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Angel Sanctuary

 
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Angel Sanctuary
A book cover. The top half shows a boy with wings, three of which are reduced to bones with feathers floating in the background. Underneath the picture is large text reading 天使禁猟区; a smaller 由貴 香織里 follows it.
Cover of Angel Sanctuary volume 1 as re-released by Hakusensha
天使禁猟区
(Tenshi Kinryōku)
Genre Fantasy, Romance
Manga
Author Kaori Yuki
Publisher Japan Hakusensha
English publisher United States Viz Media
Demographic Shōjo
Magazine Hana to Yume
Original run February 1995 – February 2001
Volumes 20
Original video animation
Director Kiyoko Sayama
Studio Bandai Visual
Licensor United States Central Park Media (former), Media Blasters (current)
Released May 25, 2000 - August 25, 2000
Episodes 3
Anime and Manga Portal

Angel Sanctuary (天使禁猟区 Tenshi Kinryōku?) is a shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Kaori Yuki. Originally serialized in Hana to Yume from February 1995 to February 2001, the chapters were collected and published in twenty tankōbon volumes by Hakusensha; the first volume was released in 1997 and the final volume was published in 2001. It focuses on a reincarnated angel named Setsuna, proclaimed to be the "Messiah", and his struggle against the corrupted angels of Heaven.

The manga was adapted as a three-episode OVA by Bandai Visual and Hal Film Maker; it was intended to be an introduction to the manga rather than a stand alone anime. Originally licensed by Central Park Media, the OVA is currently licensed by Media Blasters. A series of drama CDs based on the other story arcs was also released.

Angel Sanctuary is licensed by Viz Media for an English language release in North America. The final volume was released June 2007.[1]

Contents

Story

Organic Angel Alexiel, who is one of the highest and most powerful beings in existence, rebelled against God when, supposedly, she became disgusted by the way angels were behaving. She was captured and faced with the ultimate punishment of heaven: to have her soul reincarnated into human lives and each of her lives would end tragically. The story follows her latest incarnation, Setsuna Mudo, who is romantically in love with his younger sister.

In this series, Assiah (Earth) and the upper levels of Hell (Gehenna) are mirror images of each other. As mankind polluted and destroyed the Earth, the lands of Hell also began to weaken. Taking advantage of their creator's sleep and the weakening of their enemies, the angels of heaven wage war on the Evil race (a group of beings that are demons who have turned away from the Devil, Lucifer and God; they live in Gehenna and worship "Holy Dragon Gods"), wiping most of them out.

In doing this the angels fighting the war are corrupted. They commit vile crimes and murders under the name of God and righteousness. This deeply goes against Alexiel's morals. She feels that the Evils are more pure in their actions since they do not put up a charade of purity to cover their crimes. She joins the Evils' side of the war and declares an official revolt against God.

The war comes to a climax and end when Alexiel fights against her brother Rosiel. Earlier, Rosiel had found out that he is decomposing and that his mind will rot. He went to Alexiel to ask her to kill him before he goes crazy, which she agrees to. But when she is about to deal the killing blow to him, he yells: "Would you kill your own twin brother, Alexiel!?" She then is filled with pity and remorse, so she seals him within the Earth using a barrier of forbidden magic. However, in doing this, she used every ounce of her power and shatters Nanatsusaya (the "Holy Sword of God", that made every bearer before Alexiel go mad with its power and kill themselves and countless others). The result is that Rosiel is now sealed inside Assiah and Alexiel is captured and tried by the Angel of Judgment, Uriel.

For her crimes, Alexiel is sentenced to the most severe punishment given to the fallen: Her body and soul are separated. The body is frozen in an angel crystal and locked away in the deepest depths of angel security on the fourth circle/layer of Heaven, Machonon. Her soul is sentenced to be incarnated into a human mortal. That mortal's life is sentenced to be filled with physical and emotional pain. Every time Alexiel is re-incarnated, the cycle begins anew. But in every incarnation, Alexiel's personality is still present under specific (e.g. dangerous) circumstances, which causes her incarnation to have strange spiritual patterns and powers at times; it is as if the incarnation has a multiple personality disorder. In the storyline, she is incarnated into a boy named Setsuna Mudo.

Setsuna Mudo is a problematic delinquent high school student, who is in love with his sister (thus producing the emotional pain required by her punishment). To add to his problems, he is also discovered as the reincarnation of a fallen angel, which gets him caught in the complex war between heaven and hell.

Main characters

Setsuna and his sister, Sara.
Main article: List of Angel Sanctuary characters
Setsuna Mudo (無道 刹那 Mudou Setsuna?)
Voiced by: Kenji Nojima
The current incarnation of the Organic Angel Alexiel, retaining many of Alexiel's high astral powers. Like all of Alexiel's reincarnations, Setsuna is doomed to live a miserable life and die a slow, and very painful death. He has incestuous feelings for his sister.
Sara Mudo (無道 紗羅 Mudou Sara?)
Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi
Setsuna Mudo's younger sister, who is actually the reincarnation of Jibril, the Angel of Water. She is in love with her brother.
Alexiel
Voiced by: Ai Orikasa
One of the most powerful angels in heaven, Alexiel was loved by many, including Uriel and Lucifer. Disgusted by the corrupt practices of heaven, Alexiel rebelled against God. As punishment for her treason, Alexiel's soul is doomed to be endlessly reincarnated into miserable lives. Her current incarnation is Setsuna Mudo.
Sakuya Kira (吉良 朔夜 Kira Sakuya?)
Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu
A seven year old who was killed in a car accident. At the moment of his death, Nanatsusaya appeared to him and offered Sakuya another chance at life, if Sakuya would lend his body to Nanatsusaya.
Lucifer
The Demon Lord of Hell, Lucifer was told by God that he was born with only one reason - to become the Prince of Darkness and rule the demons. As revenge, Lucifer planned to rape Alexiel, believing that she was God's "beloved daughter," but soon fell in love with her, and, though he tried to, could not follow through with his plans to rape her.
Rosiel
Voiced by: Susumu Chiba (Japanese), Crispin Freeman (English)
The younger twin of Alexiel, once wise, kind and benevolent, Rosiel eventually went insane and became destructive. He asked Alexiel to kill him before this happened, but her feelings prevented her from doing so and she sealed him within the earth instead.
Sevothtarte and Metatron
Sevothtaerte or Sevy as most call him is the prime minister of Heaven and the guardian/aide to the prince of angels Metatron, a high ranking Seraphim.
Metatron was made in the image of a child so that he would be 'loved by all' but as of now is neutralized by the return of inorganic angel Rosiel. Sevothtarte used his position (until recently) to rule Heaven and the angel council with fear. Though he was being challenged by a guerrilla rebel force.
YHWH
Voiced by: Jouji Nakata
The ultimate villain of the story, YHWH, presumed to be God, is actually a being from another universe. He is a megalomaniac with no real physical form, who created the current universe in order to test an equation that he had fashioned.

Production

Many of the characters' names and concepts were taken from the Jewish and Christian texts.[2]

Media

Manga

Main article: List of Angel Sanctuary chapters

Written and illustrated by Kaori Yuki, Angel Sanctuary was originally serialized in Hana to Yume from February 1995 to February 2001. Hakusensha collected and published the chapers in twenty tankōbon volumes; the first volume was released February 17, 1995 and the last one was published in February 19, 2001. Hakusensha later rereleased Angel Sanctuary in ten volumes, from June 14, 2002, to June 13, 2003.[3][4]

Angel Sanctuary is licensed by Viz Media for an English language release in North America.[5] Volume one was published 2004 and the final volume was released June 12, 2007.[1] Angel Sanctuary is also licensed in Taiwan by Tong Li Comics,[6] in Hong Kong by Culturecom Comics,[7] in Germany by Carlsen Comics,[8] in Italy and Brazil by Panini Comics,[9][10] in Spanish by Norma Editorial,[11] in Poland by Japonica Polonica Fantastica,[12] in Hungary by Delta Vision,[13] in France by Editions Tonkam,[14] and in Russia by Comix-art and Eksmo.[15]

CDs

See also: List of Angel Sanctuary soundtracks

Multiple Angel Sanctuary drama CDs have been released by Lantis. The first set of drama CDs was published on August 3, 2000 to October 25, 2000, totaling three in all.[16][17][18] The next two drama CDs, focusing on a different arc, were released from March 21, 2001 to April 25, 2001.[19][20] Two more drama CDs focusing on another arc were published from June 27, 2001 to August 25, 2001.[21][22] The final drama CD followed on September 29, 2001.[23] Lantis then collected all eight drama CDs onto four drama CDs and republished them from March 17, 2004 to April 21, 2004.[24][25][26][27] The soundtrack to those four drama CDs was also released by Prhythm on April 21, 2004.[28]

OVA

The three episode Angel Sanctuary OVA was produced by Bandai Visual and Hal Film Maker. Bandai Visual released the three episodes from May 25, 2000 to August 25, 2000.[29][30]

The English-language release was originally licensed in North America by Central Park Media, which released the OVA in 2001 as well as rereleasing it in 2005. After the license expired, Media Blasters acquired the license for the OVA and released it in 2008 with new cover art in addition to extras.[2]

Art books

Hakusensha published two Angel Sanctuary art books. The first, The Art of Angel Sanctuary: Angel Cage (由貴香織里画集　天使禁猟区　ANGEL CAGE?), was released on July 25, 1997,[31] and the second, The Art of Angel Sanctuary 2: Lost Angel (由貴香織里画集　天使禁猟区II　失墜天使 Lost Angel?), followed on September 27, 2000.[32] Viz Media released both from September 6, 2005 to October 30, 2007. Both feature an interview with Kaori Yuki and series information along with artwork from the series.[33][34]

Reception

In Manga: The Complete Guide, Jason Thompson felt Angel Sanctuary's plot line was difficult to follow due to the page layouts, the large cast of androgynous characters, and the "barrage of events and names". However, Thompson felt the story improved after the first few volumes, becoming a "complicated, inconsistent, but interesting story". He also noted the "stylish" and "elaborate" artwork throughout.[35] Holly Ellinwood of Active Anime.com described the "heavy crossover of religions combined with social issues and personal lines of integrity" as "spellbinding". Ellinwood also praised that art as "absorbing.... more detailed than most, beautifully Gothic even when depicting the most foul horrors" and noted that the series focused on unconditional love.[36] Another reviewer stated: "Angel Sanctuary, both the story and the art, is overly crowded, somewhat confusing, mildly disturbing, and potentially addicting."[37]

Aimée Schafer of THEM Anime Reviews praised the artwork of the OVA, but criticized the English voice cast as well as Setsuna's incestuous love for his sister, calling the relationship "completely unnecessary and totally ruined what could otherwise have been a solid and, I dare say, good story".[38] Theron Martin of Anime News Network found that Angel Sanctuary OVA to be "remarkably graphically violent shōjo fare" which "confronts the central incest issue head-on, handling it in a far less elegant or delicate manner than Koi Kaze but dealing with it and all its potential fallout nonetheless". Martin also noted that the OVA was meant to be more of an introduction to the manga, rather than a stand alone anime.[2] Mania Entertainment's Chris Beveridge liked the animation quality of the OVA, stating: "The look of Setsuna and the others when they sprout their angel wings and use their powers is very attractive, extremely fluid. This is a top notch batch of OVA quality animation from just about a year ago, and it really does show."[39] He described the story as having "its own beginning, middle and end, but an end that leads onto the larger story."[39] Dave Merrill described the OVA as a "pretentious, confusing claptrap; a Frankenstein's monster stitched together out of pop-culture religious iconography and girls' comics cliches, told in a deliberately confusing and obscurantist style designed to conceal the lack of coherent plot, animated by robots programmed to imitate CLAMP; in short, it's angel-winged junk."[40]

In his review of The Art of Angel Sanctuary 2: Lost Angel, A.E. Sparrow of IGN Comics praised the artbook, describing it as "more of an encyclopedia or compendium for the series". He complimented the artwork, stating,"I was absolutely blown away with each turn of the page, figuring it couldn't get any more brilliant, and was proven wrong every time. If I had any complaint, it would be that the artwork doesn't go on long enough."[41]

References

  1. ^ a b "Angel Sanctuary volume 20". Viz Media. http://www.viz.com/products/products.php?product_id=6270. Retrieved 19 January 2008. 
  2. ^ a b c Theron Martin (6 February 2008). "Angel Sanctuary DVD - Review". Anime News Network. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/angel-sanctuary/dvd. Retrieved 24 February 2009. 
  3. ^ "天使禁猟区 1". Hakusensha. http://www.s-book.net/plsql/slib_detail?isbn=4592884914. Retrieved 22 July 2009. 
  4. ^ "天使禁猟区 10". Hakusensha. http://www.s-book.net/plsql/slib_detail?isbn=4592885007. Retrieved 22 July 2009. 
  5. ^ "Viz picks up Angel Sanctuary, Hana-Kimi". Anime News Network. 1 October 2003. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2003-10-01/viz-picks-up-angel-sanctuary-hana-kimi. Retrieved 19 January 2008. 
  6. ^ "天使禁獵區 [Angel Sanctuary]" (in Chinese). Tong Li Comics. http://www.tongli.com.tw/BooksList.aspx?B=HC636. Retrieved 21 September 2009. 
  7. ^ "Japanese Comics" (in Chinese). Culturecom Comics. http://comics.culturecom.com.hk/jcomics/Comics/detail.php?pd_id=314. Retrieved 16 October 2009. 
  8. ^ "Angel Sanctuary" (in German). Carlsen Comics. http://www.carlsen.de/web/manga/serie?id=30382. Retrieved 16 April 2009. 
  9. ^ "Angel Sanctuary". Panini Comics. http://www.paninicomics.it/web/guest/search_product?search=angel+sanctuary. Retrieved 8 June 2009. 
  10. ^ "Angel Sanctuary". Panini Comics. http://www.paninicomics.com.br/CollanaNews.jsp?Action=Carica&Id=2154. Retrieved 27 November 2009. 
  11. ^ "Angel Sanctuary" (in Spanish). Mundo Vid. http://www.mundovid.com/prodetalle.asp?idprod=3743. Retrieved 4 August 2009. 
  12. ^ "Angel Sanctuary" (in Polish). Japonica Polonica Fantastica. http://www.jpf.com.pl/szablon_nowosci.php?id=angel_sanctuary. Retrieved 4 August 2009. 
  13. ^ "Delta Vision". Delta Vision. http://www.deltavision.hu/index.php?cmd=pd&nid=956. Retrieved 13 November 2009. 
  14. ^ "Angel Sanctuary" (in French). Editions Tonkam. http://www.editions-tonkam.com/serie.php?id=1. Retrieved 16 April 2009. 
  15. ^ "Лицензии" (in Russian). Comix-art]]. http://www.comix-art.ru/node/19. Retrieved 25 November 2009. 
  16. ^ "Angel Sanctuary (Tenshi Kinryoku) Hades-hen". CD Japan. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=LACA-5004. Retrieved 25 April 2009. 
  17. ^ "Angel Sanctuary (Tenshi Kinryoku) Hades-hen 2". CD Japan. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=LACA-5012. Retrieved 25 April 2009. 
  18. ^ "Angel Sanctuary (Tenshi Kinryoku) Hades-hen 3". CD Japan. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=LACA-5013. Retrieved 25 April 2009. 
  19. ^ "Angel Sanctuary (Tenshi Kinryoku) Shikoten. Keiseikai-hen 1". CD Japan. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=LACA-5029. Retrieved 25 April 2009. 
  20. ^ "Angel Sanctuary (Tenshi Kinryoku) Shikoten. Keiseikai-hen 2". CD Japan. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=LACA-5031. Retrieved 25 April 2009. 
  21. ^ "Angel Sanctuary (Tenshi Kinryoku) Shikoten. Souzoukai-hen 1". CD Japan. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=LACA-5043. Retrieved 25 April 2009. 
  22. ^ "Angel Sanctuary (Tenshi Kinryoku) Shikoten. Souzoukai-hen 2". CD Japan. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=LACA-5045. Retrieved 27 April 2009. 
  23. ^ "Angel Sanctuary (Tenshi Kinryoku) Shinseikai-hen 2". CD Japan. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=LACA-5068. Retrieved 27 April 2009. 
  24. ^ "Angel Sanctuary (Tenshi Kinryoku) Vol.1". CD Japan. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=PWCA-2018. Retrieved 27 April 2009. 
  25. ^ "Angel Sanctuary (Tenshi Kinryoku) Vol.2". CD Japan. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=PWCA-2019. Retrieved 27 April 2009. 
  26. ^ "Angel Sanctuary (Tenshi Kinryoku) Vol.3". CD Japan. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=PWCA-2020. Retrieved 27 April 2009. 
  27. ^ "Angel Sanctuary (Tenshi Kinryoku) Vol.4". CD Japan. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=PWCA-2021. Retrieved 27 April 2009. 
  28. ^ "Angel Sanctuary (Tenshi Kinryoku)". CD Japan. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=PWCA-2022. Retrieved 27 April 2009. 
  29. ^ "Angel Sanctuary (Tenshi Kinryoku) Vol.1". CD Japan. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=BCBA-379. Retrieved 24 November 2009. 
  30. ^ "Angel Sanctuary (Tenshi Kinryoku) Vol.3". CD Japan. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=BCBA-381. Retrieved 24 November 2009. 
  31. ^ "由貴香織里画集　天使禁猟区　ANGEL CAGE" (in Japanese). Hakusensha. http://www.s-book.net/plsql/slib_detail?isbn=4592731441. Retrieved 3 May 2009. 
  32. ^ "由貴香織里画集　天使禁猟区II　失墜天使 Lost Angel" (in Japanese). Hakusensha. http://www.s-book.net/plsql/slib_detail?isbn=4592731743. Retrieved 3 May 2009. 
  33. ^ "The Art of Angel Sanctuary: Angel Cage". Viz Media. http://www.viz.com/products/products.php?product_id=5338. Retrieved 24 February 2009. 
  34. ^ "The Art of Angel Sanctuary 2: Lost Angel". Viz Media. http://www.viz.com/products/products.php?product_id=6773. Retrieved 24 February 2009. 
  35. ^ Thompson, Jason (2007). Manga:The Complete Guide. New York: Del Ray Books. p. 12. ISBN 0345485904. 
  36. ^ Holly Ellinwood (10 June 2007). "ANGEL SANCTUARY VOL.20 (ADVANCE REVIEW)". Active Anime.com. http://www.activeanime.com/html/content/view/1051/36/. Retrieved 23 April 2009. 
  37. ^ Eva. "Reviews, Angel Sanctuary". No Flying No Tights. http://www.noflyingnotights.com/new.html#angelsanctuary01. Retrieved 23 November 2009. 
  38. ^ Aimée Schafer. "THEM Anime Reviews 4.0 - Angel Sanctuary". THEM Anime Reviews. http://themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=714. Retrieved 24 February 2009. 
  39. ^ a b Chris Beveridge (10 July 2001). "Angel Sanctuary". Mania Entertainment. http://www.mania.com/angel-sanctuary_article_73381.html. Retrieved 22 OCtober 2009. 
  40. ^ Dave Merrill (10 October 2003). "Angel Sanctuary". Anime Jump. http://www.animejump.com/index.php?module=prodreviews&func=showcontent&id=58. Retrieved 20 November 2009. 
  41. ^ A.E.Sparrow (22 October 2007). "IGN: The Art of Angel Sanctuary 2: Lost Angel Review". IGN Comics. http://comics.ign.com/articles/829/829370p1.html. Retrieved 23 April 2009. 

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