#raphaelxmikael

I really wish more people watched Tenshi ni Narumon...

This series, even if it looks like a harem anime at times, tackles some really deep issues.

I personally find it to be an excellent commentary on issues of masculinity and patriarchy (among many others) and how they affect male homosexuality in particular.

becomes  the most demonic one - just like Anthy was revealed to be the Witch

and in the end, turns out to be just a lil gay boy - similarly to how Anthy turn out to be a cool lesbian set out to find her girlfriend.

Here I would like to talk about a bit of foreshadowing in episode 13 when Raphael first appears in front of Mikael.

Earlier in that episode we see Noelle trying to fly by using mechanical wings that her sister Ruka created for her. When Dispel, one of Silky’s minions tried to catch Noelle and then get rid of Yusuke who just happened to be in the same place (the school tower) with child Natsumi by throwing them off the tower, Noelle jumped after them. After praying to Durian Comet for wings Noelle managed to catch them both and secure a safe landing. Much later at night we see Mikael wandering around the roof of a building next to the tower when he suddenly finds a single feather. He looks at the feather enthralled and muses to himself if it could be possible that Noelle became an angel - when he suddenly catches a glimpse of someone sitting on the tower’s clock. Turns out it’s his teacher from the Angel School, who greets him with a strum on his guitar and words ‘l missed you’. Mikael on the other hand seems less than happy about that and right away accuses Raphael of trying to mess up with him (he suspects that it was Raphael, not Durian Comet that granted Noelle the power of temporary flight) and then starts lecturing him about how angels should not interfere, etc, and it was Raphael himself who told him that in order to become an angel one has to surpass his teacher.

Throughout all this conversation Raphael is seen sitting on the clock’s needle, while Mikael keeps standing on the top of the roof holding the aforementioned feather. IMO, this scene perfectly captures how Mikael views angels. Even before Raphael reveals his presence to him, Mikael has his eyes fixed on the feather, admiring it in an almost enraptured way. And then when Raphael is revealed he, at first, is presented as just an angel, a distant figure sitting far away from Mikael (we don’t see him from up-close). In that moment, he represents the general angel image to Mikael. I believe that in Mikael’s mind angels are these perfect beings who should be respected and only admired from afar, and not be “sullied” by something so „unangelic” like feelings or desires. Yet at the same time, Mikael does desire angels, albeit mostly unconsciously and he would probably never even want to acknowledge that to himself. He thinks that the only way to reach angels is by acquiring angel wings. That is what becoming an angel means to Mikael and what, subsequently makes it impossible for him to become one - because he doesn’t want to save or help humans, but rather, he wants the approval from angels and also, he wants something angelic to be part of his own body, he wants to possess it.

So they talk for a while, Mikael visibly becomes more and more annoyed with his teacher (all the while holding the feather) and then suddenly and to Mikael’s surprise Raphael flies down to his side and Mikael at first doesn’t seem to know how to react. After acting so defensive just seconds ago, one would expect him to keep up this stance, but no. And then Raphael has an apparent coughing fit and starts staggering, which prompts Mikael immediately to hold out his arms and catch his teacher. Raphael then wraps his arms tightly around his student and just relishes the hug which also makes Mikael realize that it was just a joke and prompts him to free himself from Raphael’s arms angrily. We then see them exchange some more words, but we can clearly see that Mikael does not have the feather in his hand anymore. The next time we see the feather it lies on the ground completely forgotten and the camera lingers on it for a while in a nice contrast to the moment a while ago when it was shown in Mikael’s hand. This is a very peculiar scene, because it not only shows how Mikael’s instinctive side works, but it also contrasts nicely with Mikael’s attitude towards Noelle (he tries to make himself care about Noelle - and fails; on the other hand he pretends that he doesn’t have any desires towards angels, specifically Raphael - and also fails).

The feather is the most telling visual cue as to what actually happened in this scene - as long as Raphael was just one of the angels, a distant figure impossible to reach for a mere mortal - Mikael was clinging to the feather, a symbolic representation of something that could let him not only reach the angels, but what also would let him “possess” them. But the moment Raphael decided to stop being just one of the angels and came closer to Mikael’s side so that the boy could reach him, Mikael instantly forgot about the feather and sort of traded the feather off for the presence of his teacher, because now he had an actual angel by his side and also, he did not have to pretend that he cared about carrying out angelic deeds.