Angelic Layer
Encyclopedia
is a manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 series released by Clamp
Clamp (manga artists)
, is an all-female Japanese manga artist group that formed in the mid 1980s. Many of the group's manga series are often adapted into anime after release. It consists of their leader , who provides much of the storyline and screenplay for all their works and adaptations of those works respectively ,...

. The manga is published in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 by Kadokawa Shoten
Kadokawa Shoten
is a well-known Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. Kadokawa has published both manga novels and magazines, such as Newtype magazine...

, and in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 originally by Tokyopop
Tokyopop
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...

, but has since been re-licensed by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...

. 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
Chobits
is a Japanese manga created by the Japanese manga collective Clamp. It was published by Kodansha in Young Magazine from February 2001 to November 2002 and collected in eight bound volumes....

 and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
is a shōnen manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. It takes place in the same fictional universe as many of Clamp's other manga series, most notably xxxHolic. The plot follows how Sakura, the princess of the Kingdom of Clow, loses her soul and how Syaoran, a young...

.

The manga was adapted into a 26-episode anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 series produced by Bones
Bones (studio)
is a Japanese anime studio. It has produced numerous series, including RahXephon, Wolf's Rain, Scrapped Princess, Eureka Seven, Angelic Layer, Darker than Black, Soul Eater, Ouran High School Host Club and two adaptions of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga along with Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto and...

 titled which aired on TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...

 from April 1, 2001- September 23, 2001. Seven volumes of videos were released by ADV Films on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

 and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 in 2003. It was re-released in 2005 as a five volume box set. North American publisher Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...

 will re-release Angelic Layer in omnibus format in 2011.

Angelic Layer takes place in the same universe as Clamp's later work Chobits
Chobits
is a Japanese manga created by the Japanese manga collective Clamp. It was published by Kodansha in Young Magazine from February 2001 to November 2002 and collected in eight bound volumes....

, which similarly deals with the relationship between humans, human-created devices, toys, and godlike power. Several characters also appear in Clamp's Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
is a shōnen manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. It takes place in the same fictional universe as many of Clamp's other manga series, most notably xxxHolic. The plot follows how Sakura, the princess of the Kingdom of Clow, loses her soul and how Syaoran, a young...

 including most of the main characters, as well as the angel Blanche.

Plot

The primary protagonist of Angelic Layer is Misaki Suzuhara, a seventh grader who just moved to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 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
Tokyo Station
is a train station located in the Marunouchi business district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, near the Imperial Palace grounds and the Ginza commercial district....

 and becomes interested in learning about Angelic Layer, a highly popular game in which players (called Deus
Deus
Deus is Latin for "god" or "deity".Latin deus and dīvus "divine", are descended from Proto-Indo-European *deiwos, from the same root as *Dyēus, the reconstructed chief god of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon...

) buy and custom-design dolls known as Angels. Angels can move by mental control
Brain-computer interface
A brain–computer interface , sometimes called a direct neural interface or a brain–machine interface , is a direct communication pathway between the brain and an external device...

 when on a field called the "layer." Layers are very expensive; most users rent them by the hour in establishments resembling cybercafes.

An eccentric man wearing a white lab coat and glasses, calling himself "Icchan" (いっちゃん), encourages Misaki to purchase and create her own angel. She names the angel Hikaru, after Hikaru Shidō from Clamp's Magic Knight Rayearth
Magic Knight Rayearth
is a Japanese manga series created by Clamp, a manga artist team made up by Satsuki Igarashi, Ageha Ohkawa, Tsubaki Nekoi and Mokona. Rayearth combines elements from the magical girl and mecha anime genres with parallel world fantasy....

 (a manga in Angelic Layers world
Story within a story
A story within a story, also rendered story-within-a-story, is a literary device in which one narrative is presented during the action of another narrative. Mise en abyme is the French term for a similar literary device...

), which she was reading on the train to Tokyo. She wants the angel to be "a short girl, but strong and happy" like Hikaru 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 tournaments 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 at the Eriol Academy, an educational institution which includes grades from kindergarten through high school. There she becomes friends with Hatoko Kobayashi, a very intelligent and mature kindergarten girl who is a famous Deus and an Angelic Layer expert. Her incredibly fast angel Suzuka is a favourite contender in tournaments. Misaki also befriends Hatoko's older brother Kōtarō Kobayashi and his friend Tamayo Kizaki, a girl fascinated by martial arts. Both turn out to be Misaki's classmates.

While adjusting to her new surroundings, Misaki is also gripped by her past. Her thoughts often dwell on her mother, whom she has not seen since pre-school. Eventually Misaki learns that her mother was key in the development of Angelic Layer, which she worked on in an attempt to develop a perfect prosthesis
Prosthesis
In medicine, a prosthesis, prosthetic, or prosthetic limb is an artificial device extension that replaces a missing body part. It is part of the field of biomechatronics, the science of using mechanical devices with human muscle, skeleton, and nervous systems to assist or enhance motor control...

 for her multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...

, which has confined her to a wheelchair. Her mother is also the Deus of Athena and the champion of Angelic Layer.

In the manga series, Misaki's mother does not have multiple sclerosis, nor is she depicted in a wheelchair. The ending to the manga also has different couplings.

The manga series is set a few years before Chobits
Chobits
is a Japanese manga created by the Japanese manga collective Clamp. It was published by Kodansha in Young Magazine from February 2001 to November 2002 and collected in eight bound volumes....

, a Clamp work in the same universe as Angelic Layer. In the manga, Icchan plays an important role in the Chobits storyline, but this connection was reduced to a single scene in the anime; the Chobits anime was also made by a different company. Likewise, in the Chobits anime, Icchan has a brief cameo but is not mentioned by name for the same reason. Kaede's younger brother Minoru (a common Japanese name) is also a Chobits character.

Manga

Music

Opening Theme:
  • "Be My Angel"
Lyrics by: Goro Matsui
Composition by: Takahiro Ando, Goro Matsui
Arrangement by: Takahiro Ando
Song by: Atsuko Enomoto
Atsuko Enomoto
is a Japanese singer and voice actress who works for 81 Produce . Her debut role was Yukino Miyazawa from Kare Kano.-Television animation:*.hack//Roots *.hack//SIGN...



Ending Theme:
  • "The Starry Sky" (☆the starry sky☆)
Lyrics by: HALNA
Composition by: Atsushi Sato
Arrangement by: HAL
Song by: HAL

Lyrics by: Chisa Tanabe
Composition by: Kazuhiro Hara
Arrangement by: Takao Kōnishi
Song by: Moeko Matsushita
Moeko Matsushita
is a Japanese singer and actress from Hyōgo, Japan.Her most famous TV role to date was on Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon as Hina Kusaka. She entered the spotlight at age 15 when she won the multimedia prize of the Japan Bishōjo Contest, a beauty contest. In 2001, Moeko released her first single "Natsu...



All of the background musical scores was composed, arranged and conducted by Kōhei Tanaka
Kohei Tanaka (composer)
is a Japanese composer, arranger and singer. He is affiliated with the music production company Imagine. He has created numerous musical scores for famous anime TV series, OVAs, movies, computer games and tokusatsu series. Tanaka was born in Ebisubashi, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture on February 14,...

, the composer of One Piece
One Piece
is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 4, 1997; the individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with the first released on December 24, 1997, and the 64th volume released as...

 and Sakura Wars
Sakura Wars
is a Japanese media franchise created by Ouji Hiroi, and is developed and owned by Sega and licensed by Red Entertainment and Sega. The franchise centers on a series of dramatic fantasy and science-fantasy tactical role-playing adventure video games, which consist of tactical wargame and dating sim...

.

Staff

  • Planning: Fukashi Azuma (TV Tokyo), Takeshi Yasuda (Kadokawa Shoten), Tetsuya Watanabe (Dentsu)
  • General producer: Takayuki Nagasawa (avex entertainment)
  • Original story: Clamp (Published in Kadokawa Shoten's "Shōnen Ace")
  • Planning support: Kazuhiko Ikeguchi (Amber FilmWorks)
  • Series supervision: Shinichirō Inoue
  • Series composition: Ichirō Ōkouchi
    Ichiro Okouchi
    is a Japanese screenwriter and novelist. He is a graduate of Waseda University, School of Human Sciences.In 2006, Ōkouchi collaborated with director Gorō Taniguchi for composing the story and script of the Sunrise original production, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion and its sequel Code Geass:...

  • Character design: Takahiro Komori
  • Mechanic design: Junya Ishigaki
  • Design support: Shigeru Morita (Studio Nue
    Studio Nue
    Studio Nue is a Japanese design studio formed in 1972 by Naoyuki Kato, Kenichi Matsuzaki, Kazutaka Miyatake, and Haruka Takachiho...

    )
  • Art directors: Nobuto Sakamoto (Big Studio), Takashi Hiruma
  • Color design: Sayoko Yokoyama
  • Directors of photography: Atsushi Takeyama -> Haruhide Ishiguro -> Shūichi Heisei

  • Sound direction: Yōta Tsuruoka (Rakuonsha)
  • Recording: Satoshi Yano (Studio Gong)
  • Sound effects: Eiko Morikawa (Rakuonsha)
  • Recording studio: Studio Gong
  • Sound production: Rakuonsha
  • Sound production desk: Yoshimi Sugiyama (Rakuonsha)
  • Music: Kōhei Tanaka
  • Music producer: Takayuki Nagasawa
  • Music production: avex entertainment
  • Music production support: TV Tokyo
    TV Tokyo
    is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...

     Music
  • Producers: Shinsaku Hatta (TV Tokyo), Taihei Yamanishi (Dentsu), Masahiko Minami
    Masahiko Minami
    is a Japanese anime producer and president of Bones.-Career:A graduate of the Osaka University of Arts's department of arts, Minami began his career with noted anime studio Sunrise as one of its producers...

     (BONES)
  • Director: Hiroshi Nishikiori
  • Animation Production: BONES
    Bones (studio)
    is a Japanese anime studio. It has produced numerous series, including RahXephon, Wolf's Rain, Scrapped Princess, Eureka Seven, Angelic Layer, Darker than Black, Soul Eater, Ouran High School Host Club and two adaptions of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga along with Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto and...

  • Production: TV Tokyo
    TV Tokyo
    is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...

    , Dentsu
    Dentsu
    is one of the largest advertising agencies in the world. Its headquarters are located in the Dentsu Building in the Shiodome district of Minato, Tokyo....

    , BONES
    Bones (studio)
    is a Japanese anime studio. It has produced numerous series, including RahXephon, Wolf's Rain, Scrapped Princess, Eureka Seven, Angelic Layer, Darker than Black, Soul Eater, Ouran High School Host Club and two adaptions of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga along with Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto and...



Reception

Angelic Layer has received mixed reviews. The Nihon Review, an anime review website rated it a 6 out of 10, saying that the plot had too many "holes" in it, despite how well thought-out it was, but that the combat scenes and choreography were well animated. THEM Anime Reviews on the other hand gave Angelic Layer a 5-star rating, noting that the character designs were well presented and the animation was colourful, also that Angelic Layer portrayed the concepts of friendship and how "through common interests, even very different people can be friends".
Angelic Layer won the Animation Kobe Award for TV Feature in 2001.

Chobits and Clamp Crossovers

Clamp is known to reference their various works in different publications, including attempting to unify all of their works together through later publications Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
is a shōnen manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. It takes place in the same fictional universe as many of Clamp's other manga series, most notably xxxHolic. The plot follows how Sakura, the princess of the Kingdom of Clow, loses her soul and how Syaoran, a young...

 and xxxHolic. :

Connections to Chobits

  • In the manga, the pre-story pages show faux newspaper articles that mention tidbits from other series.
  • Piffle Princess is the store where Misaki buys supplies for Hikaru. This store is also found in other Clamp creations such as Cardcaptor Sakura
    Cardcaptor Sakura
    , abbreviated as CCS and also known as Cardcaptors, is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. The manga was originally serialized monthly in Nakayoshi from the May 1996 until the June 2000 issue, and later published in 12 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha...

    , Legal Drug
    Legal Drug
    is a manga series by Clamp. The main artist in this serialization is Tsubaki Nekoi, formerly Mick Nekoi. It is published in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten and it is published in English by Tokyopop who have currently released 3 volumes as of 2005...

    , xxxHolic, Kobato., and Chobits
    Chobits
    is a Japanese manga created by the Japanese manga collective Clamp. It was published by Kodansha in Young Magazine from February 2001 to November 2002 and collected in eight bound volumes....

    , but is also Tomoyo's company in Tsubasa:Reservoir Chronicle
  • In page 16 of volume 7 of Chobits, Kaede Saito's story of her death was told by her brother Minoru. Misaki, Sai, and Ohjiro are in the background, standing by her bed in one panel and crying with her back turned after she dies.
  • In page 103 of volume 7 of Chobits, silhouettes of the legendary Angelic Layer dolls (Shirahime, Blanche, Wizard, Suzuka, and Hikaru) are shown as Chitose tells Motosuwa the truth about her husband's earlier work with the Angelic Layer game.
  • Mihara is a known last name to be used by two popular Clamp characters. Chiharu Mihara of Cardcaptor Sakura and Icchan Mihara. Chiharu's last name Mihara is used by Icchan Mihara, who is also the late husband of Chitose Hibiya of Chobits. Chitose used the Mihara last name in another Clamp work Kobato
    Kobato
    is a manga series by Clamp which premiered in Monthly Sunday Gene-X in January 2005. Seven chapters were released under the title of , but the series was put on hiatus in late 2005. It returned to publication in Newtype magazine's November 2007 Japanese edition; the story has subsequently been...

    .

Crossovers in other series

  • In volume 9 of Cardcaptor Sakura
    Cardcaptor Sakura
    , abbreviated as CCS and also known as Cardcaptors, is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. The manga was originally serialized monthly in Nakayoshi from the May 1996 until the June 2000 issue, and later published in 12 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha...

    , Kero is reading an Angelic Layer book, which appears to be one for a computer game.
  • Tamayo, Oujiro, Shouko and the Angelic Layer announcer appear in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
    Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
    is a shōnen manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. It takes place in the same fictional universe as many of Clamp's other manga series, most notably xxxHolic. The plot follows how Sakura, the princess of the Kingdom of Clow, loses her soul and how Syaoran, a young...

     in Piffle Country, while Kaede and Sai appeared in Rekord Country.
  • In the country of Infinity in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, there is a tournament with similarities to Angelic Layer battles, where the Deus sits on an egg-shaped chair and telekinetically controls the players (in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle they are called "chess pieces" instead of "Angels", however, and often normal people are the pieces.)
  • Hikaru is introduced in Chapter 144 of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle as an "automata", a chess piece which Eagle (a crossover character from Magic Knight Rayearth) uses in a one-on-one battle with Sakura and Syaoran.
  • In Volume 1 of Angelic Layer, Icchan Mihara sings the opening song to Season 1 of Cardcaptor Sakura
    Cardcaptor Sakura
    , abbreviated as CCS and also known as Cardcaptors, is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. The manga was originally serialized monthly in Nakayoshi from the May 1996 until the June 2000 issue, and later published in 12 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha...

    , "Catch You, Catch Me", at a karaoke machine.
  • In volume 4 of Angelic Layer, Misaki sings cheerfully to herself as she is making breakfast; the words of her song are, "A field of peony pink..." She is singing "Peony Pink", the theme song to Clamp School Detectives
    CLAMP School Detectives
    is a manga series by Clamp, which was adapted into a 26-episode anime series, produced by Bandai Visual and Pierrot. The manga series was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Asuka manga magazine between January 1992 and October 1993, spanning three tankōbon, while the anime premiered in Japan...

    .
  • In Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
    Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
    is a shōnen manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. It takes place in the same fictional universe as many of Clamp's other manga series, most notably xxxHolic. The plot follows how Sakura, the princess of the Kingdom of Clow, loses her soul and how Syaoran, a young...

    , Sakura and Syaoran wake up in an Angel Egg after being in the Ōto Country and they're met by Chitose Hibiya. Also, in one panel in volume 6 Misaki, Tamayo, and Ohjiro can be seen being served by Sakura in the Cat's Eye Cafe.
  • Eriol Academy is a Cardcaptor Sakura crossover, Eriol being the name of Clow Reed's reincarnation.
  • In Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, in Ōto Coutry, the lady at the city hall is based on the angel Blanche.
  • In Exam 9 of Kobato., Misaki and Tamayo make a brief cameo giving out beers.
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