Angelic Layer DVD

Twelve-year-old Misaki Suzuhara has just arrived in Tokyo to start middle school, living with her aunt after years with her grandparents in the countryside. Outside the train station she sees something on a giant screen that stops her cold: Angelic Layer, a high-tech battle game in which players called Deus control custom-built dolls called Angels through a combination of thought and concentration, fighting on a special field called the Layer. An eccentric man in a white lab coat calling himself Icchan immediately appears at her elbow, talks her into buying a kit, and essentially vanishes. Misaki builds her Angel — a small, quick fighter she names Hikaru after her favorite character from an old manga — and discovers she has a natural gift she cannot explain. Through Angelic Layer she finds her first real friends. As Misaki works her way through regional and national tournaments, she begins to notice that the mysterious champion known as Athena — whose Angel she watched on that screen her first day in the city — may have a connection to the mother she hasn't seen since she was very small. 

Angelic Layer is a 26-episode series produced by Bones — their second production after Escaflowne: The Movie — directed by Hiroshi Nishikiori, and written by Ichiro Okouchi, based on CLAMP's manga. It aired on TV Tokyo from April to September 2001 and won the Animation Kobe Award for TV Feature that year. The series shares its universe with CLAMP's Chobits — both deal with the relationship between humans and the artificial beings they create — and several characters cross over. The music was composed by Kohei Tanaka, whose credits in this catalog include Dragon Half, Bastard!!, Battle Athletes, Getter Robo Armageddon, Sakura Wars, and One Piece.

Originally released in North America by ADV Films across seven individual DVD volumes from October 14, 2003 to April 2005; Vol. 1 includes a collector's artbox sized to hold the complete series. A complete collection was released September 27, 2005. 

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Hiroshi Nishikiori (A Certain Magical Index, later Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online)
Series Composition: Ichiro Okouchi (Code Geass, Revolutionary Girl Utena light novels)
Original Manga: CLAMP (Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, RG Veda, Magic Knight Rayearth)
Character Design: Takahiro Komori
Studio: Bones (Escaflowne: The Movie, Fullmetal Alchemist, later My Hero Academia)
Music: Kohei Tanaka (Dragon Half, Bastard!!, Battle Athletes, Getter Robo Armageddon, Sakura Wars, One Piece)
Opening Theme: "Be My Angel" by Atsuko Enomoto
Ending Theme 1: "The Starry Sky" by HAL
Ending Theme 2: "After the Rain" by Moeko Matsushita

Japanese Cast:
- Mayumi Yanagisawa as Misaki Suzuhara
- Atsuko Enomoto as Hatoko Kobayashi (Steel Angel Kurumi, Maetel Legend, Project ARMS, Arc the Lad)
- Masayo Kurata as Kotaro Kobayashi (Steel Angel Kurumi, Love Hina TV & specials)
- Tomokazu Seki as Ichiro Mihara / Icchan (Chobits, Arjuna, Vandread, Gate Keepers, Sorcerer Hunters, Fushigi Yugi, Revolutionary Girl Utena)
- Masaya Onosaka as Ogata Sensei (SoulTaker, Pet Shop of Horrors)
- Jun Fukuyama as Keiichi Kobayashi (Code Geass, later)
- Yuri Shiratori as Athena / Shuko Suzuhara

English Dub Cast (ADV Films — Houston):
- Jessica Boone as Misaki Suzuhara
- Blair Arellano as Hatoko Kobayashi
- Vincent Gutierrez as Ichiro Mihara / Icchan
- Kenta Katagiri as Kotaro Kobayashi
- Tiffany Grant as additional cast (Evangelion, Nadesico, Sorcerer Hunters, Burn Up Excess, Noir)

DVD Features (Individual Volumes)

- Vol. 1: Collector's Artbox (holds complete 7-volume series)
- Character Sketches (various volumes)
- Voice Actor / Actress Commentaries (various volumes)
- Mini Poster with Character Bios (various volumes)
- ADV Films Previews

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: 機動天使エンジェリックレイヤー (Kidō Tenshi Enjerikku Reiyā / Battle Doll: Angelic Layer)
Runtime: ~650 Minutes (Complete Series, 26 Episodes, 7 Volumes)
Director: Hiroshi Nishikiori
DVD Release Year: 2003–2005 (U.S. Individual Volumes, ADV Films, October 14, 2003 – April 2005); Vol. 1 includes collector's artbox; Complete Collection September 27, 2005
Original Broadcast Date (Japan): April 1 – September 23, 2001 (TV Tokyo)
Publisher: ADV Films
Rating: 13+
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Note: Vol. 1 Collector's Edition includes artbox sized to hold all 7 volumes. Shares universe with CLAMP's Chobits. Won Animation Kobe Award for TV Feature 2001.
Genre: Shojo, Action, Sports, Drama
Themes: Battle Doll Tournament, CLAMP Universe, Mother-Daughter Mystery, Bones Studio Second Production, Kohei Tanaka Score

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.