Mara Up Close
Name: Mara.
Although named "Marller" in the original Japanese manga, Studio Proteus has decided to translate this character's name as "Mara" in the English edition of the manga. For a more thorough explanation of Mara's name, and reasons why I've decided to stick with "Mara" on this website, please click here.
Species: Demon.
License: First Class, Unlimited.
Height: 170 cm (about 5'6", based on the observation that she is normally drawn the same height as Urd).
Age: 24-ish (assuming that she is about the same age as Urd).
Markings: Mara has two elongated diamonds on her forehead, basically two red slashes that form a V shape. (Incidentally, those are also the exact same forehead markings that the Lord of Terror wears, although other demons in the manga series have very different markings. Hild has a six-pointed starburst on her forehead, and Velsper has a four-pointed starburst.) Mara also has two red triangles on each of her cheeks.
Teleportation Link: None. Mara does not need a medium to teleport.
Alternate Energy Source: Probably none. Mara's specific energy source is never explicitly stated in the manga, and she most likely doesn't need one. In chapter 29, Mara sleeps in a coffin in order to recover her health. However, in chapter 45, after she is defeated by the Lord of Terror, Mara says that she was forced to soak in hot springs in order to heal and recover her energy. This idea is reinforced later in chapter 60, when Belldandy and company encounter Mara at an onsen resort. But think about it for a moment - wouldn't sleeping a long nap, or taking a soak in some hot springs, make anybody feel rested and re-energized? (Provided that the nap isn't in a coffin.) So there's nothing particular, or special, about how Mara recovers her energy when she's drained. Granted, sleeping in a coffin is somewhat peculiar, but the coffin is probably just a demonic detail that Mara favors, the same way that she likes to wear jewelry made of skulls and teeth.
First Appearance: Chapter 26.
A grotesque, skeletal version of Mara appears to Keiichi in a dream. Later that day, Tamiya wanders into a music store and spies the mysterious "Demons CD" sitting on a shelf, which he feels an uncontrollable urge to buy. When Tamiya returns to his dorm, he realizes that he doesn't have a CD player, so tries to play the CD on a record player instead. This causes Mara to emerge from the CD and introduce herself to him. "The name's Mara. I'm a demon first-class, unlimited." Mara offers to grant Tamiya one wish, in return for summoning her. Tamiya, in a fit of panic, throws a beer can at Mara, threatens her with what looks like an ice pick, and demands that she get out of his dorm. Mara eagerly complies with Tamiya's "wish" and vanishes.
Mara in a nutshell: Mara is a demon from Niflheim (Hell), who acts as the primary villain in the Oh My Goddess! manga series. She is employed by the Demon Office (Akuma Jimusho), which is opposed to the Goddess Relief Office (Belldandy's agency). She works with a First Class, Unlimited license, which means that she is a very powerful demon. It is assumed that she is linked to Nidhogg, the computer system of Niflheim, the same way that the Goddesses are linked to Yggdrasil, although the manga never explicitly states this.
Mara's mission is to undermine the work of the Goddesses, and to provide humans with offers to sign contracts with demons. However, Mara spends a lot more time focusing on making Belldandy miserable than she does signing away human souls. Mara's primary goal later in the series is to make Belldandy go back home to Heaven; in the earlier chapters of the manga, however, Mara seeks out Belldandy and stirs up trouble just for the sake of watching her suffer. Mara primarily targets Keichii, because she knows that he is the weak spot in Belldandy's heart. Despite the fact that Mara causes nothing but trouble for the Goddesses, she is not an entirely evil character. Even Mara has her limits, and even she refuses to cross certain ethical lines. Likewise, it becomes evident early in the series that Mara has known the Goddesses since childhood; she was once a very close friend to Urd, and Belldandy still treats Mara with kindness and civility. It is sometimes implied that Mara only bothers messing with the Goddesses because she is, on some level, very lonely.
The basic premise behind Oh My Goddess! is that being a Goddess is nothing more than an occupation; it's just a job. The same is true for being a demon. Mara is just your average working girl, trying to do her job - unfortunately, her job just happens to require being evil. And Mara quite clearly enjoys what she does, and quite clearly enjoys watching her rivals, the Goddesses, endure misfortune.
Mara In Her Creator's Words
In 2004, Kosuke Fujishima and the Afternoon editorial staff published an encyclopedic guidebook for the manga, titled Ah! My Goddess Collection. Mara/Marller's profile appeared in the middle of the book. I've scanned the profile and provided a translation below.
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