It turns out that the goddesses themselves had talked to Toren about making a trip to the States to meet the new editor of the Dark Horse manga line, Mike Hansen. Hansen's not exactly new to the job (he's been at it for over a year now), but he'd never had direct contact with the goddesses before, and since he's responsible for making sure their stories get told well and with the right amount of sass, they had a vested interest in meeting the man in person.
While they were here, our crack reporter Ivana Fanboy took the goddesses and their mortal pal and roommate, Keiichi Morisato, out to lunch in hopes of snagging a quick interview about their lives as goddesses and the upcoming Oh My Goddess! miniseries, The Secret of Speed. Lots of, er, fun was had by all, and here's a transcription of the interview.
Ivana Fanboy: Before we get into the real questions, how are you goddesses -- and you, too, Keiichi -- liking your visit to the States?
Belldandy: Thank you for having us visit. America is a lovely country. There are so many kind people here, and so many interesting landmarks and parks. It's enchanting -- wouldn't you say, Keiichi?
Keiichi: Um, yeah. It's nice to take a trip with you...and, er Skuld and Urd, too, of course.
Urd: Jeez. You two should get a room! America is okay. The shopping's not too good compared to Japan, but the men sure are hot. Do you have the phone number for the one called "Brad Pitt?" I'd like to pay him a little visit...I'll have to conjure up something fishnet, first...
Skuld: Urd! You're so gross! Hi, my name's Skuld, and I guess I like America okay, except the airline wouldn't let me bring my robot-building kit on the plane. From what I've seen so far, the robot culture of America is lame, lame, lame! But there are lots of cool bikes here.
IF: Okay, then. In case some of our readers don't know, can each of you please tell us what makes you goddesses, and what sorts of powers you have?
Keiichi: Er, I'm, uh, not a goddess...
IF: I know. I was asking the ladies.
Keiichi: Oh, uh (laughs). Yeah, I guess so, huh?
Belldandy: Sometimes Keiichi can be so shy. To answer your question, we were born goddesses, as all true goddesses are. I'm what's known as a goddess first class, type 2, and I have an unlimited license. The "class" part reflects the degree of a goddess's precision and power, and mine are quite strong. The "unlimited" refers to restrictions -- these come from The Almighty -- on the level of power a goddess can use.
Urd: Well, aren't you something, sweetie? Somebody get her a medal! Me? I'm a goddess second class, limited. I'm practically as powerful as Belldandy --
Skuld: You know what happens when you tell lies, Urd -- last time your license got revoked! Then you made off with that bike and got chased by the cops, and --
Urd: Don't be such a baby, Skuld. Someone's jealous that she still needs training wheels on her powers. As I was saying, I'm quite powerful, and also incredibly sexy, if you couldn't tell. I do have some problems with the "precision" part of things, and sometimes my self control isn't the strongest, but I'm still very impressive, as far as goddesses go. Your turn, Skuld: tell the nice lady about your little powers.
Skuld: Shut up! I can blow things up, you know! And I can build a machine that will eat all your stupid potions!
IF: Skuld! Calm down and tell me about your powers.
Skuld: Okay (giggles). Sorry. I'm also a goddess second class, ahem -- JUST LIKE MY BIGGER, OLDER SISTER, URD -- and I also have a limited license. But that's just because I'm so young. I started out a little shaky. For a while, all I could do was throw words at people and hide things, but now I'm a lot stronger. Mostly I'm really good at building machines and racing bikes. And someday I'll be as powerful as Belldandy.
Belldandy: With discipline and practice, I'm sure you'll be a great and powerful goddess, someday, Skuld. Your form is quite good.
Urd: Good for nothing, if you ask me.
Skuld: Grrrrrrr! Urd! Skuld bomb, get my sist --
Belldandy: No! Skuld! No bombs in the restaurant. We've talked about this before!
Keiichi: Um, I think I'm gonna go get us some tea...
IF: Oh, gee, look at the time. Since we're all so busy (and before somebody gets blown up...) maybe we should talk quickly about the new Oh My Goddess! series before wrapping this up.
Belldandy: First I'd like to mention that it's our tenth series with Dark Horse, and it makes us very proud --
Urd: Yeah. Whoopee ...
Belldandy: See? Even Urd is excited. The story is called The Secret of Speed, and it focuses on Keiichi's younger sister, Megumi.
Skuld: Hurmph! Big deal. She's not so great.
Belldandy: Urd and Megumi are good friends, actually, but they're a little competitive because they have similar interests. Anyway, Megumi is enrolled in a special aerodynamics course at Nekomi Tech, which is where I met Keiichi when he was a student there. The class is so popular that only 30 students are allowed to sit in on each session. And since it's located on a "satellite campus", it takes longer for the students to get there. Megumi, of course, is very fast on her bike, so she usually doesn't have any problems getting places on time. But Sayoko -- whom you probably remember from her last appearance in the series -- decides that she should be the 30th student to get to class each day, and she pits herself in crazed races against the other students to assure her position.
Skuld: She's not so great either, you know. And she's a troublemaker.
Belldandy: Sayoko can be a bit of a bother sometimes, but she's a good person deep inside.
Urd: Ugh! Belldandy thinks everyone is "a good person deep inside." Give me a break!
IF: Alrightythen, ladies. Thanks for your time. I'll let you get back to lunch now, and I'll go transcribe this.
Skuld: Urd! You're scaring her off!
Keiichi: I'm back. Here's some tea for you, Belldandy.
Belldandy: You're so sweet, Keiichi. Thanks for talking with us, Ivana! We had a great time!
Oh My Goddess! X : The Secret of Speed is a five-part series, available starting February 28. Don't miss a single issue!