Galaxy Angel Party

Publisher
Broccoli Books
Writer
Kanan
Artist
Kanan
Country of origin
Japan
Year
2001

Galaxy Angel Party V. 1

By David Rasmussen
30th Dec 05

Are you ready for a party? It seems as if we’ve been waiting for this particular party for this side of forever!
Ever since I first reviewed Galaxy Angel GN 1 I’ve been seeing ads touting the wonders of Galaxy Angel Party, the book that was supposed to be the counterpart to the Anime series (4 years running to date, with hopefully a 5th year coming or already out) as opposed to the manga proper which was the counterpart to the video game (the PS2 games that Sony has yet committed to release). Yet while the Galaxy Angel manga was coming out on time it seemed that Galaxy Angel Party was being pushed back release wise more times than Kingdom Hearts 2, so what gives with that! But finally, after much time, anticipation, and confusion the title finally rolls out into the bookstores and NOW we can finally get it a review!

You know the drill. The manga (Galaxy Angel) is tied to the video games, but this is tied to the Anime… or is it? While quite a few of the stories are indeed tied to the Anime series there are also stories linked to the Manga (video game), and a few… well… “alternate” realities Elseworlds style happenings.
By various creators (in a format you might be more familiar with if you read Di Gi Charat) each has their own slant and taste of Angel Brigade (Troupe) to offer up.
A sampling of the “meal” offered includes…

- The G.A. Guide to Financial Planning, which seemingly tears apart the Troupe as they raise money to replace money lost by Milfeulle while it was in transit to the Transbaal bank.
- Today’s Menu : Ketchup on Fortune Cookies, which seemingly puts the absurd notion forward that “fortune cookies” can somehow be mistaken as “lost technology”… really, you don’t say. But that’s not the worse, it’s what the Troupe does to Milfeulle to “save” her from a “red” death which is the bad thing… ew!
- Quick! Summon Sherlock Holmes! Somebody has pilfered the cake Milfeulle baked in The Angel Cake Cover-Up… gee, wonder who the guilty party is…
- In Bluer Than Indigo, creator Chisa Mori explores a strange Elseworlds tangent of the Galaxy Angel franchise by exploring the love Ranpha feels for… Forte?!? Yeah, this is so Elseworlds.
- If you must have a taste of cos-playing Mint you’ll have lots to dine on, including The Two Normads, The Beautiful Costume, Marshmallow Mint and more. Unlike the Anime and Manga which barely touches on the topic this gives you more cosplaying Mint than you ever thought you wanted.
- And finally we have creators who bring the weirdest look to the Angel Troupe as they do it, in the words of Frank Sinatra, “their way”… some of course do draw the Angel Troupe as you know them, but some just makes them look -- well -- different.
- Oh, and Dejiko slash Puchiko from Di Gi Charat drop in for a pointless cameo appearance (just like their appearance in Galaxy Angel DVD V. 3 (Season 1)!

All of the above, and more, come with a liberal slathering of one page skits which asks each creator who their favorite Galaxy Angel character is. Oh, and an offer of Galaxy Angel playing cards.
Ok, breakdown time.

Galaxy Angel Party Breakdown the 1st
What’s Hot?
I liked it, and it is one more reason why you should be checking out the Galaxy Angel series on both Anime DVD and Manga formats! Packing a large offering of shorts that should appeal to any reader you’ll find something here for you, regardless of whether you’re a fan of the Anime or Manga (or both).

What’s Not?
But sometimes some of these creators go abit overboard, even for me.
Let’s see… an attempt to “save” Milfeulle from her “red” death in the fortune cookie incident leads to an incident that you’ve never seen inflicted on Milfeulle before! Let’s just say it’s not pretty (not to spoil it for you)… or very sanitary… or clean… whatever.
Then there’s the thing of “Let’s see if we can make Ranpha and Forte an “item” thing! Are you serious?!?
Finally there’s the few Artists that kind of make the girls look weird the way they draw them. The aforementioned Bluer than Indigo and Mint’s Technicolor Curry come to mind.
Otherwise I don’t have too many complaints about the book, just these two.

Moments to Remember?
Finally, for those of you who love Mint’s cosplaying obsession here’s your chance to get more Mint in costume than you’ve ever gotten in the past! And there’s other good stories too!

What to Ignore?
Hmm… maybe the fact that it seems you have to wait six months between books? I need to go over to Borders and check for Galaxy Angel Party V. 2 and see if they have it yet. Maybe Right Stuf International.

Overall
Was the long wait worth it? The long long long wait that we suffered until we finally got Volume 1?
Hmm… I think so. In the end there is more good about this than bad, so it definitely warrants your attention and your consideration in terms of stocking stuffers (because if you’d rather not have the same old same old candy in your stocking on Christmas morning then maybe manga is your forte (pun unintended)). And if you want a good title this might be something to consider for your stocking… of course you’d have to tell somebody else to do it, but I am personally not above stocking my own stocking so -- just don’t tell anyone I said that. Anyway just remember it fits in most Christmas stockings, and is a good alternative to candy, just in case your hunting for an alternative.

-- David Rasmussen 30th Dec 05