Title: Angel Volume(s): 1 Creator(s): Erica Sakurazawa Format: Unflipped; Right-to-Left Publisher: Tokyopop MSRP: $9.95 Genre(s): Romance Rated: Older Teen (16+)   Buy From Amazon.com: Coming Soon Buy From Right Stuf International: Coming Soon

CONSUMER ADVICE

While this title does not contain any glorious sex, violence, or language, parents should be aware that there are at least two non-sexual pictures of a nude angel drawn, and that this title does deal with harsh topics such as love, suicide, and being a single mother. I honestly don't think kids would find too much in this title that would interest them anyway, but this is good stuff to point out. Fans of drama may get a lot more out of this than anyone else will, as the pacing for this story tends to be on the slow side at times, while it slowly and carefully develops the story and characters in this title. Fans of Erica Sakurazawa should be more than satisfied with this title.

In Japan, Erica Sakurazawa is considered one of the best manga artists out there. She is known for her shocking stories, believable characters, and the fact that when you read one of her books, it provokes feelings in you that you don't expect. So far, "Angel" is my first and only exposure to her work, but from what I've read, those comments sound accurate. "Angel" follows the lives of three different people, with three different problems, and these three people and their stories would not connect in any way if it weren't for one thing: each of these people has an angel by their side (it should be noted that there are four stories in this book, but only three people to help). And not just any angel, they all had the exact same angel! The first story deals with a girl by the name of Mizuho who hates her life and her friends, and decides one day she’s going to kill herself. But before that can happen she sees an angel lying in her bed holding her favorite teddy bear. No one else can see the angel though, and Mizuho decides that now is not the time to be killing herself: she must find out more about the angel.

The second story revolves around a little girl named Chi (I think she may be 6 but the book never really gives you an age to work with) whose mother is an alcoholic and whose father left her. Everyday she wakes up, gets dressed herself, goes to her friend Satoru’s house, and walks to school with him (messy hair and all). She’s always the last person to be picked up, her mom hates her responsibility and wishes she could just get rid of Chi, and Chi is ultimately a very lonely and sad person. Then one day an angel shows up at her house, and Chi finds that she’s not as lonely as she used to be. And then we have the third story, and this story revolves around Kato, the person who plays the biggest role in the book. The whole book actually starts out with the fact that the angel lives in his apartment, loves gin and lime, and kisses him whenever she’s happy. Then the angel leaves to help the other people's problems, but he pops up in every story for a guest appearance of some kind.

Then finally we get to HIS problem, where there is some girl that Kato really loves, but he has no idea how to ask her out or anything! So the angel drops by to... well, give him courage. If there’s one thing that you should know about this story it’s this: the angel doesn’t really do anything in any of these stories. Seriously. Truth be told, the angel does little more than follow everyone around, sit next to people watching what they are doing, and drinks gin and lime. Aside from that the angel doesn’t ever say a word, doesn’t pull any miracles, she just follows around the person in need of comfort. And really, it’s because of this little fact that really tells us what these stories are all about: finding hope when there is none to be found. The angel may be little more then a prop in these stories, but to someone who is living a miserable life, seeing an angel would give them a new purpose in life, and also give them hope that something good is about to come out from the bleak situation they are in.

Does it matter that the angel does nothing of importance? Of course not. The angel is there so that the author can make a statement, and that statement is that no matter how bleak a situation looks, there is always a little hope to be found in the smallest of things. I must admit that I didn’t think much of this book at first, and I walked away thinking that I may have just wasted my time and money, but every time I came back to this story the message became more clear, and now I can safely say that this is a book that will touch your heart if you read it with an open mind.

Now even though the story is a very moving story I wouldn’t be a good critic if I didn’t mention the art in this book, which is not all that great in my opinion. The art doesn’t make the book, and quite frankly the story speaks louder than pictures on the paper, but the art is rather ugly, and some people may have to ignore the art before they completely learn to love this book. It’s not as bad as the artwork in “FLCL” or “Bomber Girl,” but it’s just not that great in my opinion. Maybe I just haven’t gotten used to Erica’s style yet, but I think the art could use some work. Art aside, though, this is a touching story that will speak to the heart, it delivers a message that’s worth delivering, and is an overall great way to be introduced to the works of Erica Sakurazawa.