Megami Paradise

Sometimes, Orphan's path to a project is so convoluted that even I can't quite figure out how we got there. That's pretty much the case with the 1995 OVA Megami Paradise. Back in the "airlie days", when I was collecting obscure titles and putting them up on BoxTorrents (now BakaBT) to build up my ratio, I stumbled across Megami Paradise and offered it there. As was the case with other obscure shows, notably Hermes, Winds of Love, I didn't bother to watch it. It rested there, utterly forgotten, for more than a decade, until someone asked for the music from the show. By then, Intrepid had set up a media acquisition capability in Japan, so I bought the CD of the show, he ripped it, and I uploaded it. I figured that, while I was at it, I might as well buy the laserdiscs too, because the available rip was very old. So here we are. I've had to watch it now.

Megami Paradise is based on a role-playing game. It tells the story of a divine paradise, ruled by Mamamega (short for Mama Megami, Mother Goddess). It contains the Astrostar, which absorbs evil thoughts from Earth. When the Astrostar is full to bursting, Mamamega purifies it and then surrenders her role to a new Megamama. As the story open, just such a succession event is happening. The new Mamamega selects Lilith, a "summoning witch" (a witch who doesn't need a wand), as a shrine maiden and asks her to recruit two more. Lilith tries to recruit Juliana, a swordswoman, and Stasia, a musician, but they decline. Instead, Lilith ends up with Stasia's "little sister" Rurubell, a wannabe sorceress, just as Paradise comes under attack from Evil Forces bent on disrupting the succession. Can Lilith, aided by Rurubell and, reluctantly, Stasia and Juliana, fight off the hench(wo)men of Yamimama, the Dark Mother? And just who are Yamimama and her Yamimegas (short for Yami Megami, Dark Goddess) Pastel, Angela, Maharaja, and Rouge? Refugees from an 80s girl-band?

So yeah, the plot is pretty thin, and in any case, it takes a back seat to a frequent succession of upskirt pantsu shots and other ecchi fare, because Megami Paradise is the first collaboration between Studio Fantasia, director Nishijima Katsuhiko, and character designer Yamauchi Noriyasu, who would become famous (or notorious) for Agent Aika and Najica Blitz Tactics. Megami doesn't reach the heights (or depths) of Aika, but it's clearly a prototype for the formula used in the later shows. With views like this, who needs a plot?

The voice cast includes quite a few well-known names:

• Shiina Hekiru (Rurubell) played Elysse in Plastic Little, Hikaru in the Rayearth series, Asami in Seirei Tsukai, Fam in Hikyou Tanken Fam & Ihrlie, Rockman in the Rockman Hoshi ni Negai wo OVAs,  Alpha in the Yokohama Country Cafe OVAs,and Nene (the protagonist's perverted younger sister) in the Seitokai Yakuindomo franchise.
• Shiratori Yuri (Lilith) played the title roles in the Kiko Lala and Angelique franchises, Cherry in the Saber Marionette franchise, Aki in Boys Be..., and Hatoko in Angelic Layer. 
• Ogata Megumi (Juliana) played Sailor Uranus in the Sailor Moon franchise, Kurama in Yuu Yuu Hakusho, Akito in Kodomo no Omocha,Shinji in Evangelion, Yuugi in the first Yuugi-ou series, Kyuu in Detective Academy Q, Valkyrie in the UFO Pricess Valkyrie series, Itona in the Assassination Classroom series, and Makoto in Danganronpa. 
• Inoue Kikuko (Stasia) played Kasumi in Ranma 1/2, Chigusa in Kekko Kamen, Mizuho in Onegai Teacher and Onegai Twins, Yayoi in the Happy Lesson properties, Momozono Mei in Mouse, Maria in Gungrave, Emeraldas in Space Symphony Maetel, Belldandy in the Ah My Goddess franchise, Lust in Full Metal Alchemist, Goei in Ikkitousen, Eucliwood in the Kore wa Zombie franchise, and the mother in the Uchouten Kazoku series. She also played Shouta in The Girl from Phantasia, Narusawa in Doukyuusei 2, Doria in D4 Princess, and Mai in Hand Maid May, all Orphan releases. 
• Nagashima Yuuko (Angela) played Yuka in Kiss wa Me ni Shite, an Orphan release, and Hotaru's mother in the Non Non Biyori franchise. 
• Kobakashi Yuuko (Maharaja) played Nico Robin in the One Piece franchise, Rapier in Maze, Rin in Otaku no Seiza, Washuu in Tenchi Muyou, and Kikunosuke in Oedo ga Nemurenai!, an Orphan release. 
• Hikami Kyouko (Pastel) played Momoko in Wedding Peach, Momo in Ultra Nyan, and Sara in Hand Maid May. The last two are Orphan releases. 
• Watanable Kumiko (Rouge) played Shippou in the Inuyasha franchise, the title role in the St. Grog franchise, and Kyouko in the Working! franchise. 
• Tanaka Atsuko (new Mamamega) played Mauve in ACCA, the title role in Advancer Tina, Nena Hargen in Aika, Cassandra in Alexander, Dana in AWOL Compression Remix (an Orphan release), Caster in the Fate franchise, Motoko Kusanagi in the GITS franchise, Bynas in Ozma, Claudette in Queen's Blade, and Jagara in Wolf's Rain. 
• Katsuki Masako (previous Mamamega/Yamimama) played Maroko in Gosenzosama Banbanzai and its movie version, Maroko, Mira in Ginga Tansa 2100-nen: Border Planet, Queen Bee in Golgo 13: Queen Bee, and Tsunade (Fifth Hokage) in the Naruto franchise. She also played Arianna Wyszynska in Apfelland Monogatari, Kenbishi Yuuri in Yuukan Club, Hojo's lover in Sanctuary, Itchan's mother in Sensou Douwa: Tako ni Natta Okaasan, Kubo in Milky Passion: Dougenzaka, and Yamazaki's maintenance engineer Kiriko in Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki: Long Distance Call, all Orphan releases.

The casting, by the way, gives away the biggest cliffhander in the OVAs, by making clear exactly who Yamimama is, or was.

The original subtitles were transcribed from ADV's R1 VHS tapes by rhford. Nemesis checked the translation; it has significant revisions. Yogicat timed. I edited and typeset (very few signs). For reasons I can't fathom, a large percentage of the QC team piled onto this one - BeeBee, Rezo, Topper3000, and Uchuu. (Perhaps the subject matter is appealing.) Intrepid encoded from a Domesday Duplicator rip of the Japanese laserdiscs. The laserdiscs included a digital audio track, so the encode uses FLAC audio. I've given up complaining.

Megami Paradise isn't Grade A 90s OVA fare, but it's not the worst, either. Although ecchi in places, it's much tamer than the Aika series. It won't leave a lasting impression, but it won't make you want to rip your eyeballs out. Basically, it's middling. You can get the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.