Angel Sanctuary

Original Title: 天使禁猟区
Romanized: Tenshi Kinryouku
Literal: Angel Hunting Prohibited Area

Plot Synopsis

Setsuna is not a normal young man. His only friend, Kira, is the leader of a street gang that routinely and brutally beats him. And, even though their parents divorced years ago and they have grown up apart, Setsuna has always felt unusually close to his younger sister--too close, in fact. But as severe as these problems may seem, he is about to discover something else--that his body holds the soul of the Angel Alexiel, who rebelled against god and has lead armies. But God has grown quiet and discontent is mounting within the halls of heaven and hell, while Alexiel's brother, the insane Rociel, cast out of heaven for his vanity, seeks his sister. The fate of not only Earth, but the realms of Angels and Devils may rest upon young Setsuna's shoulders.

Quick Review

Rating: 2.5 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2004-10-17

Angel Sanctuary amounts to a very badly built but still very interesting series. Badly built in that the story is rushed and scattered, the writing prone to unnecessarily confusing backstory and angelic technobabble, the glut of characters too poorly established to associate with, and the visuals poorly executed. Interesting in that, past the laundry list of controversial subjects and touchy theme material, it offers a few interesting characters, a harsh and unusual allegory for adolescence, and solid, if somewhat expected, shoujo-style drama and angst.

Leaving the unsatisfying end aside, since the anime version stopped midway, the manga proves that Angel Sanctuary could've been much better with some minor adjustments, but as is the animated version serves as little more than a teaser for the manga. On its own, it's frustratingly flawed in the execution, but interesting nonetheless.

US DVD Review

The DVD is one of USM's better releases in their newer format. To start with, the video is crisp and bright, as is the audio--no significant problems that I noticed. The episodes are indexed, the full bilingual cast is included (at the end--the entire original credits, and even opening copyright screen, are intact for all three episodes), and there are even a variety of fun special features: Character sketches, other artwork, a really cheesy quiz game, and one of USM's "making of" videos about the dubbing process. As with similar bonus flicks, you'll get to meet some of the actors, watch a bit of acting, and get various people's thoughts on the story and characters--interesting stuff. There are also some DVD-ROM bits to see if you've got a properly equipped PC, including scripts and browseable images (the same as the ones you can get to through the menus).

Content Guide

Angel Sanctuary features several very violent sequences, a variety of highly controversial (and mature) themes, and a fair amount of overt sexuality. It is most definitely in the 16-up category.

Violence: 3 - Bloody and direct, but not particularly gratuitous.

Nudity: 2 - Some brief nudity.

Sex/Mature Themes: 4 - Mostly non-physical, but there are blunt mature themes and incest features prominently in the story.

Language: 1 - Little that I noticed.

Notes and Trivia

Based on the Angel Sanctuary manga series by Kaori Yuki. The story, as mentioned above, follows roughly the first three volumes of the manga, one per OAV. The manga series, as hinted at by the preview for a nonexistent fourth episode, continues considerably longer--this is only the beginning of the story.

Availability

Available in the US from US Manga Corps on one bilingual DVD.

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