Kaitou Tenshi Twin Angel

Kaitou Tenshi Twin Angel is not a terribly original concept for an anime but it manages to be pretty entertaining, particularly if you’re a fan of the magical girl genre. I found it to be cute with a good mix of action of a sprinkle of moe.

The story is not that complex nor should or can it be in a two episode series. However it does it right but sticking to the basics and not trying to cram too many characters or complicated plot devices down our throats. The story is about Haruka and Aoi, two young girls who are like sisters ... and fight evil under their alias as Red and Blue Angel. The main villain is a group named Black Auction and their actions are pretty vague. They try to steal statues and books but there is not real explanation as to why they want these things other than they are an evil organization and that’s just what they do. During the course of the story the Angels have to learn courage and their role together. They are helped along the way by the mysterious Misty Knight who is a direct rip-off of Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon, right down to the rose stem throwing weapon. There is plenty of magical action and it does manage to be very exciting and well animated.

Haruka and Aoi are both pretty engaging and fun characters. Haruka is definitely the alpha personality of the group but she has her vulnerable side which is well portrayed as the story unfolds and manages to develop quite a lot as a person through the plot. Aoi is your typical sweet and very moe character type. She is almost sickingly sweet but I found it really impossible to not like her. The rest of the characters are really more or less background, and that includes the villains. As I mentioned before Misty Knight is a total copy of Sailor Moons Tuxedo Mask even down to his role in the story as a bit of a cheerleader to pick up the Angels when they are down.

The real strong point here is in the art and sound department. The animation is smooth and beautiful. Vibrant colors and beautiful character designs make this a stunning anime to watch. Unlike a lot of magical girl stories the artists don’t try to throw in a bunch of echii transformation scenes and panty shots as there is only one short transformation. I found this pretty refreshing honestly. The voice acting is superb, Mamiko Noto does her best bringing out Aoi and her moe'rific personality. The songs are also cute and catchy to listen to.

Overall, despite not being original at all I found this to be a very enjoyable series to watch. If you like cute things or magical girls you will like this series too. It’s full of fluff and pretty vapid but I could think of a lot worse things out there to waste an hour on.

I find this OVA to be quite underrated, along with the entire series. The characters are extremely likable, and even within a single episode the story manages to get you emotionally invested, while at the same time being ridiculous to the point of parody of the genre. This story "doesn't care", and this is what makes the entire Twin Angel series so great. By shaving away needless exposition, explanations, and reason in general, you're left with a quickly progressing and extremely fun to watch story with some twists and turns that will keep you invested. If you're a fan of mahou shoujo and like "fun" ... anime, this is exactly the kind of thing you're looking for.

Going back and rewatching this a decade later it's better than I remember it. The OVA has a slightly serious tone compared to the more laid back TV series that followed it. It manages to have decent character drama without crossing into the "dark" territory of recent magical girl series.

All-in-all it's a fun watch with good animation and entertaining action.

Being a stand-alone two episode OVA it takes me back to the "old days" of renting or buying random anime. Back before there was decent anime information on the internet. You'd just have to watch the tape without any context ... of whatever series it might be related to and see if it was any good. This would have been one of the good ones.