Angel Sanctuary, Vol. 17

天使禁猟区 [Tenshi Kinryōku] #17

by Kaori Yuki

Now that his rivals are out of the way, Angel Rosiel's plans to control Heaven are moving forward, with Lucifer at his side, and Sandalphon under his control. But the Angel of Judgment Uriel is trying to unite the opposition by arranging a meeting between himself and Setsuna on one side, and the Elemental Angels Michael and Raphael on the other. Sandalphon himself has his own ideas and escapes captivity. To fulfill his destiny as destroyer of the world, he needs a physical body, and Sara is the key. Now the race is on to see who will find Sara first: Setsuna and the rebels, or the angel of the apocalypse!

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

200 pages, Paperback

First published April 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

[Jenny Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is gaining in action, and I really wonder about Rosiel now... what happened to him and what is wrong with him??? Sandlphon is creepy as all get out but it's also sad to see how his life went. Reading some of Yuki's comments, it seams that a lot of the names and roles of the angels are actually based on Christianity, though some have been changed. Lots of action now too.
It bugs me a tad that Uriel now calls Setsuna Alex. I get that it's short for Alexial but he was never called that before so it bothers me a bit... Small plot holes!
"How do you like the taste of your own nightmare nightmare eater?"

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like any other Angel Sanctuary,this was filled with action,drama and plot.
Things are finally starting to take shape into what will come at the ending.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slowly running out of Angel Sanctuary books to read, AHHH!
Actual rating 3.5

[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]

Beim erstmaligen aufschlagen war ich von diesem siebzehnten Angel Sanctuary Manga am meisten begeistert. Das Titelbild ist zweiseitig und zeigt von Kopf bis Fuß, nochmal alle bisher relevanten Hauptpersonen auf einem Gruppenbild. Ok, Rosiel fehlt, aber auf den kann man auch ruhig verzichten - er hat sich schließlich eine lange Zeit ziemlich rar gemacht.

Was mir auf den ersten Blick auch richtig gut gefallen hat, waren die Zeichnungen. Schon seit einigen Bänden sind sie nicht mehr so "verzerrt", wie im ersten Band, sondern richtig schön ausgearbeitet und detailliert. Es gab einige hoheitsvolle Szenen, mittersüße Momente und jede Menge Düsterness und Himmelslicht. Die einzelnden Szenen waren immer perfekte Portraits und haben Stimmung und Emotion sehr schön wiedergespiegelt. In diesem Band erreicht diese Perfektion eine neue Stufe und ich habe mehr gefallen an den Zeichnungen gefunden, als an den Dialogen.

In diesem Band stürmt ein Protagonist ins Rampenlicht, den man bisher absolut nicht auf dem Schirm hatte. Metatrons Zwilling Sandalphon sorgt für mächtig Wirbel und seine Zeichnungen, die richtig dämonisch und furchteinflößend auf mich wirkten, haben klar ausgedrückt, was der Leser von diesem Charakter erwarten kann. Auf den letzten Metern bis zum finalen zwanzigsten Band wird es also nochmal richtig wild und noch unberechenbarer als die Handlung bisher war.

Richtig gut hat mir diesmal Raphael gefallen, der Setsuna herausfordert. Da waren wieder Momente dabei, wo man grinsen, den Kopf schütteln und die Luft anhalten konnte. Einfach klasse. Auch Michael und Kato - meine zwei männlichen, heimlichen Helden, die mich mit ihrer direkten, humorvollen und kämpferisch tolpatschigen Art schon immer begeistern konnten - haben diesem Band ihren Sehr gut zu lesen Stempel aufgedrückt.
Und ich liebe Metatron ♥

Das Ende war ebenfalls eines der schönsten aller bisher gelesenen Angel Sanctuary Mangas. Einfach wunderschön.

Für Sara und Setsuna Fans gibt dieser Band ebenfalls einiges her, was mir saumäßig gut gefallen hat. Die Zeichnungen haben jede Menge Zärtlichkeit ausgestrahlt - man kann sich also in jede Szene gut hineinversetzen. Die düsteren Sprenkeln dazwischen sollte man aber nicht aus den Augen lassen!

Dieser siebzehnte Band ist definitiv der Beste, sowohl von Handlung, als auch den Zeichnungen. Es ist mir noch nie so leicht gefallen die Emotionen rauslesen zu können, wie jetzt. Kaori Yuki beweist wieder einmal, wie wandelbar sie zeichnen kann und schafft es dabei den Leser immer mehr und mehr zu verblüffen. Die Steigerungen von Band zu Band sind einfach großartig. Und jedes Mal denke ich, das kann nicht getoppt werden, bis ich den nächsten Band beendet habe und weiß, ok! Es geht doch noch besser!

[Nightshade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considering this is the 17th volume of this series and I haven't read the previous 16, it held up very well on it's own. The 'Story so far' section at the beginning of the book gave a really good summary of who the characters were and how they were related to each other, meaning it took me very little time to get a grasp of who was who and what was going on.
Even having only just been introduced to these characters I was intrigued by Sandalphon's story line, was worried for Sara and routing for Setsuna.
I really enjoyed the art style and character designs of this story, making it very enjoyable to read.

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Your left arm rotted and fell off? Well, my brain fell out of my head when I read this volume.

[Anja · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm just reading it to complete the series.

[kuristina- tabreez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Setsuna, Uriel, and the rebel angels, Michael and Raphael, must get to Etenamenki to see Adam Kadamon, *before* Rosiel and his minions! If anyone other than Setsuna and his group were to open the door to the highest level of Heaven where Adam Kadamon and God is said to reside, their intentions would only be to destroy and conquer. So, with Rosiel gaining more power, especially with the inorganic resurrection of Kira as Lucifer, Uriel sets up a meeting with Setsuna, himself, and the two rebels angels. But a love triangle that has formed with Setsuna, Raphael, and Sara lead straight to a fist fight between the two angels. However, a truce is called and they race back to where Raphael had been keeping Sara, only to find her raped by Sandalphon in the form of Setsuna! (Although she went quite willingly, thinking it was Setsuna). Sandalphon wishes to have a woman bear his child so that he may take the body of the child as his own and destroy and devour every angel and everything else that may exude light. With insane and impregnated Lailah having killed herself, his best target now is Sara! And it seems she is very delighted to have his baby!


This volume deserves every bit of the four stars I give it. It was moving, scary, sensual (God, I liked Sara's rape scene way too much), and deep. This series is like a cross between Supernatural and Pandora Hearts, which have both been with me for much of my prepubescent years. I suppose Angel Sanctuary will be the one to always stick with me from my adolescent years, huh? c: (Although Pandora Hearts too, I suppose. As for Supernatural, I consider the new seasons since season 8 to be shit, so I don't watch it much anymore).
I've also decided that I despise Sandalphon. ._. Still not as much as Rosiel though.
I'm on the edge of my seat, biting my nails, wondering if Sara will ever go back to being normal, because apparently sex with Sandalphon will turn a woman into a baby-brained psycho. (...HAH.) Poor Setsuna, though... I feel safe to say that I love Setsuna. He feels almost, no, he does feel like a real person to me. Volume 17 feels really close to 20, the end. And it makes me sad thinking that I'll never see any of these characters again, especially Setsuna.
Because Kaori Yuki-sensei has killed off so many characters that I like, I think I've emotionally clung to Setsuna as an anchor, thinking "as long as Setsuna is still alive it's okay", but that's bad. Because once a book or series ends, so does the life of that character. And then all that is left is the memory, because no new memories watching that character can ever be created again. It isn't impossible to reanalyze their actions and choices, but it also the same for a dead person that was never a fictional character, now isn't it?
I'm also worried that Kira and Kato's dispute excites me, but I'm not really rooting for either one of them. I am kind of leaning toward Kato though. But Kira used to be one of my favorite characters. You know, after I think about it, I shouldn't be worried. Because I have thought since volume 16 that this form of Lucifer is no longer Kira, and there is no hope of him ever coming back. When Setsuna witnessed Rosiel tearing him to pieces, that was the last he would ever have seen of the true Kira. This Lucifer has done nothing but desecrate Kira's image for everyone, and will continue to do so. I think that I will be shocked, and disappointed in the plot, if Kira comes back, because there is no longer any soul or life in that body.

[Michael Schmid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich habe diesen Band wieder nicht aus der Hand legen können. Das, was Kaori Yuki mit Angel Sanctuary geschaffen hat ist so unglaublich gewaltig und gefühlvoll, dass man gar nicht fassen kann, dass dies alles aus der Feder eines Menschen kommt.

Seit die Geschichte im Himmel spielt folgt ein Highlight das nächste und endlich kommt ganz viel Luzifer darin vor. Aber auch Setsuna wird immer mehr zum Messias und ach, alles ist so unglaublich schön, emotional, stimmig, brutal, mitreißend, philosophisch und noch vieles mehr.

Man muss, wenn man einen Band von Angel Sanctuary aufschlägt, einfach in diese Welt eintauchen und alles um sich herum vergessen. Ich kann den letzten Band kaum noch erwarten.

Leute … KAUFEN !!!

Ich schwärme immer noch *.*

[Jody Mena · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Vanlilith]

-