Angel Heart (manga)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Angel Heart | |
|---|---|
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| エンジェル・ハート (Angel Heart) |
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| Genre | Drama, Seinen |
| Manga | |
| Authored by | Tsukasa Hojo |
| Publisher |  Coamix  Raijin Comics (Defunct) Génération Comics, Panini Comics  Jade Dynasty |
| Serialized in | Comic Bunch |
| Original run | 2001 – |
| No. of volumes | 21 (ongoing) |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Toshiki Hirano |
| Studio | TMS |
| Network | Kids Station |
| Original run | 3 October 2005 – 25 September 2006 |
| No. of episodes | 50 |
Angel Heart (エンジェル・ハート?) is a manga by Tsukasa Hojo that has been adapted into a 50 episode anime. Angel Heart is set in a similar universe to City Hunter. The manga started in 2001 and is currently serialized in the Weekly Comic Bunch. Many City Hunter characters appear in the series.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
A young girl stands on top of a building in Shinjuku as she receives a call from her handler. The handler congratulates the girl, known as "Glass Heart" with a job well done regarding her latest kill, which her handler refers to as her 50th. Glass Heart recounts the day's events. She had just killed a man sitting on a park bench with a silenced gun. As she was leaving the park, a small girl runs in with some ice cream and Glass Heart realizes that she has just killed the father of a young girl. With that she jumps off the building, impaling her chest on the iron spiked fence below.
At the same time, Kaori Makimura is running late for an appointment to take wedding photos with her husband, the City Hunter Ryo Saeba. When she sees a girl about to be run over by a truck, she jumps and pushes the girl out of the way before the truck hits her. A short while later, she is declared brain dead and her heart is harvested for organ donation, as she had a donor card on her when she died. However, the Organization, needing a heart for their assassin, steal Kaori's heart while it is in transit and implants it into Glass Heart's Body.
Glass Heart is transported to Taiwan, where she remains in a coma for a year. During that time, she is haunted by the images of the people she has killed, along with the images of the donor Kaori as well as Ryo Saeba of whom she does not know. She wakes up after one year to find out who these people are. She travels back to Shinjuku, and after several close events, manages to track down the City Hunter. He has since retired from his role since his wife's death. Upon finding that Glass Heart is the recipient of Kaori's heart, Ryo decides to adopt her as his daughter, and is also given a name provided by her real father: Xiang Ying. The former mercenary now tries to help the former assassin move on with a normal life in the outside world.
The anime adaptation has recently concluded in Japan, though the manga is still currently ongoing. The manga is also available in France and Italy.
[edit] The "Kaori Controversy"
When Tsukasa Hojo announced "Angel Heart" as his new project and the fact that Kaori would be killed, there was a considerable backlash from traditional City Hunter fans who wanted Kaori to be kept alive to maintain the City Hunter dynamic, and that the stories involved would not have the same calibre of City Hunter without Kaori. Because of this, Hojo stated in the first volume of Angel Heart that the events in Angel Heart take place in an "alternative universe". This "Alternate Universe" has certain "changes" from the original "City Hunter" universe and that in the original City Hunter Universe, Kaori is still very much alive.
These "Alternate Universe" changes include the following:
- Kasumi Asoh does not appear in Angel Heart.
- Although there is a character named Miki who appears later in this series, she is not the same Miki who was Umibozu's partner in City Hunter. Like the original Miki, the Angel Heart version is also an orphan who is later taken in by Umibozu. As well, in Angel Heart, it has been stated that Umibozu has been owner of the Cat's Eye cafe for several years before the series began.
- Reika Nogami also does not appear in "Angel Heart" although it has been suggested that she was assassinated by Glass Heart prior to the anime. This puts a personal touch to Saeko's quest to have Xiang Ying live a normal life.
- The apartment that Ryo lives in is not the same as the red brick apartment in City Hunter.
- The circumstances of Ryo's first encounter with Kaori is not the same as in City Hunter.
- The circumstances of how Ryo started becoming the City Hunter are different compared to the original anime.
- The circumstances of the death of Hideyuki Makimura (Kaori's brother) is different than the original anime or manga (both the City Hunter anime and manga had Hideyuki killed by unrelated groups).
- Umibozu is not as awkward with appearances and will even engage in firefights wearing an apron instead of military fatigues. His attitude towards Ryo is less hostile than it was in City Hunter, and he is a bit more emotional, to the point of crying in several episodes. His fear of cats is also not evident in this anime.
- Sayuri Tachiki, Kaori's biological sister is physically different than in City Hunter and made to resemble Kaori. As well, in this anime, Sayuri has never been able to see her younger sister and instead meets up with Ryo after Kaori's death. This is in contrast to City Hunter in which Sayuri meets Kaori in person. In City Hunter, Sayuri leaves Japan for a news editor's job in New York City. In Angel Heart, she comes from New York City where she is a news editor.
- The manga makes mention of the an event that took place 22 years earlier, specifically 1979. It also mentions the Sino-Vietnamese War and the Cambodian Civil War (which ended in 1975). This would mean that the manga and anime is meant to take place in 2001, so it is quite unusual to see a third-generation iMac in Kaori's room in the anime (this most likely means that the anime is supposed to take place in the present day). Also, Kaori's listed age at death is at 28, so if she died in 2000 in reference to the manga, then her supposed birthdate is 1972. This conflicts with the birthdate as mentioned in the City Hunter anime: March 31, 1967 (1965 in the manga). Also, Ryo mentions his age as ten years older than Kaori. By Angel Heart Canon, this would mean that his birthdate is 1962. But in a City Hunter episode, Ryo is given a birthdate of March 26, 1959 by Kaori, her decree that Ryo is 30 years old at that time (the episode was aired in 1989), which means that Ryo is obviously not 10 years older in that series.
Even so, many fans of Angel Heart feel that this is a true sequel to City Hunter despite the differences. Some feel that this anime has a more "human" feel than the original and that the stories in Angel Heart involve themes such as emotional healing, maturity, and dealing with the loss of loved ones.
[edit] Angel Heart Characters
[edit] Main Characters
Li Xiang Ying (李香瑩, Japanese: Ri Shan'in, Chinese Pinyin: Lǐ Xiāng Yíng)
- A young Taiwanese girl who is the main protagonist of Angel Heart. In reality, she is the daughter of Li Jiang Qiang, the leader of the crime syndicate Zheng Dao Hui. However at the age of two, she and her mother were involved in a car accident when their car plunged off a cliff into a river. Her mother was killed in the accident but Xiang Ying was never found, despite the best efforts of her father and his organization to locate her. In a cruel twist of fate, Xiang Ying was found and taken in by the Zhuque Corps (a section of Zheng Dao Hui which specializes in assassinations) and trained to be an assassin. Because of the accident, she has no memory of her childhood, and as a result does not know her true parentage. This is also why her entry in the Zhuque was never known by her father until it was too late. While in training for the Zhuque Corps, she was referred to as Number 27 but after her training was complete, she was referred to as Glass Heart. After attempting to commit suicide, the heart of Kaori Makimura was transplanted into her, and with it, the overpowering desire to live and to be reunited with Ryo Saeba. As a result, she busts out of the lab she was kept in and travels to Japan where she finally meets Ryo. Ryo, in turn adopts Xiang Ying as their (Ryo and Kaori's) daughter. Though Xiang Ying appears to be a young woman in her early twenties, she is now only 15 years old.
- Xiang Ying has had very little contact with the outside world, except through her handlers. As a result, any potential situation which she perceives as a threat assessment would meet a harsh response, as evidenced when she nearly kills a man merely trying to pick her up. Not surprisingly, the people around her, Ryo, Saeko, Umibozu, Chin, and even Xin Hong realize they have an upward task in trying to teach her how to function in the outside world.
- There are several coincidences between Xiang Ying and Kaori. One, is that the Japanese character for Kaori is pronounced as "Xiang" in Chinese, hence her name "Xiang Ying". Also, her major histocompatibility complex is very similar to Kaori's as their human leukocyte antigen encodings are virtually identical. Because of this, Xiang Ying does not need to worry about her body rejecting Kaori's heart as her immune system has been fooled into thinking her heart is the same.
- With Kaori's heart, she remembers all of Kaori's memories, her residence, favourite coffee, quotes, and emotions. Along with these memories she inherits is the also the ability to hammer Ryo with Hammerspace weapons if Ryo gets out of line (much like Kaori did), much to Ryo's annoyance. She has also gained the penchant for wanton destruction that Kaori has always exhibited when the latter is infuriated, this is in contrast to her previous tendency to execute her previous missions with stealth and finesse.
- Seiyu: Mao Kawasaki
- Ryo Saeba (冴羽獠 Saeba Ryō?)
- The former protagonist of City Hunter. Like Xiang Ying, Ryo himself has no memory of his background, being the lone survivor of a plane crash that killed his parents, and raised to be a mercenary. During his time as City Hunter, he was praised as one of the best in the underworld, while being a lecherous and perverted woman chaser going after "mokkori" (sexy) girls. However, he had come to a point where he decided to settle down and take Kaori as his wife. He was with Kaori in her last moments after she was hit by a truck, begging her to live.
- At the beginning of the story, Ryo Saeba is a grieved man. He has since closed down his business as City Hunter (where you hire him by scrawling the initials XYZ on a specific bulletin board at Shinjuku Station). To deal with the loss of his wife Kaori, he has resorted to his former ways of skirt chasing, while his friends Saeko and Umibozu know that he is doing this to hide his pain. The arrival of Xiang Ying in his life gives him some form of closure as well as something to live for as he tries to raise someone who he considers to be his and Kaori's daughter (by virtue of her stolen heart).
- Kaori Makimura (槇村香 Makimura Kaori?)
- In this alternate story, Kaori is hit by a truck while trying to save a young girl while on her way to take wedding pictures with Ryo. Her heart was harvested for use in another recipient before it was intercepted by the Zheng Dao Hui for use in Glass Heart after her attempted suicide. Her age at her time of death is listed as 28.
- Like Xiang Ying and Ryo, Kaori also does not know her true parentage, being the daughter of a criminal who died in a police incident and later being adopted by the Makimura family. However, unlike the City Hunter anime, Kaori somehow knows that she may not be related to the family who raised her.
- Although she may be dead, Xiang Ying can feel Kaori's thoughts inside of her and Kaori can also communicate to Ryo through Xiang Ying. In a sense, Kaori acts as a guardian angel to Xiang Ying as she helps guide the former assassin to a normal life.
- Umibozu (海坊主?)
- Umibozu is owner of the Cat's Eye cafe. In a nod to events in the last episodes of City Hunter, Umibozu is now blind, but his blindness has not affected his abilities. He even admits that due to his blindness, he can "see" certain things that people with normal sight cannot see, such as recognizing people before they come into his cafe. Unlike the City Hunter episodes, Umibozu now considers Ryo as his friend as evidenced by his concern for Ryo's mental health after the death of his wife. While Umibozu sometimes prefers calling himself Falcon, there is no mention of his original name, Hayato Ijuin, from the original City Hunter Series. There is also the issue of his fear of cats in the previous episodes of City Hunter as in one episode of Angel Heart, he shows up wearing pajamas with pictures of cats on them.
- Saeko Nogami (野上冴子 Nogami Saeko?)
- Since City Hunter, Saeko has moved up the ranks in the police department to become Superintendent of Shinjuku district. Whereas in previous City Hunter episodes she used her attractiveness and her young looks to manipulate Ryo Saeba, in Angel Heart, she is not as manipulative, as she worries about becoming "old", especially when characters remind her of her age. Saeko may have a personal stake in seeing Xiang Ying become a normal woman as it has been hinted that Glass Heart may have been responsible for her sister Reika's untimely demise.
- Saeko's feelings toward Ryo are different in Angel Heart compared to City Hunter suggesting a possible relationship may be explored in Angel Heart.
- Liu Xin Hong
- Xin Hong is a childhood friend of Xiang Ying and was referred to as Number 36 during training for the Zhuque Corps. He has developed feelings of affection for Xiang Ying, and as a result, the trainers had Xiang Ying and Xin Hong face off in a fight to the death in the final exam. Xiang Ying managed to get the drop on Xin Hong and reluctantly killed her only friend, or so she thought. Somehow, he survived, and was transferred to the Qinglong Corps, another branch of Zheng Dao Hui. In fact, throughout this time, Xin Hong has kept his desire to reunite himself with Xiang Ying as his motivating factor to live. After the Qinglong were killed off by the Xuanwe, he was allowed by Li Jiang Qiang to live a normal life in order to watch over Xiang Ying.
- Incidentally, Xin Hong was also the assassin who sniped Li Qian De through his hotel room window. However, Li Jiang Qiang did not hold him responsible for his brother's death, knowing full well that he was trained to follow orders, and that most soldiers and assassins that work under him do not know who their leaders are.
- Unlike Xiang Ying, Xin Hong is a bit more refined when it comes to dealing with the outside world (except in one instance when he buys her reinforced rubber knuckle-dusters as a gift with his first paycheque). This is evidenced in one episode where Xin Hong is adept at being a waiter at a Chinese restaurant whereas Xiang Ying has no clue as to what is going on. Xin Hong also still maintains his strong feelings for Xiang Ying, but he keeps his feelings to himself as he knows that Xiang Ying does not know what love is.
[edit] Secondary Characters
- Li Jiang Qiang
- Often referred to as "Master Li", he is the leader of Zheng Dao Hui and father of Xiang Ying. However, his true involvement with Zheng Dao Hui is unknown as it was discovered that it was his twin brother, Li Qian De who was calling the shots while Li Jiang Qiang was raising a family. After Li Qian De's death, he takes over the duties of the Zheng Dao Hui. Li Jiang Qiang will never forget that his daughter was made into an assassin in his own organization despite his efforts to find her after the accident that killed her mother. He will never forgive himself for everything she had to go through. Although he would like to be reunitied with Xiang Ying, he knows that it is best that she not know her true parentage. To that effect he requested Ryo to take care of her, knowing full well that she could never return to him. He is also the first to call her by her nickname, "Ah-Xiang" which is what he used to call her when she was so much younger. (It is common in Chinese culture to take someone's first name and add the prefix "ah" to it when addressing someone younger or in a friendly manner such as in a family). Ryo, Kaori and Saeko are the only other people who call her this.
- Li Qian De
- Li Jiang Qiang's younger twin brother. Qian De became a "shadow" for Li Jiang Qiang and took over duties as head of the Zheng Dao Hui while his elder brother spent time with his family. It seems with the exception of Li Jiang Qiang's aide, Chief Chin, no one else in the organization knew that there were 2 "Master Li"s. Qian De was responsible for getting his brother and his future wife, Lin Xiang Ping, together and even managed to convince his brother to have a child and not neglect his family. As Ryo notes later, if not for Qian De's intervention, Xiang Ying would never have come into being. Ryo was also good friends with Qian De, and they would hang out together drinking whenever Qian De was in Japan (Ryo even claims he learned all his bad habits from Qian De, though it could be the other way round). Ryo's history with the Li's even went further back, when Li Jiang Qiang hired him to rescue his brother from the jungles of Cambodia 22 years before Qian De's death.
- Chief Chin
- Li Jiang Qiang's second in command and leader of the Xuanwe, another branch of the Zheng Dao Hui. He has been assigned to Li Jiang Qiang to stay in Tokyo and watch over Xiang Ying. He later runs a restaurant called the "Black Turtle" (a reference to his group) and appears to be a marvellous chef. He is also well-known throughout Japan's underworld and one look will send Yakuza running for their lives.
- Hideo Mochiyama
- A low-level yakuza affiliated with the Zheng Dao Hui. Mochiyama is one of the first to encounter Glass Heart and is later witness to Li Qian De's death. He is a bit of an incompetent, however, as he cannot participate in a firefight, and has some homosexual tendencies as he displays open affection for Ryo.
- Doc
- A doctor who runs the Hanazono clinic, and looks after most of the underworld denizens of Shinjuku. As a result, he does not make much money out of this venture and occasionally doubles as a club harker in order to make ends meet. Despite this, he is a very capabile doctor. He is the second person afer Umibozu to realize that Kaori has returned in Xiang Ying. In fact, before hiring Tomoko as his nurse, he had previously employed Kaori when she was around Xiang Ying's age.
- It should be noted that this "Doc" is based on the original Doc in the City Hunter manga where he helps Ryo out on a consistent basis. "Doc" did not appear in the City Hunter anime series, so therefore viewers may be confused as to how Ryo is associated with him.
- Tomoko
- Often referred to as Tomo-chan, she works as a nurse for Doc and is subject to Ryo's constant advances. She started working for Doc after Kaori was killed.
- Seiyu: Risa Yukino
- Miki
- Miki is a young girl who lived in the slums of Shinjuku. Labeled as the "Lucky Little Ghost", those who meet her would fall for her smile, and are somehow befallen with good fortune later on. Previously, she lived in an underground section of Shinjuku Station alone after her mother had passed away several years before. After a hit-and-run accident, she would be adopted by Umibozu and would later on live with him at the Cat's Eye Cafe.
- It should be noted that although this Miki is very similar to the Miki in City Hunter, they are not the same character. Like the Miki in Angel Heart, the Miki in City Hunter was also an orphan and raised by Umibozu. Miki's hairstyle also appears to be similar to the original Miki in third and fourth City Hunter series.
[edit] Trivia
- This is the third anime/manga series by Tsukasa Hojo to feature the Cat's Eye cafe. The other two are Cat's Eye and City Hunter. It is interesting to note that all three series feature different owners: the three Kisugi Sisters in Cat's Eye, Miki in City Hunter (where Umibozu helps out on occasion), and Umibozu in Angel Heart.
- Kinryu Arimoto also played a role in the City Hunter series, most notably as Chief Nogami, Saeko Nogami's father in the City Hunter movies.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Angel Heart (anime) (English). Anime News Network. Retrieved on July 31, 2006.
[edit] External links
- (Japanese) Official site
- (Japanese) Hojo Tsukasa's Official Site
- Angel Heart - Angelus City (in French)
English)
- Manga Images [English]
- Evil_Genius Chapter Translations [English]
- Anime-Kraze Anime fansubbing group [English]
