(DISCLAIMER: "I'm Gonna Be an Angel!" is released in the US by Synch-Point, which is part of Digital Manga. Digital Manga also owns Akadot. Strictly speaking, I'm not an employee of Digital Manga, as I simply have a contract to provide them with a specific number of columns. Nevertheless, they are the ones who sign my checks.)

When I received my screener copy of "I'm Gonna Be an Angel!", my first thought, after patting myself on the back for being such a hotshot reviewer that I'm actually getting screener copies, was "what is this about?" I checked out some plot capsules online before viewing, but that didn't tell me much. After watching the tape, I'm still not sure what it's all about, but I'm interested in finding out.

Essentially, the beginning of "I'm Gonna Be an Angel!" is based upon one of the most overused clichés in anime. How many times have we seen this one: A young loser schoolboy encounters an otherworldly girl, who immediately attaches herself to the boy. Her wacko relatives and friends then show up, further making the boy's life hell. But just as "Evangelion" started as a rather clichéd giant robot story and rapidly became something unique, so this anime turns into something unique as well, even faster than "Evangelion" did, actually.

To be accurate, even the strictly clichéd part of the anime is... different. It's customary for the otherworldly girl to be cute, so Noelle is insanely cute. She makes C-ko Kotobuki look utterly tame by comparison. I actually found her a bit disturbing, as she reminded of my friend's six-year-old daughter who had a crush on me. As for her family, they have to be seen to be believed -- from her Frankenstein monster father to her vampire brother and invisible sister. This is one weird anime.

The dub of "I'm Gonna Be an Angel!" is just as curiously unique as the anime itself. Synch-Point took some significant creative risks. The cast features some of the most experienced voice actors in anime dubbing, alongside actors in their very first professional roles. For the leading role of Noelle, the wingless little angel, Synch-Point gambled on Diana Kou, who is known for performing in amateur "fan dubs", but had never acted before professionally. The gamble paid off. Kou sparkles in the role, which is all the more impressive when you consider that half of Noelle's dialogue consists of "ooh," "aah," and giggling. That's difficult to pull off without sounding forced, but Kou makes it work. Her exchange with Granny in the third episode, where she's told she can't squeeze Yuusuke if she wishes to become an angel, is priceless. "How about poking? Can I poke him?" Kou's voice combined with Noelle's facial expressions nearly had me on the floor.

Yuusuke, the aforementioned "loser schoolboy", is voiced by David Lucas. He's best known as Spike in "Cowboy Bebop", but you won't recognize him from that role. Yuusuke is the perfect dork, with a cracking, struggling-through-puberty voice that fits his character -- and his life of one crisis followed by another -- to a "T".

It's difficult to fairly judge many of the remaining voices in "I'm Gonna Be an Angel!" As the first three episodes are a stampede of characters, very few get much screen time. For the most part, I was impressed. Jodi Tamar, for example, is another actress in her first role. She plays Natsumi, a girl Yuusuke likes. In Natsumi's first appearance, she gets three words: "You're a pig." Tamar nails the line. It would have been so easy for such a line to be overplayed, but Tamar delivers it with just the right mixture of calm and disgust, making the impact on Yuusuke all the more crushing. I'd only heard three words, and I knew I was going to like the voice.

Wendee Lee, she of the million roles (including Faye in "Cowboy Bebop"), turns up in episode three as the busty, bouncy cat demon Miruru. (Is her name a Japanese cat sound?) Like Lucas, you won't recognize her from her previous roles. She turns in her usual exemplary performance, creating a confident, mischievious character, with occasional periods of squeaky lust when she chases Noelle's older brother.