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The world is progressing day by day. Within it, the thing that continues to progress the most is electronic technology, and in that- its connection to toys. Now, the number one thing this is leading to is a "World of Toys." The first of these toys is the egg that came from a dream, "Angel Egg." If one with an egg shows wisdom, love, and courage, they can raise it into an "angel." That's Angelic Layer.
~Battle 1 Introduction
Yup, CLAMP did another wonderful job of introducing a series- they basically told you all that it's about. One may just want to stop at that simple definition of Angelic Layer, but it's much more than just that.
Angelic Layer is a game of fighting with dolls. No, it's not like those retro plastic boxers with the zippy heads that we used to have here in America. The dolls, called "angels", are actually robots that can be fully controlled by their owner, also known as a Deus. An aspiring Deus can buy an Angel Egg kit at Piffle Princess which contains an angel doll and everything else needed to customize it, and after getting through the "some assembly required" (yeah, I'm writing about all that too), they have their own personalized angel. Whether it is small for speed or bigger for stamina and strength, the angel is then fit to fight in the layer, which is just a fancy name for a fancy electronic table. The Deus puts on a really cool looking set of goggly-thingies, and through this highly advanced technology which if I could explain I'd be rich, the Deus's thoughts are connected to the angel. Whatever they think, the angel does, whether it is as simple as moving left or right or as complicated as Suzuka's "Rolling Thunder" attack. However they can, the Deuses control their angels and make them fight to the death (OK OK, just to the loss of all HP).
OK, that's the game, so is there anything else involved? Yessss... ^_^ There are a multitude of opportunities for Deuses to practice fighting, and I just couldn't avoid telling you about them. Training centers are located in some Piffle Princesses across Japan; one example is the one that Icchan took Misaki to in Tokyo. There you can work on your angel's skills without having to enter one of the competitions. Multiple competitions are held year-round, ranging from small roadside ones like the one at Tokyo Station to large official competitions like the Kanto District Tournament which the second, third, and fourth (I'm assuming) tankobon focus on. By competing in these competitions, a Deus receives an Angel Card with his/her name and the angel's name on it. Points are transferred onto this card after each victory, and you can use the points to buy things like lunch at the cafeteria in book 2.
Hmm? You don't want to read anymore on this page? Your eyes are blurring? I've started to consider that... so I'm not gonna write anymore on this page! Please look to the other "What's Angelic Layer?" links if you want to learn more, but otherwise stop wasting your time and do something responsible like cleaning or homework. ^_^
The Plot
Sure, you know now about how the game of Angelic Layer works, but there's all these characters to deal with! They can't just all be sitting around playing with robots, can they? Of course not. That wouldn't be interesting at all! CLAMP only writes interesting manga, so here's the actual plot of Angelic Layer. (It's more like a synopsis of the first tankobon... ::tee hee::)
The series begins with our loveable main character, Suzuhara Misaki, lost at Tokyo Station. Since her mother works so much and her dad is mysteriously absent, Misaki has been kinda shuffled from house to house as family members are able to take care of her. In this little scenario, she was going to live with her aunt Shouko, but she couldn't find her at the station and wandered off like any curious girl her age.
While she was at Tokyo Station, Misaki saw something interesting on a TV screen mounted on a wall. A little roadside Angelic Fight was going on, and Misaki noticed how pretty the angels were. She couldn't figure out too much about the game since she was too excited to listen to the little girl she asked about it, but she was already hooked. After she made the sad, sorry mistake of calling the angels "people", a mysterious man named Icchan showed up to correct her. He told Misaki that the angels were actually robot dolls, and he helped her buy one at the Piffle Princess across the street. Regretfully, people thought Icchan was a pervert because of his white coat, and after seeing him take Misaki away, that ever-present crowd got Icchan arrested. Misaki had no one to show her the way home since she had no money left to ride the train, so she ended up riding to Shouko's house in a police car.
Misaki was very excited to be able to live at Shouko's (nice) house for all of middle school. Shouko immediately gets to liking her niece because of her cooking (hee hee), so they get along very well. Misaki worked on making her angel (Hikaru) the night before her first day of school, so she brought it along with her that day. A little girl named Hatoko saw that Misaki was toting an angel, so after Hatoko lent Misaki a handkerchief to serve as a temporary outfit for Hikaru, they decided to be friends. Hatoko's older brother, Kotarou, found them, too: he was actually mad that Hatoko had not waited for him. He and Misaki walked into school together, and Tamayo not-so-properly greeted them (she tackled Kotarou ^_^;;). They realized they were all in the same class, so Tamayo and Kotarou were very happy to have a new friend.
That's basically all you need to know to understand how the plot works. Once Misaki gets into the competitions, Tamayo and Kotarou go to cheer her on while Icchan stays hidden until after the fight when he can fix Hikaru. Misaki meets lots of Deuses from these competition, and she becomes especially attached to Seto Ringo (yah, the one with the funny poofy dress). If you want to know more, I suggest you read the translations or (even better) get the manga. They're really good!! ^_^
The Angelic Layers
Welcome to Angelic Layers! Why the strange title, you ask? Well, in the game of Angelic Layer, there's actually many types of layers that Angels can fight on. Usually they're flat, glass-topped tables that are either small for practice or really big for competitions. At the time of the manga (and anime too), a new type of layer was developed as well! I was looking back at all of them, and they're just so cool that I had to share them with you. (There's no spoilers here, just teasers. ::big evil grin::) Well, here goes!  This is your most basic type of layer, the practice layer. They can be found in various Piffle Princess stores across Japan. It's actually pretty cool- you can rent these cozy little practice rooms from the Piffle Princess ladies for however long you want, and they come complete with two egg chairs, this little stage, and a TV in the corner! Unfortunately, this small layer doesn't have much potential for fights. They're only big enough to practice your moves (and maybe a little dance as well! ^_^).
Angelic Terms
Angel: the robotic doll used to fight in Angelic Layer.
Angel Card: a credit card-like thing used by Deuses. Their name and their angel's name is printed on the card. If the Deus ever wins an Angelic Fight, points are put onto the card which can be used for various things, such as buying lunch in the Piffle Princess Café or getting more AL merchandise.
Angel Egg: the egg-shaped container which holds one angel until it is purchased and designed.
Angelic Fight: one battle between two Deuses with both of their angels. This term can also be shortened to just Fight.
Angelic Layer: the game of battling angels.
Battle: this one has three meanings. First, it can be used interchangeably with Angelic Fight (the Piffle Princess ladies hold up a card before every Fight which says "Battle 1" or "Battle 13" or whatever.) It may be used to mean one chapter of the manga. Lastly, it could just mean a certain volume of the manga: they're called Battle 1, Battle 2, etc.
Deus: an angel-owner who fights in Angelic Layer competitions.
Layer: the electronic platform which angels fight on. |
