Token Asian’s Anime Blog

To summarize once again, Anime Angels is a Christian mangazine, meaning that it is a magazine chock full of manga goodness with Christian readers in mind. Some of the best independent Christian manga artists have published their work in this magazine alongside other original articles from various authors. Unfortunately, “Remembering You” by Psycho Ann is on hiatus for this issue.

Kioko & Jomei
By Nicole Kiser

Once again, this short, one-page comic brings in some laughs. This one is about animal abuse (well, that’s how I read into it). Menchi from Excel Saga comes into mind. So please, treat animals well. It’s not really that humorous… poor kitty.

Rating: 8/10

Andrea
By Ryan Bradley

What if you had superpowers? Would you believe that you were like a god? Unstoppable, all powerful, and needing nobody else? Is this the right way to live a life? An interesting question since I’m sure all people have felt arrogant at one time in their lives. Our heroine must deal with this question, whether she wants to or not.

Rating: 7.5/10

Game Break
By Philip Hanan

Seriously, why do you need to play DDR and buy all that equipment when you can listen to music on the radio or go to a club? Well, one might ask the Cornell DDR club about that, but I don’t know the answer to the question. Funny stuff, poking a bit of fun at DDR addicts.

Rating: 9/10

One Winged
By Genevieve G. Tan

It is revealed that our female protagonist has suffered some sort of accident in the past and lost her faith in God because of what happened. One’s faith can waver in the face of adversity, as if God taught you how to fly but you only had one wing. The plot continues a bit, but I won’t give out any spoilers. Art seems a tad stronger too! Yay!

Rating: 9.0/10

Dainos
By Jamie Davenport

This manga looks intriguing. The artwork is extremely solid and draws the reader into the story. We have a girl running from something, although we’re not clear on what it is. She eventually collapses and encounters “something.” Okay, you’ve got me hooked, I can’t wait to find out what happens.

Rating: 8.4/10

Steelblood
By Inkhana

Let me give it to you up front. Steelblood is an awesome manga. The artwork is so good, you could swear you were reading a professionally-done graphic novel. Steelblood is the story about a pair of twin children who had their lives and family torn away from them when a rival kingdom invaded. Prince Rivalen has fled the destruction but his sister has been captured and he has been wounded severely. A female from a different race rescues him and in a risky medical procedure, gives him a blood transfusion from her own body to save him…

Rating: 9.9/10

What is so revolutionary about Utena?
By Rose

Honestly, I’ve never seen “Utena.” So I’m not sure I can adequately review this issue’s feature article. However, I believe the gist of the article is about overcoming the troubles of the physical with the spiritual. Is that not true of Christians? We bear the burden of life on Earth but we overcome these troubles with our faith. I suppose that “Utena” is a metaphor for a revolution in one’s soul, which is probably what Rose is trying to say.

Final Word on Issue #3:

While Issue #2 remains my personal favorite, this issue is probably stronger than the one that preceded it. Polling a few friends that I lent this issue to, they agreed that this one is a lot better than the one that preceded it. Even though “Remembering You” is on hiatus, “Steelblood” more than makes up for its absence.

Are you still reading this? Wha…? Go to AnimeAngels.net and buy this issue!

Some people have asked me what exactly Anime Angels is all about. I suppose I haven’t explained that in great detail because I assumed (incorrectly) that it was sort of self-explanatory. Anime Angels is a Christian mangazine, meaning that it is a magazine chock full of manga goodness with Christian beliefs, ideas, etc. in mind from many independent Christian manga artists. There are also game and anime reviews and articles about how anime relates to the Christian faith.

I personally thought that Issue #1 of Anime Angels was the weaker of all the issues that I’ve read so far. Issue #2 is definitely one of the stronger ones in my honest opinion. What really makes it stronger? Issue #1 served as an introduction into many of the manga series and didn’t really give any meat of the story while Issue #2 gives all that you hunger for. Now, for a more detailed look.

Kioko & Jomei
By Nicole Kiser

This short, one-page comic is a lot of humor in a small package. No doubt lots of parents wish their kids had not become otaku. Kioko’s mom is no exception, but her dad puts a funny twist on the situation. If you no longer need to be told to read your manga from right to left, you should give this one a read.

Rating: 8/10

Andrea
By Ryan Bradley

While the previous installment of Andrea was weak, this chapter is far stronger in its storytelling and the issues at hand get discussed more seriously. Briefly, this chapter is about how one deals with self-centeredness in a person and how terrible walking a path through life without Jesus hurts a person. The art also looks slightly better.

Rating: 7.6/10

Game Break
By Philip Hanan

Although this isn’t one of the manga listed on the cover, this short comic delves into the philosophical discussion of what happens to the characters in a game after you turn the power off…

Rating: 8/10

Remembering You
By Psycho Ann

Wow, this comic just keeps getting better and better. The second installment of this manga tells the story of the female protagonist’s past where she gave up passing school for the year because of her Christian faith. Instead of cheating on exams, she decided to walk the path she had chosen. With her memory gone, she now says that in hindsight her choice was stupid, and that just tears at your heart.

Rating: 9.9/10

One Winged
By Genevieve G. Tan

If life is becoming meaningless, what is the point of doing anything at all? If you begin to despair of how life is becoming for you, why bother at all? So what is the meaning of life? These questions aren’t easy to answer, but our female protagonist meets a mysterious young girl that seems to communicate with her telepathically from afar. The plot thickens… A definite improvement in story. I really want to know what happens in the next part!

Rating: 8.9/10

Shelter of Wings
By Lisa Hutchinson

This next part shifts from the perspective of Satan’s minions and to the “target” girl in question. We see a young girl’s perspective of pain and guilt after an accident of which she had caused. She asks a question that many ask: “why does God let bad things happen?” Before an answer can be found, something surprises her from behind. What could it be?

Aiiya, this manga keeps getting better with each panel. Some may say that I’m giving ridiculously high reviews but I’m being serious!

Rating: 9.7/10

Full Armor
By Nikole Jones

After an issue full of solid comics, this one seems to be the anomaly. I’ve tried going back and reading the comic several times and even going back to the previous issue. I still have no clue what’s going on in this manga.

Rating: 4.0/10

Pure of Heart: Christianity and Anime, Christian Anime?
By Rose

While most anime is certainly not designed with Christians in mind, can Christians still get something out of it. Rose decides to explain this quite well in a short article. There are indeed elements of Christianity in anime, but just as spiritual elements and themes in general, not parts of specific Christian theology. These deep, hidden meanings in anime can be a good thing, though there can be hidden dangers as well, requiring one to have discernment in what they decide to view. All in all, a solid article.

Final Word on Issue #2:

After what I thought was a horrible first issue, Issue #2 really shines. All the comics show significant improvement in either art or story. I’ve looked ahead at each issue and I can honestly that there is a slow but noticeable improvement as the magazine progresses. Even if you’re not a Christian, there’s some good independent manga series here that anyone can enjoy. Issue #2 is definitely worth your money, though you might want to pick up Issue #1 just to get the background story from each comic. What are you waiting for? Go to AnimeAngels.net and order it!

PS: The cover of Issue #2 is also my personal favorite. ^_^

When I ordered the Anime Angels “mangazine” from Cafepress, I wasn’t expecting the greatest magazine of all time, just something worth my money and time. It was certainly a very thin magazine considering it cost me $6.95. But I suppose that publishing this magazine costs money and it’s not a large-scale operation. Kudos to these people for striving so hard to get their message and testimony across. Anyway, let’s get down to the actual content in Issue #1, which is dated January 2004.

Kioko & Jomei, by Nicole Kiser

Basically a short one-page comic. Honestly, it wasn’t that funny. I think it was about a girl practicing for a LARP. But it does provide some comedy about the apathy that some people have towards otaku.

Rating: 7.1/10

Andrea Energy, by Ryan Bradley

This is the short beginning to what I assume is a longer comic. The artwork is acceptable though the text looks jumbled and really distracts from what’s going on. So far, it looks like standard magical superhero material.

Rating: 7/10

Remembering You, by Psycho Ann

The art in this comic is just simply gorgeous by webcomic standards (it originally was a webcomic, I think). Story-wise, the beginning sounds clichéd: girl loses her memory, now how will she deal with it? What if you forgot all that was dear to you? What if you forgot the thing that was most central to your life? Good stuff.

Rating: 9.5/10

One Winged, by Genevieve G. Tan

Solid artwork here. This comic looks very well-designed and shows some promise. I’m not sure where this story is going, though. I hope it doesn’t turn into bloody angst.

Rating: 8.3/10

Shelter of Wings, by Lisa Hutchinson

This one opens up in a demon boot camp… no, really. To make things short, the demons have a plan to become the overlord of Earth and this girl is the key to their megalomaniacal plan. I love the artwork, which looks like someone actually spent hours to finish. I believe the author is going to publish a serious book sometime soon…

Rating: 9.4/10

Firebrand, by Nikole Jones

I’m sorry to say this, but the artwork in this comic is hurting my eyes. It’s really hard to see what’s going on. I’ve been looking at it for twenty minutes and I still have no clue what is going on.

Rating: 4.0/10

Other Content, by various people

There’s a few good art submissions in the back, some good testimony from the editor, and a suspiciously favorable review of Mario Kart. Not much in the way of bonus content.

Final Word on Issue #1:

I’d love to give this magazine a good rating but while there was a good effort to put together this Christian mangazine, it’s really quite expensive considering what you get. It’s essentially $6.95 + S&H for 28 pages and there are only two exceptional comics included (of which one you can get for free online). But I suppose if you’re a Christian and you have some money to spend, this stuff is worth the price for the sheer novelty.