The current Ah! My Goddess TV series is spawning an increasing number of CDs, both of the soundtrack and drama variety. In such a situation, where the producer plans on selling lots of these CDs to fans, it is important that the first one out of the gate be good, to draw people in and get them hooked on the series. With only the single of the first opening theme being released prior to it, the first full soundtrack CD has a lot riding on its success. Overall, it succeeds in drawing in fans, but it is not without its problems.

As I have noted in a number of other reviews, soundtrack music must put its primary emphasis on supporting the events going on within the program. This can lead to some rather schizophrenic albums that lack any kind of overall theme as the music swings all over the spectrum. This album suffers a little bit from that problem, in the way that the music flows from track to track. If you have seen the television show, you know that the episodes are mostly silly, happy stuff with a few minutes of drama. The only problem with this is that the music that supports the silly scenes really doesn't stand all that well on its own, as there is too much emphasis on silly keyboard sounds, and generally a lack of solid musical foundation. A good example of this is track 12, Goddess Second Class, Category One Limited. It's not a bad song, but those synth sounds annoy me.

In fact, a significant piece of the album is synth. The opening and ending theme use a full range of instruments, but the show's background music is generally done on synthesizers. This wouldn't be a problem if they didn't make it really obvious that this was the case, like in track 27, Happy Ending. Later in the album some acoustic instruments, like flutes and violins, finally make an appearance, and the album is better for it. The composer's strengths really can come to the front with a multitude of instruments to play with, and it is a shame that the keyboard is the instrument of choice.

For those of you who are tired of my ranting and what to know what the actual album sounds like, let me start out by saying that this sounds like what the soundtrack for the Ah! My Goddess movie would have sounded like with only a quarter of the budget. Shiro Hamaguchi also worked on the movie soundtrack, and thematically the music sounds pretty similar. In fact, the first time I listened to it, I could have told you that it was an Ah! My Goddess album just by the way the music was written. It just feels right for the show. That said, this album isn't anywhere close to the level of greatness that was achieved with the movie soundtrack. That isn't to say that it isn't a good album. It's just that it isn't a great album.

Perhaps I am being too hard on it, though. Perhaps my own expectations were too high going in (I am a huge fan of the property), and I just wanted it to be more than it was ever intended to be by the creators. There are also some tracks on this album that I absolutely adore, like track 16, Belldandy, and track 17, A Gentle Heart. In fact, the half dozen songs after the eyecatch music is the sweet spot of the album. It is common for me to have this album on while doing chores or reading, and I will mostly tune it out. When I hear that eyecatch, though, it signals my brain to start to tune in, and then I get to enjoy an excellent 10 minutes of music before zoning out again.

Thematically, the music on this album generally ranges from melancholy to silly, with a couple more dramatic tracks thrown in to spice things up. That said, it is still a pretty slow-paced album, and not one that I would recommend for cruising down the interstate with the windows down. The peppiest songs on the album, in fact, are the opening and closing themes. These songs are both sung by Yoko Ishida. While both of them are good from a musical standpoint, I must admit that Ms. Ishida's music really isn't my thing. You should know if you like her stuff or not, as she is pretty big and all over the scene these days. I should also note that Kohei Tanaka had a hand in these songs, for people who are fans of his work. Both of these songs are the edited versions for the TV show. If you want the full versions, you are going to have to track down the CD singles.

In the end, the first Ah! My Goddess soundtrack album is good, but not as good as I wanted it to be. Whether due to inappropriate expectations on my part, a limited budget, or a lack of creative imagination, the album doesn't make it into my top tier of soundtrack albums. What it is, though, is a solid album that can be enjoyed by fans of the show and manga. Perhaps, in the end, that is all it really needs to be.