Angel Sanctuary 3

Just as a warning… I am going to try and keep all major plot revelations under wraps, but I’m going to summarize the more general parts of the story, mostly for my own benefit so I can keep track of what’s going on.  Normally I try hard to avoid spoilers, but I’m not going to be able to keep things straight here unless I write about them.

‘Okay, yes, this volume was awesome.  I can compare this series to X, because they’re complex and impenetrable in the same ways, but there’s an almost direct connection between Sara Mudo and Kotori Monou now.  Except Kotori didn’t have the same effect on Kamui that Sara has on Setsuna.  No… Kotori had more of a Sara effect on Fuuma.  And end-of-the-world thing has sort of come into play as of this volume, which is yet another parallel to X.  There doesn’t seem to be two sides to the battle in this story though, and I don’t think that Alexiel can choose a side.  But yes, anything running this close to X has my attention.

Much of the first part of the volume is spent developing the relationship between Sara and Setsuna.  After the first couple chapters, I heartily approve of the pair.  The first chapter in this volume takes place in an airport.  Sara was going to go off with her mother and marry another man in London, never to see Setsuna again, but Setsuna shows up with the police hot on his tail (he’s a murder suspect) and does the whole public confession thing at the airport.  It’s a bit hokey, but in the right context, it can be awesome.  This was about right.

Also covered are Kira’s background and what he’s doing hanging out with Alexiel.  Apparently he’s been following Alexiel from life to life, always making a pact with a human to be next to her.  That’s also sort of romantic.  I’m not sure if Kira’s true form is male or female, but I could see some sort of Setsuna/Kira or Alexiel/Kira pair working out well, too.  There’s a chance that they were a pair in the past… Arachne mentions that there was only Alexiel and Rosiel present at their last confrontation, yet that’s supposedly where Kira got his power to live forever.

Also covered are the relationships of Katan and Kirie to Rosiel.  Katan has a great backstory, whereas Kirie is sort of a fool.  I don’t mind so much.  It didn’t make me like Katan any more or less, and I still am not quite sure where he stands, or whether or not the Angels are actually the “good” guys in whatever is about to happen.  Actually, with the way they’ve been portrayed, they almost certainly are not.

Speaking of angels, we meet two more.  Metatron, who is one of the most powerful angels both traditionally and in this story, is a child for some reason, and his keeper is Sevothtarte, another powerful angel.  Apparently both are among the seven most powerful angels in heaven, and I can’t tell if Alexiel and Rosiel rank among those seven… but I think Zaphikel is among the seven, the blind angel we met last time.

But lots and lots of romantic stuff happens between Sara and Setsuna, and it is all quite touching.  I liked the volume for that, plus it opens and closes with two very raw and romantic scenes.  If the series can keep topping those scenes, I think I’m going to enjoy this very much.