What if Hikaru from “Angelic Layer” was in Super Robot Wars? An ability showcase.
Angelic Layer is a 5 volume manga by manga artist group Clamp, which was adapted into a 26 episode anime series. The series revolves around a martial arts competition-like game played using human-like mechanical dolls which are controlled through mental inputs delivered through the operator’s headset to a specialized stage. Similar to Clamp’s earlier manga Cardcaptor Sakura, Angelic Layer is a someone idyllic work with no real villains seeking to cause substantial harm, but nonetheless uncovers romantic and human drama as the story proceeds.
The series follows Misaki Suzuhara, a middle school student who has just moved to Tokyo to live with her aunt, after several years of living with her grandparents as her mother worked in Tokyo. When first arriving in the city, Misaki sees a public broadcast of the popular fighting game Angelic Layer, and is inspired to play herself when she sees the champion Athena defeating a larger opponent. She is immediately assisted in this venture by a mysterious and eccentric Angelic Layer enthusiast referring to himself as Icchan.
Angelic Layer features a number of connections with Clamp’s other manga works, as they have frequently included throughout their career. The later Chobits, also dealing with mechanical humanoids, seems to take place in the same or a similar setting. Some of the characters from Angelic Layer are featured later Clamp manga. Additionally, in the manga version of Angelic Layer, Misaki is a fan of the Clamp manga series Magic Knight Rayearth and names her own Angel after the main character of that series.
As an additional bit of trivia, the character of Ichiro Mihara is named after one of the founding members of the video game developer Arika, who was an acquaintance of Clamp’s in university. When Angelic Layer began its publication, Akira primarily developed fighting games such as Street Fighter EX and Fighting Layer. Starting soon after, Arika would also work on a few games featuring Clamp’s manga, such as Tetris with Cardcaptor Sakura Eternal Heart on the PlayStation and Tsubasa Chronicle on the DS.
For clarity, the subtitles here are not mine.
「機動天使エンジェリックレイヤー」のヒカルがスーパーロボット大戦シリーズに参戦したられば。全て攻撃。
MAG.MOE - The MAG, The MOE.