Synopsis:
Setsuna is a seemingly ordinary young man who's actually the reincarnation of the angel Alexiel. A long time ago, Alexiel rebelled against God and was banished from heaven. But Setsuna has no recollection of being Alexiel, save for a few disturbing dreams... and to complicate things further, he's in love with his blood sister Sarah...

Review:
Angel Sanctuary is not really what one can call a full-fledged anime series. It struck me as more of a prologue for things to come. The problem is, things never come... and you're stuck with these three episodes whether you like it or not.

A young man named Setsuna is supposedly the reincarnation of the fallen angel Alexiel. Now Alexiel's malicious brother Roshiel will do anything to awaken Alexiel -- even kill off everyone Setsuna cares about. Meanwhile, Setsuna struggles with incestuous feelings for his younger sister Sarah... but then Sarah feels the same way about him! There are a lot of intriguing plot points, and Angel Sanctuary could well have been one of the most glorious supernatural epics ever produced. However, everything comes to a grinding halt by the third episode. Setsuna realizes a lot of things, and consequently finds out that he has a greater mission ahead of him. The end.

The art and animation are superb but wasted since the series doesn't really go anywhere. Character designs are exceptionally done, and there are no qualms about showing bloody and violent scenes. There are some mature scenes involving Sarah and Setsuna as well, although they are not detailed. The English dubbing is not good. I found a lot of the character voices irritating, most especially Sarah's.

Angel Sanctuary had potential. I had been warned by several people beforehand that it's very bad, but actually I wouldn't call it bad. It's just another one of those half-baked anime adaptations of an extensive manga series... nothing else.

Miscellanies:
If you can't get enough of Angel Sanctuary you could try getting the manga version.

Screenshots:

Shopping - click on title to purchase:

Rightstuf Angel Sanctuary (DVD)
AnimeNation Angel Sanctuary (Manga)

[ Anime Series Index | Back to Main Menu ]