The Candidate for Goddess (Japanese: 女神候補生, Hepburn: Megami Kōhosei, lit. "Goddess Cadet") is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Yukiru Sugisaki. The series takes place in the distant future, where human beings live among space colonies and a single, inhabitable planet called Zion. The plot follows Zero Enna and his fellow candidates as they try to prove themselves worthy of piloting the "Ingrids", also called "Goddesses". These gigantic, humanoid weapons are humanity's only significant defense against a hostile, alien threat known as "Victim".

The Candidate for Goddess was serialized in the monthly Wani Books magazine Comic Gum. A total of 26 chapters were collected in five tankōbon (volumes) and released between 1997 and 2001. The manga was later translated into English and published in North America by Tokyopop and in Australian and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment. The Candidate for Goddess was adapted into a 12-episode anime series directed by Mitsuru Hongo and produced by Xebec, which was a subsidiary of Production I.G. The adaptation aired on Japan's NHK BS2 satellite channel in early 2000. The anime series, entitled Pilot Candidate for its North American release, was broadcast briefly on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block in 2002. An original video animation (OVA), serving as a thirteenth episode, was released in Japan in 2002, though it was not localized for North America until 2016, when Discotek Media acquired the license to the series.Since the debut of The Candidate for Goddess on Japanese television, a limited number of CDs and artbook illustrations for the series have been released. Overall reception for The Candidate for Goddess has been mediocre. Though its animation has been generally praised, its complex plot, compounded by its very short length, has been met with mixed criticism. Reviewers were dismayed by the lack of storyline closure at the end of the television episodes and even its OVA extension.