Search - Angel Sanctuary on DVD

Totally Freaking Awesome!

K. Nguyen | San Jose, CA United States | 12/02/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love this series! I've seen it many times since I bought it. It's incredible! It's based on a very popular 20-volumes manga series by my favorite manga illustrator, Kaori Yuuki. This series is only 3 episodes long, and it was made for fans of the manga; so if you haven't follow the manga version, it may seems lacking in many areas. It follows the early parts of the manga, but many things were left out, like other characters. I love Angel Sanctuary so much that I brought wallscrolls, posters, CDs, keychains, etc., that were related to it.You should buy this DVD just for the incredible artworks alone (mainly the character designs). It's beautiful! The first time I saw Sara Mudo in the video, I, literary, fell in love with her. She's such a hottie! The artworks for the guys are awesome as well -- they look really good! The musics are good and match perfectly to the scenes you're watching.The story is.... WOW! I love it! Angels, incest, homosexuality, reincarnation, love, blood, mutilation..... they're all here. The story revolves around Setsuna's forbidden love for Sara, his younger and very attractive sister. This love is a secret that he does not want anyone to find out, not even Sara. He really loves her (as a man loves a women) and wants to make love to her. That might sounds... awful(?), but when you watch the show, you'll really want them to be together and love each other. His mother knew about his feelings for Sara, and therefore, she has separated them. The story also revolves around him being the reincarnated legendary angel, Organic Angel Alexial (yes, this is a female angel), who fought the gods and lost. This means he has more problems besides relationships. As being the reincarnated Organic Angel Alexial, Setsuna is being pursued by other angels and demons. The demons want Alexial to fully come out and help them once again in the revolt against the gods. On the other side, Alexial's powerful brother, Inorganic Angel Raziel, wants revenge on Alexial for locking him up (for a really long time) when they fought in the war against the gods. But what he really wants is for Alexial to be with him and to love him. Raziel's freedom from his prison was acheived through a forbidden mean by his servant. Man, what a life Setsuna has, huh? At least he has a good sempai around to help him through his troubles.The English dubbed is really good and sounded more "powerful" than the Japanese counterpart. However, in the emotional scenes, I was a bit dissapointed in their performance. Overall, it's really good!"

Amazing story, but not for you average anime watcher

K. Nguyen | 05/25/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A combination of Paradise Lost and the Book of Revelations was how this anime was first described to me. Filled with judeo-christian mythology, Angel Sanctuary is a story of epic proportions. The fallen angel Alexial has been punished for her defiance of God, but Setsuna, her newest reincarnation, is the Messiah destined to save the world from the end. However, Setsuna only cares about one thing: his forbidden love with Sara, his sister. To make matters worse, Rosiel is after Alexial, his sister, and will stop at nothing to get her. Watch how Setsuna deals with his hallucinations and the never-ending grief that seems to torment him. This anime is made more for the readers of the manga by Kaori Yuuki, which is now completed at 20 volumes. Unfortunately, this is only 3 episodes long and much of the storyline is not seen. The artwork is stunning, though still pales in comparision with the manga drawings. I highly recommend viewing this with some previous knowledge of Angel Sanctuary, otherwise the story can be quite confusing."

A fairly good OVA remake of the original manga.

hikaru-von-richthofen | San Gabriel, CA United States | 08/28/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Angel Sanctuary is originally a 20 volumes manga drawn and written by Yuki Kaori. Even though I am one of her few male readers, I am particularly addicted to her art style and her perspectives regarding moral and religion. Although branded as a shojo manga, AS have enough spaceships, violence, blood and monsters (not to mention many gorgeous women... er and men) to keep me company. The story is simply wrong from the very start (not the story itself, but the idea of it). It goes from a brother and sister falling in love intertwined with a group of demons and angels rebelling against God. Yuki Kaori puts in a lot of effort and research in AS, and you will definitely acknowledge them once you read the manga, but as for now, since there are no US release of her works, the DVD will have to do. Unfortunately, because the development team of the OVA series had to cram an entire chapter of AS into a three part OVA, many subplots and characters were simply "deleted" for this purpose. For example, characters like Ruri and Kirie were gone from the OVA, so is the long and saddening conversation regarding Katan's past. Furthermore, what I find mind boggling is the fact that they actually altered the character, Arakune for the OVA. Instead of giving her a neutral voice (because she is a transvestite in the manga) like Rosiel, she was drawn as a women and given a female voice. Fortunately, the OVA also omitted one of the most popular hand signals given by the character and supporting characters, thus making this anime a bit suitable for younger audiences (yeah right). All in all, this is a good remake, but I would recommend the manga even more."

Dark and Mysterious

hikaru-von-richthofen | 01/30/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was drawn to this wonderful series by the amazing artwork of Kaori Yuki. It is nothing but breathtaking!!! Setsuna Mudou is a blond and gorgeous hunk! (Although he's a little weird...) At first the story sounds really nasty to me (what is this? a brother in love with his sister?) But if you watch the anime or read the manga you'll eventually come to understand the pain and sorrow that he has to go through to commit a forbidden love. Although the anime is VERY brief comparing to the manga (I have to admit it left out so many wonderful details) and the anime art is not as exceptional as Kaori Yuki's, but the visuals and music alone make up for everything! This series is out of this world. It has everything, drama, horror, fantasy, and romance. Its my favorite so far and I currently own both shonen and shojo manga and anime such as Biohunter, Vampire Princess Miyu, X, Clover, Sakura Diaries, Serial Experiment Lain, 3x3 Eyes, DBZ, Slayers, Fushigi Yugi, KOR, Vampire Hunder D, Ninja Scroll, Trigun...But I'm telling you I like Angel Sanctuary best!!! If you're tired of watching the same old anime with recurring themes and looking for something new and exciting, I strongly recommend "Angel Sanctuary," especially to those with a strange, twisted taste."