Takuto takes more of a center stage as the search for Prince Shiva heats up.
Creative Staff
Story: Kanan
Art: Kanan
Translation/Adaptation: Ken Wakita, Jason R Grissom, Stephanie Sheh
Lettering and Touch-Up: Fawn Lau
What They Say
Five Angels are on a Mission to Save the Universe! The Angel Troupe continue their voyage to safety, and make a stop at Planet Oasia, known for its hot springs. Ranpha has an ulterior motive for going to the planet – to find the “Secret Hot Spring” that will foresee her future lover. However, things don’t always go as planned. Ranpha and Milfeulle fall into Lulu’s trap and are captured. Lulu tells Takuto to hand over Prince Shiva for their safe return. What will Takuto do?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Having recently read the first volume of the series, I found I was surprised at how different it was from the excellent anime. The humor is the same, but the manga is a bit more focused, a fact that carries on this volume as we get two distinct storylines that carry us through: the obligatory hot springs “episode” and the capture of Milfeulle and Ranpha by Lulu, one of Lord Eonis’s underlings. The storytelling continues to be strong, and the humor is great as always. The manga is moving along at a pretty good clip.
But what surprised me in this volume was the role of Takuto Meyers, the captain of the Angels’ ship, and the man nominally in charge of their actions. Takuto is not in the anime, so it took a little time for me to adjust to his presence, and this volume makes it clear that he is the protagonist of the series, and not Milfeulle as in the anime. As that fell into place, I also realized what it was about this that felt so familiar, and yet not Galaxy Angel: Takuto reminds me completely of Justy Ueki Tylor, and therefore the Galaxy Angel manga reads a lot more like the Irresponsible Captain Tylor than it does its anime counterpart. This isn’t particularly a criticism, as the Irresponsible Captain Tylor is an excellent series, and Takuto fills Tylor’s shoes well. With this realization, the whole thing is even coming together better than it was before.
In Summary
I continue to enjoy Galaxy Angel, even moreso once it occurred to me that it is attempting to occupy a similar space to the Irresponsible Captain Tylor and should not be read as much as a companion to the anime. The characterization is just as good as the anime, and the overall storytelling is stronger. That said, it is also a little less hectic even if the humor is very similar. That may or may not be a selling point for it, but accepting it for what it is, this is a really fun series so far. Recommended.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Broccoli Books
Release Date: May 19, 2004
MSRP: $9.99
