Because I'm the Goddess

Pandora-chan's the Goddess! (Official English title Because I'M the Goddess!) is a comedy manga series created by Shamneko and published in Japan by Wani Books. An English translation is currently being released by Tokyopop and is up to book 2. The series uses some of the plot devices of the magical girl genre, but is largely a bawdy satire on that genre and on series such as Ah! My Goddess! which portray divine women in their dealings with mortal men.

Plot summary

Beings known as "Gifts" are spreading havoc on the Earth by possessing women who, in turn, enslave men. To recover them, the Goddess Pandora has been sent to Earth. But when the first human she encounters, a wandering boy named Aoi, refuses to believe that she's a real goddess, Pandora proves it by conjuring a tsunami that wipes out the entire town. As a result, Pandora loses her powers and reverts into a body of a young girl. When Aoi befriends the younger version of Pandora, they discover that she can regain her busty adult form by kissing him, much to Aoi's embarrassment. Pandora declares Aoi to be her servant, much to his dismay, and the two of them wander about the countryside in search of the Gifts.

Characters

The Goddess Pandora was created to be the epitome of everything mortal men desire. She appears on Earth as a busty blonde with a bubbly personality and the intellectual capacity of a typical household appliance. She exudes an aura of desirability so powerful that all men she encounters will eagerly do anything she wishes, with Aoi being the only (and truly frustrating) exception. Women are not affected by this power, and in fact find her rather unpleasant.

As an adult, Pandora can do almost anything with her divine power, which makes her especially dangerous when combined with her poor impulse control skills. Once she expends a major portion of her magic power, she is transformed into a little girl of the apparent age of ten. Only a kiss on the lips from Aoi -- and nobody else -- can restore her once that happens.

Pandora's adult form can also "see" when a man is enslaved to a Gift and when a woman is possessed by one. This usually takes the form of an invisible chain around the man's neck, held by the Gift's possessor. By kissing Aoi and using the spell Asich Ergalion!, Pandora can transform Aoi's soul into a giant mystical tool (such as an axe, gloves, fan, spoon, etc.) to "break the chain" and free the victims, who have little memory of their possession. The Gift takes the form of a cherub, which Pandora absorbs into her own body with no ill effect.

Not long after they first met, Pandora declared Aoi was her manservant.And she's hasn't let up since. She moved from manservant to special manservant, finally culminating at the end of Vol 1 with her telling him she loved him. She get extremly jealous of anyone paying attention to Aoi, and it sometimes makes her fly off the handle.

Aoi is a young man who, despite his punk-like appearance and manner of dress, is well-educated. He finds the adult Pandora's behavior extremely annoying, especially her habit of clinging to him constantly and her lack of any concepts of privacy, personal space, or feminine modesty. However, he recognizes that the Goddess is completely dependent upon him. He actually finds Pandora's child form much more agreeable company, since it brings out his brotherly protective instincts. He is on the run from his family, which is not only wealthy and prestigious but bears an as-yet unknown connection to the Gifts.

When he is transformed into a battle object by Pandora, Aoi's soul takes the form of the object while his actual body is rendered inert. In this form, Aoi also possesses an awareness that enables him to see the "chain" that signifies the presence of a Gift. However, he cannot move on his own; Pandora must wield his form in order to sever the "chain."

While he often gives out to Pandora, it's clear he's actually very fond of her, although he can't stand being called a manservant.

He also doesn't seem overly fond of Matsun

Matsun Is Pandora's guardian/mascot. He is a white cat whose only unique ability appears to be speech and an intelligence much higher than Pandora's. He has the speech, mannerisms and personality of a flamboyant, chain-smoking drag queen. He divides his time between trying to vainly convince Pandora to focus on her mission and trying to help Aoi cope with his situation by giving him sound, if snidely-delivered, advice. Matsun can also "see" the chains between a man and woman that signify the presence of a Gift.

Maya Amagi is a novice Buddhist monk (apparently 13 or 14 years old) who had been enslaved to a Gift. After he was freed, he decided to assist Pandora and Aoi in their quest. Maya has a surprisingly effeminate appearance, which is compounded by the fact that unlike most monks he does not shave his head. Since he grew up in an all-female convent, he also exhibits some effeminate behaviour despite his insistance that he is male. (Compare with Shun Kisaragi of Here is Greenwood.)

Suzuran Kabahara is the niece of an elderly shopkeeper who shelters the quartet in Vol. 2 of the manga. About Aoi's age, she exhibits a split personality: while she wears her eyeglasses, she's a properly-behaved schoolgirl; with her glasses off she exhibits a tough, rude, delinquent side. This latter personality regards Aoi as a dog and refers to him as "Jon," but despite her initial dislike of Pandora she eventually is able to befriend her.

Gifts and their Slaves

The Gifts Pandora seeks are beings that possess women, accentuating their will to dominate (especially sexually) and causing those women to take men as their slaves. The slaves, once they are linked to the Gift, will obey her without question regardless of danger or humiliation. Each Gift is an individual being, whom Pandora knows by name.

Beginning with Vol. 2 of the manga, the Gifts' possessors can also transform the souls of their slaves (along with the "chains" binding them) into mystical weapons with which to do battle with Pandora. A breaking of concentration will revert the slaves back into their original bodies and re-manifest the "chains," which are now vulnerable to Pandora's attack.

Themes

In her appendix of the first volume, Shamneko recalls being given the title of the series by an editor and taking inspiration from the American sitcom I Dream of Jeannie].

IGN reviewer A.E. Sparrow cites the term lolicon in his article, expressing discomfort with Aoi preferring the company of the child Pandora over the adult one. However, there is no evidence at least in the material released so far in English of any sexual interest on Aoi's part, and some evidence of him viewing himself as a protective older sibling.

Transforming from a small girl into an older girl by a kiss is also a theme in UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie.