in a form related to that element. In other words, when a goddess calls on her power to do some aggressive or defensive task, the visible manifestation of that power will appear as their elemental power. (i.e. wind and fire shields, air bug spiralees, water blasts.) These elemental powers are somehow tied in with their angels, but since Skuld had her first water elemental storm while Noble Scarlet was back in her egg, it appears to be a case of the angel takes on the power of its host goddess and then the goddess gains control of that elemental power through the angel. Still it wouldn't have been until Skuld got Nobel Scarlet back that her water element power would really show up. Apparently, Mr. Fujishima decided to add this concept to the story at that time, basing it on the old alchemy concept of the four elements, earth, wind, fire, and water. (Not necessarily a European concept, it was pointed out to me that both Chinese and Japanese philosophy had similar ideas about the physical nature of things.) He may have had it in mind for awhile, or discovered he'd already set things up for the idea by accident (Urd > lightening > energy > fire, Belldandy > gentle breeze > air, Skuld > water transport medium) and just decided to go with it. Either way, they're part of the story now.
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Belldandy
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Post by Belldandy on Jul 20, 2004 16:40:56 GMT 10
Amazing, I've been to this site but not that section. I love these overanalyses. I understand most of it, but I'll need to collect more manga to fully understand it. These people are very dedicated and spent alot of time researching to find answers to trival details. I realised alot from reading all that, and just in case people don't know there's more from the site. Although I don't think that person in the poster looks like Kikuko Inoue, unless it's when she was younger. What does anyone else think? picture from nekomikodai.otakalypse.com/ another great and very detailed site. *edit - it seems to be gone
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Post by Chibi Jen on Jul 22, 2004 21:19:04 GMT 10
Wow.. that is soooooooooooooo cool! I get particularly excited when they mention a chapter in the manga, and that I've read it before.. My goodness.. I never notice these tiny little details
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Post by magicchicken on Sept 17, 2004 19:15:25 GMT 10
I recently got the movie and i loved it. Though that is all I have seen of ah my goddess. I would love to see more.
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Belldandy
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Post by Belldandy on Sept 18, 2004 9:34:03 GMT 10
that's great, although you might not understand what's going on sometimes since they don't really introduce the characters that much (expecting people to have already seen the ovas?) The only other "anime" of A!MS besides the movie is the ovas (5) and the mini goddess series... but hopefully there'll be a full anime series in the near future
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Post by Jess-chan on Nov 16, 2006 12:41:28 GMT 10
I've ordered the movie and will hopefully be getting it soon. I saw a bit of it a while ago in English before actually watching the series. It seemed interesting but I didn't want to spoil it for myself.
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Belldandy
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Post by Belldandy on Nov 16, 2006 16:07:03 GMT 10
english dubbing.... is ok I guess ^_^ but Japanese is much better
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Post by Jess-chan on Nov 17, 2006 3:04:15 GMT 10
I agree. The Japanese is much better. I got the movie in the mail today. I'll try to watch it soon.
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Belldandy
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Post by Belldandy on Nov 18, 2006 9:35:36 GMT 10
oooo~ post your comments about it when you finish watching it Jess-chan ^^ Mail a? I rarely (if ever) order things via mail, is it safe?
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Post by Jess-chan on Nov 18, 2006 9:40:16 GMT 10
I ordered it from a site and payed with personal check. I'll never use a credit card online. It's a very good site. I'm kinda addicted to the Tv series and I'll probably watch the movie when I'm done with it.
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Belldandy
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Post by Belldandy on Nov 18, 2006 10:13:58 GMT 10
I'm so glad DS copied and pasted the text. The site seems to be gone *edit - oh, what's the site called Jess chan, I want to have a look ^^
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Post by Chibi Jen on Nov 18, 2006 13:46:58 GMT 10
I prefer the art in the OVAs and Movie to the new TV series..character looks better.. but probably higher budget ^^;
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