Soul Rescue



"''The ability to heal damage to both the "heart" and "body," and to rescue those who have lost their way.

This power is called "Soul Rescue."''"

Soul Rescue is a two-volume action/adventure/drama Shoujo Manga starring angels, demons, and co-starring God.

In another world and time, the angel Renji is infamous for his violent nature; though Heaven's most accomplished warrior, he has no interest in an angel's duty of tending to Mankind. To fix this glaring flaw in his personality, God Himself exiles Renji from Earth until Renji has 'rescued' ten thousand human souls. To facilitate this, Renji is given the Soul Rescue: An ability to negate the darkness in a person's soul that happens to be focused through his lips. Renji's also given a babysitter, the Elite Angel Kaito, whose straitlaced demeanor clashes with Renji's personality. And with that the pair is sent to Earth to commence their journey.

Among the way they meet various ladies in need, battle a pair of demons, and become friends.

The mangaka, Aya Kanno, is best known for her serialized works in the Japanese Hana to Yume manga anthology; her best-known work in English is Otomen. Licensed and published in English by Tokyo Pop, Soul Rescue is perpetually incomplete.

This manga provides examples of:
"Family... Loved ones... Friends... An angel needs none of these things."
 * A Friend in Need: Kaito shows up at exactly the right time to fight alongside Renji in the final chapter. Also a Friendship Moment.
 * Alone in A Crowd: All of Kaito's flashbacks, making a visual point with one dark-haired angel amidst a sea of pale hair.
 * Baddie Flattery: Whenever Renji fights Vinny, the latter won't shut up about the former's impressive skills.
 * Barehanded Blade Block: Kaito catches a blade made of dark energy. One-handed.
 * Battle Aura: Use of powers seems to make both angelic and demonic wings visible.
 * Being Personal Isn't Professional: Standard for angels, it seems: They don't need friends because they have their duty to God. God Himself, though, seems to want to change that.
 * Big Damn Heroes: Standard M.O. for our heroes.
 * Bodyguard Betrayal: A member of Princess Lucy's guard has been poisoning her on the Queen's order.
 * Celibate Hero: Renji and Kaito, with a dash of Oblivious to Love in the former's case. Angels aren't allowed to love period, but it's debatable as to whether or not they separate romantic and affectionate feelings.
 * Consummate Professional: Kaito, recognized as such throughout Heaven; this is apparently the standard by which angels are measured.

"Kaito: 'That's right... I don't care about those around me. That's how...'
 * Cut Short: The entire series, due to Cancellation.
 * Days of Future Past: It's implied that the series takes place After the End ("In the distant future, there is a world carving out a new history for itself..."), possibly accounting for Heaven's advanced technology compared to the rest of the world's medieval tech-level.
 * Defrosting Ice Queen: Kaito is a male version; his stoic attitude is a defense mechanism, but it starts to melt once he's partnered with Renji.
 * Emotion Suppression: How Kaito lived before the manga begins.

Kaito: '... All I was doing was fooling them.'"

"God: "Those two could never really separate. The time will come when he will understand..."
 * Far East: The Asian-style country - heavily Japanese - visited in Volume 2.
 * Feud Episode: Interestingly, it's implied that Renji and Kaito have no real idea what friendship is, as angels and demons don't form such bonds. When they get back together, they're apparently the first angelic friends ever. And yes, there is Ho Yay fodder aplenty.
 * It's commented on after Kaito comes back: Vinny says that Renji's bond with Kaito makes him seem not angelic or demonic, but human.
 * Fire Forged Friends: A facet of Renji and Kaito's warming up to each other and becoming Bash Brothers.
 * Flash Step: Kaito seems to favor these.
 * Friend to All Living Things: Everything loves Lulu, from bears and wolves to weird little fuzzy things.
 * Friendless Background: Due to his atypical coloring for an angel, Kaito was ostracized throughout his life.
 * Genki Girl: Sakura from Volume Two fits this nicely.
 * Good Smoking Evil Smoking: Toi of the demon duo smokes near-constantly.
 * He Is Not My Friend
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: It seems as if God Himself expects Renji and Kaito to turn out this way.

God: "Understand just how irreplaceable they are to each other.""


 * High School AU: An official one in the Omake pages: Kaito is the Student Council President (complete with Megane), Renji is the Delinquent, ect.
 * Hot Blooded: Renji, any time there's an excuse. Contrast Kaito maintaining his cool even in battle.
 * I Am What I Am: Lulu's attitude, despite her blindness and the prejudice of the townsfolk; Kaito tries to think this way, but hasn't quite succeeded.
 * Ki Attacks: Standard for both demons and angels, particularly the Energy Ball.
 * Light Is Good: All angels have fair hair and light-colored eyes... except Kaito.
 * Looks Like Cesare: Vinny the demon, complete with Excessively Evil Guyliner.
 * Lost Friendship Montage: After they split up, Kaito has a panel of this.
 * Not So Different: Renji's Blood Knight tendencies draw comparisons, sometimes explicit, with the demons he fights.
 * Older Than They Look: The author's notes indicate that despite their late-teen good looks, Renji and Kaito are "around a couple of thousand years old."
 * Red Baron: Renji has many names, including the Sword of God and the Rogue/Wild/Rebellious Angel; Kaito is known as the Eye of God.
 * Red Oni Blue Oni: Renji's the Red Oni, Kaito's the Blue Oni. Textbook case.
 * Schizo Tech: Most of the world is a Standard Fantasy Setting, but Heaven is high-tech with a hint of Organic Technology.
 * Sharp Dressed Man: Kaito's crisp suit, compared to Renji's sleeveless vest. Both are examples of Awesome Anachronistic Apparel.
 * The Conscience: Kaito's job, and the reason why he's chosen as Renji's escort. Well, that and to remind Renji that he really can save people.
 * Tsundere: Kaito is a somewhat surprising non-romantic version at the very end of Volume Two; he blushes when Renji indirectly calls them friends, then recovers with a barrage of insults.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: Our heroes are a relatively mild version, mostly due to their clashing personalities.
 * Weapon of Choice: Toi seems to have some kind of sword-slash-energy-bow that can also be an energy-whip. Notable because he's the only one who seems to use any kind of weapon; everyone else prefers Ki Attacks or Good Old Fisticuffs.
 * White Haired Pretty Boy: Renji, though it may be silver, to contrast Kaito's hair being Shiny Midnight Black.