English Manga Guide
This page should help anyone who wants to read the English version of Kosuke Fujishima's Oh My Goddess! manga sort out all of the different versions and editions out there. Dark Horse, the original publisher of the translated Goddess manga, has gone through a dizzying array of reprints and editions of the manga, and has (infamously) published some volumes and chapters out-of-order. Even more confusing, Titan Books is publishing its own English version of the Goddess manga specifically in the United Kingdom. Hopefully, this guide will help you sort it all out.
Original Trade Paperbacks | Unflipped | Titan Books | Special
Dark Horse: Original Trade Paperbacks
Dark Horse's original trade paperbacks each measured 8.2 x 5.8 inches, making them substantially larger than the Japanese tankouban. Compared to the Japanese tankouban, the English editions were printed on thicker, whiter, sturdier paper with better-quality ink, as well.
Dark Horse volumes do not align with the Japanese volumes, per se. This is because Dark Horse wanted to group together all of the chapters in a complete storyline in the same trade paperback. For example, Dark Horse TPB #12, "The Fourth Goddess," contains the entirety of the "Fourth Goddess" storyline, chapters 66 through 72. In the Japanese editions, however, chapters 66 through 72 are spread out between volumes 11 and 12.
Because of this, the Dark Horse TPBs are variable in length, thickness, and price. The first volume, "Wrong Number," has 160 pages, and a retail price of $13.95. Volume 16, "Mystery Child," has 272 pages, and a retail price of $18.95.
When Dark Horse originally published volumes 1-14, they had no numbers anywhere on or in the book, and no indication that "Wrong Number" was volume #1 or that "The Queen of Vengeance" was volume #7. Of course, this was confusing as all get-out for latecomers to the series, not to mention just bad marketing. On top of that, Dark Horse did not publish the first three complete volumes until well after several subsequent volumes were published. Starting with volume 15, Dark Horse began printing a big giant number ("15") on the spines of the books, to help out confused readers. They later re-printed some of the earlier TPBs with identifying numbers on the spines, as well.
 01. Wrong Number May 31st, 2002 ISBN 9781569716694 Chapters 001-008 |
 02. Leader of the Pack August 7th, 2002 ISBN 9781569717646 Chapters 009-014 |
 03. Final Exam October 2nd, 2002 ISBN 9781569717653 Chapters 015-020 |
 04. Love Potion #9 October 15th, 1997 ISBN 9781569712528 Chapters 021-027 |
 05. Sympathy for the Devil May 20th, 1998 ISBN 9781569713297 Chapters 028-033 |
 06. Terrible Master Urd April 21st, 1999 ISBN 9781569713693 Chapters 034-039 |
 07. Queen of Vengeance November 24th, 1999 ISBN 9781569714317 Chapters 040-044 |
 08. Mara Strikes Back June 15th, 2000 ISBN 9781569714492 Chapters 045-049 |
 09. Ninja Master December 11th, 2000 ISBN 9781569714744 Chapters 050-053 |
 10. Miss Keiichi March 6th, 2001 ISBN 9781569715222 Chapters 054-059 |
 11. The Devil in Miss Urd August 7th, 2001 ISBN 9781569715406 Chapters 060-065 |
 12. The Fourth Goddess October 19th, 2001 ISBN 9781569715512 Chapters 066-072 |
 13. Childhood's End March 8th, 2002 ISBN 9781569716854 Chapters 073-078 |
 14. Queen Sayoko November 6th, 2002 ISBN 9781569717660 Chapters 079-085 |
 15. Hand in Hand February 5th, 2003 ISBN 9781569719213 Chapters 086-093 |
 16. Mystery Child May 7th, 2003 ISBN 9781569719503 Chapters 094-101 |
 17. Traveler December 25th, 2003 ISBN 9781569719862 Chapters 102-109 |
 18. The Phantom Racer May 5th, 2004 ISBN 9781593072179 Chapters 110-118 |
 19/20. Sora Unchained January 25th, 2005 ISBN 9781593073169 Chapters 119-129 |
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Why is "Sora Unchained" labeled as #19/20? That's because beginning with volume 21 (see below), Dark Horse began printing their trade paperbacks to contain the same number of chapters as the Japanese tankouban. Japanese tankouban #21 contains chapters 130-135, and the English version of volume #21 would also have to contain chapters 130-135. But Dark Horse had only published 19 of their own volumes, so in order to bridge the gap, they numbered their last volume "Sora Unchained" as #19/20. This helps readers to know that after "Sora Unchained," they can jump right into volume #21 without missing anything.
Dark Horse: Unflipped Trade Paperbacks
Starting with volume #21, Dark Horse began publishing the English edition of Oh My Goddess! in a new format. First and most importantly, the English volumes now align with the Japanese tankouban. (That is, English volume #21 contains chapters 130-135, and Japanese tankouban #21 also contains chapters 130-135.) In addition, the new English volumes have the same cover artwork as the corresponding Japanese tankouban. However, the new English volumes are also much smaller than previously (measuring only 7.3 x 5.1 inches), and printed on low-quality paper, comparable to the low-quality paper used in the Japanese tankouban. The new English volumes also lack individual names (like "Mystery Child" and "Sora Unchained"), but the chapters inside the volumes are finally numbered as chapter 130, 131, 132, etc. Chapters in the original English edition (above) were never numbered. Each of the new volumes has a retail price of $10.95.
In addition, Dark Horse is also reprinting the earlier volumes of Oh My Goddess! in the new, smaller, cheaper format. Once again, these volumes align with the Japanese tankouban. However, some of the covers use artwork from the Japanese Complete editions instead of the original edition cover artwork.
 Reprint 01, 12/05 ISBN 9781593073879 Chapters 001-009 |
 Reprint 02, 4/06 ISBN 9781593074579 Chapters 010-116 |
 Reprint 03, 6/06 ISBN 9781593075392 Chapters 017-023 |
 Reprint 04, 12/06 ISBN 9781593076238 Chapters 024-030 |
 Reprint 05, 2/07 ISBN 9781593077082 Chapters 031-036 |
 Reprint 06, 6/07 ISBN 9781593077723 Chapters 037-042 |
 Reprint 07, 10/07 ISBN 9781593078508 Chapters 043-047 |
 Reprint 08, 2/08 ISBN 9781593078898 Chapters 048-052 |
 Reprint 09, 7/08 ISBN 9781593079703 Chapters 053-057 |
 Reprint 10, 11/08 ISBN 9781595821904 Chapters 058-062 |
 Reprint 11, ???? ISBN ?????????? Chapters 063-067 |
Reprint 12, ???? ISBN ?????????? Chapters 068-072 |
Reprint 13, ???? ISBN ?????????? Chapters 073-077 |
Reprint 14, ???? ISBN ?????????? Chapters 078-082 |
Reprint 15, ???? ISBN ?????????? Chapters 083-090 |
Reprint 16, ???? ISBN ?????????? Chapters 091-097 |
Reprint 17, ???? ISBN ?????????? Chapters 098-104 |
Reprint 18, ???? ISBN ?????????? Chapters 105-112 |
Reprint 19, ???? ISBN ?????????? Chapters 113-120 |
Reprint 20, ???? ISBN ?????????? Chapters 121-129 |
 Volume 21, 7/05 ISBN 9781593073343 Chapters 130-135 |
 Volume 22, 12/05 ISBN 9781593074005 Chapters 136-141 |
 Volume 23, 5/06 ISBN 9781593074630 Chapters 142-148 |
 Volume 24, 8/06 ISBN 9781593075453 Chapters 149-155 |
 Volume 25, 12/06 ISBN 9781593076443 Chapters 156-162 |
 Volume 26, 3/07 ISBN 9781593077150 Chapters 163-169 |
 Volume 27, 8/07 ISBN 9781593077884 Chapters 170-177 |
 Volume 28, 12/07 ISBN 9781593078577 Chapters 178-182 |
 Volume 29, 4/08 ISBN 9781593079123 Chapters 183-188 |
 Volume 30, 8/08 ISBN 9781593079796 Chapters 189-194 |
Titan Books
Titan Books is publishing their own newly-translated English edition of the manga in the United Kingdom. Titan's graphic novels are unflipped. Volumes 01 and 02 shipped simultaneously on April 27th, 2007. For more information about Titan's edition of the manga, you can visit the Titan homepage. Anyway, here's the list.
Volume 01, 4/07 ISBN 9781845764852 Chapters 001-009 |
Volume 02, 4/07 ISBN 9781845764869 Chapters 010-116 |
Volume 03, 6/07 ISBN 9781845765040 Chapters 017-023 |
Volume 04, 8/07 ISBN 9781845765057 Chapters 024-030 |
Volume 05, 10/07 ISBN 9781845765064 Chapters 031-036 |
Volume 06, 12/07 ISBN 9781845765095 Chapters 037-042 |
Volume 07, 2/08 ISBN 9781845765101 Chapters 043-047 |
Volume 08, 8/08 ISBN 9781845765118 Chapters 048-052 |
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Special Books
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The Adventures of Mini-Goddess The English-only edition of Kodansha's bilingual Mini-Goddess comic strip collection. Whereas the Kodansha edition was hardcover and included color artwork, this Dark Horse version is a paperback, and the interior is printed entirely in black-and-white. |
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Oh My Goddess! Colors (ENGLISH text) This gorgeous, oversized artbook reprints four chapters from the Ah! My Goddess manga series, re-done in full color. The book also includes a foldout poster of Belldandy and Holy Bell, a small sampling of Kosuke Fujishima's color illustrations from the manga, and an encyclopedia-like reference of manga trivia in the back of the book. Reprinted and translated from the 2001 Japanese edition. |
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1-555-Goddess This abbreviated version of trade paperbacks #1-3 was originally published by Dark Horse waaaay back in 1996. It contains chapters 001, 014, and 017 through 020. It's out of print now, and completely unnecessary in the first place, now that not just one, but three editions of the complete volumes #1-3 are available in bookstores. |
