From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Angelic Layer
Angelic Layer
Angelic Layer Network TV Tokyo
English network Anime Network
Animax
Original run April 1, 2001 – September 23, 2001
Episodes 26
Angelic Layer (エンジェリックレイヤー, Enjerikku Reiyā)
is a manga series released by Clamp. The manga is pub-
lished in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten, and in English orig-
inally by Tokyopop, but has since been re-licensed by
Dark Horse Comics. It is the group’s first work to use
a quite different art style unseen in any other CLAMP
series, which uses a more distinctly pared down style.
There is less emphasis on detail and more on accentuated
posing and gestures. This kind of artwork would later be
used in series like Chobits and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle.
The manga was adapted into a 26-episode anime se-
ries produced by Bones titled Battle Doll Angelic Layer (機
動天使エンジェリックレイヤー, Kidō Tenshi Enjerikku
Reiyā, lit. Mobile Angel Angelic Layer) which aired on
The cover of the first volume of Angelic Layer released in
TV Tokyo from April 1, 2001- September 23, 2001. Seven
English by Tokyopop on June 25, 2002 featuring Misaki
Suzuhara and Hikaru. volumes of videos were released by ADV Films on VHS
and DVD in 2003. It was re-released in 2005 as a five
エンジェリックレイヤー volume box set.[1] North American publisher Dark Horse
(Enjerikku Reiyā)
Reiyā)
Comics will re-release Angelic Layer in omnibus format
Genre Action, Comedy-drama, Science fiction in 2011.[2]
Angelic Layer takes place in the same universe as
Manga
Clamp’s later work Chobits, which similarly deals with the
Written by Clamp relationship between humans, human-created devices,
Published by Kadokawa Shoten toys, and godlike power. Several characters also appear
in Clamp’s Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle including most of
English publisher Dark Horse Comics the main characters, as well as the angel Blanche.
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Shōnen Ace Plot
Original run July 1, 1999 – October 1, 2001 See also: List of Angelic Layer characters
The primary protagonist of Angelic Layer is Misaki
Volumes 5 Suzuhara, a seventh grader who just moved to Tokyo to
TV anime live with her aunt, Shouko Asami. After arriving in the
city, she watches the battle doll Athena on a big screen
Battle Dolls Angelic Layer
television outside of Tokyo Station and becomes inter-
Directed by Hiroshi Nishikiori ested in learning about Angelic Layer, a highly popular
game in which players (called Deus) buy and custom-de-
Written by Ichirō Ōkouchi
sign dolls known as Angels. Angels can move by mental
Studio Bones control when on a field called the "layer." Layers are very
expensive; most users rent them by the hour in establish-
Licensed by A.D. Vision
ments resembling cybercafes.
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Angelic Layer
No. Japanese North American
Release date ISBN Release date ISBN
01 July 1, 1999[3] ISBN 4-04-713283-7 June 25, 2002[4] ISBN 1-931514-47-X
02 March 9, 2000[3] ISBN 4-04-713319-1 September 17, 2002[4] ISBN 1-59182-003-0
03 December 1, 2000[3] ISBN 4-04-713375-2 November 12, 2002[4] ISBN 1-59182-004-9
04 May 1, 2001[3] ISBN 4-04-713414-7 January 7, 2003[4] ISBN 1-59182-086-3
05 October 1, 2001[3] ISBN 4-04-713454-6 March 11, 2003[4] ISBN 1-59182-152-5
An eccentric man wearing a white lab coat and glass-
es, calling himself "Icchan" (いっちゃん), encourages
Media
Misaki to purchase and create her own angel. She names
the angel Hikaru, after Hikaru Shidō from Clamp’s Magic Manga
Knight Rayearth (a manga in Angelic Layer’s world), which
she was reading on the train to Tokyo. She wants the an- Anime
gel to be "a short girl, but strong and happy" like Hikaru Main article: List of Angelic Layer episodes
and herself. In the anime, Misaki names her Hikaru after
her favorite doll from her childhood. Even though she’s
clueless about the game, Misaki soon competes in tour-
Music
naments and is assisted and watched carefully by Icchan. Opening Theme:
Later, Icchan’s identity is revealed as Ichiro Mihara, the • "Be My Angel"
co-creator of Angelic Layer. Lyrics by: Goro Matsui
Misaki also begins studying at the Eriol Academy, an
educational institution which includes grades from Composition by: Takahiro Ando, Goro Matsui
kindergarten through high school. There she becomes
Arrangement by: Takahiro Ando
friends with Hatoko Kobayashi, a very intelligent and
mature kindergarten girl who is a famous Deus and an Song by: Atsuko Enomoto
Angelic Layer expert. Her incredibly fast angel Suzuka
is a favourite contender in tournaments. Misaki also be- Ending Theme:
friends Hatoko’s older brother Kōtarō Kobayashi and his • "The Starry Sky" (☆the starry sky☆)
friend Tamayo Kizaki, a girl fascinated by martial arts. Lyrics by: HALNA
Both turn out to be Misaki’s classmates.
While adjusting to her new surroundings, Misaki is al- Composition by: Atsushi Sato
so gripped by her past. Her thoughts often dwell on her
Arrangement by: HAL
mother, whom she has not seen since pre-school. Even-
tually Misaki learns that her mother was key in the de- Song by: HAL
velopment of Angelic Layer, which she worked on in an
attempt to develop a perfect prosthesis for her multiple • "After the rain" (雨あがり, Ame Agari)
sclerosis, which has confined her to a wheelchair. Her Lyrics by: Chisa Tanabe
mother is also the Deus of Athena and the champion of
Angelic Layer. Composition by: Kazuhiro Hara
In the manga series, Misaki’s mother does not have
Arrangement by: Takao Kōnishi
multiple sclerosis, nor is she depicted in a wheelchair.
The ending to the manga also has different couplings. Song by: Moeko Matsushita
The manga series is set a few years before Chobits, a
Clamp work in the same universe as Angelic Layer. In the All of the background musical scores was composed,
manga, Icchan plays an important role in the Chobits sto- arranged and conducted by Kōhei Tanaka, the composer
ryline, but this connection was reduced to a single scene of One Piece and Sakura Wars.
in the anime; the Chobits anime was also made by a differ-
ent company. Likewise, in the Chobits anime, Icchan has a
brief cameo but is not mentioned by name for the same
Staff
reason. Kaede’s younger brother Minoru (a common Ja- • Planning: Fukashi • Sound direction: Yōta
panese name) is also a Chobits character... Azuma (TV Tokyo), Tsuruoka
Takeshi Yasuda (Rakuonsha)
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Angelic Layer
(Kadokawa Shoten), • Recording: Satoshi Connections to Chobits
Tetsuya Watanabe Yano (Studio Gong)
• In the manga, the pre-story pages show faux
(Dentsu) • Sound effects: Eiko
newspaper articles that mention tidbits from other
• General producer: Morikawa
series.
Takayuki Nagasawa (Rakuonsha)
• Piffle Princess is the store where Misaki buys
(avex entertainment) • Recording studio:
supplies for Hikaru. This store is also found in other
• Original story: Clamp Studio Gong
Clamp creations such as Cardcaptor Sakura, Legal Drug,
(Published in Kadokawa • Sound production:
xxxHolic, Kobato., and Chobits, but is also Tomoyo’s
Shoten’s "Shōnen Ace") Rakuonsha
company in Tsubasa:Reservoir Chronicle[7]
• Planning support: • Sound production
• In page 16 of volume 7 of Chobits, Kaede Saito’s story
Kazuhiko Ikeguchi desk: Yoshimi
of her death was told by her brother Minoru. Misaki,
(Amber FilmWorks) Sugiyama
Sai, and Ohjiro are in the background, standing by
• Series supervision: (Rakuonsha)
her bed in one panel and crying with her back
Shinichirō Inoue • Music: Kōhei Tanaka
turned after she dies.
• Series composition: • Music producer:
• In page 103 of volume 7 of Chobits, silhouettes of the
Ichirō Ōkouchi Takayuki Nagasawa
legendary Angelic Layer dolls (Shirahime, Blanche,
• Character design: • Music production:
Wizard, Suzuka, and Hikaru) are shown as Chitose
Takahiro Komori avex entertainment
tells Motosuwa the truth about her husband’s earlier
• Mechanic design: Junya • Music production
work with the Angelic Layer game.
Ishigaki support: TV Tokyo
• Mihara is a known last name to be used by two
• Design support: Shigeru Music
popular Clamp characters. Chiharu Mihara of
Morita (Studio Nue) • Producers: Shinsaku
Cardcaptor Sakura and Icchan Mihara. Chiharu’s last
• Art directors: Nobuto Hatta (TV Tokyo),
name Mihara is used by Icchan Mihara, who is also
Sakamoto (Big Studio), Taihei Yamanishi
the late husband of Chitose Hibiya of Chobits. Chitose
Takashi Hiruma (Dentsu), Masahiko
used the Mihara last name in another Clamp work
• Color design: Sayoko Minami (BONES)
Kobato.
Yokoyama • Director: Hiroshi
• Directors of Nishikiori
Crossovers in other series
photography: Atsushi • Animation
Takeyama -> Haruhide Production: BONES • In volume 9 of Cardcaptor Sakura, Kero is reading an
Ishiguro -> Shūichi • Production: TV Angelic Layer book, which appears to be one for a
Heisei Tokyo, Dentsu, BONES computer game.
• Tamayo, Oujiro, Shouko and the Angelic Layer
announcer appear in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle in
Reception Piffle Country, while Kaede and Sai appeared in
Angelic Layer has received mixed reviews. The Nihon Re- Rekord Country.
view, an anime review website rated it a 6 out of 10, say- • In the country of Infinity in Tsubasa: Reservoir
ing that the plot had too many "holes" in it, despite how Chronicle, there is a tournament with similarities to
well thought-out it was, but that the combat scenes and Angelic Layer battles, where the Deus sits on an egg-
choreography were well animated.[5] THEM Anime Re- shaped chair and telekinetically controls the players
views on the other hand gave Angelic Layer a 5-star rating, (in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle they are called "chess
noting that the character designs were well presented pieces" instead of "Angels", however, and often
and the animation was colourful, also that Angelic Layer normal people are the pieces.)
portrayed the concepts of friendship and how "through • Hikaru is introduced in Chapter 144 of Tsubasa:
common interests, even very different people can be Reservoir Chronicle as an "automata", a chess piece
friends".[6] Angelic Layer won the Animation Kobe Award which Eagle (a crossover character from Magic Knight
for TV Feature in 2001. Rayearth) uses in a one-on-one battle with Sakura
and Syaoran.
• In Volume 1 of Angelic Layer, Icchan Mihara sings the
Chobits and Clamp Crossovers opening song to Season 1 of Cardcaptor Sakura, "Catch
Clamp is known to reference their various works in dif- You, Catch Me", at a karaoke machine.
ferent publications, including attempting to unify all of • In volume 4 of Angelic Layer, Misaki sings cheerfully
their works together through later publications Tsubasa: to herself as she is making breakfast; the words of
Reservoir Chronicle and xxxHolic. : her song are, "A field of peony pink..." She is singing
"Peony Pink", the theme song to Clamp School
Detectives.
3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Angelic Layer
• In Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Sakura and Syaoran http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/
wake up in an Angel Egg after being in the Ōto 2011-03-07/dark-horse-adds-angelic-layer-tokyo-
Country and they’re met by Chitose Hibiya. Also, in babylon-omnibuses.
one panel in volume 6 Misaki, Tamayo, and Ohjiro [3] ^ "CLAMP公式ウェブサイト" (in Japanese).
can be seen being served by Sakura in the Cat’s Eye Clamp. http://www.clamp-net.com/manga/
Cafe. angelic. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
• Eriol Academy is a Cardcaptor Sakura crossover, [4] ^ "Manga+Comics: Book Catalog". Tokyopop.
Eriol being the name of Clow Reed’s reincarnation. http://www.tokyopop.com/manga/book_catalog/
• In Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, in Ōto Coutry, the browse?sort=title&alphabet=A&hide_adult=Y&p=3.
lady at the city hall is based on the angel Blanche. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
• In Exam 9 of Kobato., Misaki and Tamayo make a brief [5] Taleweaver. "Angelic Layer". The Nihon Review.
cameo giving out beers. http://www.nihonreview.com/anime/angelic-
layer/. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
References [6] Jason Bustard. "Angelic Layer". T.H.E.M. Anime
Reviews. http://www.themanime.org/
[1] "Angelic Layer Complete Collection". ADV viewreview.php?id=32. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
Films.com. A.D. Vision, Inc.. Archived from the [7] "Angelic Layer Episode 03". ADV Angelic Layer
original on 2007-10-11. http://web.archive.org/ Website. A.D. Vision, Inc.. Archived from the
web/20060528104508/www.advfilms.com/ original on 2007-09-28. http://web.archive.org/
CatalogFilms_Detail.asp?ID=4260. Retrieved 2 web/20070928093936/
January 2009. http://www.angeliclayerdvd.com/episodes/
[2] "Dark Horse Adds Angelic Layer, Tokyo Babylon ep03.php. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
Omnibuses". Anime News Network. 2011-03-07.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Angelic_Layer&oldid=475378993"
Categories:
• Manga series
• Anime series
• ADV Films
• Anime of 2001
• Manga of 1999
• Martial arts anime and manga
• Comedy-drama anime and manga
• Creature anime and manga
• Science fiction anime and manga
• Shōnen manga
• Bones (studio)
• Dark Horse Comics titles
• Tokyopop titles
• Clamp (manga artists)
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