Customer Reviews

Angelic Layer - The Complete Collection

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wow, I can't believe that this is actually becoming a complete collection! I bought this whole series one dvd at a time, so I spent A LOT more money on it. A smart person like you would buy this dvd right NOW! You know you want to..

Angelic layer is about a middle school girl named Misaki Suzuhara (misaki-chi) who just moved to tokyo from a small town. Imedietly after her arrival she sees two "people" fighting on a screen. There is a person dressed in white and green who is small, facing a big stronger looking opponent. Misaki, watching intently, suddenly thinks that the little person would lose to the big person. She's small as well. Misaki asks two little kids watching the fight "what's going on?" The answer was "ANGELIC LAYER!" Angelic layer is actually the game where you make your own "angel" or your very own doll. The thing is that this "doll" can be customized to fit your liking. It can be fast or strong, big or little, red hair, blond hair, you get my point. These "dolls" or angels battle each other and it's a very popular sport. The owner or "deus" controls the angel with a head set and whatever the deus thinks the angel does. Misaki makes two new friends at school and a LOT more from playing angelic layer including a famous popstar singer, Ringo, and Ojiro who owns the magical angel Wizard!

There is also a weird person named Icchan who meets Misaki at the subway station. Icchan, the MAKER of angelic layer, offers to teacher her how to play. She fights her way up to the top 4 of the regional championship game and if she wins, goes on to the nationals! Misaki moved to tokyo in the first place to see her mom again whom she hasn't seen in years. Will she find her mother? Does angelic layer have any connection to her? Who exactly is Icchan? Ojiro? It's a REALLY great series by clamp (the four wonderful ladies who changed lives everywhere with their fabulous manga turned anime)

* the manga is somewhat different from the anime because the graphics aren't as good, but it's more detailed storywise. There is also another fight with mao's sister (one of misaki's previous opponents) that isn't in the anime.

Angelic Layer has never been my favorite CLAMP series, and while the manga is ok it will never make my list of favorites. When I saw that Angelic Layer had been made into an anime series, I instantly thought 'pass'. But when I came across The Complete Collection for under $40, I thought 'hey, why not?'

While my taste in anime is usually for an intense series with a ton of depth (and usually lots of violence), Angelic Layer was a refreshing change and now it's one I recommend to everyone. Angelic Layer delivers a main character (Misaki) who you can't help but root for throughout the entire series. And yes, it can be predictable, but you'll never find yourself bored or tired of the story. I won't explain the plot here since others have already done so but I will note that if you are familiar with the manga, the anime is different- in a good way.

The animation is pretty good with vibrant coloring that suits the mood well and the character designs transfer from manga to anime well. The music is pretty good as well with a good 'makes you wanna dance' opening theme and while the first ending song is alright, the second is beautiful and always brings tears to my eyes (I don't even know why). I haven't listened to the dub (I never do), but the Japanese cast was great.

Along with Chobits, Angelic Layer is easily one of the better CLAMP-manga to anime series available. If your looking for a wonderful anime sure to make you laugh, cry, smile, and one that you won't regret buying, look no further then Angelic Layer. While younger audiences will be sure to enjoy this series, I personally think older audiences could take even more away from it. While the fight scenes are done very well and are exciting to watch, it was the background stories of the competitors that really got me. Every single side character is well developed and I bet everyone can find at least one they can identify with.

On a side note: even though the collection is rated 'TV PG' with parental guidence suggested for animated violence, I don't think parents should shy away from introducing their children to this series. There is no fighting between people- only the 'battle doll' Angels, and we are constantly reminded that it is only a game everyone is playing. Plus, important themes such as age/height don't determine a person's greatness are stressed throughout.

The series consists of 26 episodes on 5 discs which come in thin-pack cases held in an attractive box that features Misaki and Hikaru on one side and Hatoko and Suzuka on the other. Here is a list of the episodes:

1. How Do You Do? My Very Own Angel
2. Do Your Best Hikaru! It's Your First Fight!!
3. Who Are You? Misaki's Nervous Lesson
4. The Day an Angel Flew Down
5. I Don't Want to Lose! I'm Beliving in Hikaru

6. Suzuka, the Speed of Light! Hatoko's Declaration of Rivalry!
7. Fight at the Edge... Misaki's Last Chance
8. Misaki VS Misaki? A Dangerous Classmate
9. Sing, Misaki! Is the Deus an Idol?!
10. Mean Sisters! Hikaru, the Target

11. Finish it Off! Hikaru & Mao's Important Game
12. Misaki & Kotaro. Their Exciting Date
13. Pure White Blanche. Kaede's Smile
14. I Won't Give Up! And an Angel Was Born
15. Shirahime Versus Suzuka! Secret of the Ice Machine

16. The Final Game! Hikaru's Last Attack
17. I've Made My Mind Up on You! The One Misaki Selected
18. Many Strong Opponents! The National Games of Everyone's Dreams
19. System Down! Decisive Fight on a Ship in a Storm
20. Is Icchan the Enemy? The Puzzling Second Game

21. Summertime at the Sea! Someone is in Love with Someone!
22. Suddenly Just the Two of Us. Secret Double Dates
23. Break Up the Magic Wall! Misaki Versus Ohijiro
24. Reach Misaki! This Thought Goes Over the Rainbow!
25. Reunion of Destiny. Angels Wet With Tears
26. Angel Wings! Please Guide Me and Hikaru!

O.K., I'll admit it. I downloaded this title via bit torrent after reading an online review, because I wanted to see something different. I watched it twice, and immediately ordered the box set. This is a real gem.

Angelic layer is the story of Misaki, a small, somewhat shy girl who was raised in the country by her grandparents. Misaki's father died when she Misaki was very young, and her mother (Shu) is away in Tokyo because of her work. At the age of 12, Misaki leaves for Tokyo to live with her aunt (Shoko), hoping for the chance to see her mother.

When Misaki gets off the train at Tokyo, she sees a live feed of a fight between two female opponents. She is quickly enthralled by the beauty of the fighters' movements, and begins to root for the smaller of the two, since she herself is small. The smaller fighter wins, and Misaki is hooked.
After learning from a mysterious stranger (Ichan) that the opponents are actually dolls (Called angels), she goes to purchase one of her own, then walks to her aunt's house, since she spent her train fare.

Misaki gets involved with Angelic Layer, the tournament series in which the angel dolls compete.

The great thing about this series is its continual emphasis on being successful through effort. Size doesn't matter in Angelic Layer, and Misaki proves to be a great competitor. Throughout the series, she is upbeat, cheerful, and quick to encourage others.

Her friends (a very fun group) are very supportive of her, and she makes many more friends through the tournament.

Angelic Layer is episodic and predictable (what will Misaki and her angel do to win?!), and would only garner eye-rolls from the older folks, if it weren't tied to a beautiful back story.
Yes, the series is about fighting, but Misaki, her aunt, her mother, her friends, and even that slightly creepy, mysterious stranger (Ichan) develop throughout the series.

Kids will love the school friends, the "punishments" that Ichan dishes out to his subordinate, and the well choreographed fight scenes.

Grownups will like the relationships between Misaki, her mother (Shu) Ichan, Shuko, and the story of how Angelic Layer began.

This is a title I use to introduce people to anime. It has always been well received, and has made many new fans.

Money well spent.

This is by no means a 'great' anime, yet I'm compelled to give it four stars. Without spoiling anything, the fights almost always consist of 'Oh no, I'm losing, but wait...deus ex machina!' scenarios. There's nothing new there, but somehow I found myself unable to stop watching, wanting to see the next fight.

What made me love this anime was the 'innocent fun' theme it carried (this is coming from a fan of Elfen Lied, about the furthest from 'innocent' you can get). If you're male, you definately need to be in touch with your feminine side to enjoy this anime. The story premise is absolutely adorable, as is the friendship the main character, Misaki, shares with her rivals in Angelic Layer.

It also has a very sad background story involving Misaki and her mother, who supposedly left for business reasons when Misaki was a little girl. If you don't at least get watery eyes in Episode 25, your heart is made of ice.

Much like The Slayers TV series, this is an anime that people of all ages can enjoy, a rare thing in a full-length series.

There are some great reviews for this wonderful anime all ready so I won't go in to any details. However I did feel I had to comment on the "'Oh no, I'm losing, but wait...deus ex machina!' scenarios." that Mike Marsh spoke of in his review.

Never in this anime dose Misaki and Hikaru (the main character and her angle) ever win by new super mega weapons, or transformations or energy blasts of any sort. There are no Super Saiyan transformations, energy fields, or magic attacks. (Although some of Misaki's opponents do have these things)

Misaki wins by being able to read her opponent's attacks and special techniques, and then find the weak spot to attack. She wins using her brain and Hikaru's speed ( Hikaru is a speed type angel but not anywhere near the fastest in the game ) to find ways to defeat her opponent.

The one exception to this, that my friend cardskipper99 pointed out to me after reading my review, is that in the very last fight of the anime Hikaru grows wings. However she dose not use these wings to win the fight with "champion" so I don't think it counts.

Any real anime fan has at least heard one thing about Clamp. Their unique and catchy storylines, beautiful artwork, and unforgetable characters. I don't love everything by Clamp, however,a few series by them I absolutly adore ( Wish, X/1999, Chobits), while some that really weren't for me (Magic Knight Rayeartth, Card captor Sakura) However, I bought this boxed set, and was pleasently surprised by this series.

I won't get into the plot because its already stated, but I will just say that this is now one of my favorite things by Clamp because of :

1. Icchan (Hee hee! ^_^ Gotta love his "penalties")
2. Positive message
3. Amazing fighting scenes with the angels
4. Wonderful characters

And I will just warn you, episode 25 will probably have you bawling. [hahahaa, i was bawling anyway. xD]

Hey it isn't often when a guy reviews such a female-centric anime, but I really enjoyed the whole series. This dvd is a great add to anyone with some kids who like the battle style animes that are still not overly violent or dumbed down. The main character Misaki-chi is a positive influence to everyone as she never gives up no matter what odds she is up against. The "Wonder Rookie" as they call her throughout the show as she shows amazing talent at Angelic Layer even though she has just started playing. I didn't go too deep into the plot or characters only because there is another wonderful review already up here, but I just wanted to let people know how much I enjoyed this series. Yes even a 26 year old man found something great in this story. CLAMP has done it again, with another great series (Magic Knight Rayearth, Chobits, Card Captor Sakura, & more.)

WIGGLY-IICHAN RULES! :-P

Angelic Layer is about a middle school Japanese girl that moves to Tokyo and discovers Angelic Layer. Angelic Layer is amazing. I wish the technology were available to create this game. You create your own doll and give it strengths. You create your own outfit for it and then you can take it to the layer tables at an Angelic Layer shop and on the layer you can move the doll with your thoughts. The idea is to battle other players dolls and hopefully you'll win! There's tournaments you can enter into to try to win the championship title. The morale of the anime I think is never give up on yourself or your hopes and dreams! For parents out there that are worried about content, this anime is very moral. I really can't think of one thing that would give a parent a second thought on getting this anime for their child. Also, very handy if your child is learning Japanese. :) Of course, there's the English version as well with subtitles.

I'm not a crazy anime fan, but I happened upon my sister watching this show on Netflix so I sat down and watched some of it. Something about it drew my attention and I ended up watching through the whole two seasons on streaming Netflix.

All in all it's just a really well done piece of clean entertainment, great for relaxing and watching and enjoying and it's just really good. There's virtually no loose ends to speak of, the show has a complete plot and resolution to every conflict. Development of the main theme is immediate, in the first episode you are introduced to Angelic Layer and Misaki obtains her angel Hikaru right away.

Full of good humor too. Well rounded show.

This product comes with fully English voice acting which, in my opinion, was done pretty well (and I think the original Japanese can be switched on too with or w/o subtitles, I only watch it in English). 5 disc set. Nice box to store it in.

There are a lot of real good summaries on here already so I'll just give a quick run down and then I'll do an episode by episode preview.

Misaki Suzahara (not sure if this is the correct spelling) has moved to Tokyo to live with her aunt since he mother is always working. Upon her arrival she sees a battle involving a couple of angels and is instantly hooked. Now, with her angel Hikaru, they battle their way through tournaments trying to be the best that they can be.

Disc 1:

Episode 1: How Do You Do? My Very Own Angel. - Misaki arrives in Tokyo and witnesses her first Angelic Layer battle. She also meets the mysterious Icchan who becomes a sort of mentor to young Misaki.

Episode 2: Do Your Best, Hikaru! It's Your First Fight!! - While heading to school, Misaki meets Hatoko, a genius at Angelic Layer. After getting some clothes for Hikaru, Misaki accidentally signs up for her first match.

Episode 3: Who Are You? Misaki's Nervous Lesson. - The mysterious Icchan returns again, this time to help train Misaki in controlling Hikaru. Afterwards, Miskai has her second match with a very strong opponent.

Episode 4: The Day an Angel Flew Down. - Misaki and her new friends attend the Tokyo Regional Championships where Misaki has her first big battle and she sees Hatoko's abilities as a fighter.

Episode 5: I don't Want to Lose! I'm Believeing in Hikaru. - Misaki has her second battle in the tournament, however this tough battle causes doubts in not only Hatoko but Misaki as well.

Disc 2:

Episode 6: Suzuka, the Speed of Light! Hatoko's Declaration of Rivalry! - After winning lots of fights, Misaki now has to face her greatest opponent yet, Hatoko and her powerful angel Suzuka.

Episode 7: Fight at the Edge...Misaki's Last Chance. - Faced with elimination, Misaki tries to qualify for a spot in the Kantou Games.

Episode 8: Misaki vs Misaki? A Dangerous Classmate. - In preparation for the Kantou tournament, Misaki's classmates try to get her pumped up, but another classmate also named Misaki challenges Hikaru to a battle.

Episode 9: Sing, Misaki! Is the Deus an Idol?! - In her first fight of the Kantou Tournament, Misaki has to battle a famous Pop Idol.

Episode 10: Mean Sisters! Hikaru, the target. - Misaki's abilities as a deus are put to the test when she fights a sister team who'll do anything to win, even sabotaging poor Hikaru.

Disc 3:

Episode 11: Finish it Off! Hikaru & Mao's Important Game. - Now that there's a fair fight, Misaki must overcome the damage done by Mao in order to win.

Episode 12: Misaki & Kotaro. Their Exciting Date. - In order to train and better herself for her upcoming battles, Kotaro offers Misaki Karate lessons.

Episode 13: Pure White Blanche. Kaede's Smile. - Misaki has to fight a first generation angel, Blanche that has a special ability that can knock Misaki and Hikaru right out of the tournament.

Episode 14: I Won't Give Up! And an Angel Was Born. - Misaki continues her battle with Blanche (this episode also is a "Blanche Origin" episode).

Episode 15: Shirahime Versus Suzuka! Secret of the Ice Machine. - Hatoko battles an extremely tough opponent in Sai. With the two in a staredown contest, no one knows what to expect from the battle.

Episode 16: The Final Game! Hikaru's Last Attack. - Misaki must now battle the ultra tough Sai while poor Hikaru appears to be at a strong disadvantage.

Episode 17: I've Made My Mind Up on You! The One Misaki Selected. - Now that Misaki has made it to the national games, she must choose a second for her upcoming battles. However, it seems that all of her friends want to be her second leaving her with a really hard decision.

Episode 18: Many Strong Opponents! The National Games of Everyone's Dreams. - With her second by her side, Misaki makes her way to the National Games where all of the opponents are at their very best, but the mysterious Champion is still above them all.

Episode 19: System Down! Decisive Fight on a Ship in a Storm! - Misaki gets to battle her opponent in an all new layer, but problems with the system causes problems with the two fighters and their angels.

Episode 20: Is Icchan the Enemy? The Puzzling Second Game. - Misaki fights in an exhibition match, but one of her "opponents" is Icchan, the man who has helped her become the fighter that she is.

Disc 5:

Episode 21: Summertime at the Sea! Somone is in Love With Someone! - With all of the battles, the gang takes a much needed vacation to the sea, where some secrets are discovered.

Episode 22: Suddenly Just the Two of Us. Secret Double Dates. - Before their fight, Misaki and Ohjiro go out on a date while Kotaro and Tamayo are stuck in an elevator, testing their already strained friendship.

Episode 23: Break Up the Magic Wall! Misaki Versus Ohjiro. - As Misaki and Ohjiro battle, Misaki is stuck because of Ohjiro's Magic Wall technique, now she must devise a way to break through that wall to move on to the next round.

Episode 24: Reach Misaki! This Thought Goes Over the Rainbow. - The reigning champion Shu fights the tough and powerful Sai in the Semi-Finals of the National Games. Following the end of the fight, Shu finally reveals her identity to Misaki.

Episode 25: Reunion of Destiny. Angels Wet With Tears. - Upon finding out that Shu is her mother, Misaki breaks down and runs away from the tournament. After a brief reunion outside of the tournament, they return and prepare for the final battle.

Episode 26: Angel Wings! Please Guide Me and Hikaru! - Misaki must now fight her very own mother in the finals of the National Games in order to be crowned the champion of Angelic Layer. This fight pulls out all the stops with more than 1 surprise

***Note that about the last 8 episodes of the series or so have a bit of an origin theme to them.

As for the show itself, it's another CLAMP masterpiece. I absolutely loved everything about the show, the comedy, the action, the drama all of it was great. The show was stretched out just enough to complete the storyline, it wasn't rushed and wasn't drawn out to excess. This is a very cute and a rather heart-warming show. BTW, when you've finished with Episode 26 BE SURE TO WATCH THROUGH THE CREDITS for a truly happy ending. Each episode is about 23 minutes long, so there's plenty of show here for you.