The Adventures of Mini-Goddess:
The Urd Files (1998)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Based on the manga by Kosuke Fujishima
Directed by Yasuhiro Matsumura

Features:

• character profile
  
• character art gallery
  
• English and Japanese audio
  
• English subtitles
  

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• ninjas!
• Urd making decisions

Rating: 13+

Anamorphic: N/A; presented in original TV aspect

My Advice: Rent it.

Based upon a manga called Ah! Megami-Sama: Chicchai-Tte Koto Wa Benri Da Ne, the idea here is that the three goddesses who live with Keichi, the college student--Urd, Belldandy, and Skuld--shrink themselves to mini size whenever he leaves the house. When small, they get into all sorts of trouble with their rat sidekick, Gan-Chan.

The Adventures of Mini-Goddess: The Urd Files contains twelve episodes, each standing pretty much on its own, with the exception of a couple of two-episode story arcs. The plots are enjoyable and straightforward; for example, in the first two episodes, the goddesses leave, locking up the refrigerator and leaving Gan the rat in charge of guarding the house. When Gan is attacked by a vicious gang of rats, he must risk life and whisker to defend the fridge from them, as well as from an extra, evil visitor the goddesses know...

The animation is rather nice, with crisp colors and pretty, if childlike, style. The costumes are all the same as the original AMG series, so everything will be quite familiar to old fans. The quality of the animation is good, also in keeping with the original AMG series. The overall look is of a remastered TV series, certainly good enough for the young market at whom this series is targeted.

The sound is also rather good, with the voices providing a good example of how not to be an irritating female Anime voice. Even the ditzy Skuld isn't as irritating as such character voices often are in Anime--a nice surprise for certain. It is too bad that the intro music is so brief and only a faint counterpoint to the voiceover.

The extras, however, are the real weak point of this series. There's really nothing much worth noting, though there was potential. Each disk features a character from the series, saying a bit about him or her, and then providing several portraits. Unfortunately, while the character intro is nice to have for new viewers, the information is all obvious to old fans, and the portraits are really just ordinary--no character concept drawings to show their evolution from old AMG to this new mini-goddess look, no comparisons, nothing much.

In short, this is a good, solid series for children who enjoyed the original AMG series, but whose parents want to give them something with fewer sexual overtones (but watch Urd's dress!). Fans, both young and old, who enjoy the flighty fun of something like Sailor Moon or Pokemon will enjoy this series and its sheer fun. Don't expect anything serious, violent, or deep, because you won't get it. What you will get is innocent, inoffensive humor, plots that aren't complex but also aren't stupid, and three goddesses who may be troublemakers, but are also interesting and fun.