Angel Sanctuary, Volume 16

天使禁猟区 [Tenshi Kinryōku] #16

by Kaori Yuki

High-schooler Setsuna, already burdened with an incestuous love for his sister, finds he has more problems when his past life, as an angel who rebelled against heaven, comes back to haunt him and the people he loves.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Romance, Angels, Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Kaori Yuki (由貴香織里) is a Japanese manga artist.

She debuted in 1987 with Natsufuku no Erii (Jap: 夏服のエリー) on the manga anthology Bessatsu Hana to Yume published by Hakusensha.
She is best known for her gothic manga works, such as the Earl Cain series (Jap: 伯爵カイン, Hakushaku Cain) and Angel Sanctuary (Jap: 天使禁猟区, Tenshi Kinryōku)

Her work is typically serialized in one of Hakusensha's two shōjo manga anthologies, Bessatsu Hana to Yume and Hana to Yume. In 2010, Kaori Yuki was one of many manga artists whose work would appear in the new shōjo manga anthology Aria by the publisher Kodansha on July 28, 2010.
Her doujinshi-ka name is MoonClock.

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great novel in the Angel Sanctuary series!

[Bibliothecat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for complete series



No matter how hard he tries, Setsuna always manages to run into trouble, and his love for his sister is just one of many things that seem to be going wrong. It is only when two demons appear and make his life an even bigger mess that Setsuna comes to realise all his misfortunes might be linked to the fallen angel Alexiel.

I would definitely consider Angel Sanctuary a great and classic manga. But for all that, I am sure it does not appeal to everyone. In addition to the incestuous relationship between Setsuna and his sister Sara, there are drugs and alcohol, gruesome murders and mutilations, rape, child murder, a twisted view on religion and god, suicide, characters whose minds turn grotesque and obsessive - the list goes on. These are subjects that might be very appealing to some, but also very problematic for others.

I belong to the latter - usually, these subjects would automatically cause me to stay clear from such a book. It is truly a macabre tale, and that's just the way Kaori Yuki's works go. Yet despite my reluctance to give such subjects a try, I can say that whether one likes it or not, there's no denying that this is a brilliantly crafted story with an impressive amount of meaningful characters.

Kaori Yuki's art and stories all suffer and gain from the same thing: the sheer mass of detail. Her art is absolutely gorgeous with all the fine hair and cloth and just all the immense details. But at times, it can make the pages overcrowded and confusing - it certainly takes a longer time to read than your average manga. The story is at times likewise confusing as anything - it can be hard to keep track of which panels come first. But it's the wonderfully interwoven plot that remains a solid point throughout. The smallest details from the first volume can become relevant in the later ones and there is one plot twist after the another. There's never a boring moment as we follow Setsuna unravelling all the intrigues that surround the large cast.

Although I would consider the plot a strong point of this work, it is yet the characters who seem to turn it into something special. I have rarely come across a manga with so many characters who all have diverse and deep personalities. You get to love and hate all of them as even the most villainous ones prove to have something very humane and rather pitiful about them. In the end, one wonders - who was the true villain, if there was one at all? But with all the variety, there's no denying that the majority of them are broken characters. Every one of them seems to be involved in one twisted mess or another.

Luckily, there are great bonds of love, friendship and family that stand strong throughout the story and every now and then offer a well deserved comic relief. Angel Sanctuary is most certainly worth a try for any who enjoy strong character-driven stories that'll leave you with a hard time picking out a favourite character.

[Lesedelfin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wahnsinn! Es ist einfach der helle Wahnsinn, was dieser sechzehnte Band alles hergibt! Er übertrifft seine Vorgänger wieder einmal. Sevothtarte wird die Maske vom Gesicht gerissen und was dahinter hervorkommt, ist mehr als eine bloße Enthüllung, soviel sei versprochen. Es öffnen sich wieder Handlungen, die zunächst leicht verwirrend sind. Ein zweiter Blick zum besseren Verständnis ist also immer gut. Meine Fresse... Ich habe ja mit allem gerechnet, aber damit? Wow... ;)
Dieser Band gibt soviele Highlights her und diese enorme, stimmengewaltige und kriegerische Story verständlich in so wenige Seiten zu packen, ist wirklich beeindruckend.

Rosiel ist in diesem Band allgegenwärtig. Gott, wie ich ihn hasse xD Seine Arroganz und wie er sich die Niederlagen seiner Feinde zu Nutze macht, sind wirklich grauenvoll. Soviel Text und Action hatte er bisher die gesamten restlichen Bände nicht - also kommen seine Fans voll auf ihre Kosten. Ich denke über ihn und seine Handlungen wird Yuki noch vieles zu Tage fördern können und mir graut es jetzt schon vor dem weiterlesen.

Sara und Setsuna - mit denen Angel Sanctuary seinen Anfang nahm - lassen ein Wiedersehen immer noch vermissen und so langsam könnte das meiner Meinung nach ruhig mal in die Pötte kommen. Wenn es erst im letzten Band dazu kommt, muss ich leider in die Tischkante beißen :D
Setsuna's Charakter hat sich im Laufe der Bände immer weiter entwickelt und mir fehlt ein klein wenig seine Leichtigkeit und der mitreißende Humor in schlechten Zeiten.

Besonders toll fand ich die Momente mit Metatron. Er ist so ein süßes Kind und man kann die Macht in ihm schnell vergessen. Über ihn wird man noch mehr erfahren, da bin ich mir sicher, denn die Story, die Yuki rund um ihn aufgebaut hat, beweist viel Drama und Überraschungen.

Band sechzehn zeigt, wie umfangreich diese erschaffene Welt ist. Das Himmelskapitel hatte schon einiges in Petto und konnte mit großartigen Engelscharakteren sehr überzeugen. So sehr ich Kurai liebe - das Höllenkapitel war vergleichsweise eine sanfte Kutschfahrt.

Ich liebe diese Mangareihe mit jedem gelesenen Band mehr und mehr! (Und wiederhole mich ständig xD)

[Jenny Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of action and blood in this volume, plot is progressing and consequences are becoming bigger and bigger. I'm pretty interested in this manga so far, and really enjoy the characters for the most part.

[Sinistre · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tot i que fa temps que no m'agrada la saga, li dono dos punts. Veure la revelation del nou cos d'en Kira i que fos un antic avatar famosíssim dels fòrums de rol dels anys 2000 ha estat molt PEC (por el culo) xddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is longer than it should be.

[Anja · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm just reading it to complete the series.

[Дени ★ Проданова · Rating 3 out of 5]

Имаше много гор, много кръв, много смърт. Розиел блести със злост, наглост, противност и стил. Определено има стил. Сякаш винаги е една крачка напред. Да докара някого до лудост е нак-върховноро забавление за него (и според мен е най-добрия начин да нараниш някого) и определено се справя превъзходно.

[Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um...delicious. This book is gonna send me to hell for all the squeeing and giggling it made me do over Lucifer ;-)

[Jody Mena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this entire series. Kaori Yuki is a masterful storyteller and a talented artist.

[Vanlilith]

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