Ah! My Goddess / Oh! My Goddess? [Archive]

Thewanderer

2006-01-20, 02:44

Why do people insist on translating the series' name to A!MG? The name of the anime(or so I thought) was named after the English phrase "Oh my god!"(but "goddess" instead of "god"). I'm also guessing that the Japanese can't easily translate that saying, so it became "Ah! My Goddess". Why do we have to keep the Engrish when referring to OMG? It don't make any sense to me.

And please tell me if I'm way off:p This was only a guess.

Cloudnine

2006-01-20, 02:58

The series' title wasn't originally phrased to resemble the common saying "oh my god!", rather, it was on part of the manga adaptation to English which slightly changed the original naming to something more catchier to the reader.

Original title - ああっ女神さまっ
Romanized - Aa! Megami-sama!
True name - Ah! My Goddess

NoSanninWa

2006-01-20, 03:28

All that is true, but I'm going to add a few more intersting facts. When AnimEigo licensed the show, they thought it would sound better to change the Ah to an Oh so they made the Title Oh My Goddess!

Much more recently, Geneon licensed the movie. Unfortunately for them AnimEigo still owned the copyright on the title, so they changed it back. The movie was released under the title Ah! My Goddess: The Movie

Aa! = Japanese
Oh! = English: AnimEigo
Ah! = English: Geneon

As you see, it is quite a mess. Since it is Ah in both English and Japanese, but Oh in English only, I'd have to say the more official title is Ah! My Goddess

Incidently Geneon is releasing the TV series under the title of Ah! My Goddess. Not a surprise since that is the title they used for the movie.

Thewanderer

2006-01-20, 03:29

The series' title wasn't originally phrased to resemble the common saying "oh my god!", rather, it was on part of the manga adaptation to English which slightly changed the original naming to something more catchier to the reader.
It wasn't? Then why was it initially dubbed as if it was?(unless that's what you're talking about) That confused the cluck outta me...

NoSanninWa

2006-01-20, 03:32

Thewanderer: I edited my post after you posted. (You were too fast for me.) Please read it again for more details.

And it was dubbed that way because AnimEigo thought it was funnier that way.

Thewanderer

2006-01-20, 03:44

Thewanderer: I edited my post after you posted. (You were too fast for me.) Please read it again for more details.

And it was dubbed that way because AnimEigo thought it was funnier that way.
Oh, sorry.

*goes to read it*

Cloudnine

2006-01-20, 22:22

Funny note, in the TV series, the title of each episode starts with "Aa!"

Episode 2 - Ah! Can the One Who Believes be Saved?
Episode 3 - Ah! The Queen and the Goddess!
Episode 4 - Ah! Living under one roof!

Now try replacing it with "Oh!" and you can see that the meaning is somewhat lost in the translation ^^;

NoSanninWa

2006-01-21, 01:49

Heh. Yeah, that sounds funny with an "Oh!" in those titles. I guess that Ah and Oh really do have different meanings and it is pretty clear which one is intended in those episode titles.

SinnerChrno

2006-01-22, 03:40

Incidently Geneon is releasing the TV series under the title of Ah! My Goddess. Not a surprise since that is the title they used for the movie.

Um, don't you mean Media Blasters, not Geneon? :)

aikming

2006-01-22, 07:22

Why do ppl insist on translating the series' name to A!MG? The name of the anime(or so I thought) was named after the english phrase "Oh my god!"(but "goddess" instead of "god"). I'm also guessing that the Japanese can't easily translate that saying, so it became "Ah! My Goddess". Why do we have to keep the engrish when referring to OMG? It don't make any sense to me.

And pls tell me if I'm way off:p This was only a guess.

By no means, the series name was taken from the phrase " oh my God'. The moment it was serialized in shounen magazine, it was Aa! Megamisama~ naturally Ah! my goddess. The "oh" was added due to commercial interest. The mangaka has always stick to Aa! Megamisama

Rushuna

2006-01-31, 18:03

Dark Horse originally called it Oh My Goddess as well.

astrallionheart

2006-02-18, 02:00

"Ah!" has a very sweet, childlike feeling to it.

"Oh!" doesnt seem as much, and "Oh My Goddess" or "OMG" would just be parodying an English phrase, where really the title ("Ah!") is meant to be an indication of what kind of show it is.

Morisato

2006-02-28, 02:40

It's a parody on a popular internet abbreviation. OMG means OH MY GOD. and OH MY GOD is usually said when one is in shock and/or disbelief.

Newtyped

2006-04-12, 19:48

amg sounds gayer than omg
its stupid if u actually say it =/

NoSanninWa

2006-04-13, 00:30

It's a parody on a popular internet abbreviation. OMG means OH MY GOD. and OH MY GOD is usually said when one is in shock and/or disbelief.
I hate to point this out, but the manga existed before OMG was an internet abbreviation, so there is no way that it is a parody on the internet abbreviation.

Daniel E.

2006-04-13, 04:05

I may be wrong with this one, but, didn't Kosuke himself said it was OK for the fans to use the one they liked the most? (Ah/Oh)

I think I read this in the letter section in one of the Dark Horse releases of the manga. (but like I said, I am not 100% sure)

EDIT:

Ok found the following in Wiki:

The original Japanese title is "Aa! Megami-sama!". The question of how best to translate this phrase has led to a great deal of debate and flamewars amongst English-speaking anime fans during the early 1990s. The US-anime import company AnimEigo obtained the OVA rights and entitled them: "Oh! My Goddess". Many felt the title should be "Ah! My Goddess".

Several references to "Oh my god" and "Oh my goddess" in a number of songs (such as Hottokenai No Sa, Megami-sama tto Oyoubi) only fueled the debate further.

Ultimately Fujishima himself was consulted. His initial reaction was to agree with the "Ah" camp, but once the English phrase "Oh my God" was explained to him, he decided the "Oh" would be closer to what he was trying to convey. However, when a Japanese fan later pointed out to Fujishima that the Japanese merchandise uses "Ah", Fujishima said that it would be better to keep things consistent.

Conri

2006-04-14, 03:50

The back of the first volume of the Japanese manga, published in 1989.
http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/7639/amgv01back2up.th.jpg (http://img212.imageshack.us/my.php?image=amgv01back2up.jpg)

Personally, I find that Ah! My Goddess sounds more elegant than Oh My Goddess. As for Fujishima's opinion, I've heard people claiming all sides, Ah, Oh, and either or, so I can see the Wiki article being true about Fujishima changing his mind.

amg sounds gayer than omgGreat! Even more reason to use it.

Spectacular_Insanity

2006-04-25, 17:56

I saw in the AnimeEigo version (apparently I've seen the one that is really, REALLY short) the titles for the first 5 episodes:

1) Moonlight and Cherry Blossoms (I saw no cherry blossoms...)
2) A Midsummer Nights Dream (w/ apologies to Mr. Shakespeare)
3) Burning Hearts on the Road (Ah! Swerve! *crashes motorcycle*)
4) Uh.... something..... (hmmmm...)
5) For the Love of Goddess (ROFL)

C'mon! #5 has to be a pun! For the love of God it has to be!

Altrisha

2006-05-04, 08:00

Is it really that important? I think whats important is the whole package is really good. Well if your a romantic type that is... I didnt know that until i watched it hehe.

kaitou_strife

2006-05-08, 06:46

Shabazza

2006-05-08, 14:56

Let's found the "Ih! My Goddess" fraction.

jtrog

2006-05-11, 01:36

I was looking for the manga books this week for amg serie'es. Basically its all at wikipedia and according to wikipedia it started 1st manga book in 1988.

Spectacular_Insanity

2006-05-11, 11:53

Well from what i understand Aa! was for the japanesse title Ah! was for the american title and they used Oh! for the english title at least thats what i heard.
PS: I also think Ah! Sounds more elegant than Oh!

Yeah, maybe. But I think in the AnimEigo version it was meant to be more of a pun.

I always thought it kinda sounded like a sigh. Ahhhhh... my goddess. Like that.

BTW nice sig and avatar.

Keiichi Morisato

2006-05-22, 12:57

From what I heard from Toren Smith who was translating the manga series for Dark Horse said that when he first got the license that Fujishima was in agreement with the idea and didn't matter anyway because it was closer to the title that he wanted for the series anyway.

When the OVA series came out and anime fans worldwide came to refer to the series as Ah! My Goddess Fujishima had said that he wished that Dark Horse had used Ah! My Goddess instead. Dark Horse Comics (United States) and Germany and possibly France are the only ones who publish the series as Oh My Goddess.

These days, the anime series is entitled as Ah! My Goddess, closer to the original title of the series that's released in Japan.

waterchan

2006-06-11, 01:52

Let's found the "Ih! My Goddess" fraction.

LMAO, I just HAVE to support this! :D Let's bring back the flame wars.

I agree with the person who pointed out the significance of "Ah!" in the names of the episodes. They would sound pretty weird with "Oh!" instead of "Ah!". "Oh!" seems to have more dramatic connotations, while "Ah!" sounds more lighthearted.

Orchunter226

2006-06-11, 03:11

Yea, that's true. I like the Ah! cuz it sounds happy, and kind of like "ah i found something" or "ah that's nice." "Oh" just sounds more solemn and less happy.

For instance, if you say "Oh that's nice" it sounds more sarcastic and mean than if you say "ah that's nice."

xtrashock

2006-09-14, 01:18

In my thinking it does not metter to say what about the series to say
Oh! My Godess or Ah! My godess .
So lets say anyone in one's own mind .
The thing which has a interest is the devotion to the series .

teh_nubkilr

2009-03-07, 23:14

Aa! Megami-Sama! is the original Japanese title, as mentioned above, but I've seen both Ah! My Goddess and Oh! My Goddess. To english-speakers, Oh! My Goddess will likely sound more familiar, but I am very much used to Ah! My Goddess as the title (mainly because it is the search term that yields episode streaming and it sounds sightly more elegant). However, one is free to call it by the title one chooses :)

Spectacular_Insanity

2009-03-10, 10:11

Actually, now that's I've seen both Oh! My Goddess and Ah! My Goddess, I believe Oh! My Goddess is actually the OVA series, if I'm not mistaken. It's just not called an OVA.

Justin Kim

2009-03-12, 05:37

The difference is pretty much - "Oh My Goddess" 5 OVA releases, and this is probably what Japan calls it. The first few volumes of the manga series are called "Oh My Goddess." After it was liscensed, and adapted in America it was probably "Ah My Goddess." The artwork in the manga afterwards changes alot during the title changes for both the anime and manga serialization.

KimmyChan

2009-04-09, 04:32

From what I can tell, Ah! My Goddess is the name of the anime series and Oh My Goddess is the name of both the OVA and manga series :)

Kleo Scanti

2009-04-09, 10:47

Actually, the name is "Aa! Megami-sama!" for the manga and all of its anime adaptation. When initially Dark Horse bought the license and started translating it, they named it "Oh! My Goddess!" because it's similar to the Western "Oh! My God!" Those who translated the first OVA adopted this name as well. But later Japanese publishers gave their version of the title, and it was "Ah! My Goddess!" which became official. So "Ah! My Goddess!" is the real name given by the original author while "Oh! My Goddess!" was invented by Americans. Now, having the officially translated name, Western translators stick to it.

(Hope my explanation is easy to understand.)

youdiezst

2009-04-10, 19:38

its Ah! instead of Oh! lol... doesnt really matter though, its still a nice anime :)

PiccoloUE

2009-04-30, 17:42

I like em both

Spectacular_Insanity

2009-04-30, 21:15

I think it's funny how Marller is in the OP for Oh! My Goddess, but you never actually see her like you do in Ah! My Goddess. Ever. She and the other demons are in the OP and that's it. :heh:

Justin Kim

2009-05-17, 18:47

Just blame Fujishima and Dark Horse for debating the manga/anime adaptation's name in NA.

PierceCheng

2009-11-08, 09:45