It must be the dream of every little girl and boy for their dolls, toys and action figures to come alive and fight on their behalf (and maybe those of us who still collect toys in their mid-twenties...). Who hasn't imagined they were a commando in the garden with an Action Man or spun round and around and around with a Transformer at arms length, pretending that it's flying at mach 7 until you felt slightly nauseous? When we were all a lot younger our comparative lack of inhibition let us indulge in our imaginations (I'm not a prescriber to the theory that imagination deteriorates with age), and the notion that our toys would defend us in our hour of need wasn't so far-fetched. Of course, now we're old enough and wise enough to know better (or at least old enough to know that admitting such would be a quick way to land yourself in a looney bin), but I guess it is the memories of our past innocence that CLAMP hopes to provoke with their new title Angelic Layer.

Based around the concept of a 1 on 1 fighting game played out

with mechanical dolls, Angelic Layer follows the fortunes of the 12 year old Misaki and her doll (or 'Angel' as they're known) Hikaru as she works her way up through the Tokyo qualifying rounds of the Angelic Layer game with a little help from her friends. No ordinary videogame, Angelic Layer throws up quite a few trials and tribulations for the spirited Misaki, but her kind nature and good heart always see her through.

If you haven't guessed already, Angelic Layer is typical CLAMP fluff. And I mean that in the nicest possible way - it may be a touch heavy handed when it comes to today's morality lesson, but that's to be expected of an animation that centres around toy dolls (by the way, don't go thinking that Angelic layer is comparable to He-Man with the old weekly moral - this is infinitely more subtle). Once you accept that Angelic Layer isn't going to set new standards in the field of animation you'll find yourself having a lot more fun. It may be glaringly obvious that Hikaru is going to be able to defeat this seemingly unbeatable opponent by making practical

use of the advice that was given to her by the unflinchingly cool 8 year old Hatoko just moments before, but subjecting Angelic Layer to this level of scrutiny is a bit like criticising Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla for its lack of originality. Disengage your brain and let yourself enjoy the ride.

Beneath all the hi-tech themes Angelic Layer is in actuality a sports anime at heart. This goes a long way to explaining the predictable nature of the fights and the incessant focus on actual combat rather than character relationships and the like, but its technology led presentation should be instantly more appealing to a much wider audience than the average sports drama. And lets not forget the magic ingredient here - this is based on a manga by CLAMP, something which gifts Angelic Layer with wonderfully inventive (if a little over the top) character designs and endearing personalities to match. Despite their slightly stereotypical tendencies and often annoying mannerisms, with time you'll find yourself warming to their undeniable charms, even if it's only because they're so gosh-darn cute! My brain says no but my heart says yes - I can't help

but adore CLAMP's work.

To be honest I've noticed a severe lack of CLAMP's trademark iconic imagery (sakura petals, feathers etc) in Angelic Layer which strikes me as slightly odd. I guess it has a different pace and a lighter tone to, say, X/1999 and you could argue that it benefits from their absence, or maybe the directors decided to omit this aspect of CLAMP's work for whatever reason I don't know. I'm sure an expert could set the record straight here (feel free to mail me!), but it's really a moot point when you consider the bigger picture. And the be all and end all of it is that I'm finding myself getting more enjoyment out of Angelic Layer the more I watch. Regardless of what I think, you're likely to have made your mind up about this one already. CLAMP fans are bound to love it, that's for sure, but if you consider the toy centric concept to be slightly juvenile then I'd stay well clear of Angelic Layer. Everyone else is invited to dip their toes and try the water...you never know, you might end up enjoying yourself.