is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series created by Clamp. The manga was published in Japan by

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines su ...

, and in English originally by

Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed J ...

, but has since been re-licensed by

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

. It was the group's first work using a significantly pared down style, which lowered emphasis on detail and accentuated posing and gestures. It would later be repeated in series like ''

Chobits is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the Japanese manga collective Clamp. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Young Magazine'' from September 2000 to October 2002, with its chapters collected ...

'' and '' Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle''. The manga was adapted into a 26-episode

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series produced by

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

titled which aired on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...

from April 1, 2001 – September 23, 2001. Seven volumes of videos were released by

ADV Films A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Gre ...

on VHS and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

in 2003. It was re-released in 2005 as a five volume

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

. North American publisher

re-releases ''Angelic Layer'' in omnibus format in 2011.

Sentai Filmworks Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is S ...

will re-release the series under their Sentai Selects label on November 24, 2015.

Anime Limited Anime Limited, also known as All the Anime is a British anime distribution company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It releases anime for British, Irish, French and other European audiences. The company was established in 2012 by Andrew Partridge, b ...

announced they would release the series in the UK in 2018. ''Angelic Layer'' takes place in the same universe as Clamp's later work ''

'', which similarly deals with the relationship between humans, human-created devices, toys, and godlike power. Several characters also appear in Clamp's '' Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle'' including most of the main characters, as well as the angel Blanche.

Plot

The primary protagonist is Misaki Suzuhara. Despite her short appearance she is a seventh grader who just moved to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

to live with her aunt, Shouko Asami. After arriving in the city outside of

Tokyo Station Tokyo Station ( ja, 東京駅, ) is a railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imperial Palace grounds. The newer Eastern extension is ...

, Misaki watches a battle between two dolls on a big live-screen called Angelic Layer, a highly popular game in which players (called

Deus ''Deus'' (, ) is the Latin word for "god" or "deity". Latin ''deus'' and ''dīvus'' ("divine") are in turn descended from Proto-Indo-European *'' deiwos'', "celestial" or "shining", from the same root as '' *Dyēus'', the reconstructed chief g ...

) buy and custom-design dolls known as Angels that are moved by mental control when on a field called the "layer." Interested in learning about Angelic Layer, an eccentric man wearing a white lab coat and glasses, calling himself "''Icchan''" (いっちゃん), encourages Misaki to purchase and create her own angel. She wants the angel to be "a short girl, but strong and happy", and names it Hikaru, based on Hikaru Shidō from Clamp's ''

Magic Knight Rayearth is a Japanese manga series created by Clamp. Appearing as a serial in the manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from the November 1993 issue to the February 1995 issue, the chapters of ''Magic Knight Rayearth'' were collected into three bound volum ...

'' (a manga in ''Angelic Layers world). Even though she's clueless about the game, Misaki soon competes in tournaments and is assisted and watched carefully by Icchan. Later, Icchan's identity is revealed as Ichiro Mihara, the co-creator of Angelic Layer. Misaki begins studying at the Eriol Academy, an educational institution which include grades from kindergarten through high school. There she becomes friends with Hatoko Kobayashi, a very intelligent and mature kindergarten girl who is a famous Deus and an Angelic Layer expert. Her incredibly fast angel Suzuka is a favourite contender in tournaments. Misaki also befriends Hatoko's older brother Kōtarō and his friend Tamayo Kizaki, a girl fascinated by martial arts. Both turn out to be Misaki's classmates. While adjusting to her new surroundings, Misaki is also gripped by her past. Her thoughts often dwell on her mother, whom she has not seen since pre-school. Eventually, Misaki learns that her mother was key in the development of Angelic Layer, which she worked on in an attempt to develop a perfect

prosthesis In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...

for her

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

, which has confined her to a wheelchair. Her mother is also the Deus of Athena and the champion of Angelic Layer. The differences in the anime series: Misaki names her angel of her favorite doll from childhood. The ending to the manga also has different couplings. In the manga, Misaki's mother does not have multiple sclerosis. Icchan plays an important role in the ''

'' storyline, but this connection was reduced to a single scene in the anime; the ''Chobits'' anime was also made by a different company. Kaede's younger brother Minoru is also a ''Chobits'' character.

Media

Manga

Music

Opening Theme: *"Be My Angel" :Lyrics by: Goro Matsui :Composition by: Takahiro Ando, Goro Matsui :Arrangement by: Takahiro Ando :Song by:

Atsuko Enomoto is a Japanese voice actress and singer. Her debut voice acting role was Yukino Miyazawa from ''Kare Kano'' in 1998, which she auditioned for while still in high school. Her debut single was ''Be My Angel'' the opening theme of the 2001 anime An ...

Ending Theme: *"The Starry Sky" (☆the starry sky☆) :Lyrics by: HALNA :Composition by: Atsushi Sato :Arrangement by: HAL :Song by: HAL * :Lyrics by: Chisa Tanabe :Composition by: Kazuhiro Hara :Arrangement by: Takao Kōnishi :Song by:

Moeko Matsushita is a Japanese singer and actress from Hyōgo, Japan. Currently, she is an artist. Her most famous TV role to date was on ''Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon'' as Hina Kusaka. She entered the spotlight at age 15 when she won the multimedia prize of ...

All of the background musical scores was composed, arranged and conducted by Kōhei Tanaka.

Reception

''Angelic Layer'' won the Animation Kobe Award for TV Feature in 2001. Jason Bustard of

THEM Anime Reviews THEM Anime Reviews, otherwise known as THEM or T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews, is an Anime, anime Review, review website that writes about current and past anime in any form, including Original video animation, OVAs and Original net animation, ONAs. The ...

gave ''Angelic Layer'' a 5-star rating, noting that the character designs were well presented and the animation was colourful, also that ''Angelic Layer'' portrayed the concepts of friendship and how "through common interests, even very different people can be friends". Zac Bertschy of

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...

however, was less kind, comparing it to ''Pokémon'' and ''Digimon'', and calling it a glorified tie-in to "a toy you can't purchase".

References

External links

*Angelic Layer (manga) at BookWalker * * {{Bones (studio) 1999 manga 2001 anime television series debuts ADV Films Adventure anime and manga Anime series based on manga Bones (studio) Brain–computer interfacing in fiction Comedy anime and manga Dark Horse Comics titles Disability in fiction Fictional martial sports in anime and manga Kadokawa Shoten manga Kadokawa Dwango franchises Manga adapted into television series Robot comics Science fiction anime and manga Sentai Filmworks Shōnen manga Television shows written by Ichirō Ōkouchi Tokyopop titles TV Tokyo original programming Works by Clamp (manga artists)