| Binge Reading |
[Mar. 30th, 2008|11:57 am] |
Just finished reading Angel Sanctuary, very interesting piece. I can understand why this is one of the definitive works in manga and a household name. An character-driven epic (genre-wise) that spans hell, earth, and heaven. Some thoughts, organized by characters and couples:
1. Every character, and I mean every character in the story has a tragic past. EVERYONE. There are only those who have suffered less, and I think Raphael, the womanizer with the heart of gold, got off the easiest amongst the main characters.
3. Setsuna: Your conflicted hot-blooded typical hero/protagonist. Only one time does he truly falter from his purpose and questions himself in all twenty volumes. I lost count of how many times this guy got beat down in the story, physically and mentally, but his forward looking attitude and his unwavering goal of saving the one he loved carried him (and his comrades) through. I liked him alright.
4. Kurai: Arguably the true heroine of the series, and the one possessing the purest heart, which is why in this story filled with corrupted and twisted personalities she is one of my favorite characters, if not the favorite. Sad that she had no chance of having her feelings for Setsuna answered, since Setsuna-Sarah is THE story. *Sigh*
5. Kira-sempai: The true poster-boy for the series, and number one fan girl favorite. Long-dark hair, fine features, looks after his junior Setsuna (the yaoi draw, no doubt), cool-dark personality, an incarnation of Lucifer... yeah. I would have liked to see much more of his(Lucifer's) background with Alexiel early on, since that is one of the more important ones in this relationship-driven story.
6. Sarah: The heroine, Setsuna's sister, whose actually one of the better heroines in series dominated by beautifully-drawn men. The author does a good job creating a number of events surrounding her that instill a genuine sense of crisis, dread, and empathy in the reader. For the most part her indomitable and pure spirit (a rare trait, as one might have figured out by now) makes her a very likable character.
7. Raphael: The Womanizer with a Heart of Gold, who was duped into an affair in the past that prejudiced his attitude towards woman until he met Sarah, who turned him around. That pattern--when a jaded womanizer meets and falls for a pure girl--is almost always endearing to the reader, including myself... especially when the womanizer is good looking. The sleaze provided some spots of comic relief and I liked him, all in all.
8. Michael: Lucifer's younger brother with an uncontrollable temper and an inferiority complex due to his height (or lack there of), his boyish appearance compared to his elder brother, etc. I liked him so so. More could have been done with him and the caretaker lady who looked after him until she followed Lucifer to Hades after the rebellion.
9. Zaphikel: A hugely important character who tends to get forgotten towards the end, and arguably one of the most tragic characters in the story. His story, his back story, his motivation and relationships with the other characters was done very well; one of the most empathy inspiring characters. He also looks exactly like Clow, EXACTLY, if one wants a picture of his appearance.
10. Laila/Sevothtarte: A testament to the author's skill, turning who had been the hateful villain for 80% of the series into a victim whom readers can feel for in the span of one mere volume. By the time her role in the story came to an end, I felt more sorry for than I loathed Sevothtarte. Along with Zaphikel, one of the most tragic characters of the story in this story full of tragedies.
11. Katou: I never liked this guy as much as the general readership did, if the polls are anything to go by. His back story was touching, but too far removed from the central plot line to affect me that much.
Edit: Couples I like and therefore will probably drabble for:
Lucifer-Alexiel, Setsuna-Sara, Setsuna-Kurai, Zaphikel-Laila (heh), Raphael with somebody. There are many, many, many romantic subplots in this story, but most of them are flashbacks, brief, wrapped in tragedy, and/or involving a minor character.
Anyone else read this series by the way? |
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