Angel Sanctuary 1 (alkuperäinen julkaisuvuosi 2001; vuoden 2008 painos)

I never know whether to write my review for a whole series for the first or the last volume. I guess the first volume makes more sense, though, and I will do my best to avoid spoilers here. Just thinking about summarizing the plot makes my head ache, anyway.

So first, let's get the most obvious thing out of the way: the art of this manga is GORGEOUS. To die for. Really, really stunning - the art alone'd deserve at least six stars. Or more. (It's also fascinating to see how this classic series has influences others - I think I recognized Kira as a model for a lot of Minamoto Kano's characters, for example.)

Then there's the plot. It's... interesting, if a bit much and convoluted. I shudder to think that this actually was the first manga I attempted to read. No wonder I got confused. I suppose it all makes sense in the end, and it's definitely interesting and thought provoking. The pacing, however, isn't perfect, but this also ties in with what I think is the series' biggest weakness:

The characters. There are way too many of them, and this leads to some of them not appearing for volume after volume after volume... this may be a matter of preference, but I'd rather have a limited cast of characters I can really get to know rather than a gigantic cast where I only get glimpses of each character's story (and all my favourites end up dying anyway). Of course, that makes for good fanfiction fodder, but not for a particularly satisfying read for this reader. Add to this the fact that I couldn't bring myself to care for Setsuna, let alone Setsuna & Sara.. but that definitely is a question of preference. Just, I never really *felt* for them. And speaking as a person who tends to really fall for characters (*cough* HakkaifromSaiyuki*cough*) - it's just always disappointing when it doesn't happen, especially with such a long series.

The four stars I decided on are well-deserved, however. I admit I mostly read this because a colleague gifted me most of these volumes, and a gift like that deserved to be read. And I am glad I read it (if alone for the artwork, really), but I would hesitate to call it an absolute must-read ( )

Sadly, I couldn't get into this piece at all. The story line was complex but utterly shallow and the characters didn't show any great depth. I also hated the art style. But that's just me. ( )

Killer computer games, reincarnation, fallen angels, demons, weird romance -- this book has it all! Seriously, I don't think that it can get any cooler. Sometimes, when a bunch of really cool elements are thrown together in one book it can be disastrous, but Yuki pulls it off and has created an incredibly exciting, suspenseful series. Plus, the artwork is beautiful. I don't think I've ever read a manga with such gorgeous drawings.

As for the characters, I fell in love with Setsuna immediately, and I adore all the others. It's a very complex story with a deep historical background that I'm sure will be revealed little by little throughout the series. There are some funny moments to alleviate some of the tension (this is a very dark series). These moments aren't laugh-out-loud funny, but they definitely put a smile on my face.

The only thing I had trouble with was remembering who was who, and what gender they were -- Yuki seems to love the theme of too-pretty males.

I would recommend this for fans of dark fantasy and fallen angels. Be prepared for some serious weirdness, though! ( )

Angel Sanctuary is a series I wanted very much to love. The art is breathtaking: gothic and detailed.

Kaori Yuki has a way, both artistically and narratively, of inverting our expectations. She makes the beautiful grotesque and the saintly evil. But the story is too complex, has too many layers. At every volume, I felt as though I had to reread all the rest or be hopelessly lost.

I can't capture the plots in one paragraph but let me try. Setsuna is in love with his sister (a little incest is a requirement of all Yuki's work). Their mother, oddly objects. They run off but after a brief happiness, Sara is killed. In his grief, Setsuna destroys the world. Kind of. Because it turns out that Setsuna is the reincarnation of an angel. After that it gets complicated. There are trips to hell, heavenly rebellions, hopeless romances, insane creatures of every allegiance.... The series questions the authority of god and heavenly order. Each character (and there were countless characters) is more twisted and complex than the last. Most fascinated me, none more than Kira, Setsuna's mysterious friend.

Like I said, by all rights I should have loved this series. I love the macabre and I think developed characters make a story. And I did enjoy it but if it had been 3 manga, it might have worked better. Yuki has done much better. ( )

Like Jenson_AKA_DL, I also found it a bit difficult trying to keep track of who was whom. Because the angels don't have definite male/female attributes, they are sometimes hard to keep track of. Hopefully I'll be able to keep track of them soon!

Storyline is all right. I like the author's blurb about what if Lucifer's name was really Lucifel, since angel names end in -el? Lucifel is a beautiful name for the being who was the most beautiful angel.

I like Yuki's art style... except for her faces in profile. They seem smooshed somehow, and the ears don't look right from the side. Perhaps it's just an issue with this series, because I've also read some of the Cain series and the artwork is much better in those stories. ( )