Being a serious drama/horror anime fan I don’t normally like these magical girl series they are simply too cheesy for my tastes. But this was the exception. My whole family fully enjoyed it.
The artwork is outstanding and stylish, the story line while dragging a little at the start was very enjoyable.
The film picks up from where the series left off, delving into past of the goddess belldandy and a cherished mentor from her past, who is intent on undoing everything the gods have created and having it recreated to suit his own misguided views.
I found the enjoyment of the film is greatly enhanced by your understanding of the series, because the character's personalities are established in the series, the contract between the goddess belldandy and keicchi, the heavens system and how come belldandys sister’s skuld and urd come to stay with them are all firmly established in the series, and some of these are only touched upon in the film. Without watching the series it is just a average anime film (in my view feel free to disagree).
I Purchased the series with the film, and I am glad I did its simply a gem in my anime collection. I highly recommend it to any anime fan.