Tenshi ni Narumon



Tenshi ni Narumon (or Tennimon in short) is a story of a girl who wishes to become an angel for her loved one - to put it simply. But although this premise might sound silly and cheesy, fear not - this anime is an offspring of Revolutionary Girl Utena, which means it is just as surreal, mindfucking and dark as the former one. And nothing is what it looks like in the beginning.

The whole story starts with a boy named Yuusuke who just recently moved in to a new house with his father, but because his parents are divorced and his father is mostly busy with his work Yuusuke may as well as live alone. One day on his way to school he decides to take a shortcut through a forest and there, to his utter shock, stumbles across a naked girl and accidentally kisses her (sic!). He then rushes to school where he's greeted with the very girl he met in the forest (fully clothed now!). Her name is Noelle. She follows him back home where Yuusuke founds out that Noelle's family, which basically resembles an Addams Family on crack, has just moved from the Monster World to live in the Human World and turned his house into something akin to a plastic castle from the Toys"R"Us line. And all of this because Noelle decided that Yuusuke is her husband so they are like a family now and should live together.

Yuusuke is not amused. He is already in love with his classmate Natsumi, who unfortunately thinks of him as nothing more than a pervert. When he tears his love-letter (stating that for Yuusuke, Natsumi is like an angel), Noelle, who was listening to the whole conversation, decides that she will become an angel for Yuusuke.

And that is how the whole mess starts. All along, the villains Dispel and Silky will appear, who will try to prevent Noelle from becoming an angel. Noelle will also have a kind of a mentor figure named Mikael, who will encourage her on her path to angelhood.

The anime was produced by Studio Pierrot and aired in Japan in 1999 with total of 26 episodes. There is also 2-volume manga which loosely follows the anime plot.

Character sheet is here.


 * Anime First: There is also manga, but it was second to anime, which was an original idea of the director.
 * Accidental Marriage: Noelle and Yuusuke
 * All Love Is Unrequited: ( Yeah.)
 * Beach Episode: episode 5
 * Be Careful What You Wish For: This is a very important theme in the series..
 * Beta Couple: Raphael and Mikael are somewhat an inverted Ho Yay Beta Couple to Noelle and Yuusuke as it's implied that they have been in a relationship long before the series actually started and their relationship is *ahem* a lot less innocent that Noelle and Yuusuke's. Though arguably, Raphael and Mikael's relationship has a lot more problems to work out than a pretty straightforward relationship of the main couple.
 * Betty and Veronica: Noelle is Betty and Natsumi is Veronica for Yuusuke.
 * Also, Muse is Betty and Silky is Veronica for Eros.
 * Beware the Nice Ones:  is usually an epitome of calmness, kindness and politeness when dealing with strangers and people he's not close to, unless he's with Raphael.
 * is usually a kind and carefree house lady
 * looks like a cute, harmless cat-girl and acts like a total ditz most of the time
 * is totally moe and looks like she's always on the verge of crying,
 * Bishonen: Most of the male characters, but especially Mikael
 * Cute and Psycho:  is usually a cute, easily agitated boy, but when under great stress and when things don't go they way he wants them, can turn into a really scary and obsessive Cute Psycho.
 * The same can be said about  - very moe and doll-like.
 * And.
 * Different As Night and Day: Noelle (the light) and Silky (the darkness).
 * Dogged Nice Guy: Yuusuke tries to win Natsumi, his aloof classmate's heart to no avail, and at least throughout the first season, she generally treats him like a crap. Likewise, Noelle's is this for Yuusuke.
 * Also, Raphael can be considered this (mixed with Chivalrous Pervert) for Mikael. Although it is a little more complicated in their case,.
 * Embarrassing Nickname: Mikael totally hates when people misspell his name, calling him 'Kaeru-san' (Mr Frog) and he always tries to correct them.
 * Evil Twin: Silky is this for Noelle.
 * Everyone Is Related: All the main characters and even villains turned out to be connected to each other in some way:.
 * Eyecatch: An interesting case in that throughout the whole series the eyecatch featured always Noelle and Yuusuke - the main couple, but.
 * Face Heel Turn: I think by now you may as well as guess who.
 * Heel Face Turn: Yes,.
 * Hot Teacher: Raphael
 * Incompatible Orientation: Sara
 * Similarly, Natsumi
 * Inexplicably Awesome: Raphael.
 * Intelligence Equals Isolation: Mikael a textbook example of an intelligent loner - in the first season, he is mostly seen alone with his Book of Chaos and only occasionally talking to Noelle.
 * Love Triangle: Tenshi ni Narumon, for majority of the series, something akin to 'love quindrangle', as well as more traditional triangles.
 * Master Apprentice Chain: Mikael is a mentor to Noelle, just like Raphael was a mentor to him.
 * Madness Mantra: "Ganbare, ganbare" and "I/we will become angels"  and "I won't become an angel!".
 * Mind Screw
 * Modesty Bedsheet: Mikael in episode 17
 * Mother of a Thousand Young: It might be a bit unusual, but.
 * No Export for You: The English dub and North American DVD release were dropped halfway through the series. For many years, the only way to see the second half with English translations was through VHS fansubs or digitizations thereof.
 * No Sense of Humor: Mikael
 * Oddly Visible Eyebrows
 * Power Trio: By the end of the series we have:
 * Mikael - Superego (determined and by-the-book)
 * Silky - Id (villainous and powerful)
 * Noelle - Ego (the one who makes the final choice)
 * Red Herring Shirt:.
 * Replacement Goldfish:.
 * Sealed Good in a Can: This is what Mikael and Silky.
 * Secret Test of Character: The entire subplot concerning  is based on this.
 * Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Mikael and Raphael.
 * Status Quo Is God: This is in fact a very important plot point.
 * Stepford Smiler: is a weird mix of Type A and C
 * Surprise Creepy: Painfully sweet, cutesy, sillyand looks like it was made for some toy store line. By the end of the series, the darkness, creepiness and mindfuckiness will make many cringe.
 * Teacher-Student Romance: Raphael and Mikael - believe it or not, it's not as squicky as it sounds, although they are also angels, which may make it sound even worse. And it's pretty much consensual on both parties (Mikael may have problems admitting it, though)
 * The Three Faces of Eve: It might be a little unusual
 * The Gadfly: Raphael is this with a mix of The Tease towards Mikael
 * The Power of Love:.
 * Geez, there's even an episode named like that - episode 19.
 * The Reveal: In the last episodes it was revealed that the.
 * Similarly, it was revealed that.
 * In the last episode, it was revealed that.
 * Those Two Guys: Masaru and Saiki
 * Troubled but Cute: Mikael is a very, VERY troubled  pretty boy. You wouldn't guess that because
 * Tsundere: Mikael is a Type A with Raphael and Type B with anyone else . He usually acts like a nice, kind and polite gentleman  . And when around Raphael, he's a straight-out Type A Tsundere
 * Also, Natsumi is mostly a Type B she's genuinely sweet and kind, but especially in the first season often acted very tsunderish towards Yuusuke - slapping him, tearing his love letter and being an overall bitch. She might be more of Defrosting Ice Queen since by the end of the series she almost completely mellowed down.
 * Unequal Pairing: Raphael and Mikael are teacher and student respectively
 * Unflappable Guardian: Mikael fits this trope to a T, mostly in regard to Noelle.
 * Raphael, on the other hand, while may not look like it at first glance, is this trope (albeit well-intended) to Mikael.
 * Yaoi Guys: Raphael and Mikael
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: It has a whole palette of colors.
 * What Is This Thing You Call Love?: Noelle many times asks people around her about stuff like love, hugging, kissing, happiness etc.
 * Raphael, on the other hand, while may not look like it at first glance, is this trope (albeit well-intended) to Mikael.
 * Yaoi Guys: Raphael and Mikael
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: It has a whole palette of colors.
 * What Is This Thing You Call Love?: Noelle many times asks people around her about stuff like love, hugging, kissing, happiness etc.