Ranked #2661

Angel Sanctuary

I take this opportunity to advocate that you go read the manga before you try this OVA. The manga is light years beyond this drek in terms of... well, pretty much everything.

Needless to say this OVA does NOT do the manga any justice. Some of the animation sequences are pretty, but beyond that, this just sucks. The characters come off flat and obnoxious, and the story seems pointless and haphazard--there is no tension, and it feels like there are no stakes. This does not feel like a semi-Apocalyptic war between the forces of Heaven and Hell. It feels like... well... like every other bad pseudo-Biblical post-Evangelion catasterfuck of an anime.

If you're hardcore Christian and would be offended by a rebellion against God being told from the perspective of Fallen Angels, skip it. If not, skip it anyway and read the manga. You'll be glad you did. read more

Angels are God's messengers that protect humans from danger because they are the good guys. Wrong! Unlike most stories, the bad guys (the daemons) are the good guys in Angel Sanctuary. Some viewers may find this OVA offensive and sacriligious; however, it isn't an insult on Christianity. It's a fictional story reversing the roles for once and isn't meant to be persecuting Christianity; just showing the other side of the coin. There are far more films and television shows using crude humour towards Christianity in North America, which are a million times more offensive than Angel Sanctuary. Putting that aside, the mood for Angel Sanctuary is very dark. It's a gothic drama dealing with the supernatural. It's gory and mature, so younger viewers may not like it.

The animation is very good for the year 2000. It doesn't have any computer graphics but it wasn't necessary: the pencil and ink animation was perfect enough. The low-lights in the hair, also the texture of the hair (pretty much everything about the hair) to characters is very wispy and detailed. Short haired people would be envious of the long, flowy hair that these two-dimensional anime characters possess. There isn't anything bad about the animation other than it's a little out of date. (But not by much)

The sound is simplistic, but sets the mood to the OVA. The music has the dark motif to the OVA, which makes Angel Sanctuary more gothic. Could have used more instruments and a more difficult melody, but the music does what it's supposed to: give the viewer the dramatic feeling.

Although English dubs aren't nearly as bad as many Japanophiles claim, the English dub to Angel Sanctuary was terrible. The acting was alright, the voices were what killed the dub. They sounded way too cartoony for a serious drama that was aimed at a mature audience. Crispin Freeman saved the dub as he showed his genius skills in the role of Rosiel. The voice of Setsuna (Scott Cargle) sounded more like a fourty year old than an older teenager. Watch this OVA in Japanese, it's much better.

The Characters were well developed and didn't have cliche personalities. Sarah's personality is a little too happy, which was the only problem. There is incest in this story line, but Kaori Yuki pulled it off. The incest shows how Setsuna and Sarah struggle to ignore their feelings in a forbidden relationship and not an episode of Jerry Springer. (They know incest is wrong) Like the theme, they are condemned sinners. Without the mood the incest wouldn't work. The bad guys aren't extremely evil as most antagonists are portrayed. Then again, everything is reversed.

Those who are into dark anime aimed at a mature audience would like Angel Sanctuary. It's tragic, but doesn't require a box of Kleenex. (just a couple) The manga has twenty volumes while the OVA has three episodes, meaning the end of the OVA isn't the end of the series. Angel Sanctuary should have been an anime series because the storyline scratches the surface. Also, the OVA hooks you into wanting more. It's a promotion or teaser for the manga. With the exceptional storyline and excellent animation, Angel Sanctuarty is one of the best OVA's made.


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