Angel Links

Seihou Tenshi Angel Links
Also Known As: Space Guardian Angel Links
Genre: Action
Format: 13 Episodes
Allegiance: WOWOW/Sunrise/Bandai Visual
Director: Yamaguchi Yuji
Vintage: 1999
Intelligence Agency Report by: Lady Sage
Sixteen-year-old Li Meifon heads the Links Group, a free pirate-fighting enterprise created as per her grandfather’s dying wish. Some have said that running such a huge organization would be too much for a young girl, but Meifon has proven them all wrong. With her superior leadership skills, a devoted crew, a state of the art ship, and her pet/weapon Taffei, Meifon has more than enough to take on the scum of the universe.

Field Agent Report by: Lady Sage 
Plot
Characters
Impact
Visual
Audio
6.75
6.50
6.75
7.75
7.00
Overall 6.75
(not an average)
Gah. Angel Links starts with a whimper and ends with a bangEor at least, it tries to end with a bang. But when a series is two-thirds filler, it can only gain so much momentum before the conclusion. Furthermore, when most of the filler is only marginally entertaining, the finale hardly seems worth it. It’s a shame, really, because the seeds of an interesting plot are present; just buried under worthless filler that doesn’t even function as fertilizer. 

The most immediately noticeable aspect, and one of most prominent for much of the series, is the character design – and by character design, I mean Meifon’s knockers. Meifon’s character and costume design, as well as that of much of the female cast is designed specifically to provide fan service – even Taffei lives between Meifon’s breasts. The art and animation is uneven – it may not be as bad as it was in its predecessor Outlaw Star’s latter half, but it nonetheless ranges from quite nice to obnoxiously mediocre, just like all other aspects of the show. 

The characters of Angel Links tend to be rather dull despite the series devoting at least one episode to most of them. Meifon herself falls under the category of “Mary Sue.” she can fight, she’s sweet and charming, she’s charismatic, she’s rich, she’s cute, etc… In short, she’s overly perfect, rendering her impossible to relate to; and Yuzuki Ryoka’s flat performance doesn’t help either. The lone bright spot is Kosei, Meifon’s assistant, who is portrayed quite well by the oft-brilliant Midorikawa Hikaru. 

Some of the filler is mildly interesting, or works to establish the characters and their relationships, but other episodes are completely useless and dull. Not even the space battles, so exciting in Outlaw Star, are worth watching – Meifon fires the Links Cannon once and it’s over. Once the plot gets going, it’s like you’re watching an entirely different series. There are suddenly interesting concepts and events following sympathetic, flawed characters – for about four episodes. Then, as quickly as it was slow to start, the series ends. 

Angel Links should be watched only by those most tolerant of filler for the sake of a modicum of plot. I unfortunately cannot even recommend it to fans of Outlaw Star – probably the main intended audience of this series – as it lacks so many of the virtues of its predecessor.