Angel Sanctuary (2001)

ridiculous rating

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

This is a very good anime. It may sound weird, but you just have to see it. I own it and love it!! Its worth Every penny!!!! I had my doubts with this, as many did I'm sure. But I saw it and fell in love...its awesome. The storyline is about a brother in love with his sister, but its so deeper than that. Trust me. Buy it, You wont regret it! The cost is that much, considering your getting one kick butt anime. People always back away from this anime, because of the incest part...trust me, its not as bad as you think. Its a war between Angels and Demons...Angels are revolting against God. I give this anime a 10, its freaking great!!!!

This is the sad story of Setsuna Mudo, a 16 year old high school student who is in love with his younger sister, Sara. It turns out, a host of demons and angels are after his soul, as he is the reincarnation of Organic angel Alexiel, an angel who, disgusted with her fellow angels, declares a revolt against God. I'll stop there so I don't reveal anything, I hate it when people do that.I think that this is a truely epic story. Sure incest is wrong, and Setsuna and Sara both know that they will pay for their sins, but their love is less a desire of the flesh, and more of a soulmate sort of bond. You wind up rooting for them in the end, because they are really the innocents of the story.I loved the powerful relationships, especially that of Kira and his father. Kira is by far my favorite character, but all the characters are easy to relate to, Setsuna is denyed what he really wants, Sara is heartbroken, Kira, torn between what he was and what he is, and Kurai(sp?) searching for her hero.Try it, and try to put the incest out of you mind. Be open, and you may be surprised.

After I saw this film I tried to start a discussion of it on a manga board, only to find myself being branded as a 'sicko'. One of the central themes to Angel Sanctuary is the love affair between the hero and his sister, a theme that many are given to dismiss out of hand as perverted without actually having seen the film. It is therefore perhaps ironic that the exploration of a consensual incestous relationship is one of Angel Sanctuary's greatest strengths. The whole thing is handled with sensitivity, and one truly feels for the heros torment when he declares "I am weird, I am abnormal, I am condemned by my mother, by all of them". There is no graphic sex, and the couple's one carnel indulgence is implied rather than actually shown.As to the rest of the story, Angel Sanctuary has a cast of colourful characters, including the heros deranged angel brother and a pair of cross-dressing demons,all fighting to either eliminate him or recruit him to assist in their war against heaven. Some may find the idea of god being the enemy offensive, though I personally do not.I would go as far as to describe Angel Sanctuary as one of the best anime that I have ever seen.

Angel Sanctuary is quite a complicated anime. It is not meant for young viewers or ones that get weirded out by certain love interests. Kaori Yuki has a very unigue style of art that is both mysterious and beautifull. This anime is probably one of her best works. It is about an angel that rebelled against God and lost, thus being reborn as a human boy. However now, Angels and Demons alike flock towards his awaking, thirsting for battle that only Alexiel can bring.