People judge each other based on appearances. No matter how much we try, we can never forget the pre-conceptions created when we first see someone. More often than not, we get someone completely wrong, just because of his/her physical appearance. Angel Densetsu shows precisely why this shouldn't happen.
Angel Densetsu is a comedy shounen manga originally released between 1992 and 2000. It was written and illustrated by Norihiro Yagi, who later created Claymore.
The main story is simplistic and pretty straight-forward. It doesn't seen very interesting, but it makes up for its lack of complexity with enjoyability and sense of humor. Most of the times, the chapters focus on the first meeting of a new character with Kitano, and this always leads to a series of misunderstandings and, sometimes, fights.
The comedy is probably the best aspect of the manga. It had me laughing out loud at least a couple of times per chapter and, surprisingly, it never gets old. This is achieved by the sheer craziness of the characters in face of the "demon" and how quick they are to judge him.
The "main" characters, that is, Kitano and the people who become his friends, become pretty likeable, but at first glance they are actually easily hateablee. Also, these main characters do develop through the course of the manga, which does not ring true to most of the rest. The other character who never realise that Kitano is actually a good guy don't change and get more and more hateable.
This reaction is, of course, partly because of the theme of Angel Densetsu. "Never judge a book by its cover". Basically every interaction involving Kitano is done to prove that people are a tad limited and that this is a fault to our current society. Despite being this obvious, the theme is never too overdone and creates a perfect balance between the serious and comedic moments.
The only point that truly annoyed me was the art, specially early on. It is pretty barebones and lacks substance. During the first half, this is made worse by the fact that the author frequently messes up the proportions of characters. The does get a bit better during the later half, but it is never impressive.
The conclusion is very open and this may annoy some. After reading the author's note at the end of the manga, it made perfect sense to me and actually seemed to be a pretty smart decision.
Angel Densetsu is an incredibly fun read that presents an interesting viewpoint, despite being quite light-hearted. It excels with its comedy, but also has a compelling yet simple storyline.
I would recommend it to basically anyone, actually. The theme that it deals with makes Angel Densetsu a pratically universal read.
