Posted by Caldi-Chan on Jan 17th, 2008
Angel Scantuary isn’t a new series; in fact, it’s a very well-known series. It’s liked by many, but also equally hated by almost as many. Where do I, as a reader, land in this fanbase? Simple – I love the story.
 Story:
Setsuna Mudo is the reincarnation of Angel Alexial, one of God’s angels, who waged war on God for the injustice of killing innocent demon children and women. This is where I’ve likely lost several readers, but that’s okay. It’s a story that covers various topics that go against several ideals and morals in society. One of the main themes here that usually drive away most people from the story is the fact that Setsuna Mudo, and his sister Sarah Mudo, are in love with each other.
Throughout the story, this topic is in fact the underlying theme. Other themes include the war between Angels and Demons, drug usage, and also the ever present thought that perhaps the balance of good and evil isn’t as clear-cut or as black-and-white as most think.
It’s a straight forward, blunt story. It brings up the suggestion that, perhaps, love as a feeling alone is just that. Love. It doesn’t matter who you love, all that matters is that you are in love. However, in the world view of society, who you love does matter quite a bit, and people suffer a whole lot. In fact none know this better then Setsuna, who has fought himself from breaking the taboo of incestuous love for his younger sister.
Yet while he’s dealing with this, there are far more serious things going on in the background. People are mysteriously dying, due to a computer game called Angel Sanctuary. What does this imply?
In the simple, basic plot of the manga, it’s because these people have unknowingly been duped and sacrificed to bring back Rosiel, the highest Angel in the ranks, as well as the twin brother of Angel Alexial. Why bring this Angel out of his seal? Well, it’s all one huge political thing. It seems the almighty Lord is asleep now, and the angels on high are bickering amungst themselves.
While all this is going on, two demons have been trying to awaken Angel Alexial, who is asleep within Setsuna. Quite a wonderful mesh of plots, and they’re all tied together quite nicely.
Art
I love the detail. Every character is extremely beautiful – not just bishie beautiful, but very beautiful. Even if characters have their quirks, and/or mean streaks, they still have that air about them. Not just visually, but also in how the writing portrays them. It’s a match made in manga heaven, in my honest opinion.
Anime vs Manga.
I admit I saw the anime years ago, and it was the anime that I first fell in
love with. Granted it was the offical English dub on VHS, but that didn’t stop me from loving it. The music was great, the characters were wonderful in their angst and it was great. But it was a sad, sad day when I realized that this VHS video tape with the anime on it, was in fact the only Angel Sanctuary ever produced in this format. There were so many unanswered questions, and I really wanted to see what Setsuna was going to do after being stabbed by his best friend in order to go save his now dead sister/lover from the depths of Hell itself, like Odephius did with his own lover. (Though I was hoping he wouldn’t be as stupid as the mythical god.)
Years later, I finally found the manga and tore into it. So much was cut out of the anime. So much made sense. They took the first three manga volumes, and some of the fourth, and squeezed it all into a few short episodes on one animated feature tape -or dvd if you prefer- and left so much hanging, which I guess is due to the fact that, given time and budget limitations, a lot ended up on the cutting room floor.
While the manga explains more, the anime, despite having its own faults, is still just as disturbingly entertaining in it’s own twisted, morbid ways. If I were to get a person interested in Angel Scantuary I’d start with the anime first, and watch their reactions. If at the end they were wanting to know what the heck was going on, I’d then point them to the manga for the clarity of what was left out of the animated features.
Overall, it’s worth every penny spent. If you don’t mind an anime or manga touching on high-risk religious and political talk, and you don’t mind the moral ambiguity of the characters, you could probably find it very enjoyable. But, if you are squeamish about the topics, it may not be for you.
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Y’know, this is kind of off the subject of Angel Sanctuary itself, but still relevant I think… Do you ever suppose that the reason so many religious types get all up in arms over “alternative” interpretations of Scripture is a combination of plain old human refusal to admit error combined with the fact they’ve staked so much (namely, their eternal souls) on the notion they are right?
I’m not thinking of the incest thing here (which I think anyone will agree is a Bad Thing from any angle), but rather the notion that God and Angels may not be the beneficent, perfect beings the Bible depicts them as – which seems to be one of the key themes of Angel Sanctuary. Just think about it – not all that long ago, in terms of human history, even the suggestion of something like this would have won whoever suggested it a free campfire in the town square, with themselves as both the guest of honor and the fire itself. And while we may no longer literally burn people at the stake, there are still places in this world (and even our own parts of it) where this sort of persecution continues to this day, albeit on a smaller scale.
I gotta admit, though – after reading this review and seeing what the series is all about, I might just be tempted to at least check out the anime. I never would’ve given it a second glance otherwise, which speaks well for your reviewing skills. ^^;