Ah My Buddha (known in Japan as Amaenaide yo!! or "Don't be spoiled!!"; the English title is an allusion to the otherwise unrelated manga/anime Ah! My Goddess) is a manga by Toshinori Sogabe, which was serialized in Comic Gum from 2004 to 2007 and compiled into seven volumes. An anime adaptation by Studio DEEN aired in 2005, with a second season following in 2006.
Ikkou Satonaka is training to be a Buddhist monk. He is not particularly thrilled with this, despite residing at the temple with a bevy of cute nuns in training. During the show, Ikkou and the girls must exorcise numerous spirits who haven't crossed over to the next life yet, as well as dealing with more typical challenges of their age. Ikkou's grandmother Jotoku oversees their training as the head of the temple and the vice-principal of their high school.
Inside him, Ikkou has a powerful spiritual force, which he cannot willingly unleash. When manifested, this power enables him to perform mass exorcisms. This force is linked to his libido, so he can only use his heightened whenever he sees one or more of the nuns naked. Of course, this happens a lot.
The girls are:
- Chitose Nanbu: Has feelings for Ikkou, but doesn't admit them - even to herself. She represents the Human Realm in Buddhist cosmology.
- Yuuko Atoda: A tomboy who excels at sports and fighting. She represents the Asura Realm.
- Sumi Ikuina: A kind, quiet girl with an empathetic nature who occasionally tries to speak up for Ikkou. She represents the Animal Realm.
- Haruka Amanogawa: Somewhat carefree and the most powerful exorcist of the group, one of the more senior trainees. She represents the Heavenly Realm.
- Sakura Sagai: Secretly runs an internet blog where she berates losers under the guise of helping them. She represents the Hungry Ghosts Realm.
- Hinata Sugai: Sakura's little sister who has a pet fire-breathing demon (about the size of a hamster). She represents the Naraka (Hell) Realm.
The first season usually deals with Ikkou and the girls exorcising evil spirits. The second season explores the girls' relationships to their realm-based powers. In addition, Kazuki Kazusano, a rival nun from another temple, joins in the action. Unlike the other girls, Kazuki wants to get Ikkou to unleash his inner spirit. Aside from the frequent Fanservice scenes, the series is notable for a generally upbeat, comedic attitude.
Amaenaide yo!! provides examples of:
- A-Cup Angst: Yuuko tends to be jealous of girls that have big breasts compared to her own and angry with guys that prefer such girls
- Adaptation Distillation: The anime covers only some part of the original manga and ignore the sequel Amaenaideyo!! MS!.
- All Men Are Perverts: Also when they are dead.
- Amazon Brigade of Buddhist Nuns. Ikkou, appropriately, is The One Guy.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Ikkou and Chitose.
- Big Eater: Sakura. Somewhat expected as she represents the realm of the Hungry Ghosts.
- Betty and Veronica: Chitose (Betty) and Kazuki (Veronica) to Ikkou (Archie).
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Played with in one of the extra episodes. They're actually pretending they're characters from a show with the same name and theme, in order to make a ghost appear in the studio.
- Censor Steam: Used during the first season.
- Darker and Edgier: The second season is also more serious and dramatic than the last one, and focuses more on Hinata's unstable powers, Haruka's childhood years and Kazuki's tricks to get her hand on Ikkou's powers.
- Dead All Along: Some of the spirits that the group exorcise do not appear to be ghostly at all, and their status as restless spirits only comes up during the show.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Kazuki attempts to satisfy herself by exorcising trivial spirits, but finds it unsatisfying compared to witnessing Ikkou's awakenings. Her own exorcisms are a spiritual equivalent to self-pleasure.
- Double Standard: Abuse, Female on Male: Ikkou gets it from most of the girls, particularly Chitose. Lampshaded somewhat in that once his inner power is awakened, he is overcome by lust. So the girls adopt the stereotypical approach to controlling him.
- Friend to All Living Things: Sumi. Her kindness extends even to animals, and this seems to be where her spiritual talents lie.
- Giving Up the Ghost: Happens to Ikkou quite frequently, given what happens to him thanks to the various forms of fanservice and the girls punishing him for it.
- In Love with Your Carnage: Kazuki is physically aroused by Ikkou releasing his power and often goes to great lengths to make him release it.
- Little Miss Snarker: Hinata, who usually doesn't say much at all.
- Lovable Sex Maniac: Ikkou develops into this in the second season.
- Marilyn Maneuver: In Episode 2 of Season 2 with a pervy ghost that use wind-based power to lift schoolgirl's skirt.
- Miniature Senior Citizens: Jotoku looks about three feet tall
- Mundane Made Awesome: The back half of "Don't Egg Me!" manages to compare cooking a simple sunny-side up egg to pitching the perfect fastball.
- Naughty Nurse Outfit: In the special of Amaenaideyo Katsu, the girls wear skimpy nurse outfit to attract a pervert ghost.
- No Social Skills: Chitose comes from a very small town.
- Pool Scene: Episode 3 of Season 1.
- The Power of Lust: The entire focuses around Ikkou Satonaka, a Buddhist monk-in-training who can unleash an incredible dormant power to exorcise demons when he sees nudity. Cue the whole cast of female characters exposing their breasts when the situation becomes dire. Though Ikkou is reluctant to continue his training, the grandmaster monks in the Buddhist community encourage him after they learn of his powers.
- Scenery Censor: In most episodes, but averted in the DVD-only episodes.
- School Swimsuit: Episode 3 of Season 1.
- School Festival: Focusing on Sakura, where she learns something about kindness.
- Sexy Soaked Shirt: In the first season, as the girls are meditating under a waterfall. In one episode of the second season, they wear translucent pearl-diver outfits.
- Show Within a Show: Kamen Ranger. Chitose and Haruka even once help deceased stage-actors fulfill their desire to give a final performance before ascending.
- Skinship Grope: Yuuko occasionally gropes Chitose or Sumi.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Hinata, in spades.
- Supreme Chef: In "Don't Egg Me!" it turns out Devilkin can cook Orgasmically Delicious meat and potatoes.
- The Tease: Haruka flirts with Ikkou on more than one occasion to get a response only to sit back and watch when he gets beaten by the other girls.
- Token Mini-Moe: Hinata. Even though she is only a year or two younger than the other girls, she is notably undeveloped.
- Tsundere: Chitose is a mild case, stronger in the second season when she has to compete with Kazuki.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Ikkou doesn't go insane or berserk once he's manifested his super-powered side, but his libido goes into overdrive.
