[Timotheus]

Here's a little something the folks who are downloading Mr. C and crew's fine translation work might enjoy.


NOTICE!

Absolutely Positively Spoilers Present if you haven't read chapters 190 and 192!

I mean these are spoilers with a capital "SPOI".

If there was a scale for spoilers this would be at the very top, unless of course it was a descending scale in which case it would be at the very bottom. I suppose there could be a bell curve sort of scale, in which case this would be in the middle, but that would be rather confusing. Anyway, this topic has spoilers in it for chapters 190 and 192 (more so for 192 than 190, but they're both included in this warning) so be warned!

Now I don't want anyone coming back and complaining I didn't warn them that there were spoilers in this topic, although I suppose they still could, it being a free country and all (for now) and issues of homeland security not being involved. But still, I'm trying to warn ya' here.


Spoilers ahead matey, Arrrgh!


LAST CHANCE WARNING!!!

Definite Spoilers If you haven't read the current Kodansha releases.


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Urd's goddess license & "I choose to act!"
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(Well, was that sufficient warning?)

A recent short arc in Japan has revealed more about Urd than everything we'd previously been shown. In it Urd is is given a chance by Peorth to earn her First Class license. In the course of the story we're shown several scenes from Urd's past and how isolated she was from heavenly society. The exchanges in chapters 190 & 192 are the most revealing, and here's my take on them.

In chapter 190, after yet another of Urd's plans goes astray, she asks in frustration, "Why isn't it working out?!" Peorth appears and answers, "Maybe it's because you take action without thinking first." Urd replies that she does think, but if she thinks about things too much, it usually becomes too late to do anything about it. So rather than do nothing, she chooses to act on her first impulse and hope for the best.

This is yet another aspect of Urd's duality. If she stops to consider all her options in a situation she'll end up in an internal debate between the conflicting value systems of her demonic tendencies and goddess tendencies. And the end result is usually a stalemate. So rather than ponder the problem, she makes spot decisions and acts on them immediately, feeling its better to live with whatever the consequences are then to end up not doing anything at all.

Another reason Urd behaves this way is also why she's so willing to make a spectacle of herself - her "Hey! Look at Me!" attitude. (Which is also tied into her desire to appear as sexually attractive as possible at all times) Urd is more afraid of not being noticed or overlooked in a situation than of making a mistake or messing things up. Right or wrong, she wants people to know she's there and taking an active part in things.

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In chapter 192, Peorth transmits the results of Urd's test back to the heavens. The goddess in charge of these tests (whom we'd seen earlier discouraging Urd from trying to take the test) is seen in her chamber. She's a little surprised that Urd passed and wonders if Urd has ever really understood what she'd tried to tell her earlier. But no matter what Urd thought the testing goddess had meant back then, that official has decided that Urd is just as much a goddess as the rest of them, and in a "let the chips fall as they may" attitude decrees, "Approval Granted!"

Peorth receives this news and happily tells Urd she made it. Peorth is sure she knew how much Urd had wanted this to validate her life and begins to congratulate her. Urd is stunned. She really wasn't expecting to pass and now that she actually has must face what that means. A First Class goddess is required to be a guardian for the world and all its creatures, and because of the tremendous power and its potential for misuse, they cannot afford the slightest deception.

And that's just not the way Urd looks at things. She can't care for everyone equally, only those people who are precious to her. Urd finally understands what the testing goddess was trying to tell her and realizes she shouldn't accept it. Peorth is taken aback at this unexpected turn. In the face of Peorth's startlement, Urd explains that she will always be someone who will tell lies when she thinks they're needed. (i.e. make things up to spare peoples feelings, hers and others) That's just the way she chooses to be, and she must accept what it means.

Grim and decisive, Urd declines the First Class license because she knows she couldn't live up to it's standards. She wants to be able to choose her own path to her goals, not be told how she can and can't get there. If she fails, so be it. But the failure will also be her's and she'll deal with the consequences in her own way and on her own terms. And if this means foregoing a First Class license and the power and responsibility that comes with it, that's how it must be.

She will be true to Urd - black, white, or whatever.

[Keiichi-chan]

Interesting stuff as always Timotheus!
That's pretty much the way I saw that storyline and Urd's actions in it as well. There are many times when Urd caused trouble due to her 'act on your instincts and sort things out later' nature,but there are also times where Belldandy,because she is so careful and prudent hesitates to do anything and Urd has to act herself or push everyone forward.
And it wasn't much of a spoiler,more of a recap of what urd went through during that storyline.

[love a riddle]

I've had the same thoughts, but I could never have put it so eloquently. Very interesting!

[VelsperTheCat]

My apologies, Timotheus, for coming so late into this thread. However, I would disagree with you on one point, namely Urd's desire (or lack thereof) for being a 1st class goddess.

I believe that Urd decided not to ever become a goddess 1st class way back when she first went to take the test. The conversation she has with herself and Skuld in Ch187 indicates that Urd is already at peace with herself over the issue. This also explains the question Urd asked Peorth about only having to take the test, and Urd's severe reaction to Peorth's comment about doing her best. Urd wasn't asking if she could take a dive on the test, she was seeking confirmation that passing the test wouldn't lock her into accepting the promotion. Throughout the chapter, Urd's lack of both enthusiasm and nervousness about the test would indicate that there's nothing at stake for her in taking the test. She has no desire to be a goddess 1st class so it doesn't matter to her if she passes.

I don't think Urd was stunned when she heard that she had passed. When the news arrived that she had passed, Urd knew she would have to go public with what had been up until now a very private decision on her part. Her reaction is very similar to when she acknowledged that the Dai makai cho was her mother. Another hidden part of her life forced out into the open.

As you say, Urd marches to the beat of her own drum. She follows her own rules, and if they don't make sense to anyone else, that's fine by her.

[Timotheus]

We'll probably have to agree to disagree here.

I interpreted chapter 148 as more along the lines that Urd was resigned to never becoming a first class goddess because she didn't think it could happen. That she wanted the license had been made abundantly clear earlier in the manga when she kept claiming to be one in her arguments with Skuld.

Of course Mr. Fujishima could have changed his mind, but we'll never know. I think the idea of Urd accepting the reality of not becoming while still wondering if she COULD make the grade fits the story as presented. Her lack of enthusiasm at first would be explained by her not believing it could happen. Once she got into the tests though her desire to succed kicked in and we see her behaving in her typical Urd manner.

But your interpretation could be just as right.