Because I'm the Goddess Volume 1 (v. 1) [Paperback]

Shamneko (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Because I'm the Goddess | Publication Date: August 8, 2006

Goddess Pandora has been sent to Earth to collect "gifts" that were spread among humans. Sure she has a nice body that can tempt anyone, but when she uses her powers, she shrinks to a young girl's body! The only way for her to regain her voluptuous power is to kiss her reluctant peon, Aoi... In the battle of the sexes, it's all about how you play the game!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up—Irritable wunderkind with a secret past, Aoi discovers that he's the only male not susceptible to the busty, flirty charms of the goddess Pandora. In an attempt to change this, she unleashes a massive wave of power that drains her reserves and transforms her into a spindly preteen, and the only way to restore herself to her full buxom capacity is to steal a kiss from her grumpy mortal companion. Together with a dry, placid cat named Mattsun, they seek out cupidlike "charms" that take the form of beautiful women destroying men with wiles and invisible chains. Permeated with cheesecake poses, the basic story hits a number of familiar manga tropes and should be particularly familiar to readers of CLAMP's XxxHOLIC (Del Rey, 2004), although it lacks that title's elegance or mystery. Underlying the search for the charms lies the ongoing development of the relationship between Aoi and Pandora and Pandora's slow understanding of the importance of love beyond simple attraction. And while that aspect of the story has potential, the unfortunate gender assumptions and the simplicity with which the missions are resolved create a comedy with a good heart but little else. The book may appeal to fans of the genre, but won't convince anyone else of potential quality inherent to the manga medium.—Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Paperback: 178 pages
• Publisher: TokyoPop (August 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598164880
• ISBN-13: 978-1598164886
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,796,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun series with enough humor & fan-service to hook you, September 18, 2008

By 

Amiable-Akuma (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Because I'm the Goddess Volume 1 (v. 1) (Paperback)

This review is spoiler-free.

I've read all 3 volumes of this series. If you are in the mood for cornball comedy mixed with healthy doses of fan-service then this series does the trick quite well. If you are OK with the broad JPN style of humor then some of the comedy is laugh-out loud funny. Although the events of each volume get a little more serious and dark as things rush on towards the story's nutty conclusion - it never loses its sense of fun.

More goofy characters are introduced as the series progresses but the general premise remains pretty basic and things never become too hard to follow. Pandora is a naive goddess who refers to herself in third-person and her companion Aoi is a bold young man who gets caught up in her "mission". Together they go up against one crazy adversary after another, often to surprisingly comedic effect. The conflicts along the way offer a bit of comic-book action as well, though it is mainly played more for gags. One conceit of the plot even provides a cute little romantic element too.

Though the premise and characters are goofy it is definitely intended for slightly older readers as the fan-service is heavy with the second and third volume even containing a few panels of light nudity. The third volume contains a bit of graphic blood too. It being a 16 years old and up title seems right on.

This TokyoPop version of the manga is completely uncensored, its translation is good (even the tiniest background comments are translated for additional humor), and the artwork remains very attractive in a traditional way.

The only complaint I would level at it is that bits of its style/plot are sort of cliche and that the third volume is hard to understand or interpret without knowing a good bit about Greek mythology. If you do, the conclusion will connect with you more since it is an aspect that was more subtle in the first two volumes and is a bit awkwardly thrust into the third. Still, it allows there to be quite a few surprising little plot twists in that volume that help to make the story more interesting.

The fact that it is three volumes for a complete story is a positive too, I feel - since you don't have to read forever to get the full experience. The series concludes in a satisfying and clear way but it still leaves a little room for a sequel series. Certain aspects of the ending are a bit wacky and open to interpretation but they wrap up the lingering plot issues enough to keep you happy to be on board for the ride.

Recommended for anyone who is not looking to read only masterpieces but rather has a taste for the content I described. Enjoy!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4 and a half stars, April 26, 2007

By 

Lena LaFaye (Memphis,TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Because I'm the Goddess Volume 1 (v. 1) (Paperback)

Since this is catering predominatly to guys via fanservice, I didn't expect to like it. Ok so it was a little amusing. Pandora is *every* guys dream. Kinda. I say *every* cos I know for a fact that not *all* men are cuckoo over big ta-tas. That's beside the point. So plot so far is that Pandora the goddess attaches herself to a unwilling minion Aoi with whom she uses her powers and goes about doing her thing with. Add a perverted cat and there you go. If the lack of plot won't get you then you still have Pandora's skimpy outfits that hardly contain her abundance of womanly flesh, and um...yeah that's about it. Although it is about a goddess she is not what you expect.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pandora's Treasure Chest, July 14, 2009

By 

Zack Davisson "japanreviewed" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Because I'm the Goddess Volume 1 (v. 1) (Paperback)

Clearly, "Because I'm the Goddess" isn't going to win any points for original plot. You have a Goddess come to Earth, where she falls in love with a human (Oh My Goddess!) and then as a twist she is collecting missing objects of power (Cardcaptor Sakura). You get the general idea, and you have read it before.

But originality isn't everything, and sometimes a hefty does of slapstick and fanservice can carry a book home. "Because I'm the Goddess" is over-the-top fun (and in the case of the Goddess in question, Pandora "over-the-top" takes on another meaning) that takes very little seriously. The comic is a lot more fun than it has any right to be, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it.

The story has the goddess Pandora (She of the Pandora's Box) sent to Earth in order to hunt down the "charms" that have escaped and are now enslaving humans susceptible to their particular lures. These aren't really the same vices from Greek mythology, and pretty much just suit the flow of the story, but that works just fine. Pandora can see people enslaved by the charms by the collar that appears around their necks. Pandora's human companion, Aoi, is the only one unmoved by Pandora's ample bust, which of course infuriates and interests Pandora. But Pandora needs Aoi desperately. When she expends all of her magical power, she transforms into a flat-chested young girl who can only regain her oomph by a kiss from Aoi. Of course, the proscribed animal sidekick in this case is Mattsun, a humorless cat.

Get this one for the humor rather than the girls. Although Pandora is delightfully top-heavy and likes to show it off, the fanservice is nothing on the level of comics like Sundome, and is more PG rated than PG-13. The slapstick is good though, and my favorite scene was when Pandora transformed Aoi into a giant pair of nail clippers in order to cut the chain of a charm, to which Aoi was indignant.

"Because I'm the Goddess" is also only a three-volume series, which is good because I don't think the joke would last long past that. Too many manga series continue long after the story has wound down, but this one knows just how far it can go.