Angelic Layer

(TV Series)

CARL's TAKE: <<<Three and a half stars>>>

Summary - When Misaki was four years old she was sent away to live with her grandparents because her mother was coming down with a nerve disorder that would soon rob her of the ability to use her legs. Over the years, her mother became ashamed of her inability to find a cure, and fell out of contact with Misaki despite loving her very much.
Now Misaki is in junior high and has moved to her aunt's place in Tokyo in hopes of seeing her mother again. Her mother's still too embarrassed to arrange a meeting, but Misaki keeps busy in the meantime by getting caught up in the latest craze in Japan - fighting dolls called Angels that can be controlled atop a special table, or layer. Misaki seems to have a natural talent for controlling her angel Hikaru, and with the guidance of her coach Icchan she quickly begins to rise through the ranks of the local tournaments. But unbeknownst to Misaki, her mother has played a crucial part in the development of Angelic Layer, and Icchan is getting her involved so that if she continues to win, mother and daughter will finally be forced to meet atop the layer.

Impression - an overly cute anime with a compelling story and tons of well-scripted fights.

Review - At first glance Angelic Layer seems an odd combination - girl's dolls that fight martial-arts style - but in practice the shoujo (girl's) and shounen (boy's) elements are expertly blended and seem to compliment each other. The story starts very slow at first, and it isn't until about halfway that the really interesting plot points start to come out. But in the meantime the angel battles can be pretty entertaining. In fact, in the final run of episodes when the plot really starts to thicken, these battles become the focal point of the series. It's this last string of episodes that make the whole series worth it, as they reach a fever-pitch that keeps you itching to see the next episode. This show is shoujo at its heart - being mainly about the relationships between all the main characters - but even if that's not you're thing you should be pretty impressed with some of the great battle scenes.

VERDICT: a great anime to look into unless you are allergic to cuteness or character development.

MIKE'S TAKE: <<< >>>

BEN'S TAKE: <<< >>>