Angel Densetsu

Angel Densetsu (エンジェル伝説) is a shōnen manga created by Norihiro Yagi. Serialized in Monthly Shōnen Jump from 1992 to 2000, in total of 15 volumes.

Story
Angel Densetsu is a story about Seiichirou Kitano, a kind and naive boy with the heart of an angel, but the sinister looks of a devil. This causes many misunderstandings, leading people to assume that he is a villain or heroin addict, and results in a career as the head thug, or "school guardian" at his new school.

List of characters

 * Seiichirō Kitano (北野誠一郎) : The main protagonist, a boy whose face inspires terror and despair in other people's hearts, but whose true nature is that of a kind-hearted boy. His gentle and caring actions mostly frighten those around him, and while he's used to getting hit for no apparent reason at all (except for his terrifying features), he has a natural ability to move instantly along the direction of the hits thereby suffering little to no damage. He is also observed of having the will to remain standing despite injuries (whether cosmetic or real).


 * Although he has no martial arts skill at all and doesn't like violence, he would often jump into fights head on, either to protect someone or to break the fight. Of course, coming headlong into fights while screaming incoherently (a trait that was also seen in Kitano's father that happens when both are in a state of panic), 'armed' with his already-mentioned scary countenance only serve to confuse the ones he face, and more importantly to serve the rumors of him being a delinquent, especially when the usual circumstances made that he is the only remaining person standing. Because of all the fights he gets caught up in, Kitano's speed and reflexes advance to a near inhuman level, his reflexes are at the level where they can keep up with a martial arts master while his speed is great enough that using he becomes a blur and simoutaneously avoid three martial artists.

At the beginning of the series when he got into a fight he would stand around getting hit by his opponents avoiding the brunt of the damage using his previously mentioned counter then ending the fight with his trademark double-palmed push. As the series progresses however his fighting style switchs from constantly getting hit to then avoiding hits with inhuman speed.


 * Aside from his speed, reflex, and his stubborn will, Kitano also occasionally uses a special finishing move, a double-palmed push. It is, literally, just a push. Fortunately, or unfortunately, it also bears behind it the whole of Kitano Seiichiro's will. It has been observed repeatedly of having the capability of lifting the victims off their feet and sending them soaring several feet away. This finishing move is instinctual, and mostly used when Kitano is trying to protect someone.


 * Characteristically of the series, the angel-hearted Kitano would misunderstand the actions of the people he faces (or forced to face), never even thinking ill of them, while the reverse is almost certainly true. This is the running gag that serves as the centre of which the story revolve around.


 * Seikichi Kuroda (黒田清吉) : The former "guardian" of Hekikuu high. He's been a slave to the previous guardian for most of his high school life, and he thought he could enjoy being the guardian in his last year of school, but he is forced to resign soon after meeting Kitano. He's the most delinquent-like of the group, skipping lessons to smoke and provoking fights. Although he usually gets beaten up by others (Koiso Ryoko, Takehisa, other delinquents), he isn't physically weak - he is big and has a strong punch. The fact he is constantly defeated lies in his mind - he is easily scared and has tendency to panic. He is also simple-minded enough to be manipulated.


 * Kuroda desperately tries to reserve a leftovers of his dignity by acting like a guardian before Ogisu and his sempais. Also he has one-sided crush on Ryoko.


 * Ooshita and Tokiyama are his two lackeys/friends. Both of them have rarely been referred to by their actual names. Koide, the class president's assistant calls it a "miracle" that he was able to obtain their full names. As the story progresses, they realize Kuroda's weakness (and strengths, rarely good, though), but they kept on being loyal to him.


 * Another piece of trivia from the author himself, Kuroda serves as a pivotal character at the very start of the series, when the author experienced a writer's block.


 * Ryoko Koiso (小磯良子) : The daughter of the Koiso-style kobujutsu karate master, initially set on fighting each and every high school delinquent, and convinced that Kitano is evil and very strong. After fighting him, however, she discovers his true nature, and little by little she becomes his girlfriend


 * In the story, she is considered very strong, having only been beaten by sneak attacks or accidents. Both her and Shirataki Ikuno are observed of having the same personality traits.


 * Ikuko Hirayama (平山郁子): Koiso's best friend, and the only "normal" friend of Kitano. She's very sensitive, and she's the only one to openly notice how much being friends with Kitano has changed Koiso and Shirataki.


 * Her name has come to one of the series' running gags, with Kuroda repeatedly calling her Koiso Ryoko's Friend #A. Her first name is first used about one-fourth into the story, and her family is not revealed until the very end of the series. The author had even thrown a contest to let the readers guess the family name (only one reader has correctly guessed what her surname is).
 * The inspiration for it was Ikuo Hirayama, a famous nihonga artist and former principal of the Geidai.


 * Yuji Takehisa (竹久優二) : The strongest delinquent of Hekikuu high, previously suspended for beating up one of the teachers: after being defeated by Kitano, he proclaims himself his "little brother". He sports spiked bleached hair and has no eyebrows.


 * After claiming loyalty to Kitano, he becomes less delinquent-like. He doesn't get into a lot of fight anymore (although he doesn't lose any of his fighting skill), nor does he skip classes, staying calm most of the time. His old, hot-blooded self, comes to the surface when someone tries to harm Kitano or himself.


 * At the end of the series, when confronted with the fact of Kitano being 'normal' -Takehisa's old comrades had come and asked him to join up in order to beat up Kitano- he proclaimed that whether or not Kitano is a delinquent, he is still Takehisa's best friend. He then proceeded to beat up his old comrades with a smile on his face.


 * Suda: The Hekiku High Student Body President Suda is handsome, popular, and clever. To him, nothing is more important than the students' view of him and victory over his opponents, and he is willing to go to any length, most often lying to and manipulating his "friends and subjects" to achieve that goal.


 * Suda is meant to be a parallel or antithesis to Kitano. While Kitano is frightening in a appearance and often called a monster, while actually being kind and gentle, Suda is quite attractive and charismatic, whom people often adore and proclaim to be awesome or hot. However, he is more like a monster in his behavior, often lying to people and manipulating them to achieve his ends. He even goes so far as to try to turn Koiso against Kitano in order to emotionally devastate him and win the war going on between them at the time (A war, it is worth noting, that Kitano had absolutely no idea even existed)


 * Ikuno Shirataki (白滝幾奶): The beautiful daughter of one of the special guidance counsellor and heir of his seat, her mission was to beat up Kitano, but after being defeated by Koiso, she becomes a part of their group. It is the very first time for her to be able to talk to people normally without anyone fearing her, even after her first days of school at Hekikuu High, when she knocked out a lot of male students. At first she is cold and uncaring, which is strictly true, but after knowing Kitano, and his gang, she gradually became softer and accepting. That doesn't mean she isn't ready to fight everyone or anyone at any time. She is still interested in fighting -and later actually ends up fighting- Kitano because of his abilities. She says once Kitano and Ryoko get married, she'll be his lover.


 * She also bears a striking resemblance to Clare, the protagonist of Claymore in both personality and physical appearance.


 * Takashi Ogisu (荻須高志): Dyes his hair bright red and calls himself "the fighting master". Previously unbeaten, he is defeated repeatedly on the very day he steps in Hekikuu high, a serious blow to his self-confidence. When Ogisu first meets Kitano, Kitano mistakes his red hair for blood and runs toward him, so he ends up scared and running away. He's sure that Kuroda is Hekikuu's guardian, and that Kitano is the number 2, and Kuroda told him that he could fight him only after he beat Kitano; although Koiso makes him think that he defeated Kitano once, in the end he gets beaten up once again. After meeting Shirataki, he gets beaten up by her several times; then, out of humility, he decides to learn the secrets of the Koiso-style kobujutsu and joins the Koiso dojo. At the end of the series, he realizes that he was still a powerful fighter, but was simply overshadowed by Kitano's invincible forces.


 * In the end, he's the only one to respect Kuroda, and Kuroda uses him as his subordinate, hoping to use his strength to protect him whenever he's in trouble.

Kitano's father

Kitano Ryuichiro. Kitano's father is an ordinary office worker, he has slicked back hair, small irises, and non-existent eyebrows much like his son. A key difference with his son is that he has an extremely large build and is shown to be extremely muscular. Due to his appearance and his non-understandable shrieking it has led many people to think he is a yakuza.

In his school days it is revealed that he too was the unknowing guardian of a high school. Due to his large build delinquents thought that he would be good material for their gangs. After finding out that he was a gentle giant the gangs tried to beat him up only to end up hurting themselves.

His fighting style is in an extreme contrast with his son. While Kitano relies on his inhuman speed and reflexes, his father relied on his inhuman endurance. Anything used as a weapon albeit: fist, leg or wooden sword they end up broken just from striking his body leading him to beat multilple gangs without lifting a finger. However when he did actually get the will to fight, his fighting style changes from his usual 'stand and take it' style, to a style where he moves at a speed far surpassing his son, where as he moves at a speed where he is not even seen to of moved.