THE HITS

RahXephon

From the start, RahXephon was accused of being a poor man’s Evangelion (who hasn’t seen the obligatory “Eva vs. RahXephon” thread on numerous anime forums?), but despite the superficial similarities, anyone who made it at least halfway through the series had to admit that there were plenty of differences as well. Although it was perhaps a little confusing and convoluted in its attempts to mix high-concept sci-fi with an extensive cast, RahXephon remains one of those series that keeps you glued to the screen even during those points where you aren’t entirely clear what’s going on. Even the recap movie redeemed itself by adding some new footage and putting a fresh spin on this tale of mecha, romance, time warps and aliens.
Memorable moment: the flashback episode with the mud doll.

Wolf’s Rain

Before watching Wolf’s Rain, I have to admit that I wasn’t sure if I’d like it- after all, thirty episodes of “is it Paradise?”, “Well, it’s not the end of the series yet, so it can’t be” did not sound too enthralling. Fortunately, I couldn’t resist the DVD volume one plus artbox, CD and plushie combination, and once I actually got to see the series for myself, I was hooked. I’ll admit that from an objective viewpoint it isn’t perfect (I’m not going to get into those four recap episodes), but nonetheless when watching it, I’m utterly drawn in by this compelling and sometimes heart-wrenching tale. It’s one of the few series that just leaves grinning stupidly at the screen because I’m enjoying it so much.
Memorable moment: The weakened ‘Grandpa’ being hitched to a sled.

Scrapped Princess
Even though my true hope was for a pure fantasy series rather than one with the almost inevitable sci-fi elements, Scrapped Princess was still an enjoyable experience. With its likable cast, nice character designs and solid story, it may not live up to its full potential, but it is still very good.
Memorable moment: Raquel unleashing her magic.

Fullmetal Alchemist
Here is where I have to make a confession- even though I do feel that FMA is a good series, I’m just not inclined to as wholeheartedly sing its praises as practically everyone else. Discounting its slow start, the bulk of the series is solid enough, but it suffers from one major failing- a tendency to poorly mix the flippant and the serious. All too often the series would present some dramatic revelation that should have tugged at the heartstrings, only to ruin the moment by veering off into comedy; if not for this unfortunate tendency, I would rate it much more highly.
Memorable moment: Realising the origin of the Chimera in episode eight.

Kurau Phantom Memory

An unfairly neglected series that wallowed in ADV licensing limbo for over two years before finally being scheduled for release this April, Kurau has inevitably been overlooked by many through no fault of its own. The ultimate evolution of animated sci-fi, Kurau takes everything that was good about Texhnolyze, Zettai Shounen and Stand Alone Complex, and makes it even better; it may look like a simple story about two girls running away from evil researchers, but give it a chance and it will prove to be much more.
Memorable moment: The fate of the unpaired Rynax in episode sixteen.

Ouran High School Host Club

Having proven itself largely adept at more serious material, BONES ventured into comedy in 2006, with the animated version of a ‘reverse harem’ style series about a poor girl attending a school of wealthy student. Although it did sometimes skirt the realms of the tediously repetitive and over-the-top, Ouran’s sheer enthusiasm carried it through even the weaker moments and ensured that the bulk of the series was nothing less than entertaining.
Memorable moment: The carriage chase in the finale.

NEUTRALS

Angelic Layer

CLAMP’s venture into the shounen action formula was interesting if a little too fast-paced for its own good in manga form, but when it came to turning it into an anime, the producers took it a little too far in the other direction. By the time five volumes had been stretched across twenty-six episodes, even additional content and character development couldn’t disguise the fact that the pacing was now irritatingly slow in places. With this in mind, even the refreshing reliance on female characters and a lack of the more annoying shounen clichés could make Angelic Layer entirely successful.

THE MISSES

Jyu Oh Sei
Although the lush jungle setting briefly made it look promising, Jyu Oh Sei ended up going from weakness to weakness with each passing episode. At first, it was merely a generic and mediocre tale with dislikeable characters and a predictable plot, but unfortunately, worse was in store once the finale rolled around. A painful mixture of pointless plot revelations and cliché action elements, the conclusion was so poor that it not only left a bitter taste in the mouth, but it made the bulk of the series look as excellent as Mushishi in comparison.

Ayakashi Ayashi
To be fair, I only watched one episode of this, so maybe it does improve later on, but after experiencing twenty-five minutes of all-male bathhouse scenes, incomprehensible plot and giant monsters that looked disturbingly like penises, there seemed little point in continuing.

Final Thoughts
Even on closer inspection, BONES seems worthy of their reputation, but as with most things, they are far from infallible. Given what they’ve already delivered, it isn’t unreasonable to have high expectations for their upcoming works, but it would still be unwise to expect every single thing they produce to hit the mark.

From some viewpoints, this may seem a little strange- surely black and white pictures squeezed onto an A5 page cannot compared to something that has colour, movement and sound? Admittedly, this is often case for action series; trying to follow a battle via static images is often a futile cause, but most other genres seem to lose something in the transition from page to screen. Not only is manga a medium in which the audience can easily set their own pace, but a story designed to fill a certain number of pages may simply not adapt well to being squeezed into a set amount of 25 minute episodes- all too often, the pace of the anime becomes too slow at the start and too rushed towards the end. Whilst this is a general complaint, however, there are many other causes which affect specific series, some of which I will try to cover below.

• Catching up with the manga. For long running series, this may mean the inclusion of the dreaded filler arc, anime-original material which rarely lives up to the manga and often drags on forever, but which ultimately keeps the franchise warm.
• Anime original endings. If the manga is still ongoing, or the anime simply doesn’t have enough episodes to cover the whole story, it has no choice but to create its own ending, which all too often is inconclusive and unsatisfying finale that seems destined to make frustrated viewers turn to the manga.
• Sticking too close to the original. There are a number of series which are very successful examples of remaining faithful to the manga, but it can be a bit of a double-edged sword. For a series like Death Note, familiarity with the story adds a degree of impatience to the viewing experience, since there is always a sense of just wanting to get on with it. Viewers may equally not want to waste time and money on experiencing the same story twice over.
• Alternatively, diverging too much is not always wise, as Gonzo’s adaptations often seem to demonstrate. Whenever an element is changed, you run the risk of damaging the very qualities that made the series enjoyable in the first place; arguably it is a risk worth taking to see what new qualities can be brought to the franchise, but it is all too often a gamble that does not pay off.

Contradictory as these points are, they are all factors that must be considered when bringing a manga series to life, and all too often they prove to be stumbling blocks that damage the respective anime.

All that being said, I thought it would be interesting to point out the series that have broken the trend and improved on the foundations of their respective franchises.

Angelic Layer
As I pointed out in my recent review, the Angelic Layer manga isn’t bad, but it does suffer from being very fast paced. In contrast, the anime does perhaps drag on a bit, but it has more time to devote to character and story development. Since each version of the story has its own strengths and weaknesses, I find it hard to pick out which one I prefer, but both are good for some low-demand light entertainment.

Aria
As with several of the other titles to come, Aria is not so much a case of improving on the manga as simply maintaining the standard; whether brought to life by an animation studio or Kozue Amano’s beautiful artwork, the sweet and simple tale of the undines of Neo-Venezia is a touching story that will always have a special place in my heart.

Hikaru no Go
The HnG manga was a good story that could only have been improved by not ending so abruptly, and the fact that the anime was so faithful to the manga (bar some of the later material) means both are worthy of note.

Honey and Clover
Since I haven’t read far enough in the manga to compare it to the original, I won’t comment on Honey and Clover II, but both the first season and the corresponding manga chapters weave an absorbing story of a group of people making the transition (or not) from college life to the real world.

Hunter X Hunter
Whilst HxH is a worthy concept in any form, the manga suffered from rough artwork and an overly fast pace in certain arcs. The anime cleaned things up, added some filler material that was actually good, and generally created a superior product overall.

Kokoro Library
The Kokoro Library manga suffered from its very short chapters; each instalment was more like a brief snapshot of life at the library than something that told any kind of story. In animated form, we were finally able to get to know the characters and setting a lot better, and thus properly enjoy this appealing story.

La Corda d’Oro
It’s still early days for the English manga release, but so far the story hasn’t quite lived up to the animated version- with its sparse page content and less aesthetically pleasing character designs, the manga does not exert the same draw as the anime. There is still plenty of time for it to improve, however, and hopefully it will find its feet soon.

Le Chevalier d’Eon
The first chapter of the Chevalier manga was not at all what I was expecting; where the anime is a historical fantasy that manages to excel despite stepping close to the realms of cheese, the manga seems to be more of a straightforward action series featuring a magical transvestite who switches between laid back bishounen and evil-fighting Otome wannabe.

Mushishi
Be it anime or manga, Mushishi is excellent whatever form it comes in. The anime adds colour and music to the manga stories, but whilst it has superior presentation, the manga has more chapters and thus a wider selection of stories to choose from.

Ouran High School Host Club
Like many comedy series, Ouran is simply that much better in animated form- what can be static and confusing on the page becomes vibrant and enjoyable onscreen. In particular, the manga version suffered from the fact that it was not always possible to tell certain characters apart- a factor which was never a problem in the anime- whilst their respective VAs really brought some additional vitality to the lively characters of the Ouran Host Club.

Pretear
I would hardly call Pretear an especially good story under any circumstances, but the anime and manga complemented each other nicely by offering a slightly different perspective on the same events. Together, they make a mediocre story rather than two poor stories.

Read or Die
Flame me if you like, but I read the first volume of the ROD manga (Die, not Dream), and I didn’t really like it. Much as I liked the idea of seeing Nenene and Yomiko’s past, I couldn’t follow the action, and the dialogue was so heavy that it gave me a headache. I really enjoyed the OVA, but this manga did little for me.

Rozen Maiden
Despite the lack of those little inconsistencies that plagued the anime, the Rozen Maiden manga simply lacks the impact of the animated version. Where the manga has somewhat scrappy and simplistic artwork (and reputedly increased harem leanings as the series progresses), the anime has high quality visuals and music- perfect for establishing the goth-loli atmosphere. Nonetheless, I must read the later volumes to see what the story was meant to be, as opposed to what it was in Traumend.

Tactics
Most Tactics fans prefer the manga and slate the anime, but even if I stand virtually alone in this, I really enjoyed the Tactics anime- despite Kantarou’s hideous personality, it was a worthy fantasy series that filled my need for such an anime. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough- I could do with a second season.

Tokyo Mew Mew
It can’t be denied that the TMM anime is mostly filler, and while that in itself is somewhat tedious, it did give the supporting characters a chance to do something. The manga was so highly focused on Ichigo and her boyfriend that hardly anyone else got a look in, but the anime finally brought the more interesting characters to the fore, even if it was via a monster of the week format.

Final Thoughts
Adapting a story that was conceived with one medium in mind is never an easy task, and whilst most studios are up to producing an anime that is at least reasonably entertaining, more often than not, they simply cannot live up to the original. With that in mind, it isn’t likely that I’ll stop saying ‘the manga is better’ any time soon.

Coming soon: Part Two- anime based on games.

EXTRA ADDITIONS

Koi Kaze
As already mentioned in comments, the Koi Kaze does indeed improve on the manga, taking a story which is solid and turning into something where the viewer becomes completely absorbed by the characters and their situation. A quietly powerful series, Koi Kaze demonstrates just how much colour and sound can enhance a story as opposed to detracting from it.

Pani Poni Dash!
PPD and its original manga share the common trait of being completely and utterly random, but what works onscreen is not always as successful on the page. Watching a colourful and crazy anime can be entertaining, but trying to follow similar events on the page just leads to confusion and an inability to get into the series at all. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than with Pani Poni, which carries the viewer along in anime form, but leaves the reader cold as a manga.

REC
The REC anime may have been a little too short, but at least it was also a reasonably enjoyable mix of drama and romance. In principle, the manga should be better since it takes the story further, but unfortunately, it is not as desirable as it would first seem. Not only do the characters continually get stuck in endless ruts of angst, but the content verges on the uncomfortably adult at times, with everything from an attempted rape to one of the female characters spilling her drink all over her exposed crotch.

]]> http://azureflame.dasaku.net/2006/12/21/can-anime-surpass-its-source-material-part-one-manga-based-series/feed/ 12 http://azureflame.dasaku.net/2006/12/07/second-seasons-second-rate-part-two-remakes-spin-offs-and-alternate-universes/ http://azureflame.dasaku.net/2006/12/07/second-seasons-second-rate-part-two-remakes-spin-offs-and-alternate-universes/#comments Thu, 07 Dec 2006 21:44:59 +0000 Karura http://azureflame.ikimashou.net/?p=414 Those with the ability to recall trivial and largely useless information may recall that some time ago, I wrote an article about second seasons that directly followed on from the first, and whether they were always destined to be inferior to their predecessors. The conclusion seemed to be that, actually, despite the stigma attached to them, there was a fairly even distribution of both good and bad second seasons. Nonetheless, at the time, I promised to cover spin-offs and remakes in a separate article to see how they compared, and now, at long last, that time has come.

Unlike the direct continuations covered before, remakes have a dubious advantage in that there is no need to come up with fresh storyline- the writers merely need to retool the original, presumably improving upon it in the process. Conversely, spin-offs need not be anything like the original; all they need is one or two familiar faces to draw in fans of the franchise, and from there the creative staff are left to their own devices. Despite these key differences, both types of continuation have an air of moneymaking about them, but is it really fair to tar them all with the same brush? Are there some continuations out there which are genuine improvements on the original, or are all they all simply sub par attempts to squeeze the last few drops of money out of a flagging franchise? Naturally, the only way to find out is to look at some examples.

Were these continuations a good thing?
Series in red did not fare so well compared to their respective first seasons; those in black were able to maintain quality or even improve upon it. I’m not going to include the massive headaches that are the Gundam and Macross franchises; not only do they deserve articles of their own, but my incomplete experience of each franchise hardly puts me in a position to be able to write a definitive piece about them. I’ll also be neglecting film and manga spin-offs and remakes for the most part.

.hack second generation
The “first generation” of .hack was already something of a multi-platform moneymaking scheme, but back in those days, the series actually had worth. SIGN was an atmospheric tale with excellent music, the games were oddly addictive, LOT had bright colours, Ouka and a giant grunty and Liminality was…forgivable, at least. Unfortunately, the much anticipated second trip to the well could not live up to the originals- Roots was a slow and dull tales that meandered around insipid characters without even exhibiting signs of a plot, whilst Online Jack was amusing only in its awfulness.

A.D. Police OVA
I haven’t watched the AD Police TV series (completion decrees I must, but enthusiasm puts it off indefinitely), however, the less said about this three episode OVA, the better. Instead of being an interesting alternate perspective on the BGC universe, AD Police is a generic cyberpunk series that might as well have been set in any dystopian future. Unless you have a hankering for naked androids, blood, and generic characters, there isn’t much incentive to watch this.

Ah! My Goddess TV
Given the length of the AMG manga, a five episode OVA didn’t really seem enough, but unfortunately, the TV series remake took things to the other extreme by choosing to continue for too long. With a premise that is basically nothing more than light harem entertainment, short and sweet is far more desirable than long and drawn out, and thus the TV series was doomed to get old eventually- especially when it ran into its second season.

Adventures of Mini-Goddess
A spin-off of five minute episodes featuring the adventures of the chibi goddesses and rat Gan-chan, Mini-Goddess had some cute character designs but little else going for it. Over the course of its forty eight episodes, Mini-Goddess occasionally managed to breach the realms of light entertainment, only to quickly sink back down into the domain of the pointless and bizarre (or, in the case of the mould monster Gabira, the sickeningly disgusting).

Akane Maniax
Having thoroughly enjoyed the drama of KgNE, it seemed only right to try this OVA spin-off featuring supporting character Akane. Unfortunately, the OVA also featured a new character in the form of mecha and baseball fanatic Gouda, a personality so irritating that he seemed to be the ultimate fusion of all the brash and moronic testosterone-addled males that had come before him. Although there were some vaguely touching moments in the third and final episode, the vast majority of this OVA was something of a chore to get through.

Angel Links
A spin-off series set in the Outlaw Star universe, Angel Links shifts the action away from Gene Starwind and his band of outlaws, instead choosing to focus on teen prodigy Meifon Li, captain of the starship Angel Links. To its credit, Angel Links tried to include an interesting plot that slowly unfolded over the course of the series, but without the likable cast and vibrant energy of Outlaw Star, it could only manage a generic and clichéd space story.

Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040
A remake of the original Bubblegum Crisis OVA, Tokyo 2040 is often criticised by hardcore BGC fans for altering the characters’ personalities, but whilst this TV series is the kind of thing you can only really enjoy when you’re just getting into anime, I have to say I find it an improvement on the original. The story may have lost momentum and even coherence towards the end, but the 26 episode length provided valuable opportunities for character development, whilst the basic character designs were cleaner and more refined.

Erementar Gerad: Flag of Blue Sky
I freely admit that I have only read a single chapter of this spin-off manga, but even at this early stage it lacks the appeal of the original. The artwork is still as excellent as ever, but action scenes are confusing to the point of making it entirely unclear what is going on, whilst a promo video I watched paints this series as a somewhat generic cross between Burst Angel and The Third.

Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu
This alternate universe comedic take on the FMP universe is my personal favourite from all three series; as FMP proved in the first series, it simply isn’t very good at tackling serious storylines, so what better step to take than to remove them entirely? Admittedly, I had my qualms before viewing it, but Fumoffu actually turned out to be a light-hearted and consistently amusing experience that entertained without ever outstaying its welcome.

Futakoi Alternative
Where Futakoi was a standard harem story with the twist that all the love interests were twins, Alternative kept the twins and threw everything else out in its attempt to make a sequel that only bore the vaguest of resemblances to the original. Each series is enjoyable, but for its own reasons- Futakoi is light, harmless entertainment, whilst Alternative is a strangely addictive combination of likable characters and completely bizarre situations. Admittedly, it could be argued that they don’t even need to be considered part of the same franchise, but it is actually interesting to pick up on their few common threads without having enjoyment of one series overshadowed by memories of the other.

Future Hero Retro Story
Another Outlaw Star spin-off, this prequel manga features a boy from Earth who inherits his grandfather’s spaceship; as potentially entertaining as it might sound, however, the mangaka has packed so much action and craziness into each page that it is very difficult to even follow the story.

Ginga Densetsu Weed
Weed and Gin are held in such regard by their devoted following that I always feel guilty about critiquing them, but that’s never stopped me before, so I’m not going to hold back now. Weed was something I could actually watch- it was an odd mix of shounen clichés, bloody violence and brown dogs, but it was perfect for parodying. Unfortunately, at fourteen years its senior, the original Gin series had not weathered well enough to entertain me as much as Weed did; the screencaps reveal an amusing HARD GAY trend, but the actual story does not enthral.

Hellsing Ultimate
Personally, I’m not all that enthused by the Hellsing franchise as a whole, but the OVA remake at least has the crowd-pleaser of not being animated by Gonzo sticking closer to the original material.

Kanon 2006
My feelings on Kanon should already be well known, but in the interests of completion, I’ll summarise them here. Whilst I’m not the biggest fan of either version of Kanon, the Toei version had the advantage of pacing, whereas KyoAni can only go so far in its attempts to balance treacle-slow development and an overly sarcastic lead with top quality animation. Admittedly, Kanon 2006 has some way to go, but right now it is struggling even to be parody worthy.

Mai-Otome
Ah, Mai-Otome, what haven’t I already said about the disappointment that you brought? Suffice to say that whilst HiME was hardly perfect, it did at least contain action scenes and a plot, elements that Otome did not seem to feel it was necessary to include. Perhaps Otome could have gone somewhere if it had had 26 more episodes, but as it stands, it just strung us along for the seventeen weeks it took to realise that it was never going to deliver.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
Although Nanoha went on to eclipse its predecessor Triangle Heart in terms of popularity, I have to admit that I would rather have seen a Triangle Heart TV series. Where Nanoha was always something of an on the rails magical girl show which traded on its production values and loli appeal, Triangle Heart offered a more interesting premise by casting Nanoha’s siblings as a pair of sword wielding bodyguards.

Paradise Kiss
Both ParaKiss and its prequel Gokinjo Monogatari are similar stories about a group of students at the Yazawa School of Arts, but where Gokinjo was a slow starter that sometimes felt like a bit of a struggle to get through, ParaKiss is a sharper, faster-paced experience. The animated version also benefits from actually looking as stylish as a fashion series needs to be- a far cry from the ugliness of the Gokinjo anime.

Parasite Dolls
Yet another Bubblegum Crisis spin-off, this three episode OVA collects together a trio of stories about a secret branch of the AD Police- unfortunately, it suffers from the exact same problems as the previous AD Police OVA. The characters are insipid, the stories are standard, and there really is no reason to care about anything that happens. It’s a shame, as this could have actually been a decent spin-off if it had been a full TV series.

Pretty Sammy
Even Tenchi had a spin at magical girls with this OVA (which later spawned a TV series of its own). Unfortunately, despite its apparent attempts to be a tongue-in-cheek parody of a standard magical girl series, it ended up as nothing more than a clichéd example of the very genre it was trying to mock. Aside from some decent character designs and the novelty of seeing familiar Tenchi characters cast in different roles, there isn’t much to recommend this.

Tenchi Universe
The first Tenchi TV series retells the Kagato story from the first OVA, and whilst purists always insist on putting it in second place, I have a confession to make- I saw Tenchi Universe before I even touched the OVAs, and it is actually my favourite incarnation of this story arc. Despite the inevitable filler that crept in, the series was able to explore the characters a lot more over the course of 26 episodes, and can also lay claim to having one of the most well-resolved endings of any anime series (I still feel a pang of emotion when “Dimension of Love” begins to play).

Tenchi in Tokyo
Conversely, the second TV series chose to tell a completely original story, and marked the beginning of the franchise’s downward spiral. A monster of the week series with generic enemies, reused jokes and awful animation, Tenchi in Tokyo has a few entertaining moments, but even hardcore fans are disinclined to praise it.

Tenchi GXP
The third Tenchi TV series, GXP is actually set in the same universe as the original OVAs, but introduces an entirely new cast of characters. Unfortunately, what could be an interesting story about life as a Galaxy Police officer turns out to be nothing more than an over-the-top and fanservice laden harem series that makes the original Tenchi look tame. The gimmick of making the lead a young man with incredibly bad luck is also one that gets old fast, and is only the first in a long line of jokes that the series runs into the ground.

Sakura Wars TV

A retelling of the first Sakura Wars OVA, Sakura Wars TV encapsulates both the good and bad aspects of a typical OVA to TV series transition. The plot may err on the side of the monster of the week formula, but the added episode count offers the opportunity to fully explore the characters, even if Reni and Orihime are unable to get in on the act.

X TV
Neither a two hour movie nor a 24 episode series can really do justice to an 18 volume manga series, but clearly the latter has a better chance of at least conveying the essence of the story. Where the movie made so little sense that it was hard to even remember the characters’ names afterwards, the anime was a lot more coherent. It may have diverged from the manga in the latter half and been in sore need of a second season, but for now, it is the best animated adaptation of X that we have.

Final Thoughts
Based on the number of titles in red, it seems that remakes and spin-offs are even worse at living up to their predecessors than direct continuations. Whether retelling a story or creating an entirely new one in the same universe, perhaps it is just too much work to completely step out of the shadow of the original.

Tournament series are hardly uncommon in anime and manga, and at first glance, Angelic Layer appears to be more of the same- there’s the newcomer with an almost superhuman aptitude for her chosen game, assorted friends and rivals, and of course the obligatory qualities of friendship and determination. Nonetheless, the series also comes with a few key differences- not only is the whole story over within a relatively brief five volumes, but in a shocking turn of events, the cast is predominantly female.

Admittedly, these alterations may seem fairly minor in the grand scheme of things, but as someone who is thoroughly fed with seeing the genre dominated by males whilst the female characters are worse than useless, it is a refreshing change to see the girls take centre stage for once. Better still, there is a complete absence of villainous characters trying to take over the world through a children’s game; instead, everyone who plays Angelic Layer participates simply for the fun of it.

Whilst Angelic Layer certainly benefits from abandoning some of the more annoying tournament series clichés, it has to be said that the series is far from perfect. The short length may mean that it is in no danger of losing momentum, but it also makes the series almost too fast-paced; most arcs are forced into the formulaic “Misaki starts losing but makes a comeback through the powers of friendship” mould, whilst the extensive cast barely gets any development at all. Admittedly, the animated version could be a little cloyingly slow in places, but with the manga adopting the opposite extreme, neither version of the story really does justice to the original concept.

Given that the series was created and drawn by CLAMP, it may not seem unreasonable to expect a high standard of artwork, but surprisingly, Angelic Layer is a bit of a letdown when it comes to the visuals. The basic character designs and close-ups are pleasing enough, but the majority of the manga is drawn in a rough style not dissimilar from the early chapters of Tsubasa. Backgrounds are basic; solid blacks and whites are favoured over more complex shading and screentone; and distance shots are simplistic to the point of having the characters look like a cross between a paper cut-out and an octopus. Even action scenes suffer, with some of the impacts and explosions looking like little more than rough sketches.

Final Thoughts
Although it is certainly an entertaining diversion, Angelic Layer’s weak artwork and average story ensure that this is the weak link in CLAMP’s chain of prolific releases; in fact, this may be one of the few cases where the anime is arguably better the original manga. Unless you’re a hardcore CLAMP fan or have simply run out of other things to read, Angelic Layer shouldn’t be considered a priority for acquisition.