is a Japanese
manga written and illustrated by
Yukiru Sugisaki
is a Japanese manga artist. She has created numerous manga in several demographics, but is perhaps best known for creating the ''seinen'' series ''The Candidate for Goddess'' and the ''shōjo'' series ''D.N.Angel''.
Career
Yukiru Sugisaki star ...
. The series takes place in the distant future, where human beings live among
space colonies and a single, inhabitable planet called Zion. The plot follows
Zero Enna and his fellow candidates as they try to prove themselves worthy of piloting the "Ingrids", also called "Goddesses". These gigantic, humanoid weapons are humanity's only significant defense against a hostile,
alien threat known as "Victim".
''The Candidate for Goddess'' was serialized in the monthly
Wani Books
is a Japanese publishing company focused on manga
Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehis ...
magazine ''
Comic Gum''. A total of 26 chapters were collected in five ''
tankōbon
is the Japanese term for a book that is not part of an anthology or corpus. In modern Japanese, the term is most often used in reference to individual volumes of a manga series: most series first appear as individual chapters in a weekly or ...
'' (volumes) and released between 1997 and 2001. The manga was later translated into English and published in North America by
Tokyopop
Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed ...
and in Australian and New Zealand by
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatr ...
. ''The Candidate for Goddess'' was adapted into a 12-episode
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
series directed by
Mitsuru Hongo
is a Japanese anime director of television and film.
Hongo originally worked at Ajiado as an animator but moved to Shin-Ei Animation where he directed '' Crayon Shin-chan''. He left in 1996 and went on to direct ''Immortal Grand Prix'', ''Outla ...
and produced by
Xebec
A xebec ( or ), also spelled zebec, was a Mediterranean sailing ship that was used mostly for trading. Xebecs had a long overhanging bowsprit and aft-set mizzen mast. The term can also refer to a small, fast vessel of the sixteenth to nineteenth ...
, which was a subsidiary of
Production I.G
is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise, founded on December 15, 1987, by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and headquartered in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. The letters I and G derive from the names of the company founders: producer Mitsuhisa Ish ...
. The adaptation aired on Japan's
NHK BS2
, also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee.
NHK operates two terrestria ...
satellite channel in early 2000. The anime series, entitled ''Pilot Candidate'' for its North American release, was broadcast briefly on
Cartoon Network's
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
block in 2002. An
original video animation (OVA), serving as a thirteenth episode, was released in Japan in 2002, though it was not localized for North America until 2016, when
Discotek Media
Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series.
Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...
acquired the license to the series.
Since the debut of ''The Candidate for Goddess'' on Japanese television, a limited number of CDs and artbook illustrations for the series have been released. Overall reception for ''The Candidate for Goddess'' has been mediocre. Though its animation has been generally praised, its complex plot, compounded by its very short length, has been met with mixed criticism. Reviewers were dismayed by the lack of storyline closure at the end of the television episodes and even its OVA extension.
Plot
''The Candidate for Goddess'' series takes place a millennium after Star Year 4084, when a cataclysmic event called the "Crisis of Systems" resulted in the annihilation of four planetary systems. With Zion being the one planet left with the ability to sustain human life, humanity must cling to life in
space colonies.
Now in Star Year 5030, Zion is under constant threat of invasion by
extraterrestrial life forms dubbed . In order to combat their alien foes, humans have developed a quintet of giant,
mecha
In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japanese is ...
nized weapons called "Ingrids", or "Goddesses" due to their female, humanoid resemblance.
A school called the "Goddess Operation Academy (G.O.A.)" is established to train the specific few which have the capability of piloting the Ingrids.
They are typically young men and must meet several requirements: They must be in good health, must be 14 to 16 years of age, must have an EO
blood type, and must possess the potential for "EX", superhuman abilities which secondarily link the pilot's nerves to the Ingrid's interface.
As EX puts such a physical and mental strain on the pilot, replacements must be turned out by the G.O.A. within a reasonable amount of time.
Each pilot is also partnered with a female repairer, who maintains the Ingrid and manually blocks painful feedback from the Ingrid to the pilot during missions.
The plot of ''The Candidate for Goddess'' primarily focuses on
Zero Enna, a brash trainee who has recently left colony homelife with his mother in order to pursue his dream of becoming an Ingrid pilot.
Shortly after arriving at the G.O.A., Zero becomes lost and is subconsciously called to a hangar by a mysterious voice, suddenly finding himself within the cockpit of one of the Ingrids just before a Victim attack.
As each Ingrid is specifically calibrated for their pilot, this would normally mean death. However, the Goddess instead links with Zero's nervous system and physically shows itself to him in a vision.
After a few moments, the Ingrid ends the link with Zero, and he is pulled free by the Ingrid's pilot, who then takes it into battle with the Victim. Zero is rushed unconscious to the academy's sick bay.
Production
The original
manga version of ''The Candidate for Goddess'' was written and illustrated by
Yukiru Sugisaki
is a Japanese manga artist. She has created numerous manga in several demographics, but is perhaps best known for creating the ''seinen'' series ''The Candidate for Goddess'' and the ''shōjo'' series ''D.N.Angel''.
Career
Yukiru Sugisaki star ...
. An
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
television adaptation of ''The Candidate for Goddess'' was produced by
Xebec
A xebec ( or ), also spelled zebec, was a Mediterranean sailing ship that was used mostly for trading. Xebecs had a long overhanging bowsprit and aft-set mizzen mast. The term can also refer to a small, fast vessel of the sixteenth to nineteenth ...
, a subsidiary studio of
Production I.G., and directed by
Mitsuru Hongo
is a Japanese anime director of television and film.
Hongo originally worked at Ajiado as an animator but moved to Shin-Ei Animation where he directed '' Crayon Shin-chan''. He left in 1996 and went on to direct ''Immortal Grand Prix'', ''Outla ...
.
Shinichi Yamaoka was the show's character designer, having also worked on ''
Martian Successor Nadesico
, sometimes referred to as simply , is a Japanese anime television series produced by TV Tokyo, Yomiko Advertising and Xebec and directed by Tatsuo Satō, with manga artist Kia Asamiya providing original character designs, Keiji Gotoh servi ...
''. Shingo Takeba and Junya Ishigaki acted as its main mecha designers, respectively credited for the anime series ''
Gasaraki
is a mecha anime television series produced by Sunrise. It was directed by Ryousuke Takahashi, who also co-created the series along with Sunrise (Hajime Yatate). Goro Taniguchi was the assistant director. The screenplay was written by Toru ...
'' and the
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
''
Xenogears
''Xenogears'' is a 1998 role-playing video game developed and published by Square (video game company), Square for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation video game console. It is the debut entry in the larger ''Xeno (series), Xeno'' franchise. ...
''.
The musical score for ''The Candidate for Goddess'' was created by Tomoyuki Asakawa, who previously composed for the television series ''
The New Adventures of Kimba The White Lion
is an anime television series produced by Tezuka Productions that first ran from October 12, 1989, to October 11, 1990, on TV Tokyo. It is a remake of Osamu Tezuka's 1960s anime series ''Kimba the White Lion''.
Original Japanese cast
*Megumi ...
'' and the film ''
The Five Star Stories
is a mecha manga series created by Mamoru Nagano, building on his work on the anime series '' Heavy Metal L-Gaim''. The story takes place cluster of four major planetary systems. Amaterasu, the immortal emperor of the Grees Kingdom on the pl ...
''.
Hongo attempted to adapt the manga closely while integrating interesting story elements and
3D CGI animation, used in the battles between the Ingrids and Victim alongside the traditional
cel
A cel, short for celluloid, is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Actual celluloid (consisting of cellulose nitrate and camphor) was used during the first half of the 20th century, bu ...
animation. Hongo felt the possibilities with the CGI were limitless; 3D director Tokumitsu Kifune did not think these portions of the show would not have been possible with 2D animation. The manga series was still ongoing at the time of the anime's creation. With only 12 television episodes produced, Xebec ended the series abruptly without giving the storyline closure.
Although a thirteenth episode in the form of an
OVA
, abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
continues where the television series left off, it still fails to conclude the narrative.
Hongo has expressed regret over the short length of the series.
Media
Manga
''The Candidate for Goddess'' was originally serialized in ''
Comic Gum'', a monthly Japanese manga magazine published by
Wani Books
is a Japanese publishing company focused on manga
Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehis ...
. The 26 chapters that comprise the series were compiled into five ''
tankōbon
is the Japanese term for a book that is not part of an anthology or corpus. In modern Japanese, the term is most often used in reference to individual volumes of a manga series: most series first appear as individual chapters in a weekly or ...
'' (volumes) and released between August 1997 and November 2001. All five volumes of the series were re-published in 2005 as part of the "Gum Comics Plus" imprint.
Tokyopop
Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed ...
acquired the series in early 2003 for an English distribution in North America. All five volumes were published between April 14 and December 7, 2004. The series was translated by Alethea and Athena Nibley and adapted by comic book writer
Marv Wolfman
Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's '' The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's ''The New Te ...
. The series has also been published in South Korea by
Samyang Publishing, in France by
Ki-oon
Ki-oon is a French manga publisher founded in October 2003 by Cécile Pournin and Ahmed Agne. It released its first manga in March 2004, the first volume of ''Element Line''. The name "Ki-oon" comes from an onomatopoeia meaning "having the heart ...
, in Germany by
Carlsen Comics and in Spain by
Editorial Ivréa.
Anime
Twelve episodes of ''The Candidate for Goddess'', beginning with "Curriculum 00" and ending with "Curriculum 11", were aired on Japan's
NHK BS2
, also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee.
NHK operates two terrestria ...
satellite channel from January 10 to March 27, 2000.
Bandai
is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...
released the series on four
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
volumes from April 25 to July 25, 2000. The thirteenth episode was released straight to DVD as an OVA in Japan on May 25, 2002 as ''Special Curriculum: The Candidate for Goddess''.
A DVD box set titled ''Emotion the Best: The Candidate for Goddess'' was released by
Bandai Visual
was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution enterprise, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America.
Most of the anime and f ...
in Japan on April 22, 2011 and includes all 12 episodes of the broadcast plus the OVA.
By early 2001,
Bandai Entertainment
was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution enterprise, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America.
Most of the anime and f ...
acquired the North American distribution rights to ''The Candidate for Goddess'' with plans to air the series on
Cartoon Network. An English
dubtitle
Subtitles and captions are lines of dialogue or other text displayed at the bottom of the screen in films, television programs, video games or other visual media. They can be transcriptions of the screenplay, translations of it, or informa ...
was completed by Mix Magic, Inc. in
Hollywood,
CA. According to Bandai's Jerry Chu, the series was renamed ''Pilot Candidate'' because the company wanted to veer away from the term "goddess" for Cartoon Network's sake and because they believed the new title was more descriptive of the series. The channel had originally intended to air the series on its popular afternoon anime block
Toonami
Toonami ( ) is an American late night television programming block that primarily broadcasts Japanese animation and occasionally American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and produced by Williams Street, a divis ...
that fall, and had considered including a reversible cover or an alternate angle intro animation with the original title if fans requested it. However, the anime was delayed and ultimately premiered on its late night Saturday
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
block on February 24, 2002. Despite being broadcast on the more mature list of programming, ''Pilot Candidate'' was
censored
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
, including the removal of nudity, violence, tobacco use, and religious references. This was likely due in part that it was originally intended for Toonami and the episodes were already completed with the intention of the demographic being children. Four DVDs containing the series were released in North American stores between November 1, 2001 and May 21, 2002. All twelve episodes of the series were released on the ''Pilot Candidate Complete Collection'' box set on October 11, 2005. On March 8, 2016,
Discotek Media
Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series.
Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...
had announced their license to the series and the unreleased OVA to be released on June 28, 2016.
CDs
A 29-song
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...
CD of the background and vocal music for ''The Candidate for Goddess'' was released by
Victor Entertainment
, also known as in Japan, is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Ente ...
in Japan on March 23, 2000. A CD Single for "Chance" was also published on February 2, 2000. , a CD single by the artist Universe Form, was released by Victor on January 21, 2000, shortly after the anime's debut. This CD also contains a preliminary
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
track titled . ''The Candidate for Goddess Original Drama Album'', released on July 26, 2000, features the Japanese voice actors portraying their respective characters in a drama.
Other merchandise
In April 2000, Wani Books published a Japanese paperback guidebook to the anime series titled , which contains promotional material, artwork
cel
A cel, short for celluloid, is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Actual celluloid (consisting of cellulose nitrate and camphor) was used during the first half of the 20th century, bu ...
s, and staff interviews. In February 2002, Wani Books published , a collector's set containing an artbook, an illustrations CD-ROM, and other collectables. Sugisaki's artbook, ''Neutral'', showcases her illustrations for ''The Candidate for Goddess'' as well from her other manga works ''
Brain Powerd
is a Japanese anime television series created by Sunrise. The series is set on a future, decimated Earth after the discovery of a mysterious, alien spacecraft dubbed "Orphan". A group of researchers scour the planet for Orphan's disc plate ...
'' and ''
D.N.Angel''. Bandai produced a single
action figure
An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually mark ...
set of ''Pilot Candidate'' as part of a toy line for its licensed properties. The set contains the characters Zero and Kizna and the Ingrid Ernn-Laties.
Reception
Overall critical reception for ''The Candidate for Goddess'' has been average. Its primary high point for many reviewers has been the anime version's animation quality. ''
Protoculture Addicts
''Protoculture Addicts'' was a Canadian-based anime and manga themed magazine published by Protoculture Inc., an Anime News Network company. The term "Protoculture Addicts" was also used by the Zentradi (an alien race that appeared in the ''Macro ...
'' staff contributor Miyako Matsuda enjoyed both the traditional cel animation and the 3D CGI, stating that the two styles blended nicely together.
Jeremy A. Beard of THEM Anime Reviews and
Anime News Network (ANN) reviewer Daniel DeLorme were equally pleased by the character designs and hand-drawn portions of the show.
However, Delorme felt the "primitive" look of the 3D mecha battles to be the biggest flaw of the series.
Beard, who appreciated the Ingrid designs themselves, did not think the CGI conformed with the rest of the animation and that the space combat sequences were not "particularly fluid".
Beard further enjoyed the background music and ending theme of the anime, but that its opening theme did not fit with the visuals or feeling of the series.
Opinions for the plot of ''The Candidate for Goddess'' have varied. DeLorme and ''
Animerica
''Animerica'' was a monthly magazine published by Viz Media
VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ ...
'' columnist Benjamin Wright commented favorably on the show's pacing.
Both writers proclaimed that although the anime initially seemed "formaliac", it contained a generous amount of intricate mystery and character development. Wright summarized, "Zero's trials and tribulations, his friendships and rivalries, and the mysteries of the G.O.A., the Ingrids, EX, and Zero's own past all worm their way into the viewer's mind and heart."
Adversely, Beard did not feel the anime adaptation well-utilized the anime storyline template of mysterious aliens, an academic setting, a last line of defense, and other related devices.
Liann Cooper of ANN similarly found the manga version of ''The Candidate for Goddess'' to suffer from "a bad case of the 'been there done that' syndrome" with regard to its plot and characters. Cooper additionally noted sloppy artwork, messy action scenes, and confusion when the narrative switches between the past and present.
Beard admitted some "irritation regarding unnecessary internal plot inconsistencies", such as the characters constantly voicing the importance of having only male pilots despite the most elite pilot being female, or having no explanation for Kizna being the only
catgirl
A is a female kemonomimi character with feline traits, such as , a cat tail, or other feline characteristics on an otherwise human body. Catgirls are found in various fiction genres and in particular Japanese anime and manga. Catboy is a term ...
among all the humans.
A common complaint by the press is that the anime adaptation of ''The Candidate for Goddess'' ends on a
cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...
.
Wright and DeLorme were anxious for more of the television series after the build-up of several intriguing and unresolved plot elements and a "to be continued" message at its conclusion.
"Effective though ''Pilot Candidate'' is," Wright stated, "there's little satisfaction to be had in the end."
Having criticized the incomplete storyline of the television episodes itself, Beard was heavily disappointed in the apparent continuation in the form of the single OVA episode, which he found did little to tie up the numerous, loose plot ends present at its close.
''The Candidate for Goddess'' has yet to recommence.
AnimeNation
AnimeNation was an American business that included RentAnime.com, a discussion forum, anime industry news, and a column called "Ask John." It was previously a retailer of anime and manga products until 2014 and an anime licensing and distributi ...
journalist John Oppliger has attributed the deficient interest in continuing the anime, beyond its delayed OVA, to the mediocre
ratings it received during its original Japanese broadcast.
References
External links
''The Candidate for Goddess''at
Production I.G. ''The Candidate for Goddess''at
Tokyopop
Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed ...
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Candidate for Goddess, The
1997 manga
2000 anime television series debuts
2002 anime OVAs
Animax original programming
Bandai Entertainment anime titles
Bandai Visual
Discotek Media
Madman Entertainment manga
Mecha anime and manga
NHK original programming
Seinen manga
Tokyopop titles
Wani Books manga
Xebec (studio)
Yukiru Sugisaki