Note: I did not create or write this article. Reposted for historical purposes only


Another Perspective on the Fourth Goddess Arc
Timotheus (Dark Horse Forums)


Article 11(Originally posted on the now defunct G2G site )


This section will be a big spoiler if you haven't read the Fourth Goddess TPB or the first Peorth cycle in the manga. So be warned.

I was looking through the independent translation of the Japanese version of the Peorth arc at Nekomi Kodai, when it suddenly struck me that I'd missed a possible connection. I reread the whole series translation from the perspective of someone who's been analyzing the behind the scenes aspects of the series and feel my ideas fit the dialog and the facts.

It always seemed odd that Keiichi would be able to get through to another assistance agency. While he was certainly deserving, I'd think that would be a sort of one wish to a customer thing. And since all such requests and authorizations would come through Yggdrasil, it should be able to keep track of who's been granted one and who hasn't. (It might have lost track during one of it's crashes, but that's the sort of data that would be backed up and Bell's contract with K-1 isn't something new.) Oh well, I thought, it was just a necessary plot device for a real good story cycle and let it pass. Now I'm not so sure it wasn't a sleeper plot for later on.

For Keiichi to be granted a wish under the system as I understand it, he would have to be selected from a possible pool of candidates, his qualifications reviewed, and his worthiness approved by a higher authority. They would then authorize Yggdrasil to route a phone call from the subject to one of the helper goddesses, who would then take care of granting whatever the wish is. Peorth hinted several times that they already know (or are told) what the wish will be, they just have to hear it from the subject. (Belldandy knew Keiichi was lonely when she first came through the mirror and I think was hoping he'd ask her to stay or something. She was also responsible for him getting the wish, too, if I'm interpreting the OAV right. That he asked for a goddess LIKE her to be with him forever was conveniently reinterpreted by her or the authorizing agency in heaven as asking for HER to stay with him. Either way she and Keiichi are both happy with the result, so no problems. As K-1 has said, it was the wish in his heart, even if he said it as a nervous joke.)

So first Keiichi would have to be resubmitted, INVESTIGATED, and reauthorized without the fact that he already had an open contract being discovered or have it declared irrelevant. Then he would have to be found to have another need to justify a wish, and again it would have to not be noticed that Belldandy was already contracted or decided that her contract was immaterial to the new wish. And finally, someone in authority had to authorize Yggdrasil to allow it to happen.

(Apparently goddesses rotate through the helper agencies. Urd was told to answer the phone when she went back for her license renewal, and Belldandy did it on a trial basis before being assigned to it. There may be a few goddesses who do it full time, and then other goddesses are assigned to fill in when they're busy or off duty. In that case this might not be Peorth's normal job, and indeed we see her later in the series doing a lot of different work, and in the movie she's filling in for Urd as systems administrator, not the sort of job just anyone can handle off the street.)

All in all, that's a lot of coincidence and omission for a system that runs the universe. But what if it wasn't a coincidence. What if someone wanted to check out a Mr. Morisato and see what his true feelings toward Belldandy were. Find out how he'd respond to temptation and whether he'd be faithful to her under pressure and opportunity. In short, to see if he was worthy of her. And what if that person had full access to the Yggdrasil system and could set up whatever conditions they'd want (it could be two people doing it). They could arrange for a second wish to be authorized and a goddess with a "reputation for the very best of service" to receive it and give her the impression the wish was for "special services".

Then that goddess would go down and do everything she could to grant that wish (because that's the sort of goddess she was) and put a real strain on Bell and K-1's relationship. That the goddess might have a little misunderstanding with Belldandy so she wouldn't be inclined to back off for friendship's sake would be a bonus. That the goddess would start having feelings for Keiichi would be a surprise, but not hurt the test. And that she would eventually figure things out at the end wouldn't hurt either, though there would be a danger if she told K-1 and Bell. But if she was ordered to leave as soon as the wish was settled that danger could be minimized. While it would certainly be a great misuse of heaven's resources, it could be the sort of thing a concerned parent (or parents) might do to check up on the man in their daughter's life and see what she truly felt toward him. Especially if those parents had a high level connection with the Yggdrasil system. (How quickly did you see where I was going with this?)

Once I thought of this I went back and reread the whole series of translated from Japanese Fourth Goddess chapters, because they would be closer to Mr. Fujishima's words. Peorth's dialog matches the concept perfectly, better than it does without considering it as a setup. My guess is she knew it was special case (because she only goes out on special cases), and had been told it was to satisfy K-1's sexual frustrations (even though he didn't really have any). Also, she was ordered to absolutely grant Keiichi's wish (making it a point of honor to achieve it) and then report and return home. Other than that she was sent in cold, and all the emotional developments were her doing alone. At the very end, she realized that what Keiichi said about Belldandy's words WAS his true wish, and while a bit disappointed was willing to accept it. She'd figured out how close they were right away, but her sense of duty (and a little selfish emotion) had kept her hoping her original assignment description had been correct.

Try it, reread the Fourth Goddess from the point of view of Peorth being a blind agent (that is, not knowing her true mission) sent in to test the Keiichi - Belldandy bond. It works really well. It also explains Peorth's attitude changes in her later appearances.

Quote

Note: I did not create or write this article. Reposted for historical purposes only
Originally posted by Timotheus at Dark Horse forums