Belldandy

From Animepedia

Belldandy is the main character in the series Ah! Megamisama. She is a first class goddess, second category, unlimited license with the Goddess Relief Office. She comes to Morisato Keiichi when he accidentally calls the office in an attempt to order take out. She appears about 21 years old altho her real age is not known, Belldandy always puts her birthday as January, 1st. For the japanese versions Kikuko Inoue does the voice for Belldandy in the movie, OVA, TV series and most of the episodes of the Mini Goddess series (Excpet for when she was on maternity leave where she was voiced by Akemi Okamura for episodes 1-13).

Story

Belldandy is a Goddess sent by heaven to help those on earth who are deemed "worthy" of having their wishies fulfilled. She is a first class goddess, her sister Urd being a second class goddess, with an unlimited license. She comes to Morisato Keiichi for a reason only deemed as "fate". Although she does tell him that he did pass the assesment and meet the qualifications.

As a child she decended to earth once to be seen and met by Keiichi. He made Belldandy promise to meet him there the next day which, due to her being unlicensed and not allowed to make contracts at the time, caused her to be punished. She was charged to erase Keiichi's memory of the entire encounter. Keiichi willingly volunteers for her to do it realizing how upset she is about the whole ordeal, but promises her that if they meet again he will remember her.

The movie shows that Belldandy was mentored by a God named Celestin. He was very respected in heaven and charged to teach Belldandy as she grew. She is a very naive person, and has a great love for all living things. Celestin teaches her that she can use her love in song to help nature around her. He also finds that Belldandy is very quick to cry. The first time the two of them meet she is crying under a bush because she found a dead bird. She does seem to cry a lot in the movie, mostly due to her childish demeanor and naive ways. She has total trust for everyone around her. This trait lead her to be taken advantage of by Celestin, who used her trust and love for him to attempt to destroy Yggdrasil.

Later, she meets Keiichi who wishes her to stay with him forever. His wish is approved and by a contract with Heaven they are bound together forever. They move into a temple located in the city of Neokmi. As Keiichi is a college student at Nekomi Tech, Belldandy also enrolls there.

After she meets Keiichi her whole outlook changes. She is willing to give anything and everything up just to be with him. Before, she wanted to do whatever she could to make people happy, now her main focus is to make Keiichi happy. Even in the manga when a man attempted to seduce her she said "If I had a choice between saving the world and Keiichi, I'd save Keiichi." She loves him whole heartedly and they were the first people to ever successfully pass through the "Gate of Judgement". She also happens to be very possesive and jealous of Keiichi. This is shown twice in the movie. Once when she was singing Karaoke and Hasegawa was rubbing against Keiichi while she was drunk, Belldandy became very upset. She used her powers and broke several glass containers in the Auto Club house. The second time is when she saw Morgan Le Fey kissing Keiichi in the clinic. She became very angry and confronted Keiichi on the whole ordeal, after realizing that it wasn't what she thought she openly admitted that she seems to have a dark side of jealousy within her.

Throughout both the movie and the OVA Belldandy and Keiichi's relationship have come under attack. In the OVA Belldandy was pursued by Aoshima, Belldandy was too naive at the time to realize it at first. Later in the episode Burning Hearts on the Road she agrees to the contract of her joining the Racing Club should Keiichi lose, but assures Aoshima that he won't win because he is not worthy. In the TV series Keiichi is pursued by Sayoko as well, but he does not respond. Although in the OVA in Midsummer Night's Dream Urd gives him a potion to make him fall in love with the first person he sees, unfortunately this is Sayoko. It was Keiichi and Belldandy's love that broke the spell, even though Urd says that there was no cure. In the movie, it seemed as though at first Celestin had romatic feelings towards Belldandy, and Keiichi still stuck by her, even when her memory was erased of the two years they had spent together.

At the end of the movie Belldandy and Keiichi find themselves before the Gate of Judgement. Their love is finally put to the ultimate test, and with unflinching resolve they pass through and come out on the other side. Also their love, and a little help from Urd, is what helps them overcome the final obsticle in the OVA. Even though just being near Belldandy causes explosions and destruction, Keiichi persists. He even defys the Lord when he tries to push through the gate to be with Belldandy. Belldandy enters his mind at the risk of losing herself just to bring him back.

Character

Belldandy is kind, patient, beautiful and caring. She is so trusting of everything and everyone around her it gives her the aura of being ditzy or naive. Belldandy is also very forgiving, even of people who do her harm. Although she is naively trusting, there is one person she doesn't always trust, that is her half sister Urd. She realizes that Urd is often scheming about one thing or another, and will use whatever it takes to get her own ends.

She is one of the most skilled goddesses in heaven. Infact her power is so great, she is required to wear an earring on her left ear that keeps some of it restrained. Belldandy has all the powers of her sisters, ability to change clothes at will, ability to fly (either on her own or carrying others), the ability to teleport through mirrors. She also is able to speak to and understand animals and nature, see peoples auras, and heal wounds and sickness. She is able to heal and restore nature by singing to it, and her singing skills are very highly regarded, even in heaven. Belldandy is an excellent cook, even Skuld admires the perfection of the cake she made to go with Tea in Burning Hearts on the Road. Belldandy enjoys cooking saying that she "thinks about what it is going to be when it is done and makes it with love".

Her angel is "Holy Bell". Holy Bell is blonde and beautiful. Her powers are that of air or wind, and only contriubute to Belldandy's already amazing power. When Celestin infected Belldandy with a virus in the Movie, Holy Bell appeared with giant blue crystals protruding out of her. When Belldandy sings Holy Bell comes out to amplify the power of her song and voice. She also emerges when Belldandy fights and helps her attack or protect her when she is attacked.

Belldandy works in the Goddess Relief Agency. Her job is to form contracts and grant wishes of humans on earth.

Belldandy also has a darker side. Her one flaw is her jealousy of anything that regards Keiichi. When other girls show attention to Keiichi, be it goddess, demon or human, she loses control of her powers and reason, causing things to shatter. During the Gate Arc of the manga, Gate wanted to kiss Keiichi and Belldandy wouldn't allow it. Also she became so jealous of how Gate was acting towards Keiich that she totally lost control in an explosion that knocked out Keiichi, her sisters and destroying the landscape.

Origins of Belldandy

Belldandy, and her three sisters, come from a legend of the three norse fates. The original norse name is Verdandi, but due to translation into japanese became Berudandi. Eventually this was changed to Belldandy to make it easier on the audience. She represents the fate of the present. Many of the problems that she deals with have to do with threats on the Yggdrasil computer that runs heaven and earth.