"Angel Sanctuary" (Anime)

[pkristen]

2 Episode Anime OVA. Originally Fully Reviewed on October 28, 2001.

Summary
Sixteen-year old boy Setsuna Mudo thought his life was complicated enough by the fact that his parents are divorced and he is now forced to live apart from his only younger sister, Sara, whom he’s romantically in love with it. Tortured with guilt over these feelings, he tries to protect and spare his sister from his dangerous feelings, not realizing they’re mutual. And so he’s not too pleased when he finds out he has the reincarnated spirit of an angel who was involved in the original war between Heaven and Hell, and that other celestial and demonic forces are trying to reawake his former self, the female angel Alexiel. But if his former self awakens he will die, along with his torturous love for his sister, which he’s not willing to give up…

General Review
If you’re the type of person who studied/read the Greek Tragedy “Oedipus Rex” and spent almost the entire time obsessed with the thought of “guy in love with own mother — EWWWW!”, then this is NOT the anime for you. However, if you’re someone who’s able to accept that basic plot fact and look at the other elements of the characters and story, then you might find something worthwhile in “Angel Sanctuary.”
Personally, I am quite partial to dark, tragic stories, and “Angel Sanctuary” is one of them. I admit I loved the characters, story and animation quality and was highly disappointed that there are no further installments. (The manga series went to twenty volumes and the OVA only covered the first three and a half or so.)

Apart from the main Setsuna/Sara storyline, there is NOT a traditional relationship interaction anywhere in the story that’s portrayed. And for that, it does cause a reader to push the boundaries of what they’re willing to identify with and experience in terms of watching a fictional tale. Highly recommended if you are willing to challenge your own open-mindedness (I’m assuming you have some otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this site) and watch a tale that pushes harsh emotional buttons.

Lesbian Analysis
Since a majority of the characters are male, there’s really very little to work with in terms of possibilities. The only one that sticks out is the demon Kurai (“Cry”), who appears to be a teenage boy but turns out to be a girl who is EXTREMELY devoted to the dormant female angel Alexiel.

Special Note: I do have most of the manga series and just haven’t sat down and did a full reading. If other items come up, I’ll update this page. But it’s very, very, very low on my priority list.