If you can get past the whole brother/sister incest angle which does monopolize the first story arc, this does become a lot less important as things progress. Sure its still there, but it is very insignificant at times considering everything else that is going on.

There are a ton of characters in this one. Some of the Heaven characters are not so nice, and some of the Hell characters are decent folks. There's also plenty of good folks in Heaven and outright evil in Hell, so it's not like this manga makes a blanket statement that evil is good and good is evil. If anything, we're talking about a whole lot of shades of gray of varying degrees.

People who don't like Setsuna, probably should give up on reading this. I'm not saying that to be mean. Angel Sanctuary has 108 chapters that are spread out over 20 volumes. While the story doesn't follow him around to the point that nobody else gets character development if he's not around to see it, he does remain the main character at all times. The manga will continue to revert its focus back to him perodically even if it seems it has forgotten about him for a while.

I do highly recommend reading this one non-stop. I am not suggesting that you do so in one sitting so much as just concentrate on reading only this manga until you've finished it. One of the issues that other commenters have mentioned of the plot getting confusing at times and difficulties in sorting out who is who is a lot less likely to occur if you're not setting it down for long periods of time. [All the volumes have been published here in the US, making this very possible to do now.]

... Last updated on June 12th, 2011, 6:55pm

I really liked the beginning and I thought this had great potential. I picked this because I heard it was similar to a favorite manga of mine called Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru. And it was, the beginning at least.

At first it started simple, without any confusion. I can tell that until volume 5, it was an 8/10 for me. I was excited to continue, but as the story proceeded, I lost interest and it became super confusing. I couldn't even take some things seriously... The manga has shounen-ai tones, rape and incest. Still, I didn't mind, but I felt bored of the story later. It was all about SetsunaxSara love and it was getting ridiculous at times. I was expecting something more intriguing. I know it is a romance title, but I didn't like the certain relationship. Also, I detected a few plot holes that were never explained.

I didn't like any of the characters. Setsuna was a mediocre character, being all obsessed with Sara and Sara was just... Super annoying. As for the others, many of them are not memorized that well, especially on the beginning. The author keeps introducing new characters without being able to remember the past ones.

Many male characters look like girls and I never liked Yuki Kaori's artwork, personally. She makes all of her characters so similar.

Too bad, it disappointed me. Also, if you are a Christian, you will be very offended by the content, because it introduce Angels as the bad guys.

... disturbing, heart-breaking, gruesome and I stopped counting the number of taboos it broke about halfway through.

Though at its heart its a tragic romance where I couldn't guess its ending.

Other posters have listed many of its flaws and I agree with some of them. However, I'll just list what worked for me;

(1) The intricate plot that kept me hooked and I was never sure how it was going to turn out
(2) The tragic romance(s) of many of the characters
(3) The amazing art
(4) It really earned my respect so if you can get past your own prejudices you'll end up rooting for the main players in this manga.
(5) I've not read any other manga like it.

... Last updated on October 19th, 2010, 12:54pm

After quite a long reading with 2-3 breaks I finally managed to complete this series. First of all I'll point out that I'm not a shoujo reader. This is only a second shoujo series that I read (first one being Haou Airen which I hated) and I guess I somewhat liked it.

Well, to start with, the first thing that catches your eye when you start reading is of course the art. I really appreciate that this manga didn't had a typical shoujo artwork for that would surely be a huge let down. Art is beautiful, detailed and rich and it appeals to you in away.

First, to make a remark that I really liked this story epic factor. It really kept me going from a volume to a volume. I didn't like very much that whole romantic aspect and it felt a little boring after a while but that's my personal taste. If you read plot description for this one you will notice that whole setting and war between heaven and hell, good and evil would also fit for some shounen title, just add more fighting scenes and you're close. But the focus of the story is on main character Setsuna and the love he has for his sister. So if you problem with incest in this title stay away from it. The rest of you will surely notice another aspect of the story upon reading. I am talking about the plot gets very complicated with time. This manga is surely the most confusing title I have read so far, so this is the second obstacle for someone trying to finish it. I can see a lot of people reading this and wondering what the hell is going on. But still you should have no major trouble to hold on to this series until the very end.

Oh, the ending. I'll just say that if you're reading this manga and think "Oh this is so confusing", wait till you reach the end. When the story starts to unravel, half the time you'll be asking yourself what the hell is going on. By this time you will probalbly hold on till the very end as you will have only like 2 volumes left.

Now, another point that I would like to make is that the author of this manga obviously lost herself couple of times while making this. If you read carefully you will notice slight dyssynchrony of the beginning and the later volumes. Couple of changes made to the story later on, caused for this series to have plot holes, inconsistencies and some rather illogical developments. For me, this is quite bothersome, but most of you probably wouldn't even notice these things.

The character in this manga are many, and what's especially confusing is that bunch of minor one's often make a comeback after a shit load of volumes. As for the major characters I found a great deal of them unintresting and boring. I could only connect with a few of them like Setsuna, Kira, Rociel, Sevotharte and Zaphikel.

To cut this short, the rating I give to this one is based solely on my personal tastes. Shoujo fan will probably give this a higher rating. Still I found this manga entertaining enough to carry on with the reading till the end and I do not regret this. So be sure to give this one a go in the near future, presuming you already haven't.

i wholeheartedly agree with zeusosphere....i will never in my entire life re read this manga...it was
1. super confusing
2.i am sorry i hated the Setsuna/Sara relationship....
3. I loved Kira...
4. It was just too much...
i put this on hold for 2 years...and i am glad i did...i finally picked it up again as a Freshmen in college...and i still think it is God awful...but i'm glad to cross this one off the list...great art...miserable plot...and KIRA....and like Yuki Kaori's other works...full of angst and tragedy...heavy on the Tragedy...

This was the first manga I ever read online... because I had access to paper copies up to the 19th volume or something and it was impossible to stop there.

... Then I finished it and swore never to touch it again.

Mind, this is only my personal taste. Angel Sanctuary has a gripping but immensely convoluted plot, plenty of taboo subjects, and in-depth characterization. It's not bad at all, just hard on the heart.

... plus, my favourite character was Lucifer... >___> and, mind you, that's a very good argument for never reading the series again.

... Last updated on March 23rd, 2010, 2:35pm

This manga has amazing art as well as great dialogue and an amazing and original story. Sure it gets a little weird and can be confusing at times but I would definitely recommend this to anyone. If you can get past the whole incest thing it's one of the best mangas you'll ever read.

Some people might complain that the plot was confusing or that it veered off topic, but I thought it gave the story a realistic quality. Life is never as simple as a storybook plot, but I think this manga did a good job showing how in a big picture its the little things that are important.
The beginning and ending weren't that great but the entire story was awesome because of the character development.I loved the madhatter and the story of Alexiel and Lucifer.

Another twisty, angsty, dark and disturbing manga from Kaori Yuki. This manga is very long, with part questioning sexuality and social stigma. That being said, it is one of my favorite manga.

Kaori Yuki has a very lovely art style, it feels gothic but shiny. The characters and setting are all illustrated with extreme attention of detail. The outfits vary from simple to extravagant with fantasy and rock music inspiration(?).

The plot does get a bit confusing at times but is a general get from point A to point B and save the princess sort of thing. There are many subplots/backstories going on during the main plot that are quite interesting to read. I didn't really like the use of "forbidden love", but it's not done badly, there was no choking at the level of clichés used because they were well incorporated to the plot with adjustments and twists. The main character and many of the supporting characters have good development and motivations; especially the main ones, that seem to go through a continuous chain of events without rest and come out leaving a much different impression than what I first thought of them. The plot may be lost at times in a sea of subplots but it always manages to rise back to the main focus.

Overall the art is beautiful, the character are well rounded and the plot is interesting and (for the most part) appropriately complex.

Warning to younger readers of manga, this may not be for you.

Themes of incest run rampant in the series and with how angels and devils are portrayed, it's very controversal to say the least. I actually didn't really understand it. Everyone looks alike, expect for the main dude with short hair because he's in every scene.

It's very interesting to see that the good guys may not actually be "good guys" and the bad guys may not actually BE that "bad guys." It all depends on how you view them. This manga is very dark but it's illustrations is just superb. It suits the dark and serious tone very well. The illustrations remind me of a gothic tower.