Angel/Dust

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Angel Dust is a fine example of short and sweet. This happens to be a manga I read a couple years ago, and somehow forgot over the years. Having accidentally stumbled on it again, and re-reading it, I am really starting to wonder how it was I ever managed to completely forget it in the first place!

Story; 8. There's a quasi Fate/Stay Night fantasy plot here, minus any male characters and with pretty blatant yuri undertones. And, as iffy as that looks on paper, it actually works fairly well for what it is. While not terribly original, the plot delivers enough solid material to keep ... you entertained from the start to the finish. The girl-girl romantic undertones are handled thankfully in a cute, classy completely non-sexual way that I haven't seen since I watched Candy Boy. The relationship between the two leading ladies is executed with class, and I actually appreciated this quite a bit.

Art; 9. I think manga art is tough to rate, because you either like the style a series is put out in or you don't. Although there are some irrefutable "quality" standards like production flaws and whatnot, but a lot of manga has a distinct look about it depending on who drew it. And in the case of Angel Dust, I actually wouldn't say it is a stretch to call this the most visually enjoyable manga I've read since Take On Me. Aoi Nanase draws very nice, cute characters here and there are no glaring visual flaws to speak of. Yuina is adorable, and quite likeable given the small amount of time they are given to flesh her out. Seraph is a good match too, and Akiho reminded me of Rin. This is a good thing, mind you.

Character; 9. I've already started to delve into the characters, who are developed as best as they can be in a single volume. Though they would have flourished with more time to develop, what is given to us more than tells the story. Each character has their own motivations, and resolution, all in this single volume. Characters really made this, in my opinion.

Enjoyment/Overall; 9. I am very glad to have found this again, because I really haven't seen much "classy" yuri around in manga or anime. It's all a bit more sexual (I'm looking at you, Strawberry Panic...) and to be honest, sometimes I just want a cute little forbidden love story. And in that respect, Angel Dust delivers with quality characters and quality art to boot. Can't go wrong there!

Angel Dust is a cute story with great characters and beautiful artwork. Unfortunately the story, while a great concept, suffers greatly from a lack of pacing. The story is just too rushed and felt incomplete. I've had a lot of series where I felt they dragged on for far too long and stories where I was left wanting more because it was just so good but in this case I felt like Angel Dust needed more substance introduced over a longer period of time. Reading this story left me feeling like I had just ran through a museum, only taking a cursory glance at all ... the objects.

The main draw of this manga is the art no doubt about it. I think anybody who's interested in that shoujo manga/visual novel style would appreciate it. The depictions of angelic beauty coupled with the moe cutesy art is a combination to die for. The panels at the end of them in space were among some of my favorites. The story is also good even if it's short, although some parts feel like they jump to one situation from another way too soon. There isn't many critiques I can make it really stands up to the present and doesn't feel dated at all! read it!