In another case of “don’t judge a book by its cover”, we have Angel Densetsu, a silly premise of a guy who has an incredibly scary face, made a lot better thanks to a very capable director. The budget of Angel Densetsu is very low, but despite that the timing of the different shots, plus the impact they make, is impeccable.
If there’s anything that this OVA is good at, it’s creating an atmosphere with minimal resources. The artwork in this series is simple, but it can be downright freaky at times, and the way in which everyone is just completely terrified of the lead character creates a wonderful little atmosphere here.
The story itself is just downright bad though. I mean, the dialogue and the scenario are just terrible and shatter any sense of suspense of disbelief. The story tries to portray this guy with a scary face but a heart of gold, but his inner monologues make it sound more like he’s some kind of deranged lunatic. His naivety also knows no bounds. Even in the most obvious cases, he sees no sense of hostility towards him at all. Heck, this guy makes Sawako from Kimi ni Todoke look like Stephen Fry in comparison.
The characters around him also make an elephant out of the tiniest mosquito around him, just to keep the story and the misunderstandings around this guy going. The big problem with Angel Densetsu is that it’s ridiculously forced. Not to mention that it’s based on a much larger manga, and that it just ends right after introducing a bunch of story-lines, making it more a commercial than an actual story. Check it out only if you’re looking for a good atmosphere, otherwise, give it a pass.
OVA Episode Rating: 7.25/10
I remember I read some chapters of the manga a few years ago, it was quite funny but I never finished it… Also your characterization of the main character is spot on.
btw the Angel Densetsu manga is from the same guy who writes Claymore, just felt like mentioning it.
today is my day to disagree with you, but I really like what you have to say even when I don’t agree with your viewpoint.
I have always loved this story and know it very well. For me the anime was just what I expected but better because the art was so good. The manga really had awful art to start with so the anime shines in comparison.
Somehow this story touched me with it’s simplistic style and fantasy world. I really got drawn into the place and the people.
The writer got really much better as the story went forward.
I think the story is very much worth looking into past the two episodes. I don’t think anyone has translated more than the first ova? have they?
I know this is not a manga review so it’s hard to fault your review of just the anime.
Yes it’s got some problems first and it’s a bit had to believe in at the start. Yet, I still found the anime to be very enjoyable.
Ahaha I remember reading the manga for a bit. I haven’t seen the OVA, but I really enjoyed the story as manga. I often found myself laughing or pitying our main character or … I think it was hilarious. I liked the characters. have to check out the anime, too.
I’m a fan of the manga, so I was glad that someone finally subbed the OAV.
I definitely agree that the author got much better in terms of both writing and art as the series progressed. A lot of the early parts of the Angel Densetsu are downright weak compared to later on.
The OAV… mostly got laughs for all the reaction shots.
Oh snap, there’s an Angel Densetsu OVA? Thanks for bringing this to attention with these retro review thingies. Gotta go look for ’em now.
I’mma big fan of the manga. I suppose the opening chapters could face the cliche problems you’re speaking of, but like many series, it gets better, especially as we get to know the characters more. Really, the big gimmick of this series are the misunderstandings. These differ from your usual manga/anime misunderstandings in that they get blown totally out of proportion. In one page, a guy can be mistaken as a yakuza because he’s wearing black, but by the next page or two, the rumor mill would make him out to be a terminator-esque yakuza assassin who lost his family and now kills without remorse and is feared by his yakuza bosses etc.
So yeah, time to find the OVA. It might not be very good, but at least it’s more AD.
Oh, and here’s an example of what I’m talking about…
http://4.p.s.mfcdn.net/store/manga/138/08-039.0/compressed/Angel_Densetsu_v08_118.jpg