It took me quite a while to churn out another Neo Angelique writeup, all because I felt guilty after poking fun at this series in my previous posts. Not only did I insult this anime with my sarcastic comments, I also scared off guys who I should’ve helped become more open-minded about this under-appreciated show. My sarcasm basically clouded the rest of the serious opinion I had for the series, and it makes me ashamed of having churned out that kind of post. This show deserves far more than that kind of bastardization, it needs MOAR LOVE, and so I took the time to do some soul-searching with regards to what I’m gonna write, not just another uninspiring LOL kind that I have written in the past.

Neo Angelique has been serious from the start. It’s just that much of the redeeming qualities of the series have been clouded with cheesiness and a chunk-load of bishounens, so it’s not surprising how only a handful of guys (and even girls) would watch and enjoy this.

This series knows well the weaknesses of its characters, especially the baby goddess Ange. Throughout the series we witness her development, from being a pampered [little orphan] girl blessed with bishie guardians (the Orb hunters), to an empowered woman who understands the true essence of being a goddess, both the pros and cons that comes with the desire to bring happiness to the people of Arcadia. She faced tremendous pressure due to people’s expectations of her abilities and came across this one antagonist who wanted to prove himself more superior than the goddess that Ange is (and more superior than just about anyone else).

By the end of the first season, the aforementioned problems were resolved, in a simple and straightforward (though not exactly ‘action-packed’ exciting) manner, and we also get to know much about the bishies (except Hyuuga, Bernard, and Nyx, whose characters were more fleshed out in the second season) who had an episode or two dedicated to them. The theme of friendship is continually explored in this series, hand-in-hand with Ange’s self-discovery.

The second season continues with a rather serious and dark tone, with revelations from the pandora’s box kept subtly concealed during the first series’ run. And more than friendship, we see the series delve into the issue of fate and freedom, in the case of Ange and Lune (and also Nyx). Instead of straightforwardly revealing this super spoiler tidbit, let me just ask you this: What would you do if you found out that you were fated to be the ruler of your country, which gives you almost absolute awesome powers to help alleviate the oppressed people in the land (assuming that you have a really noble malice-free mindset), but with this great power comes great responsibility, and one of the sacrifices you’d have to make in light of this fate is to seclude yourself from the rest of the world, and dedicate all your life for your people and your people alone. Will you be so altruistic as to accept the job at the cost of your own happiness, knowing well that this will make your people happy? (take note that you are a really kind and noble person, not just a nonchalant apathetic person that most of us are – me included).

So yeah, that pretty much sums up the major dilemma faced by Ange this time around (the same dilemma of Princess Emeraude of Magic Knight Rayearth). Not much has been said about this topic after 3 episodes, but I do believe it’s gonna be a major turning point for the second season. And I’ll certainly be looking forward to it, together with the development in the rest of the characters. I don’t really care if Angelique doesn’t end up with anyone, because that’s not really what this show is about.

[DISCLAIMER] Before you go on blaming me for giving a misleading review, let me just say that a tolerance for cheesiness, lousy fight-scenes and open-mindedness would be necessary for this anime to have the pathos-inducing effect it had on me (a great bias for bishies and smexy seiyuus would greatly help too). I personally loved episode 7, where we see the bittersweet past of the reject android artifact (or ‘Jasper doll’ as the series calls it) J.D. and understand how he became as human as he is. The same goes for episode 4 of the second season, where we see Hyuuga freed from the shackles of his past. And of course there’s Nyx who is in constant battle with his other self

Neo Angelique tells a wonderful story. The overall presentation and packaging is just… not so general-audience-friendly, so to speak, hence the very niche demograph that actually spends time watching this show.

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