Angelic Layer - The Complete Collection (2005)

From Shojo manga superstars Clamp comes an anime classic. 12 year old Misaki builds her own Angel, a robot competitor for the hit arcade game Angelic Layer. She soon begins winning battles where will and determination count far more than size and strenth. It's a heartwarming story with a message-and a great low price collection!

A Pretty Good Anime For Everyone And Also A Good Storyline As Well

I usually don't buy these kind of anime since I feel there more for the younger kids than anything else so for whatever reason I did end up getting this one and am very surprised at how good this series really was. The main story follows on small mechanized toy fighting robots called angels that people can use in tournaments called Angelic Layer the robots fight one another in these tournaments and the winner advances to the next round the prize is to be the Angelic Layer champion of certain cities. Enter Misaki Suzuhara(Voiced By Atsuko Enomoto/Jessica Boone) who arrives in Tokyo to live with her aunt and study at a bigger and better school discovers the sport of Angelic Layer and after getting some basic advice and equipment know how from a crafty and weird scientist by the name of Ichiro "Icchan" Mihara(Voiced By Masaya ONOSAKA/Andy McAvin)
begins playing in the angelic layer tournaments. Misaki's other wish for coming to Tokyo is to try and find her missing mother and as you watch the series you will both find out who her mother is and why she felt she had to leave her daughter at the time. The series is for the most part light-hearted with a touch of romance both for the adults and the kids in the anime. The series will of course remind you a little of Pokeman or Card Captors but it's still a very entertaining,cute,and heart-warming series that should not be pushed aside by the more dramatic mecha anime show fans these fans might just be surprised just as I was. Like a lot of the complete box sets the extras aren't much just some trailers and text-less intro/ending songs the video is standard format with 5.1 English audio or 2.0 Japanese audio and both Japanese and English voice actors did a terrific job with this show. I say get this while you can because I'm not sure if anyone else knows but sadly ADV films has lost a lot of contract titles that they had in their production to Funimation so
hopefully ADV films can make a comeback from this if not a lot of these sets might be harder to find... July 27, 2008

Amazing fun for everyone!

What is this series really about? At first glance it looks like it's about the battle dolls fighting on the layer (a special stage that allows these dolls to be mentally controlled). But these fights actually focus a lot on the players and the bond they form with their angels (dolls). In fact, even though the majority of the episodes have an angelic fight the series is really about making new friends, what it means to be a friend, how to live your life, building confidence in yourself, and most importantly, the reconciliation between a mother and daughter who have not seen each other in seven years. It's all of these character moments that really make this series great. This series should have a very wide range of appeal since it has fights scenes guys will like, romance and other things girls will like, a lot of great character development for mature audiences, a humorous side to avoid getting too serious, and a main character that has an infectious personality - you cannot help but like her and root for her. This series has grown on me so much that I have now seen it four times (and the last two times were just a week apart). But if that's not good enough for you, this series was the winner of the Animation Kobe Award for TV Feature in 2001. Stop reading this and just get it! September 14, 2007

Angelic Layer - an Inspirational anime for everyone

Angelic Layer, is a masterpiece. It follows a similar structure to Pokemon, following Hasuka's rise to the top in the Angelic Layer tournament. The Angelic Layer is a virtual reality game where two players enter their angel dolls into a ring and using their minds to control the dolls to fight each other. With her Angel, Hikaru (Japanese for "light"), she fights to win the tournament. Her two friends support her, as well as contenders for the title who she defeated along the way.

Angelic Layer, however, adds an excellent twist to the monster-fighting genre. Misaki and the other characters learned not just to compete, but to also enjoy the game and have fun. Rather than follow the typical shonen theme that the most powerful character may win, Misaki learns that will and determination leads to success. This is an extremely empowering series, where the characters learn to overcome their failures and work hard.

Along the way, the backstory on the origin of the game leads to an amazing scientific twist, in which the dolls were intended to be controlled as prosthetics for physically disabled people. Hasuka's missing mom also makes a compelling twist to the story, appearing only to watch her daughter play and never actually meeting her.

This series has amazing depth that the Pokemon series never reached. Angelic Layer is exciting, intense, and visually stunning. Studio "Bones" handled the animation, and the fluid, fast-paced fight sequences are amazingly entertaining. All the angel fighters have special abilities that make the fights more intense. I also appreciated that there was no gore and bloody to turn people off. This is a series for everyone.

Although this series isn't the most popular anime in Japan, it should have been. This is one of the best series I have ever seen. August 30, 2007

Very Sweet!

Angelic Layer is a GREAT anime series! It's very nice to look at, great dub cast, and it has a very nice touching story.
Unlike some animes you don't have to worry about children coming in the room and seeing something that they shouldn't. (With only a few bad words here and there.)Nothing that they would hear outside a PG movie.
I think most children would prolly LOVE this series. And it's an anime that their parents prolly would love too! Overall glad to call myself a fan! ^_^ June 11, 2007

Family Oriented

A simple anime for those who need a break from all the giant robots, aliens, blood and "fanservice" found in just about every other series. This is a collection that can be shown to children, and thus it can enjoyed by a family as a whole. I believe that the fighting sequences could have been done a little better, and it can become a little repitious in this aspect. Do not be discouraged by this, however. This is a great anime to watch to just take a breather. It won't leave you wanting more, but neither will you wishing it had ended sooner. Great for what it is...simple. March 27, 2007

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