Anime's Divine Comedy: Angel Sanctuary Review

Angel Sanctuary

The 3 episode OVA is just a tease to what a TV series would look like. The OVA is rushed and incomplete. The story is there and so is the passion of the characters, but the lack of motivation to finish it was not. The manga of Angel Sanctuary, on the other hand, was phenomenal. Kaori Yuki's artistic ability lures you into the characters life and the plot of the story. The main story is a bit much to get over at the beginning, but the story about heaven and hell is quite impressive. While the story is not only wrong (the incest), sacrilegious, and a questionable theory about the after life, it is also, beautifully drawn, well thought out, and well researched.

The Plot of Angel Sanctuary

Sara and Setsuna

The plot of Angel Sanctuary is somewhat hard to follow at first. So much happens because alot has to be told. With 20 volumes, Kaori Yuki only had so much she could fit into the volumes. I read the series a few times just to make sure I caught everything. Plot of the story was amazing. While the story is incestuous, the love for two people will always find a way to each other. It is basically an in-depth anime form of Dante's Divine Comedy. Setsuna is an angel that has been re-incarnated. His sister happens to die and he goes to hell to find her.

The Characters of Angel Sanctuary

Angel Sanctuary Characters

The characters in Angel Sanctuary, are again, beautiful. Kaori Yuki wants you to focus on each character individually and as a whole. They all have their story line and part to play in the main quest to help Setsuna. Setsuna is the main character. He is the troubled teen and in love. He doesn't know it, but the angel Alexial. She was an angel that God banished from Heaven and punished her by placing her in human bodies only to die over and over. Sara is Setsuna's sister, whom is also in love. She is a quiet girl and lives with her mother while Setsuna lives on his own.

There are the character's from Hell, which usually dress in darker clothes. Belial is the most beautiful of the Seven Deadly Sins. He/She is always in different clothing that is elaborate or barely nothing. Kurai is the princess of the Gehennan Royal Family. She has control over dragons. Boyz and Noyz are twins that also are from the same race. Kurai also has a cousin, Arachne, which is a cross dresser. Lucifer is obviously in the manga as well. He has very little to do with the story until you get hit with the most amazing twist ever!

In Heaven the characters are more brighter with their clothing. Mostly you have Nazi looking uniforms, but then characters such as Michael wears goth like clothing while Raphael wears suits and womanizes people. Heaven is more corrupted than Hell at some points. With the perversion of Angel experiments and many other things, Heaven has untrustworthy people.

The Art of Angel Sanctuary

Setsuna

Kaori Yuki knows how to draw characters. Even better, she knows how to draw you into reading one of her manga's. No matter which one you pick, the way her characters look is realistic and beautiful. The artbooks of Angel Sanctuary are amazing. She takes certain characters and places them in different settings and styles making the character's personality come out better. Even though she does put some one such as Setsuna in a Nazi uniform, not showing his personality, it is still nice to look at.

Grade: 9/10

Check out this AMV of Angel Sanctuary by Sabrina Murray: