Subject: Character Depth: Belldandy Megami ML Post By J. Lan Bellsmith, Lord of Pendragon ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hiya all. Now I've been on this list a while, and I've heard people who, among other things, claim a lot of things about our favorite goddess of the present. I've heard people say she isn't realistic. I've heard people say she's one-dimensional. I've heard people say she is, in fact, locked in a spiral of ever-strengthening super-kindness that threatens to remove any interesting qualities from her character. (I paraphrase, of course.) But rereading through my AMG! manga, of which I am now the proud owner of all 14 volumes, I find myself seeing a different picture. I feel it is my duty, as one of Belldandy's fans and Dai-Shinkan, to bring it to the MLs attention. Yes, Belldandy is most often kind, caring, and selfless. However, her character is not as shallow and one-dimensional as it may seem at first. I've found that Fujishima-sensei can be, at times, incredibly subtle when it comes to character development. Not -saying- things, but -showing- them, so it can be hard at times to pick out what's being said, because only rarely is it actually -said- to be picked out. For instance, while Belldandy is kind and sweet (as we all know,) she's also apologetic. And not just for herself. She's the kind of person who apologizes for everything, even things over which she has absolutely no control. (Have you ever met someone like that? A friend of mine is just like that. I tell her, "hey, I tried to call you last night, but you weren't home." "I know, I'm sorry." "'t's all right. Got a bad test score yesterday." "I'm sorry." "Ate some bad fruit this morning." "I'm sorry." AAArrgh.) Keiichi in fact points this out to her, to which she responds, "I'm sorry." "Hora!" (See?) And, while Belldandy can be kind and sweet, Urd has mentioned on several occasions that Belldandy can be very scary when she's upset. For a very graphic depiction of Belldandy in a not-so-good mood, check out manga vol. 8, chapter 49, page 65. As Urd says, "kowakatta!" (That was scary!!) Belldandy can, in fact, grow upset. The fact that she's rarely upset says a great deal about her tolerance levels and forgivingness, but the fact that it happens is significant. And real. Sure, she never gets made at Keiichi. But then again, Keiichi's a great guy. We've never seen him get mad at her either. Of course, the most valid example of Belldandy's reality comes, for me, in vol 9, chapter 57, page 186. It's a mark of Fujishima-sensei's skill that a drawing can embody so much emotion so eloquently. Sure, she's nice, but I think that Belldandy is the same nice, sweet, insecure, beautiful, apologetic, loyal, combustible goddess she ever was. It's just that, luckily for them, nobody's been giving her a reason to get pissed off lately. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Character Depth: Keiichi. Megami ML Post By J. Lan Bellsmith, Lord of Pendragon There's been a lot of talk over why Keiichi doesn't make the moves on Belldandy. People have put forth various reasons. Recently in the DH (SP? ) translation of the manga, the most facsinating explaination came forth from Keiichi's own thoughts. I'm curious to know if anyone who reads Japanese fluently and has the DH version could tell me if the translation is true to the original, because if it is, the idea is astonishing. It's in the chapter where Belldandy is fed the love-potion by Urd (messed up by Skuld) and turns into a sex-bomb. Keiichi mentions not wanting to let matters go too far between himself and Belldandy because he's afraid of what that might mean for -her-. ("Will she be able to go back home when the time comes? Will I be able to -let- her?") What an intriguing possibility! If true, not only would it explain all those moments where Belldandy is coming on to Keiichi and him freaking out, but it says a lot about his character. Other characters in the manga, and even himself, may berate Keiichi for not being a man, but if this is true, it makes Keiichi more a man than a lot of guys, because he's putting his girl's welfare above his own desires.