Oh My Goddess! Volume 8: Mara Strikes Back

I liked this volume, although maybe not as much as some of the other volumes. In this volume, Mara the demon is here to cause trouble, Urd is called back by the Almighty, a ghost girl tries to hold Keiichi to a promise his grandfather made, and Hasegawa wants to learn how to make the perfect lunchbox for a special someone. The back of this volume has a quote describing this series as "genuinely hear-warming" and I would have to agree. Although the author/artist often deals with themes that are a bit adult (mainly sex), somehow, this series has never gotten raunchy. It's a wonderfully sweet series, something that you can discover in practically any volume you might pick up. This volume seemed a little weaker to me than some of the others, probably because the short story format of some of the stories didn't let the characters shine as much as they could have, but it's still an excellent read.

This graphic novel covers the original Japanese manga Vol. 7 Ch. 45-47 & Vol. 8 Ch. 48-49. Chapter 45-46 is the Mara arc and chapters 48 & 49 are solo tales.The first part of the Mara arc has her return to Earth where she possesses Megumi. She unleashes Senbei, who is a genie-demon of poverty and disaster, upon Keiichi and company. The second part of the Mara arc has Skuld create the anti-Mara robot Banpei which works a little too well. The third part has Urd being recalled to the heavens and Mara intends to make sure she leaves for good.The next story has the Nekomi Tech Motor Club on a retreat to a lodge where a shinnentai (manifestation of will) lives. She seems to know Keiichi and is determined to make him fulfill a promise made in 1930! The final story has Belldandy teaching Sora on the art of making boxed lunches while Urd attempts to play matchmaker.Bottom line: As one might expect from this series, the artwork is great. The stories are light for the most part with the latter two being more humorous. Great for a quick read before going to bed.

Another wonderful book in the Oh My Goddess series. Mara returns yet again to wreck havoc on the goddesses. This time she takes over Keiichi's little sister's body, and tries to bring misfortune to Belldandy with teh help of Senbei the demon of poverty. He is a prettyy neat guy who talks in the third person. He also lives in a bottle. Also in this book Skuld builds a robot named Banpei to protect the Morisato household from Mara. The problem is that the robot decides that Belldandy needs protection from everyone, including Keiichi and Skuld. Good stuff. Please read it!

The romance between mortal Keiichi and goddess Belldandy is the most innocent you'll find: rarely do they kiss and never more than that. Surrounding them are Belldandy's sisters: Urd (who wields misfiring love potions in an effort to speed things up) and Skuld (who builds bizarre contraptions which inadvertantly get in the way). Though this book is named Mara Strikes Back, don't be misled into thinking an overarching plot exists. Characters do recur and remember and act based on what went before, but the stories are largely episodic. Lack of an overarching plot is not a detriment here: it allows Fujishima to be more playful with his characters, and the whole cast is a lot of fun (though Urd often steals the page, as it were). Fujishima's art seems richer here, especially in the backgrounds. His mastery over his art style clearly developed as the series progressed; the differences between the very earliest art and this art are quite striking.

Ignoring the fact that Belldandy hasn't been on a cover of OMG since "Sympathy for the Devil," Dark Horse's latest paperback of the series is another testament to Kosuke Fujishima's sheer talent -- and DH's unparalleled translating/editing techniques. Of all the US-based comic/manga companies, Dark Horse and Viz are the true elite. With smart, distinctive dialogue and quality lettering, "Mara Strikes Back" -- like all the other Goddess titles -- is just as enjoyable in English as it is in Japanese.Upon reading the first few pages, I remembered just how good Kosuke Fujishima is at drawing. This guy's command of the pencil and pen is unbeatable. With clean, distinctive outlines and a close adherence to the boundaries of his panels, Fujishima makes it easy for any reader to follow the story. Takahashi and CLAMP don't have anything on this guy -- the draftsman-like precision of Fujishima is simply the best of any big-name manga artist. Period.The stories in "Mara Strikes Back" are more of the same -- comedic, action-packed romps with Keiichi and the three Goddess sisters (Belldandy, Urd and Skuld). It may get a little weary, but it's what Fujishima does best. And I give this title 5 stars for one thing -- BANPEI! Skuld's small humanoid robot makes his first appearance in this episode, with the purpose of protecting the temple from Mara. However, Banpei ends up being more of an around-the-house helper -- Skuld gets a big kick out of fitting new attachments and tools to her beloved robot. Banpei is just fun to watch, especially when he gets a "crush" on Belldandy and starts to attack Keiichi whenever he gets within 10 feet of her. It's in comedic situations like these that Fujishima does his best work. The only real letdown in this book was the confusing action sequence at the end of the "Goodbye and Hello" chapter. Urd's about to get beamed back to heaven, and ... well ... I had to read it through it a few times to figure out what happened. Otherwise, everything else here is Fujishima at his best. If you've already collected the five previous books in the Goddess series, don't waste anymore time! Get this one now!