This is the sad story of Setsuna Mudo, a 16 year old high school student who is in love with his younger sister, Sara. It turns out, a host of demons and angels are after his soul, as he is the reincarnation of Organic angel Alexiel, an angel who, disgusted with her fellow angels, declares a revolt against God. I'll stop there so I don't reveal anything, I hate it when people do that.I think that this is a truely epic story. Sure incest is wrong, and Setsuna and Sara both know that they will pay for their sins, but their love is less a desire of the flesh, and more of a soulmate sort of bond. You wind up rooting for them in the end, because they are really the innocents of the story.I loved the powerful relationships, especially that of Kira and his father. Kira is by far my favorite character, but all the characters are easy to relate to, Setsuna is denyed what he really wants, Sara is heartbroken, Kira, torn between what he was and what he is, and Kurai(sp?) searching for her hero.Try it, and try to put the incest out of you mind. Be open, and you may be surprised.

After I saw this film I tried to start a discussion of it on a manga board, only to find myself being branded as a 'sicko'. One of the central themes to Angel Sanctuary is the love affair between the hero and his sister, a theme that many are given to dismiss out of hand as perverted without actually having seen the film. It is therefore perhaps ironic that the exploration of a consensual incestous relationship is one of Angel Sanctuary's greatest strengths. The whole thing is handled with sensitivity, and one truly feels for the heros torment when he declares "I am weird, I am abnormal, I am condemned by my mother, by all of them". There is no graphic sex, and the couple's one carnel indulgence is implied rather than actually shown.As to the rest of the story, Angel Sanctuary has a cast of colourful characters, including the heros deranged angel brother and a pair of cross-dressing demons,all fighting to either eliminate him or recruit him to assist in their war against heaven. Some may find the idea of god being the enemy offensive, though I personally do not.I would go as far as to describe Angel Sanctuary as one of the best anime that I have ever seen.

Tenshi Kinryouku (aka Angel Sanctuary) is one of my favorite manga (comic books) ever, so I was really thrilled when it came out in America on DVD. The story is obviously not for everyone, as it centers around the romantic love between a brother and his sister, but viewers with open minds have thoroughly enjoyed it, as my friends and I have. Though certain characters were taken out of the episodes in order to condense the 3-4 graphic novels it was based off of into 3 half hour long episodes, the story does not suffer too much (though there were some changes that I disagree with, such as the combination of Kirie and Katan into a single character).The voice acting in the original Japanese language is done very well, and I recommend that version over the English dub version (though I can tell they worked hard on it, I prefer the original Japanese casting). I think the 3 episodes on this DVD (unfortunately there are no more) are best enjoyed after having read the manga (which can be purchased at various anime stores and Japanese bookstores) because you can then get a better grip at what is going on.I did overall enjoy watching these three episodes. I'm disappointed that there isn't anymore (the ending is nerve-wracking if you haven't read the comics, because you don't know what happened) I still think this movie is worth at least a rent, especially if you can look past the Setsuna/Sara relationship and into the rest of the movie. The movie is not focused on incest, it is focused on love, and if you take it at that, it is a charming 3 episodes to watch, seeing how deeply Setsuna cares for Sara.Overall, though some of the differences between the comic and video are irritating, and though the English dub could have been better, and though there are many controversial issues within it, I think it is worth a viewing if you can open your mind for an hour and a half.

I'm going to say this right off the bat, so that we're all very clear....this movie WILL insult, repulse, and offend some people. This series touches on at least three of the most socially and even morally taboo subjects one can conjure up in any culture, incest, heresy, and bisexuality, and touches upon them in a way that many will see as glorification. Matter of fact, let's not sugar coat it; they ARE glorified. Those of you with highly strict, rigid moral/religious values, I tell you this for your own good. You have been warned. This anime will test, taunt, and challenge that which you hold so dear. I repeat...you have been warned. ...Still with me? Good.That having been said, Angel Sanctuary is one of the most stylish, imaginative, story-driven, dramatic, tragic, and yes, even romantic anime series I've ever laid eyes on.So, where does the whole mess from that first paragraph fit in? Let me try to explain...Angel Sanctuary's main set up takes its cues from a number of religious texts, but mostly Milton's Paradise Lost. You have three levels; in heaven, you have the choirs of angels, in hell, the damned. And in between, the 6 billion humans on earth who either acknowledge or deny that either side exists, even though beings from both sides interact with them on a regular basis.However, neither side is what they seem. Heaven is full of vain, self-righteous, elitist choirs of angels; Hell is a barren wasteland out of the sight of God, and more or less seems to just want to be left to its own devices. Sorta like a demonic Switzerland.The thing is, God seems to be rather indisposed somehow. In his stead, the angels are now in charge of heaven. And they're almost all greedy for the throne.One of the big exceptions is Organic Angel Alexiel, a high level angel who, tired of all the clashing egos and self-righteous slaughter, decides to defect over to the other side, and lead a revolt against Heaven itself. Eventually, though, her revolt fails, and after a climactic battle with her twin brother Rosiel, she is caught, and sentenced to be split into two parts; her body is trapped in an unbreakable crystal in heaven, her soul is condemned to an eternity of being resurrected on Earth in some sort of lowly existence, and to meet an inevitable horrible death each and every time. Her soul will be stillborn within a human body, and will have no choice but to experience existence laying dormant.Enter Setsuna Mudo, the most recent incarnation of Alexiel, though he's obviously unaware of this. He's your pretty average hopeless romantic high school student in love....with his biological sister, Sara.Here's the thing, though. This is not your expected "Yee-haw we're marryin' our own cousins while tippin' the cows" type of brother-sister attraction story. No, folks, seriously. Setsuna LOVES his sister. The way that Seth loves Maggie in City Of Angels. The way that Eric Draven loves Shelly in The Crow. The way that, i dare say, Romeo loves Juliet. How the hell that happened, i don't know, but it's the truth. Setsuna knows damn well he's going to hell for it, and doesn't care. When he loves, it's, as his best friend put it, "clumsy, but straightforward", and complete. Sara is the one true point of happiness in his life, and vice versa. Not even the threat of hell, the scorn of an angry parent, or the hand of God himself can render that asunder.However, both sides are sure as hell going to try. See, in order to stop the conflict, beings on both sides have been trying to hunt down Alexiel and force her dormant spirit to fully awaken. In this search, bonds are made, emotions grow where there were none, and love is tested.What follows is a very unique take on a love story, borrowing elements from various religions, fantasy/fiction, and even Greek tragedy, coming together in a divine tapestry that breaks so many rules, and is unlikely to be copied anywhere in the foreseeable future.As I said, undoubtedly, this will freak some people out. Putting aside the sexually ambiguous look and character of the beings from both sides, the seemingly constant statements of blasphemy, and the depiction of wicked angels, sympathetic and emotional demons, there is the film's main love story between Setsuna and Sara. Yes, it's blatant incest. And yet, i daresay, if you arent cheering your ass off for these two by about 2/3 of the way through the film, check your pulse, you might be missing a heart.The main problem I have with the series is the way it ends. It's a To Be Continued of the worst kind. And last I checked, Kaori Yuki, the original manga's creator, has no plans to make an anime out of the rest of the series, so the only way to get any sort of closure to the story, apparently, is to wait for Marvel or Dark Horse to bring it over here, or go import the manga, and learn much Japanese.It's not often you have a film come along, let alone an animated one, and just blow every preconception you might have out of the water, and Angel Sanctuary does this in spades, and beautifully. But, when films like Dogma and Stigmata can offend some at the drop of a hat for their content, i also know that some will end up hating it for the same reasons. The open-minded will enjoy this story to the full hilt. The stagnant will find themselves challenged, and probably confused. To them, i say, just dont watch if you think you can't take it. It's simply your loss. But should you watch, and choose to be repulsed, well, look up at the first paragraph again...you can't say I didn't warn you.