I find it hard to blame the show creators for that, especially since the manga has already been out for some time and very little that they do will surprise anyone anyway. The way I see things is that just about every type of story that can be told has been told several times over. AMG is a romantic comedy where a shy male lead forms a relationship with a beautiful girl that everyone else considers out of his league by being together and enduring hardships. Though it is still an interesting story it is hardly a new one in the grand scheme of things. Obviously there are several things that set AMG apart from similar stories, but those are the nuts and bolts of it. I rarely think about endings since there are really only a few ways a story like this can end, most of which you have already mentioned, and what sets stories apart is the journey, not the destination.
I have a feeling that it will be a bittersweet ending rather than an "everybody wins" scenario, so either one of them or both of them must sacrifice something for the other in order for the relationship to continue. Belldandy giving up her powers to remain with Keiichi seems the most likely to me. Though I think that if Keiichi eventually dies he might be able to live out eternity with Belldandy in heaven ( I have only seen the series and know very little about the history and mythology behind the story so I can't say for sure, and am open to correction). Whatever happens I am enjoying the journey so far :).
05-Jun-2006