Product Description

In a European school dorm, Georges Saphir is admired and loved by everyone. However, afraid of others doing him harm, he has never allowed anyone to get close. Why is it then that misfit Robere can effortlessly step over this line Georges has drawn and see right through him? Will getting too close to Robere result in a tragedy that justifies his worst fears?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #684582 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-28
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Customer Reviews

Falling Angel
Fourteen-year-old Georges Saphir is popular with both teachers and fellow-students at the Catholic boys' school he attends in the Grand Duchy of Esperanto, a small European country. His piety and outstanding personal beauty even lead some friends to compare him to an angel. Only Georges himself knows that his most sincere prayer is not to become like his father, a moneylender whose ruthlessness (a very Japanese touch) has driven many families to poverty, despair and even suicide.

Georges' world - and his fragile self-esteem - start to crack on the day he meets Robert Jade, the headmaster's delinquent son. [All the characters' names relate to precious stones or metals]. Robert seems to be infuriated by Georges, questioning his actions and motives at every opportunity: breaking him down, he tells another student, will be "like the pleasure of deflowering a virgin". Yet Robert himself is haunted by something that happened two years earlier, the death of a mysterious girl who resembled Georges both in looks and "in purity, in devotion, in beauty, in love". Does he want to destroy Georges - or to be redeemed by him?

Fortunately Chigusa Kawai knows better than to overload her story with introspection and angst, and there's a fair amount of comedy among all the drama, much of it provided by the truly appalling Sir Frederick, teenage son of the Grand Duke Argent, to whom Georges is assigned as "official friend". `Freddy' does have his insecurities, but his spiky personality and loud mouth make his appearances lighter moments in the story. Kawai also goes light on the boys'-love aspects: although there are a couple of kisses, she concentrates on establishing character and motivation for the four-plus volumes still to come (there's a short preview section at the end which, she informs us cheerfully, is "50% bluff, 30% lies, and 15% projected image"). Her art is competent rather than original - almost everyone has huge eyes and pointed chins - but does what's required of it in carrying the narrative and illustrating the characters' emotions.

DMP, as usual, sets a high standard of printing (very important here, since Kawai makes heavy use of screen toning) and translation. There are one or two odd turns of phrase - e.g. "ring of Fate" should surely be "wheel of Fate" - but not more: in this area DMP is almost the equal of Del Rey, and far superior to some much larger publishers. Overall an excellent package, which enhances the reading experience.

Good 13+ story
yeah, if you are looking for yaoi, you will not find it here. But the story makes up for it. It's set at a boy's european dorm and it's very engaging, with beautiful artwork and pretty boys. I expected it will pick up on the shonen ai front, but so far it is very light. Some part are very funny and it sets up the story slowly as to leave you guessing, something like the style of Clamp. If you enjoy stories with angsty, pretty boys and plot, then this is for you.

A very religious manga..
Though personally I am not a religious person, I bought this Manga even though most DMP releases I am not to fond of.
It focuses a lot on the christian faith in a boy's school in Europe. There isn't a lot of BL (but there is some) so to say but it is heavily Slash.
It is a story of a boy called Georges who is also nicknamed the `Angel' by his classmates because of his attitude and devotion. He hides the fact his father was a mean man and hurt other people, while Georges wants to be accepted and loved by everyone instead of how he was shunned when his father was still alive. Robert arrives as a new student and sees through Georges shell and wants to see him live for himself instead of others.
There is a kiss between the two main characters, Robert and Georges. But I have to say, all Robert does is think about `someone' in the past he loved, and once again it's your average chick that looks like the main uke character. That about the Manga was disappointing.
Cute bits are the boys flirting and checking each other out because their stuck in an all boy's school. And even the addition of Frederic is quite cute when his name is dropped from `Sir Frederic' to `Freddy' by the boys.
The art is quite lovely which a lot of piccys of the main boys, Robert and Georges in various Angelic situations and such.
Sorry to those who aren't religious because this seems to be the main focus of the Manga.