Angel Densetsu

Wow. I've never written a review on MAL before but I had to start for this particular manga. Reading Angel Densetsu was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. Pure, comedic gold. I'm the type of person who loves comedy manga but had always generally stuck to the mainstream. THIS manga, however, needs more love and attention. STORY: Episodic, but it works brilliantly for this manga. We see short, hilarious bits of Kitano's life as he meets (and battles) a list of oddball characters who each bring something important to Kitano's life, and vice versa. The story is entirely character driven, which was agood choice on the author's part, as he was able to write some of the best characters I've ever read. ART: Eh well, it does get better. Don't let the beginning chapters scare you away. I honestly had to ease my way into it, because I wasn't really used to a main character whose point is to be physically unattractive. But by the very last volume, I looked back and realized that I had learned to love Kitano regardless of how he looks. I know that sounds weird, but that's actually the point of the manga anyway. Plus, as a reader of Claymore, I know that this artist's potential is only just budding in Angel Densetsu. CHARACTERS: Excellent. Perfect. I even loved the big, stupid guy who used to be the Guardian. By far the best characters are Ryoko and Ikuno. They surprised me by being strong female leads in a genre that isn't always fair to both genders. Males and females are pretty much on equal status in this series....and they are ALL funny. Each character brings a unique style of comedy to Angel Densetsu. And Kitano...there are NO words to describe this guy. One of a kind. ENJOYMENT: I've never, ever read a manga with this type of comedy before. It's similar to that of Yankee-kun to Megane-chan, but it's much more refined and makes a lot more sense. Characters like Ikuno deliver classic lines at just the right time and the comedy never seems out of place at all. The fighting is even enjoyable, which is a lot coming from someone who generally finds fighting manga distasteful. I actually found myself taking screenshots of some of my favorote scenes, because the comedy needed to be immortalized on my computer. OVERALL: Angel Densetsu is a gem of comedy and character development. I couldn't have asked for more out of this manga. There's no more to say. Just read it all the way through and you won't be disappointed.

This manga was the first published work of Yagi Norihiro's who went on to write the "Claymore" series. His art improves drastically as the story progresses but the manga remains utterly enjoyable throughout. The story revolves around Seiichiro, a kind hearted teenager whose face and behavior, unfortunately, inspire the uttermost fear. I won't go into detail about the story because it would spoil your fun but do expect to be surprised. The reactions of some characters during their first encouter with Seiichiro might make you think about how one sometimes (very unfairly) judges a book by its cover. One simply cannot help laughing when reading thismanga. Sure enough the stories are a little far fetched and never realistic but that is not the point. As bizarre as they may be, these stories carry positive messages of understanding and courage. All characters are interesting and Norihiro manages to make almost each and everyone of them endearing. The author managed to stop before repeating himself so "Angel Densetsu" is a very complete work which absolutely anyone should enjoy. So read it people!

Is it possible to have a lead character that has a face that resembles the devil himself? In Angel Densetsu it is. Follow the life of Kitano Seiichiro, a transfer student who terrorizes everyone in his school unwillingly. Angel Densetsu is a comedy/school manga where the main focus lies in the comedy. The story is pretty generic: Kitano transfers to Hekikuu highschool, where he is mistakenly believed to be a delinquent. This leads to encounters with the thugs of his own school, instantly overwhelming them, spreading the legend of the devil delinquent in the whole neighborhood. Consequently, all the delinquent bosses of other schools challenge Hekikuu'sboss, Kitano. This leads to hilarious situations and amusing fighting scenes; but this is of course only possible with his devil-like face, his exceptional fast reflexes and his misunderstandings of situations that inflict pure fear in all of his opponents. Who would be able to not feel any terror of a devil? There is little story to tell besides the daily live of Kitano and the people of Hekikuu town and their silly actions. The jokes become somewhat predictable as the story develops, but the episodic nature and the introduction of new characters keeps the manga fresh and enjoyable. The misunderstandings that Kitano continues to make also leads to hilarious dialogues, making the other people to misunderstand him even more. There is little character development to be found in Angel Densetsu. The lack of character development is however compensated with the constant introduction of new characters, each with its own charm and own ideas about Kitano, though most have two things in common: they regard the lead character as the devil and are mostly stereotypical. The secondary characters play an important role in the manga, like Kitano's parents, fathers of the martial artists, Killer Bear, you name it. Without these, the manga would certainly be less amusing. Combined with the introduction of new characters, the comedy aspect of Angel Densetsu wouldn't be as good as it is. There is little romance to be found in the manga, though this will influence the behaviour of certain characters to take determined actions. The style of the manga is old and simplistic with the typical faces and hairdo of a 90's manga. The art style gets better as the story progresses, but this mainly concerns better movements of characters as better facial expressions and more consistent drawings. This leads to a low diversity in character appearance, making it more difficult to tell characters apart. That being said, the art style may put some readers off to not read the manga; I however found that this was not a problem as the comedy aspect kept me interested in it. Angel Densetsu was definitely a very enjoyable manga, with an interesting concept of having a devil faced main character, different from nowadays handsome protagonists. The exaggerated expressions and jokes may turn old and predictable, but it kept me nevertheless entertained throughout the whole series. If you enjoy the comedy genre, this may definitely be a manga for you. Thanks for reading.

"Never judge a book by its cover." Such a common saying but it is expressed no truer than in the Action, Comedy orientated gag manga, with a smidgen of Romance; Angel Densetsu. We live in a society where keeping up with appearances has become a way of life and one is generally judged & treated based on how they look. Now enter Seiichirou Kitano, a young boy who just moved to a new town with his loving parents and is now optimistic about his transfer to a new high school. On paper Kitano is a model student; he has excellent grades, a perfect attendance record and wouldeven attempt to help the elderly cross the street. But just one look of his face is enough to send someone running for the hills or to paralyze them in fear, as they feel as though they are looking at the devil himself. So this young devil boy must deal with the ordeals that go along with living a life full of misunderstandings, just so us reader will have something to amuse ourselves with and amusing, this manga certainly is. From people misinterpreting his good deeds for acts of evil, to thugs assuming he is as tough as he looks, this manga is full of hilarious misunderstandings. The structure of Angel Densetsu is quite difficult to pin down because it is episodic, as a gag manga should be, but the story actually has something I always like to see in my stories... overarching progression (both story and characters).Things actually develop, events lead from one chapter to the next and yet it still feels oddly episodic. Quite an odd yet appealing combination. The same can be said about the characters, that are both an odd and appealing bunch. Like Kitano with his eerie appearance & perception of his surroundings/situations; but you just can't help but like him. The rest of the characters are given almost as much attention as Kitano but they are still a bit of a mixed bag. With some you'll find entertaining and interesting to read and others, whose very presence becomes a bit of an annoyance or will just piss you the reader off. Well at least for a gag manga of its time, the artwork does a great job in achieving what the mangaka wished to achieve. By creating a lively manga, with a variety of characters, each with their unique design without going to extremes. However the most notable thing about the artwork is how much it improved from chapter 1 to completion. It was nice to witness how the man, who will later create the Shounen Jump hit Claymore, improve in his style and technique. Angel Densetsu was a manga I judged by the look of its cover. I assumed it would bore me with its tired old fashioned jokes, however I found it surprisingly entertaining and instead of feeling like a generic gag manga; as the story progressed, it started giving off vibes akin to the old show/movie The Adam's Family. Yet I'm not here to say this is the funniest manga around and that everyone should read it, because even the humour eventually begins to wear a bit thin. But the mangaka actually notices this himself and begins to change things up, later on and in my opinion, for the better. Overall we have an odd gag manga with a fair amount of issues but still remains enjoyable to read and for a manga that was serialized for several years, it was good to see the mangaka improve in comedy, story and artwork.