Animanga/Manga| Information
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Animanga/Anime| Information
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'''' (Kidou Tenshi Angelic Layer ) is an
Anime and
Manga series released by
CLAMP . The manga is published in
Japan by
Kadokawa Shoten , and in
English by
TOKYOPOP .
The
Television Series aired on
TV Tokyo from
April 1 2001 -
September 30 ,
2001 and is 26 episodes long. Seven volumes of videos were released by
ADV Films on
VHS and
DVD in 2003. It was re-released in 2005 as part of a five volume
Box Set .
Angelic Layer is related to CLAMP's later work
Chobits , and like it, deals with the relationship between humans, human-created devices, toys and godlike power.
The main character of Angelic Layer is Misaki Suzuhara, a seventh grader who just moved in to
Tokyo in order to live with her aunt, Shouko Asami. After arriving in the city, she watches the battle doll Athena on a big screen television outside of
Tokyo Station and becomes interested in learning about the amazingly popular toy called Angelic Layer, a game in which players (called
Deus ) buy and custom-design dolls known as Angels. Angels can move by
Mental Control when on a field called the "layer". Layers are very expensive, and most people pay to use them by the hour in establishments resembling
Cybercafe s.
An eccentric man wearing a white lab coat and glasses, calling himself "Icchan" (Itchan), encourages Misaki to purchase and create her own angel. She names the angel Hikaru, after Hikaru Shidou from CLAMP's
Magic Knight Rayearth , because she wants the angel to be "a short girl, but strong and happy" like Hikaru and herself (it is implied that Rayearth is a fictional history in Angelic Layer's world, and Misaki identifies herself with Hikaru). Even though she's clueless about the game, Misaki soon begins to compete in tournament, and is assisted and watched carefully by Icchan. Later Icchan's identity is revealed as Ichiro Mihara, the co-creator of Angelic Layer.
Misaki also begins studying in the Eriol Academy, an educational institution which includes grades from kindergarten through high school (it seems to be named after Eriol Hiiragizawa from
Cardcaptor Sakura ). There she becomes friend with Hatoko Kobayashi, a very intelligent kindergarten girl who is also a famous Deus and an expert about Angelic Layer. Her incredibly fast angel Suzuka is a favourite contender in tournaments. Misaki also befriends Hatoko's older brother Koutarou Kobayashi and his friend Tamayo Kizaki, a girl fascinated by martial arts. Both turn out to be Misaki's classmates.
Misaki pursues her ultimate goal of finding her mother, whom she has not seen since preschool. Eventually she learns that her mother assisted in the development of Angelic Layer in her quest to develop a perfect
Prosthesis for her
Multiple Sclerosis , which has confined her to a wheelchair. Her mother is also the Deus of Athena, and the champion of Angelic Layer.
The manga series is set a few years before Chobits, a CLAMP work in the same universe as ''Angelic Layer''. In the manga, Icchan plays an important role in Chobits' storyline, but this connection was reduced to a single scene in the Anime. Icchan has a brief cameo but is not mentioned by name in the Anime. Kaede's younger brother Minoru is also a Chobits character. In the manga series, Misaki's mother does not have multiple sclerosis, nor is she depicted in a wheelchair.
- (鈴原みさき ''Suzuhara Misaki''): A 12 year old girl who has just moved to Tokyo to live with her aunt. She has just started playing Angelic Layer. Her angel's name is Hikaru.
- (三原一郎 ''Mihara Ichirō''): The "father" of Angelic Layer, he helps guide Misaki while she learns how to play Angelic Layer. He is a close friend of Shuuko Suzuhara, Misaki's mother.
- (小林鳩子 ''Kobayashi Hatoko''): The "miracle kindergarder," she is Misaki's friend. She is an expert at Angelic Layer, having reached the National Games the previous year. Her angel is Suzuka.
- (小林虎太郎 ''Kobayashi Kōtarō''): Hatoko's brother and Misaki's classmate. He has a crush on Misaki and is always being assaulted by Tamayo and her various martial arts techniques.
- (木崎珠代 ''Kizaki Tamayo''): Friend and classmate of Misaki, she nicknames Misaki "Misakichi" and is rather eccentric. One of her favorite activities is practicing her martial arts techniques on her unwilling friend Kotaro. it was later revealed that she has always had intimate feelings for him, and that she was very envious of Misaki because of the attention given to her by Kotaro.
- (三原王二郎 ''Mihara Ōjirō''): Ichiro's younger step-brother, he helps work with the Angelic Layer team to help develop new layers and angels. His angel is Wizard.
- (鈴原萩子 ''Suzahara Shūko''): Misaki's mother. She suffers from a neurological disease which inhibits nerve signals from reaching her legs. In the process of trying to research a cure with Ichiro, the two created Angelic Layer. Her angel is Athena, the champion of Angelic Layer.
- (城乃内最 ''Jōnouchi Sai''): Known as the "ice machine," Sai started playing Angelic Layer at the request of her terminally ill sister Rin. She is friends with Kaede. Her angel is Shirahime.
- (斉藤楓 ''Saitō Kaede''): A quiet and wise girl who is friends with Sai Jounouchi. Her angel is Blanche (also called "blanchir" or blancheer" at times.
- (尾形雅治 ''Ogata Masaharu''): One of Icchan's subordinates. He is often "penalized" by Icchan by being made to experience a range of embarrassing or terrible things, such as having a live octopus being stuck down his pants.
- (浅見 祥子 ''Asami Shōko''): Misaki's aunt and Shuko's little sister. She is also a reporter for a local news station. Misaki lives with Shoko after she arrives in Tokyo.
- (瀬戸林子 ''Seto Ringo''): A pop idol who escapes her manager and plays Angelic Layer in her spare time. She encouraged Misaki when she was losing to the male Misaki. Her angel is Ranga.
- (藤崎円香 ''Fujisaki Madoka''): The Deus of the angel Mao. She along with her sister, '''Arisu Fujisaki''' (or Alice) (藤崎有栖 Fujisaki Arisu), who is the creator of Mao, attempt to sabotage Hikaru during the Kanto games.
- (藤森ひろみ ''Fujimori Hiromi'')
- - ''Deus: Misaki Suzuhara''
- - ''Deus: Hatoko Kobayashi'': Nicknamed “The Speed of Light,” Suzuka often defeats her opponents with incredible speed. Suzuka has also attended the National Games.
- - ''Deus: Sai Jounouchi'': Nicknamed “The White Princess,” she is an Angel which wears a white kimono. Shirahime has finished 2nd in the Kantō regional games for two consecutive years.
- - ''Deus: Kaede Saitou'': Nicknamed "The White Angel," Blanche is a powerful angel which is so fast that she has only been touched by four other angels. When in a very tough fight, Blanche will use a technique called "Hypermode" which is a result of a glitch present in the first angels built. Blanche is a contestant in the Kantō regional games. Her name can also be written ''Branche'' with the Romanji "r" sounding like an "l".
- - ''Deus: Ringo Seto'': Ranga uses a technique called "the Dance of Death" which uses wind to attack her opponents from a distance. Ranga is a contestant in the Kantō regional games.
- - ''Deus: Ohjiro Mihara'': Wizard is the Kansai Regional champion and has finished as the runner up in the National Games for two consecutive years. Wizard uses a technique called “Magic Guard” to block his opponent’s attacks. Wizard is one of the few male angels in the Layer.
- - ''Deus: Shuko Suzuhara'': Athena has won the National Games championship in all three years of its existence and is the undisputed champion of Angelic Layer.
- - ''Deus: Madoka Fujisaki'' - The newest angel created by Madoka's sister Arisu. Mao is a contestant in the Kantō regional games.
- - ''Deus: unknown'': The first angel that Hikaru fights and defeats
- - ''Deus: Kyoko'': An angel which uses electric whips, which are illegal, in unofficial games to easily defeat inexperienced players. She fights Hikaru in her second Angelic Layer match.
- - ''Deus: Asuka Kitamura'': An angel which participates in the Tokyo Prefecture games, losing to Hikaru.
- - ''Deus: unknown'': An Angel with experience in the Kantō regional games and who is competing in the Tokyo prefecture games. She is defeated by Suzuka in 5 seconds. Nightingale is also defeated by Hikaru in the Tokyo prefecture games.
- - ''Deus: Yuko Hikawa'': Katalina fights by “skating” on the layer, and uses her skates to attack while spinning. She loses to Hikaru in the first round of the Tokyo prefecture games.
- - ''Deus: Tomoko Yamada'': A very powerful angel which lures her opponents into surprise attacks. She is defeated by Hikaru in the second round of the Tokyo prefecture games.
- - ''Deus: Maria Shibata'': An angel defeated by Hikaru in the final round of the Tokyo prefecture games.
- , '''Mark II''', & '''Tri''' - ''Deus: Ryo Misaki'': Ryo uses these three angels in a best of three match against Misaki in attempt to show that girls can't beat boys at Angelic Layer.
- - ''Deus: unknown'' - Champion of the Chiba Prefecture games. She is defeated by Suzuka in the first round of the Kantō regional games.
- - ''Deus: unknown'' - An angel competing in the Kantō regional games, losing to Blanche there.
- - ''Deus: Tsubasa "The Blond Gale" McEnzie'' - An angel who competed in the Kyushu Regional games, she competes against Shirahime in the Angelic Layer National Games. She has the ability to glide through the air using wings.
- - ''Deus: Chitose Tanaka'' - An angel from Hokkaido , she fights Hikaru in the first round of the Angelic Layer National Games. She uses a technique called the "Northern Aurora" to immobolize her opponents in mid-air.
- - ''Deus: Shuji Inada'' - An angel competing in the National Games representing the Angelic Layer company. SI-174 is a new model of angel which is capable of quicker and more efficient movements. The SI-174 fights Hikaru in the second round of the National Games.
- 1. “How Do You Do? My Very Own Angel”
- 2. “Do Your Best, Hikaru! It’s Your Very First Fight!!”
- 3. “Who Are You? Misaki’s Nervous Lesson”
- 4. “The Day an Angel Flew Down”
- 5. “I Don’t Want to Lose! I’m Believing in Hikaru”
- 6. “Suzuka, the Speed of Light! Hatoko’s Declaration of Rivalry!”
- 7. “Right at the Edge…Misaki’s Last Chance”
- 8. “Misaki vs. Misaki? A Dangerous Classmate”
- 9. “Sing, Misaki! Is the Deus and Idol?!”
- 10. “Mean Sisters! Hikaru, the Target”
- 11. “Finish It Off! Hikaru & Mao’s Important Game”
- 12. “Misaki & Kotaro. Their Exciting Date”
- 13. “Pure White Blanche. Kaede’s Smile”
- 14. “I Won’t Give Up! And an Angel Was Born”
- 15. “Shirahime Versus Suzuka! Secret of the Ice Machine”
- 16. “The Final Game! Hikaru’s Last Attack”
- 17. “I’ve Made My Mind Up on You! The One Misaki Selected”
- 18. “Many Strong Opponents! The National Games of Everyone’s Dreams”
- 19. “System down! Decisive Fight on a Ship in a Storm!”
- 20. “Is Icchan the Enemy? The Puzzling Second Game”
- 21. “Summertime at the Sea! Someone is in Love With Someone!”
- 22. “Suddenly Just the Two of Us. Secret Double Dates”
- 23. “Break Up the Magic Wall! Misaki Versus Ohjiro”
- 24. “Reach Misaki! This Thought Goes Over the Rainbow!”
- 25. “Reunion of Destiny. Angels Wet With Tears”
- 26. “Angel Wings! Please Guide Me and Hikaru!”
- Volume 1 (Japanese Edition: ISBN 4047132837; American Edition: ISBN 193151447X)
- Volume 2 (Japanese Edition: ISBN 4047133191; American Edition: ISBN 1591820030)
- Volume 3 (Japanese Edition: ISBN 4047133752; American Edition: ISBN 1591820049)
- Volume 4 (Japanese Edition: ISBN 4047134147; American Edition: ISBN 1591820863)
- Volume 5 (Japanese Edition: ISBN 4047134546; American Edition: ISBN 1591821525)
