 |
|
|
 |
|
by Luis Reyes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Episode 1
High school student Setsuna Mudo has a quick temper, which gets him into fights, and a little sister, Sara, who
gets him hot and bothered. Ruminating on his unnatural attraction to his sibling, Setsuna encounters a mystical
form that addresses him as Alexiel. These strange happenings, coupled with vicious taunting by a pair of
mischievous fallen angels trying to goad him into a fight, confound Setsuna. Apparently, Inorganic Angel Alexiel
challenged the leadership of God (who had let his angels grow weak with lust and violence) and was separated into
mind, body and soul. The body was killed, the soul encased in a crimson gem, and the mind re-incarnated as
Setsuna. Inorganic Angel Rosiel, Alexiel's brother, also re-emerges (with the help of a sycophantic Katan, whose
motives remain cryptic at best) to try to seduce the sister (Alexiel) that tried to kill him millennia ago.
Setsuna, a rather sensitive, easily provoked adolescent, finds it difficult to deal with this - especially while
also convincing his mother and his sister that his incestuous proclivities are merely an emotional prevarication
spurred by being a rather sensitive, easily provoked adolescent.
Episode 2
Alexiel's resurrection will leave the material world badly scarred; Sara's mother is sending her to an English
convent to quell mounting amour between her and her brother; Setsuna's best friend Kira is a guardian angel torn
between wanting Alexiel's return and protecting Alexiel's decision to be Setsuna. The plot thickens. At school,
a circulating picture of Setsuna and Sara captioned with an accusation of incest destroys Setsuna's reputation and
he sinks deeper into maniacal despair. Kira pacifies Setsuna's angst with earnest understanding, just as Rosiel
descends on them both … and Alexiel unleashes her wrath, opening Setsuna to unthinkable possibilities. Katan,
convinced that Rosiel will only return to heaven if Alexiel dies again, vows to murder Setsuna.
Episode 3
Having murdered through Alexiel, Setsuna is saved from legal prosecution by Kira, who is also beginning to feel
the appeal of being human by taking the blame for a classmate's murder. This leaves Setsuna free to run off with
Sara, away from the chastising social mores that brand their love as an unholy union. But the battle between
heaven and hell comes to claim Setsuna, forcing Alexiel to make a stand against God yet again.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Incestuous relationships, sacrilegious themes and a narrative that winds through real life, celestial realms
and a vivid dreamscape - "Angel Sanctuary" enraptures. Layered with Christian imagery, the crux of the story
rests with Alexiel's decision to remain human as Setsuna and the tragedy that this decision entails. Unfortunately
the ambitious attempt to cram the myriad complexities of the manga into this three-episode saga elbows out the
nuances of Alexiel's tragedy, letting the incest taboo usurp a genuinely moving story.
The restrictive format isn't helped by an exasperating script that crowds the drama with a plodding explanation
of the back story; unnecessary considering the narrow scope of a ninety-minute project. But director Kiyoko Sayama
evades these pitfalls to realize manga Kaori Yuki's creation visually. Even as narration drones on about
peripheral details of Alexiel's offence, Sayama speaks a thousand words in his beautifully composed montage of
images.
Further, Sayama understands Yuki's textured world. The keen director roots out narrative conflict despite a
glut of characters, all rich in their own right. Alexiel makes a decision to leave heaven, so when she's
reincarnated as the human Setsuna, she must be punished. Setsuna is struck with love, but it's an unnatural
love, one that will torment him in the corporeal plane. And when Alexiel rises up in rebellion again, God strikes
down Sara in punishment. To remain human and resist the consuming appetite of heaven, Setsuna has to endure the
sacrifice of Sara. (However, even that does not quell Alexiel's passion as the next manga cycle in the "Angel
Sanctuary" saga follows Setsuna down to hell where he plans to retrieve Sarah).
In a similar vein, Kira makes a decision to remain human, but must endure the sacrifice of his father.
Though this dynamic isn't as developed as Setsuna's tragedy, and approaches contrivance for being introduced late
in episode two, it is nonetheless a powerful foil for Kira's mounting nihilism. The rest of the characters also
share in this celestial battlefield. The little demon Kurai longs for Alexiel's return because the angel had
rescued her race from annihilation at the hands of the corrupted angels, and could be the only thing that stands
in the way of a similar fate now. The drawl, sarcastic Arakune, a cross-dressing devil, fears the wrath of an
angry God. Sara herself learns that she longs for her brother as much as he longs for her, and for his sake,
makes the ultimate sacrifice. And Rosiel, Alexiel's brother, also in love with his sister, pursues his sibling
against the better judgment of Katan, who resurrected Rosiel initially for the purposes of returning to heaven
and continuing the onslaught on the lower worlds.
And through all of these heightened emotions, Sayama keeps Yuki's characters from waxing maudlin (though the
English dub does its best to subvert that artistic choice). However, "Sanctuary's" ending ties up quickly and
cleanly, with an uplifting score and a good vs. evil sentiment firmly in place. This undermines the complexity
and gravity of the last hour and a half, but is too ephemeral to completely rip the heart out of this compelling
work.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
