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Reviewed by Lisa Anderson Sometime in the future, a new sport will sweep across Tokyo. Full of action, suspense, and electronics, the name of this new game is Angelic Layer. Participants create and train their own fighting doll, known as an Angel, then fight in battles. Each player, or Deus, has to put a lot of thought into their Angel. Looks aside, speed, strength, and attack style all play major roles in Angelic Layer. Add to that the needed strategy and observational skills, and it is certainly more than a simple game. Enter Misaki Suzuhara, a sixth grader making her debut in the world of Angelic Layer. After seeing an Angel battle on television, Misaki instantly falls in love with the sport. With support from family, friends, and a strange scientist, Misaki is already on her way to the top. Being so new to the game, the road will not be easy…especially when her first fight is not only against a veteran of the game, but against a friend as well! When I first picked up Angelic Layer, I expected a story of an underdog rising to the top of the game. While volume one certainly starts on that road, it by no means stays confined to it. At times Angel battles are front and center, with pages devoted to action-filled panels and fight-driven dialogue. At other times the story shifts gear, focusing solely on interactions between Misaki and others. No matter the setting though, there is a definite theme for the story overall. Gradually Misaki learns how to improve herself, both in terms of spirit and life in general. Each scene serves to highlight how events effect Misaki. At one point a conversation with friends later serves her well during a battle, when her earlier observation skills show her a technique to win the fight. At another a battle loss serves to give her the needed perspective to strengthen her will and resolve to keep going. While on one level the story overlaps various lessons for Misaki, on another level the story jumps from one odd comic scene to another. Such comedic moments included everything from a scientist that goes out of his way to make dramatic entrances, to a classmate that greets others with martial arts moves. I know the overall story is a balance between serious and comedic moments, more than once I found the humor jarring. Many times the story would just be picking up momentum, then suddenly the pace was destroyed by an odd entrance or pointless gag. Some people might actually prefer the humor, but I’m the type to stick to the rhythm once it’s established. Another oddity came in the form of background noise. One panel would translate sounds into English, making it easy to know what was going on. The next few pages would leave everything in Japanese, leaving me curious more than once as to what exactly was going on. While Angelic Layer is hardly the first manga to do so, it is still a practice that bothers me on some level. I would rather see everything handled one way or the other, instead of translations randomly distributed throughout the volume. Aside from a few negative points, which could just be a quirk of readers like me, Angelic Layer was a fun read. It was interesting seeing a story based on a sport that could quite easily become a reality down the road. It was also refreshing to see a story centered around a sport focus on more than just a series of battles. Even during the battles, the fight is more about strategy than simple power or heart. Overall, while Angelic Layer still reminds me of an underdog sports story, there is far more to it than that. It is a story of growing up, both emotionally and realistically. Humor plays a big part in the story, but while it gets to be a bit much at times, for the most part it is enjoyable. Any age should find something they enjoy in Angelic Layer, since it caters to a variety of ages and tastes. For those hoping for another dark tale from CLAMP, this may not be the manga for you. In the end, I think Angelic Layer is best described by a quote from the manga itself. “Once upon time after time…another young girl is seduced into the “Realm of the Angels.” While I’m not exactly a young girl anymore, I’ve certainly fallen under the spell of Angelic Layer and I look forward to the next volume. Comment on this review of Angelic Layer v1 on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
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