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Angelic Layer (2)Author: Taleweaver Misaki is a girl who hasn't seen her mother in seven years, living with her grandparents. When she travels to Tokyo to finally meet her mother, she notices a new game called "Angelic Layer" - essentially a game where you build your own robotic doll called an "angel" and then have it fight against other angels in an arena called "layer". Misaki, intrigued by the game, quickly becomes a skillful player and starts winning competitions... but little does she know that "Angelic Layer" is more than just a game and that her mother is part of that "more" behind it... Fortunately, "Angelic Layer" is not "Poke-angel", even though it looks a little like it in the beginning. The setting is actually very realistic; though the plot is set in a near future where semi-telepathic control and humanoid machines are possible, the entire technology is believable because of its origins... which I'm not going to explain here. They are definitely the better part of the story. The worse part of the story, unfortunately, comes with the series' drama. More often than not, Misaki's angel Hikaru has to take on vastly superior opponents - not because the other players are so skilled, but because other angels have obviously superior technology. Who'd want to compete in a Formula 1 race with only a Volkswagen New Beetle? Some of the angel battles are something like "Jackie Chan vs. Dragonball's Goku" - one fighter resorts to kicks and punches, the other to energy blasts and flying attacks. It's hard to imagine a game getting so popular when some players have such obvious edges. There is also one major plot hole: one player is beaten in a regional tournament where only the winner proceeds to the national championship, and guess what? In that national championship, that very player is back without any explanation how she qualified. Also, the tournament rules are rather "flexible", to say the least: sometimes it's a knockout system (lose one round and you're out), sometimes it's best of three rounds... and in one battle, Misaki is beaten in round one, wins in round two and is declared the winner of the match! A pity such a nice setup was wrecked with such obvious plot holes. "Angelic Layer" could have been a true classic, but its many flaws make it mediocre at best. Overall Rating: 5
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