Angela

Angela is a vain but likable French musical star who is also a member of France's secret rescue team. Despite her cocky arrogance (and the fact that most of the other pilots don't understand her in the least), she means well. In the English version of Sonic Wings 2, Angela is depicted as a male punk rock star named Steve, but she goes by her original name and gender in Aero Fighters Special, the English version of Sonic Wings Limited.

Angela has long, wavy blond hair and large, sparkling green eyes. She is usually shown wearing her musical costume: a red military-dress style uniform in Sonic Wings 2 and a white costume in Sonic Wings Special and Sonic Wings Limited. Angela also always carries a rose. In Sonic Wings 2, Angela describes herself as 男装の麗人 ("a beauty dressed as a man"), such as the all-female Takarazuka Revue musical troupe.

Several factors have led to much debate over whether Angela is a man or a woman: her attire, her English name of Steve, her use of masculine language in the Japanese games, and her appearance as a naked man in endings found both in Sonic Wings 2 and Special/Limited. The Sonic Wings official website and sketchbook Pseudo Sky Rascals, however, emphasize that the character is a woman, stating that the endings showing her as a man weren't meant to be taken seriously.^[1]

Inspiration[]

According to Pseudo Sky Rascals, Angela's design was inspired by the character Oscar de Jarjeyes in the manga and anime Berusaiyu no Bara (also known as Berubara, Rose of Versailles, or Lady Oscar). Oscar was raised as a boy by her father and leads the Royal French Army in the years leading up to the French Revolution. She and Angela couldn't be more different in personality; Oscar is serious and level-headed where Angela is vain and can be flighty.

However, Angela mimics Oscar closely in appearance and dress. Oscar has wavy blond hair and "shoujo" style eyes, although hers are blue whereas Angela's are green. In addition, Angela's musical costume in Sonic Wings 2 is very similar to Oscar's elaborate royal uniform. Angela also carries a rose, echoing the rose theme found throughout Berubara. Video System's developers even referred to Angela as "Oscar" while they were working on Sonic Wings 2.^[1]

Sonic Wings 2[]

The famous French musical dancer is actually a member of a secret rescue team; she is the team's most expert member and possesses superior talent for combat. She fights because of liberty, equality, and philanthropy. As in Takarazuka, she gives the impression similar to a beauty disguising herself as a man; she also has many fans but is something of a narcissist (although Angela herself denies it). She is 25 years old, based on appearance?

—Sonic Wings 3 strategy guide

From France with Love
Famous French dancer. Also famous as one of the leading members of the French Secret Rescue Squad.

—Aero Fighters 2 game manual

Angela's first appearance in the Sonic Wings series occurs in Sonic Wings 2, where she declares that she "fights for love." Angela does enjoy fighting-- the Japanese manual mentions that she is an expert in dogfighting-- but she's still happy when peace returns to the planet... mostly because she can go back to performing.

In two-player mode, Angela can be paired with any of the other pilots:

Arthur: Arthur and Angela are one of the least interesting pilot combinations simply because they don't bicker! Most of their dialogue consists of discussing the battle and enemies. After the final boss battle, Lord River-n-White appears in a cameo, telling the two that they have saved the world due to their bravery.
Cincia and Ellen: At first, Cincia and Ellen think that Angela is arrogant and stuck up (with good reason); however, they eventually work together. In fact, Cincia and Ellen are the better fighters. After the final boss battle, the three decide that they need to get into better shape, so they go to train with Keith Bishop from Sonic Wings.
Hien: Hien does not get along well with Angela; they each find the other to be cocky, and in the English version, despite Hien's efforts to understand "punk," Angela loses patience with him. Still, there's something Angela does like about Hien; after the final boss battle, Angela pulls off her clothes (revealing herself to be a man in this ending) and demands that Hien accept her/his affection. Hien does not oblige. A rough translation of this scene from the Japanese version is in the gallery below.
Mecha-Keaton: Angela is hurt that Keaton doesn't know who she, "the musical star," is, and he apologizes saying that he's been "away from the world for a while." He also asks if she's a man or a woman, to which she replies doesn't he know the phrase "男装の麗人" ("a beauty dressed as a man"). When she declares that she is fighting for love, Keaton is taken aback. Once they get past this initial awkwardness, they work well together, with Keaton on the offensive and Angela covering him. She warns him to be careful when he gets too enthusiastic about fighting, but she is also impressed with his bravery. In the English version, their dialogue is completely different, with Keaton at first skeptical of Steve's arrogant attitude and a little confused by him. However, they each end up deciding the other is "not so bad after all," and they admire each other's "coolness." In both versions, after successfully defeating the final boss, Angela's Rafale M crashes. Keaton is at first sympathetic, then shocked when Angela's torn jacket falls off, revealing the corset she's wearing underneath. Poor Keaton then gets punched by the embarrassed Angela, who wails for him not to look at her.
Mao Mao: Angela and Mao Mao work well together, possibly because they are both performers with similar, indefatigably cheerful personalities. Mao Mao admires Angela and thinks that she's quite cool; after the final boss battle, Mao Mao happily declares that she'll join Angela's musical group. However, she doesn't work hard enough for Angela, who gives her a position on the band's cleaning crew.
Silver: Angela is not overly respectful of Silver, calling him "wacky" and "old man" in the English version of the game. Silver puts up with it through the battles, but he's finally had enough of Angela after the final boss battle. Silver declares that they've saved the world, but Angela just prances around singing, earning a sound kick from Silver. In the Japanese version of the game, Angela interrupts Silver's thoughts of his lost comrade Randy. A translation of this ending is in the gallery below.
Whity: Whity and Angela don't talk to one another very much, other than for each to argue in favor of her or his own brand of power. Whity finds Angela to be stuck-up, although Angela doesn't seem to understand that this is a bad thing. After the final boss battle, Angela tells Whity (for the second time) that he should join a circus, which leads to the dolphin opening fire on the musician and shooting her out of the sky.

Sonic Wings 3[]

Angela appears during the one-player mode end sequence if the player chooses to fight with Chaika and Pooshka. The girls want to earn money, and Angela offers them a job cleaning up after her musical group. She wears the same attire as in Sonic Wings 2.

Sonic Wings Special/Sonic Wings Limited[]

Swsangela — Angela in Sonic Wings Special and Limited

Angela returns in Special with a new outfit and curlier hair; in some shots, her hair is styled on the other side of her face as well. In two-player mode, she is paired with Ellen and Cincia. Angela also appears if the player defeats Lar with Chaika and Pooshika in single player mode: as in their single-player ending in Sonic Wings 3, the twins try to get their payment from Lord River-n-White and instead end up cleaning for Angela.

One-Player Mode Endings:

Boss battle with Pandora: After defeating the boss, Angela returns to Paris where she drinks coffee in front of the Arc de Triumph, commenting that this is a better lifestyle for a star like her. A rough translation of this scene is in the gallery below.
Boss battle with Lar: As in her ending with Keaton in Sonic Wings 2, Angela's plane crashes, and her corset is revealed. However, the unfortunate witnesses are the Blazers Gill and Glen, and they get a worse beating than Keaton. Lord River-n-White is shown as well.
Boss battle Balbi: Angela appears on stage along with many other members of Project Blue, where the game is revealed to be a long-running musical. A rough translation of this scene is in the gallery below.

Two-Player Mode Endings:

Boss battle with Pandora or Gurabura: Similar to her ending with Hien in Sonic Wings 2, Angela declares that Ellen is the one she's been searching for. She pulls off all her clothes, revealing herself to be a man, and asks Ellen to "accept my love without delay." Ellen reacts as Hien did. A rough translation of this scene is in the gallery below.
Boss battle with Lar or Do-ni Kai: Angela wants to go shopping with Ellen and Cincia in Paris, but she's late. When she finally does show up, she's wearing an incredibly fancy outfit which Ellen finds ridiculous. A rough translation of this scene is in the gallery below.
Boss battle with Balbi or Osaru: Similar to the two-player ending of Malcolm and Lord River-n-White and Kowful in Sonic Wings 3, Ellen, Cincia, and Angela go to Malcolm for training, but they aren't too sure about his techniques. This angers Malcolm, who attacks them with his "Malcolm Flash." A rough translation of this scene is in the gallery below.