Suzuhara Misaki arrives in Tokyo alone on a train. She has no idea what to expect from a big city like this. The first thing she sees when she exits the train station is a huge television displaying an Angelic Layer battle. She doesn't know what it is (yet) but is mesmerized and just stares at the screen, forgetting everything else.

Awetano Wins! The bigger and stronger angel got defeated by the smaller and weaker Awetano. Misaki is hooked. A conveniently present stranger, Ich-chan, explains Misaki about Angelic Layer, and takes her shopping for her very Angelic Egg and everything else she needs to create her very own angel. Shortly after, Hikaru is born.

In Angelic Layer the deus (operator) controls his or her angel through a telepathic linking device. Once in the layer, the angel will respond to its dues's thoughts as if they were its own. This makes the angels extremely fast and the fights spectacular. A pretty cool concept.

Misaki was sent to Tokyo to live with her mothers sister and go to school. She thinks her mother is busy with work, while in reality she is bound to a wheelchair and does not want her daughter to see her like that.

Suzuhara quickly becomes friends with two classmates. Kotaro is a somewhat shy but friendly boy. His sister, Hatoko is a veteran in Angelic Layer while still in preschool. Tamayo is a free spirit that always finds a way to put Kotaro in some martial arts move she just learned.

There is not much of a plot in Angelic Layer, rather we follow Misaki and her friends throughout her way to the top in Angelic Layer. Some side stories include her mother and other personal affairs, but they are dealt with throughout each episode. You can see everything coming a mile away.

I would like to stress that Angelic Layer is a much better anime than pokemon, digimon or any other 'throw out a creature and fight' anime. The big difference is the characters. Even though the story is no mystery, the characters are well developed and seem to grow as the show goes on.

Since Misaki is only 12 and her friends are around the same age, a certain cuteness factor will appeal to the younger viewers. The fight scenes are neatly done and a lot more sophisticated than your average action anime.

I dont realy know how to rate this show since it is not in my main area of interest. I enjoyed watching it, but would not stay home for it. In its genre it would definetly rate among the top. I give it an 8/10

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