Angel Beats!

"I see dead people" - that kid from The Sixth Sense

I do too, kid, and they're pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

Angel Beats has gotten a lot of love and I'm here to add to that love, as it was the first anime I ever watched (besides Pokemon) and was what got me into this addictive media. That being said, it's not without it's flaws.

The story (8) is set in purgatory - that place between heaven and hell - with a whole bunch of teens that had awful pasts. There they have the Afterlife Battlefront, full of said teens, that is against God. ... Otonashi, our main guy, joins said group to fight against God and a mysterious girl named Angel.

It's a pretty good concept, with comedy and action scenes that are mixed together well. The only major downside is that it takes place in a school - of course - and only has teenagers except the NPC teachers. This makes it unrealistic and what makes it even more so is that some of the characters have powers, which don't really match the tone but whatever, it made for good action and funny scenes. Another annoying bit is the ending, which is sweet but leaves something to be desired.

The Art (9) is beautiful. It's crisp and the action scenes are easy to follow. The character designs are a bit clique but the overall art is great. The band scenes are also very well done.

Speaking of the band, the sound (9) is another high point to this anime. Girls Dead Monster was great both times around and the overall OST was beautiful. The opening and ending are also very well done. I couldn't skip them at all.

Now, the characters are both the best and worst thing about this anime. There are just too many to be expanded upon in just 13 episodes. I know this was originally supposed to be longer and I really wish it had stayed that way. The characters that do get expanded upon have tragic pasts that make you want to cry and they all seem to be important. The supporting characters provide good support, but I wish they all had backstories like the others.

The main character is very generic, as is Angel, but that didn't stop me from loving this. Characters - 8.

My overall enjoyment is a 10. I cried the first time I watched this. Granted, now that I watch it again, I have the whole nostalgic factor, which makes me love it even more. If you cry easily or just like sad backstories, this is for you.

Final Verdict: Not even Angels can compare.

Personally, I have such a small attention span that I can't really watch series longer than 50 episodes at a time. I like to keep to series around the 26 or 13 episode length. But personal quirks aside, longer series can really benefit the story you are trying to present by having more time to fleshing out you're story and characters. This is what I believe "Angel Beats!" lacked, keeping it from being a great anime.

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Story:
There really isn't enough substance in the main story-line of Angel Beats! to really grab me the way I wanted it to. A lot of it is just random ... pandering to spit in the face of a certain character. The amount of sidelining to do random missions, and focus on other characters and their backstories leaves the main storyline as just an empty shell, nothing more. That being said, when the show decides to focus on those side stories involving the backstories of the main, as well as a few side characters, it quickly turns from being simply enjoyable to being almost tearjerking. The amount of quality put into these episodes is so great that it almost puts the rest of the show to shame. If the show focused more on the characters rather than its mishmash of a story, it could've been so much better.

Even though the story was mainly a mess, the amazing execution of the comedy scenes managed to really make the series extremely enjoyable for me. The comedy in Angel Beats! has to be some of the best comedy I've seen not only in anime, but in all media as a whole. Coupled with those side stories, it becomes the adhesive that makes this series so much better, and ultimately worth the watch. But in some ways, even the comedy was a problem. It wasn't so much how funny some of it was, it was more so the timing of which these comedy scenes occured. You could have an absolutely beautiful moment, and then right after, someone comes along and kicks someone in the face. Talk about ruining the moment.

And one last note. The romance. There was not a single trace of it until the very end of the entire series. If you want to put romance in a series, make sure that you build up to the beautiful blooming romance, not just randomly put it in without any warning whatsoever.

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Characters:
First, let's talk about Otonashi, the supposed main character of the series. Although everything is seen through his eyes as he is put into this high school purgatory, he does little to really influence the direction of the already inconsistent plot. He mainly just stands around and does nothing, spectating what the other characters are trying to accomplish. But honestly, I can't really fault him because that's exactly who he is supposed to be, a completely bland character. It is learned that he has amnesia from the transition of living to dead (this isn't a spoiler cause we learn this in episode 1), having no previous knowledge of the life he lived. This means not just us, but Otonashi himself doesn't even know who he is, and is basically just a blank slate. But this is what really pisses me off about his character. We learn about his backstory sometime throughout the series, and in his backstory, he is a leader who wants to help as many people as he can because of the things he has faced in the past. However, after his backstory, his present self seemed to have no change whatsoever. You would think after that he would have have some character development.

Next, we have Yuri, the leader of the Battlefront Otonashi is more or less pushed into joining. She is a very eccentric woman who wants to fight God because she thinks that the life she got was completely unfair. She was a much better off character than Otonashi was, being given a decent character motivation, as well as a great personality. The direction she was inevitably led to was less than desirable, though.

Rounding off the main character trio, we have Angel, the person everybody seems to hate for one reason or another (don't need to spoil anything). She falls into the Rei Ayanami archetype, saying around 100 words throughout the whole series. For a lot of the time, she just seems more of a plot point than an actual character. She does get more interesting later on in the series, but still only a slightly above average character in my eyes.

Lastly, we have the supporting cast of characters. These guys pick up any of the slack the main cast may have left behind. Each and every one of them have interesting personalities, and are responsible for the great comedy this series has to offer. A few of them are also the focus of the aforementioned side stories, which were better than I could've imagined. I just wish they could've focused more on these characters, maybe giving more of them a greater background and such.
The supporting cast is so large that it would take all day to name them all, but I will mention the four I found to be memorable. The first three, Iwasawa, Yui, and Kaname, being the ones who are in the breathtaking side stories. Iwasawa, a girl who wants nothing more than to save someone using the music she plays, much like how the music of a band saved her life. Yui, an overly energetic girl, who was at first extremely annoying, but had a very well justified backstory which made it so that her being annoying was actually a plus. And Kaname, the love interest of Yui, and someone who has a love for baseball. Honestly, I think Kaname would have been a better choice for a main character than Otonashi was.
And finally, the fourth side character worth mentioning, and my favourite character by far, is none other than T.K, someone who just cannot stop moving and dancing. He has the most random things to say, and says them in such an unorthodox way, you just can't help and fall in love with his character. I have not seen a character with a personality so completely original like T.K's since Okabe Rintaro from Stein's;Gate. It makes me cry that they gave him so little screen time, because his character was just so damn interesting.
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Animation:
P.A Works is one of my favourite studios to date, and they do not dissapoint with Angel Beats! From the lighting to the artwork to the actual fluid animation, everything is solid throughout the board. Something I really thought was a nice and welcome touch was the changes they kept making to the opening and ending. In the opening and ending, they would show off every main and supporting character in the Battlefront, and whenever a new character was introduced, or a character leaves the Battlefront for whatever reason, they would either add or remove that person from the opening and ending in the next episode. I found that this addition had a refreshing effect when changing to a new episode.
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Sound:
First, let's start with the opening and ending again. There isn't much to say other than they are simply beautiful, and a treat for the ears. They also made a small but extremely nice touch to the vocals of the opening in one episode. In the beginning scene of an episode, Yui is auditioning for the school's band, Girls Dead Monster. When she starts singing, the opening starts rolling, but in a with a different vocalist than the norm. The way they made the opening flow with the scene of the show was truly fascinating.

The soundtrack itself was good, but nothing spectacular. Everything fit the tone of whatever was happening, but with the exception of a couple tracks, nothing really stood out as something I would listen to outside of the show.

Lastly, the dub. I think the dub is worth listening to rather than the sub. This isn't because the voices are any better, because in all honesty, the voice acting is mediocre at best. The script, however, is one of the main reasons those comedy scenes really jumped out as being extraordinary. I can't imagine myself laughing as hard as I did watching it in subbed format. So my recommendation is watch the dub, even if the voices make you cringe at times (I'm looking at you, Greg Ayres), because I believe it won't be as enjoyable if you watch it subbed.
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The thing about Angel Beats is that it had so much potential, but the lack of episodes really decays the overall quality of the show. There are so many absolutely breathtaking moments in this show, which are the reasons why I would easily recommend this show to anyone who is a fan of the comedy/drama genre. However, there are so many other problems that I feel could be fixed if everything wasn't so rushed due to time constrictions. The main story couldve had more meaning to it, Otonashi wouldn't have to be so uninteresting, the side characters could be more fleshed out, and the ending would have been so much more satisfying. That being said, even though Angel Beats! is riddled with many problems, there is ultimately something to really enjoy here, and I do recommend it to give it a watch. I definetely found it worth my time (for the most part), and I think so will most of you.

Angel Beats...laughter...tears...really Clannad-ish in the good way...

~Story~ 8/10
The story was really intresting as it makes you think what would you do if you realized that you was dead...would you accept it...deny it...feel lost...that's a good question!
Angel Beats also has great development of both the story and the characters. All the questions you and the character have will be answered when they are supposed to and the way that charaters act is different (Not out of character,just more mature.) as the show progresses
However the best thing in the story is the backstory ... of each character. The backstory helps the viewer undestand the reason behind every action of the character. Unfortunately there are a lot of characters left with no backstory...but hey nothing is perfect right?

~Art~ 9/10
The animation is stunning! Every character is well designed, the fight scenes are really well done , the colours and everything is just...WOW!

~Sound~ 10/10
Again... WOW! To be honest, if GirlsDeMo were a real ife band I would definately be a fan. The songs were wonderful, I even like listening to them even after watching the show and the singing was very emotional (for example My Song or Ichiban no Takaramono that makes me cry every time I listen to it!).

~Charcters~ 9/10
There are some shows that even though the story is great, the character are just so annoying that you do not enjoy the whole show at all. Angel Beats is faaaar from that category! All the characters all likeable and you can relate to them at some extend. The development of the character is also great as the series progresses.
The thing is that it is okay if you are crying because I think that's the magic in the show. Feeling the characters...understand them...try to imagine youreself in their position.
And as I metioned before the backstories are a great thing in Angel Beats. However I got a little annoyed that some of the character had no development or backstory at all (like Shiina which I totally loved and the other GirlDeMo members). That's the only reason why I rated Characters 9/10.

~Enjoyment~ 8/10
Well I have to admit that this kind of anime is not my kind of tea. Don't thing of it as 2 point before 10. Instead thing of it as 8 points after 0! I just hate being in the emotional state these anime bring me in and I hate crying! However I really enjoyed this anime in whole!

~Overall~ 9/10
Angel Beats is a great anime! You will totally like it if you like Clannad and if you can easily relate to the characters. You will like it too if you like badass girl characters (Yurippe!!) and great fight scenes without tons of blood! I would highly reccoment to watch it!!!

*Thank you sooo much for reading my review ^^ I apologise for any mistakes (English is not my mother tongue) Watch Angel Beats!!*

This anime had me tear up at some points, and I am quite glad that I watched it.


Story: Well, the story was well written, although had some minor plotholes.
Such as unexplained things they could do.

Art: Nothing unique, just good.

Sound: Crystal clear 99% of the time, and sounded great.

... Character: Oh wow! Outstanding character design! The back stories, the way that they act, it's all superb! Whoever designed them is a genius!

Enjoyment: 9. Great show. Needs a sequel, though. If you watch until episode 13, you'll see why. That part made me happy.

FLAW: The end of episode 13 and the epilogue episode completely contradict each other! It was like watching Holes all over again!
As if the plot holes could such you into another dimension!
Unless this was intended as an alternate ending, it break canon!

Angel Beats is one of the few animes I would recommend to people that didn't watch any anime in their lifes. It's one of the top end series with everything kept at the highest level.
In this certain series you will face laughter, tears and uplifts every now and then. It's a story that will make you think about life, you will ask yourself "Hey, why am I complaining so much?" "Hey, my life is kinda great what am I thinking now?"
Because it's a story about life. About lives that had to be redeemed. That had to be lived again, just because they simply needed that.
What ... would you do if you had a chance to live your life again unbound? Without any barriers? Without any limitations?

SCORES:
STORYLINE:
The storyline is based around a group of young people, for some reason they are trapped in a different world, not knowing what is exactly going on.
And that drives you in from the very beggining. You simply just want to know what is exactly going on!
And then, slowly, you learn about who they are and what they want. Why are there here.
And those are the best parts, because those character are written with a thought. They are people, they managed to make them like real people. You will be able to sympatize with them easily, which is the best part of the show.
And that is why, you will laugh and cry. Because you will be able to understand them, to comprehend what they were after while doing certain things.
And you will be able to comprehend why is that they are here, together.

VIBE:
It's warm, the vibe is just warm. And while being warm, it can also be cold and dark, to be honest. Mostly you will have a laugh, or at least a smile.
Those jokes there are just silly, but they are silly for a purpose. You can figure this one out while watching the series :)
And when it's cold, it will freeze you. You will burst out in tears. I myself burst out in tears while watching on ceartain scene, with Yui and Hinata, you will get what Im talking about. You surely will.
And that is epic, this series manages to initiate emotions that are exactly opposite to each other. After crying a bunch, you will smile a lot. Right after the scene, you will be happy, even though you cried. And that is what I call a masterpiece.

ART STYLE:
As you can probably notice, its radiant. The colors are bright and happy. Some people might use a little bit of tweaking here and there. But overall I like it. The best thing is that every character is drew with a certain taste, so that they all look different, which is especially nice. I like when characters can be differentiated by just plain symbols.
Animation is great, all the fight and the places theyve been at are pretty. They didnt use any shortcuts while drawing, nothing in distance is blurry or undone.

MUSIC/VOICEACTING:
Ohhhhh, music. I listen to the SONG, yes SONGS, from the series till now. And I watched it a buuuuuunch ago.
There's this band called Girl Dead Monster that was established in the series, making songs and singing them in the series. They also made some bonus songs outside of the series. And I love those, the girls that are singing (there's two of them) have wonderful voices. It makes me remind myself of what happened in the series. And well, the whole music part takes a big role in the anime. It's pretty damn important.
Voice acting is nice. They managed to give every character a recognizable voice, so that they are more original. Some of them even use a special manner of talking! Which is always very funny!

CONCLUSION:
Im gonna repeat myself with what I said in the very beginning. I recommend it to everybody, even those that havent watched any anime in their lifes. This is a good starter.
This anime will be in my mind forever. Whenever I have a bad day I think about those people from Angel Beats. I feel better in a blink of an eye!

Not to be intentionally starting a fight, but....
Angel Beats! wasn't that fucking great. I can like it, but in overall, it wasn't THAT amazing.

For once, I can say I really do like the characters. They are all unique and many of them add a higher level of hilarity to the anime. TK for example is fucking hilarious in some parts just because of the randomness of it. I could go on about how each character has their funny moments, but beside that- the characters are shallow themselves. They fall in love in a mere few seconds or episodes for unknown reasons besides 'she's alone, maybe ... I am desperately in love with her' and 'you're alone, I'll marry you.' That's kind of retarded and 'dense' as far as the characters go. The character designs: great, adorable. Personality: somewhat unique, haphazardous. In-depth emotion: Non-existent, forced.

As far as the story goes? It's interesting but wasn't zoomed in enough. For an anime with something this interesting and with interesting characters, they could have at least gone about it in a more extensive way. They pushed all the characters into scenarios, and they reacted at the turn of a dime. No hesitation. The 'deep inner parts' of the story? NONE WHATSOEVER. Don't become that one English teacher who finds the 'deep meanings' in the book, because there isn't one. This was just an anime about people falling in shallow love in a painful after life.

The good parts of this anime? They force you to cry at the end. Good feels. And that's about it, as far as Angel Beats! goes. Humour and forced emotion.

There is a moment where an anime becomes much more than “just” an anime isn’t there.
Because Angel Beats taught me a very important life lesson, it made me realize that no matter what is waiting for us on the other side, we must accept it and not fear death because everything has a time limit and we were given the chance to live, experience, and witness the wonderful world we have. If we would look past through our flaws, we will be able to live happy fulfilled lives. Live our lives and follow our hearts… so when our time comes we won’t regret anything. ...

And Everything I have to say about Angel Beats! can be summed up in my newest review via YouTube @
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiOhv9b9y9U&feature=youtu.be
Or you you Prefer the written form (Boring)... simply look down

Imagine a perfect life for yourself, filled with everything you ever wanted, imagine living in a world where everything you had ever hoped for came true, imagine meeting your life time goals and ultimately making yourself happy, imagine being surrounded by everyone you love, honestly try to imagine it… Now imagine all of that being taken away from you, all of your hard work just thrown to the wind, everything that you put your life toward accomplishing just taken away from you in an instant, losing everything and everyone you wanted to protect in this world in a matter of seconds, think how devastating that must be, to have all of your happiness taken away, to have everything you worked so hard for and believed in destroyed in the blink of an eye, imagine the type of sadness that this creates, having everything, everything your ever held dear taken in this unjust way for no real purpose or reason… Imagine everything that had ever made you smile in life disappeared; imagine how meaningless and pointless your life would become after these tragedies, and finally imagine dying without doing or changing anything about this, and there you have the lingering emotion of angel beats…

Overview:
So today we are going to be doing a group discussion review or whatever you want to call it on the popular anime Angel Beats! We will be discussing and rating them the topics of angel beats such as Story, Character development, Visual Arts and effects, as well as Music, and basic overall viewer enjoyment. And our life time goal is to get through this entire review without crying…

Introductions:
OK so Angel Beats is a multi-release project produced by Key studios, which has brought us amazing titles such as Air, Kanon, and Clannad. It consists of an anime and manga series, novel as well as a Comic. However, the 13 episode anime series was also produced P.A Works, Aniplex, Visual Art’s, and licensed by Sentai Filmworks. Angel Beats is a Supernatural Action Comedy that also takes you on a personal emotional rollercoaster throughout the entire series.
Story:
Angel Beats takes place at a high school in the afterlife although they are dead they still experience the natural human sensations, such as hunger and pair yet in this high school the student body consists of NPCs, non-player characters, which are humanoid interfaces without souls and then there are the students with souls that are in the world with a purpose, each with a different past life but all of them are here to release lingering emotions from an unjust life.
… And it is these Lingering emotions that keep them here in this world from passing on to their next life. This ultimately brings them to the main plot with the Afterlife Battlefront, where the Students with lingering emotions fight against God because of their unjust lives. The initial story starts as Otanashi awakens without any memories from his past life due to an occurring case of amnesia. He is first greeted by Yuri Nakamura otherwise known as Yurippe and so the story of Angel beats Began…
Character Developments:
Yuri Nakamura- Yurippie starts as an ultimate commando badass as the leader of the Afterlife Battle front, who comes off as a strong minded, level headed, determined leader and at times has a psychotic mind. She created this campaign to justify god's role in her own tragic life. However, Yurippie ends up labeling angel as the main enemy of the afterlife battle front
Angel- Kanade Tachibana… However, there are always two sides to every story, Angel is the supposed right hand man to God, but her real name Is Kanade Tachibana. Who starts off as the school’s Student Council President, which deems her as an enemy because she enforces the normal behavior of high school by suppressing disruptive activities. However she is not as defenseless as she first seems. Angel contains incredible strength, comes of seeming indestructible, and can use extraordinary abilities in combat. You will definitely understand more about this character as she develops in the series.
Ayato Naio- This brings us to Ayato Naio, the Student Council Vice President, who was originally thought to be a NPC, but as the story progresses you realize he has his own dark past and reasons for coming into this world. He develops as a character that seems to have some intelligence but ends up as a comic relief for this otherwise depressing anime. Not to mentions that he is yet another narcissistic asshole that you will learn to respect by the end of the show and he has to be my favorite character from the show oddly enough.
Hinata- We can move on to Hinata the 2nd official member of the “We’re not yet Dead Battlefront,” He was the one who started it with Yuri. He is an overall great guy that everyone wants to have as a best friend, and Otonashi gains that privilege. Yet, like so many others in the story he has lingering emotions from his previous life.
Iwasawa- Then there is Masami Iwasawa the cool, beautiful, and talented lead singer of the Battlefront’s diversion team, Girls Dead Monster, otherwise known as Girls Demo. Not to mention that the band itself is a fantastic part of the actual OST…
Yui- This brings us to Yui the polar opposite of Iwasawa cool and mature personality. She is the energetic and playful part of Girls Demo who debuts as a great singer in episode 4. She is yet another great source of comic relief for the show as it hits you with the emotional bus we call feelings.

Otonashi- Then last but not least is Otonashi, the main character that this anime revolves around. But as mentioned before, he leaves little development in the show because of his occurring case of amnesia. However, the writers added this character in perfectly; because he becomes our gate way into this mysterious world know as Angel Beats. This created one of the greatest hooks I have ever seen in a show. However, as the story progresses we see the character play a bigger role in the series when the anime gets deeper into every aspect, all the way up until episode 13.
Angel Beats is defiantly a show that made me feel like I was inside of the story, instead of sitting down watching one. Not to mention that Angle Beats accomplished so much for a 13 episode single-season show, that some longer one’s failed to ever do. And it is just a story that everyone needs to see.
Visual Arts and Effects
Speaking of seeing the show, the animation is just so indescribably awesome, that I cannot put it into words. Everything is just so beautiful that it is rather hard to complain about the graphics. Especially considering that the fight scenes and backgrounds look so fantastic that I would find it hard to believe if someone didn’t hand polish every atom in the background. Angel Beats looks so outstanding that it is almost on Fate/ Zero’s level of excellence if it isn’t already there.
I really like the Animation for its details on the explosions, guns, backgrounds, and battles. Not to mention how beautiful the intro’s animation is. Angle Beats is truly a visual masterpiece.
Music
Now moving on to Music and you cannot talk about Angel Beats’s music without mentioning its intro. And it is one of the greatest intros in Anime History, or at least in my opinion it is, because not only does it look phenomenal its music is great too.
And with the already announced Girls Demo the sound track is just so wonderful and beautiful. But may I also add that I Love EVERY SINGLE SONG from this sound track, so much so, that I have about 90% of the songs in my iTunes library, and there has not been a week in my life that I have not listened to my 2 favorite tracks Unjust life and the SSS theme. The music is such a HUGE part of the show that you could listen to the sound track of Angel Beats over school days and it will be over 9000x better, but 9000 times zero is still zero sadly. However, you should take to accustom that this is my number one favorite soundtrack of all time. But that’s only because Angel beats used every single song 99.99% perfectly in the series, making every emotion displayed through the songs
Subbed or Dubbed:
On The Subject of Subbed or Dubbed: JUST FUCKING WATCH IT… seriously both are equally great, especially on every single emotional level that could ever exist. However, I like the dub .5% more because the voice actors really sound American to me.

Opinion:
If you haven’t figured it out yet I love this show with a passion. However, I understand that no one show is perfect. But at the same time I’m not going to point out every single personal flaw with the show, just because it did not live up to my previous set expectations after watching a different anime. I’M TALKING ABOUT YOU TRISTAN! I know the flaws behind the show, but I was able to put it behind myself and see the show for what it was… And that is a great story. Sure it was too short, but the story developed enough with the plot in that short amount of time that it had more than other shows “high school DxD” can do in 2 seasons. Sure the show might not be able to cover its vast amount of characters in this time, but how the few select characters where focused on was phenomenal. Not to mention I credit the show on what it could do in the small time space. Yes the entire plot, although flawed in some ways, managed to build up enough emotional tension to it that would lead many people to cry over the course of the show and especially at the end… I know people who didn’t cry at all and as heartless as that might seem to me, it’s understandable. I too use to believe I was a man of steel uninhibited by the foolish emotion of heartbreak, but Angel Beats like everything else from key… got me and there is only one word that can describe the ending of Angel Beats for me. And for that I congratulate Angel Beats because the ending hit me… like a… um what’s the word… “Wreaking ball” thank you Miley. Some people out there have this mindset that it’s just an anime, quit being a pussy… and I understand the criticism but there is a moment where an anime becomes much more than “just” an anime isn’t there.
Because Angel Beats taught me a very important life lesson, it made me realize that no matter what is waiting for us on the other side, we must accept it and not fear death because everything has a time limit and we were given the chance to live, experience, and witness the wonderful world we have. If we would look past through our flaws, we will be able to live happy fulfilled lives. Live our lives and follow our hearts… so when our time comes we won’t regret anything.
Ok so instead of giving you a regular numerical rating I am going to leave you with a bit of advice and that is to just watch the show, because it is just a show that, once again, everyone needs to see. So much show that I honestly believe that it can be a good gate way anime for anyone new to the fan base or just a great watch for any regular otaku
And those are my final words for the review hope you all had a Merry Christmas and hope you will carry this message on for the New Year

“Everyone will be alone someday, living on in memories only. Even so, it's fine. I call this peaceful feeling my friend.”

Such a beautiful anime. If there was an anime for you to not skip OP’s and ED’s (especially not ED’s) this would be it.

Story: 8

It was only 13 episodes T.T but the story still fit in perfectly. The first arc would probably be meeting all the characters and developing them whilst the second half has them working together to defeat the “antagonist”. The story had a very nice setting and there were some nice twists near the ending. At no point did I find the ... show boring at all, story wise this was written very well. If you’re looking for a comedy/feels anime this one balances it so well. You know how some animes/games have terrible balance of emotions? One example is Bioshock infinite where Elizebeth just screams and is running from you for slaughtering people. After 5 seconds of screaming you ask her to pick a lock and she’s like THIS WILL BE EAAASSYYY. Angel beats knows when to be sad and when to make you laugh.

Art: 8

The lighting is something that I kept noticing in this anime, (though a lot of current animes are now learning of the power of lighting) but everything is beautiful. In the afterlife and in flashbacks of real life everything looks so pretty. The colors of uniforms and everything were made to appeal to the eyes. Just watch the OP if you’re unsure, that’s basically the art for Angel Beats.

Sound: 9

Voice actors are all amazing. A bunch of A-list voice actors like Sawashiro, Kamiya, and Hanazawa. The voice actors fit the roles so well, like the character models vs. the voices fit perfectly. The other important part of the sound category is the music. My god the music. The opening, the Ending song? The songs sung by the band? (There’s a band in the anime and they actually have the VA’s sing a bunch of songs. Like A LOT of them you can find online.) They are so iconic and to be honest this anime probably has one of the best soundtracks out there. Super high point in Angel Beats.

Character: 9

The character development though (For the main ones at least). There are too many characters in the anime to give everyone’s backstory but the ones that do get developed you get the feels. I can’t get into much of this without spoiling this but one of my favorite scenes that hit close to me was when this kid who’s always over shadowed by his older brother is climbing a tree, mind you the strict father always compliments the older brother for being better and his obvious superior. He climbs the tree and beats his brother and grabs a persimmon they were fighting for and falls off the tree. As the father walks away after witnessing this he says, “IDIOT. It was just a persimmon.

…

But good job” –with a smile-
T.T OH GAWDDDD
(I definitely just spoiled it some part of something)

Enjoyment: 9

Never felt bored during this anime. It was great. Short but sweet. Ending you might have heard was sad, it wasn’t the saddest anime out there at all. But the thing about Angel Beats for me when describing it compared to Anohana or Steins Gate (Steins gate?!? Yeah) is that instead of the buildup of a dam and having it break in the end, the writers seem to have substituted that out for having a smaller dam but instead…have pings. Pings? Every few episodes it feels as if something pokes at your heart a little and it’s enough to make you feel tired and maybe miss a breath. Nothing that would generate tears but different touching moments that just make you think about life.

Overall: 9

Would I recommend this to someone who hasn’t watched it? YES. Someone that has stuff to watch? I would prioritize this if you haven’t watched it. It’s not at the legendary stage yet but it’s pretty damn popular and people know of how good it is. There are a some things you can nit pick at but in the end I loved it. I’d like to thank this anime for, “Truly and deeply, thank you for giving, my life to me.”

-Wink to people that have already watched it-

This is my first time writing a review, so please bear with me.

I personally think that Angel Beats is a great anime. Why?

The story somewhat intrigues a person thought of what might be there after you die? It makes a person also wonder what other people might be experiencing. Is it good, or is it unreasonable. Also, it has the elements that a person would want normally. Action, comedy, slice of life, and maybe even romance for those who dig into those.

The artwork is great. It seems like every scene took a lot of effort. ... The CGI during the animation, and the opening sequence are both really good.

The music in this anime is also very well played, in my opinion. The sfx match the scene and the voice actors/actresses play their parts very well.

The characters are great. The main lead, Otonashi Yuzuru seems to be the main focus of the character development category. Same with Tachibana Kanade, the antagonist in the earlier episodes. The character's personality is like in real life, except of course all the special abilities. You have a leader that seems to be strong in the appearance, but maybe a little weak in the inside. Mysterious people that makes a person wonder what they are like and what's their history. Silent characters who you just want to love and know about. And of course the normal people who seem to adapt to everything and try to make things better.

Enjoyment... It is very much enjoyed.

Overall, I think Angel Beats is very good. Although it will not surpass my current top favorite, it is worth while watching. I like stories that have some questions in them. Again, I apologize if this wasn't a proper review. It is my first time after all.

In the beginning, Angel Beats was only a time-filler for me when waiting for download process of another popular series (for some reasons, Angel Beats has smaller file size than the other anime I supposed to watch, therefore it is much faster to download). But as I watch every episode of Angel Beats, I found something beyond my expectations for this anime.

Angel Beats managed to impress me with its own sense of comfort.

Firstly, somehow the whole concept of the anime seems like an RPG (Role Playing Game). It is set in a purgatory afterlife world, which resembles a boarding school. Except for our main characters, ... the students are described as NPC (Non-Playable Characters) which looks like normal students, but in reality they're just AIs (Artificial Intelligence) set to make the entire school looks normal from the outside. In the world, anyone can't die and will recover from any mortal wounds. Anyone could make any item with dirt as long as they remember the form from their past lives. Besides the concept, the music and interface also feels like RPG. It really puts our mind into the world of fantasy, while still maintaining its reality aspects through its characters.

For some reasons, I can't really describe the storyline here. First, as you watch the first episode you will come to understand the whole concept easily. Second, the concept itself would be the main highlight to the entire series. If I describe the storyline now, I would either be forced to lie to the readers or spoil the "truth" behind the world.

About the plot, in the beginning it was very playful and can't be taken very seriously (with jokes here and there). The beginning of the series is only a mere introductory though, with the later episodes becoming more and more rich in plot and intensity.
The last 4 episodes were especially inspirational. In the beginning I thought that episode 7 reveals most of the secrets, but then the series revealed more and more secrets to the point of unexpected turns of events. I was also surprised to the fact that the story and plot got so much deeper than it was in the beginning. It changed my total concept of Angel Beats. This anime is not as shallow as I thought it to be, instead the events are truly unpredictable. It concludes to one hell of an amazing ending which unfolds the final mystery of the anime.

From character aspects, In the beginning you will be confused with that many supporting characters. Some reviews mentioned the lack of originality of its characters, but from my point of view nowadays its very, very hard to create a totally original (but normal) character, unless he/she is designed to be very weird, eccentric or totally nuts (TK, one of the characters is very, very original because of those reasons. Take an example from characters of One Piece too, they're very original because they have their own weirdness and abnormalities).

Although I agree that some type of characters in Angel Beats lacks originality, that aspect is what made me feels like knowing them even before they had much dialogue in the series. Despite that, some characters managed to be original, not because of their personalities or looks, but from their story on their own past lives. As the series goes on, some of the characters will tell stories about their life before they died (which is usually very tragic or sad).

Well, in my opinion, the series should have been longer. With current ideas and many characters available, it should be no problem to make Angel Beats into a 20 or even 26-episode anime.

If I had to point out the minus side of this anime, I would criticize the length and development. It is kind of waste to see the concept (uncommon kind of purgatory and rules of it) developed only into a 13 episode anime. Supporting characters also lack personalities development compared to the main characters. The disappearance of characters lacks elegant animation, and the closing (final scene of ending) is a little bit too focused on main characters to the point that we as viewers yearns for more explanation on what happens to the whole SSS crews after the ending and how are they doing.

About Sound, there are many songs from the school band featured in the anime named "Girls Dead Monster", but I still enjoy the opening and ending songs (the opening song remix in episode 4 was especially epic). The animation quality is also very, very dynamic and enjoyable (not too soft, but still bright and beautiful). We could see that the animation staff didn't slack off at all. Those who always skip the opening song wouldn't notice, but as the story progresses (with the appearance of new characters and disappearance of the old ones) the opening and ending song animations would change according to the current casts available.

Watch Angel Beats. It is especially ideal for avid RPG gamers who also likes to watch anime with some romance qualities in it, but doesn't mean that it is not suitable to the others. For me, it was such a pleasant anime experience. Try it.

Ahh Angel Beats, each day that passes by after watching Angel Beats leaves me stunned. I can't simply forget how great this anime is and how much influence this anime had on me. You may be wondering how can a anime have influence on somebody? Well it may be that I fell in-love with the OP song in a instant and couldn't get enough of it. The great use of the acoustic music is this anime is amazing. I was so influenced by the song "ichiban no takaramono" that i practiced several hours on the piano every day to perfect the song.

This anime was so ... beautiful and im so sad it actually ended. Ive laughed and ive cried gotten attached to the characters and when it ended i felt empty. Every character that enter the afterlife has their own background story. Which i found really interesting to know see how the different characters died and cooped with their death. The way the anime builds up is kind of expected. A misunderstanding which will spiral in something good.

The art was fluorescence and lively which i think makes a good comedy/romance/action anime. I personally like when anime is bright and cheery. I really recommend watching it if you are looking for a bit of action/romance/comedy. This anime is just simply great and there isn't much to hate about it. Some might not like it due to the childish look of the anime. I think its personal preference and it might not even affect some people.

Jun Maeda, who is in my opinion one of the greatest writers and composers, period, brings us yet another masterpiece. For some, Angel Beats was initially quite a skeptical topic, as his previous works are far more based on drama and conveying a powerful emotive message by the end of the story at hand. Angel Beats instantly comes across as not being his norm, which may worry some viewers. After seeing some images I myself was worried that it would be tweaked for a more mainstream audience. Luckily, this is not a problem at all.

Story & Character

Despite Angel Beats opening with a flashy start ... full of high school students with guns, it can be compared to Maeda's past works such as Clannad on many, many levels all the way through the series. I like to think that Angel Beats is essentially the same as his past works like Clannad or Air, however the genres have been mixed up slightly.

The drama and romance elements of the franchise are toned down, but to make up for this the comedic elements are toned up and action is thrown into the mixture. This actually works remarkably well, and I don't think the balance could have been any better. Some of the comedy moments of this series really get you, and it never gets old. If you're watching Angel Beats because you enjoyed the past series from Jun Maeda, please don't read into me saying the drama has been toned down, because this is not to the degree you're thinking at all. It is true that the series, for the most part at least, is far more comedy and action based, however there is a lot of deep elements to the story and numerous powerful scenes which will bring you back to your past experiences of Maeda's legendary emotive writing.

The story begins with a more comic atmosphere as the characters are introduced and developed, keeping the story ongoing with beautiful action scenes. Over time, the comedy and action start to dye down and the more emotional elements come to fruitation. I'm not sure the story itself can be called original, because there are plenty of other stories with similar settings, however, the way in which Maeda approached this series definitely conveys a sense of originality which cannot be missed. In short, despite the guns and the hilarious moments of the series, the deeper parts of this franchise are nothing less than beautiful. Yet another life altering experience from Jun Maeda.

All of the characters in Angel Beats are well done. The one issue people have is that some of the more minor characters aren't really explored and remain a complete mystery. As nice as it would have been to see more of them, this didn't really bother me. The main characters are revealed more than enough, and even though there is still a lot of mystery, you still have a pretty powerful attachment to them by the end of the series. Kanade was by far my favourite character, if I had any critique of this series to offer it would be simply that I'd like to have seen more of her past memories. Other then that, the story and characters of this series are beautiful and flawless.

Art / Animation

As you will expect if you have seen Air, Kanon or Clannad, the artwork of Angel Beats is nothing short of astonishing. The general quality of the artwork throughout this series is outstanding. I heard some people didn't like parts of it, but I still can't fault anything. The animation is just as amazing as it always has been, and the character designs are nothing less than beautiful.

A particular highlight in this series are the action scenes, in particular those involving "Angel". The artwork in these scenes is always spectacular, keeping you on the edge of your seat. I can't find a single thing to say against the art in this series, as for the moment I think it'd come out as #1 in terms of artwork, of the anime series and movies I've seen. This show gets a no brainer 10/10 regarding its incredible art.

Soundtrack / Voice

Jun Maeda is not only well known for writing masterpieces, but often for his involvement with the music of these series. Maeda brings us yet another outstanding soundtrack, of which I immediately got hold of after I finished watching the series. When it comes to the more generic, comedic background tracks the soundtrack really isn't anything new or outstanding. The main, more emotional songs however are absolutely amazing. The rule for this soundtrack is pretty much this. If the song has a piano in it, then it will be amazing! The soundtrack plays a massive part in the more emotional scenes of this series. Another great work of art. There isn't much else I can say about the main soundtrack, other than it is just amazing and touching in every way, nothing else needs to be said.

In addition to the main soundtrack, we have Girls Dead Monster, a fictional rock band featured throughout the series. These tracks are also great. Despite me not having a clue what the lyrics mean, they went straight on my iPod along with the main soundtrack. The episodes featuring Girls Dead Monster performences are always great, and really spice up the action scenes. The track "Crow Song" gives the series an explosive first episode which gets you instantly hooked. Yet another amazing addition to such a great series.

I always watch the english dub version of anime series, mainly so I can appreciate the art more and also because it builds a more emotional attachment to the characters for me. Luckily the dubs for the works of Jun Maeda are always outstanding in this regard. Angel Beats features quite a few of the folks who worked on clannad, a cast I loved, and all of which did another great job with Angel Beats. I think the cast was chosen quite well, especially when it comes to the main group of characters. If you're one who prefers english dubs, you wont be disappointed with this one.

Conclusion

Overall Angel Beats definitely checks into my top 5 anime series of all time, primarily for its characters and finale. The artwork and soundtrack for this series are truly outstanding, but I fully expected this prior to watching it. If you aren't going to watch this series, at the very least check the soundtrack out.

The story of the series is wonderful, it has some real original comedy, a great setting and pace, well developed characters, intense action scenes, moments which will make you reflect on life and a dramatic, sad, yet happy ending which everyone will love. For those interested in this particular topic, I actually had an unusual experience with the end of this series. Although it was indeed very powerful and touching, I didn't cry, which is strange considering I cried like a baby on several occasions through Clannad, and still do. I did however rewatch Angel Beats shortly after and on that second time through it did reduce me to tears with no effort at all. A truly perfect ending to an incredible story.

If you haven't gotten around to checking Angel Beats out, then get your butt in gear. This series is a must see for any anime fan! You won't be disappointed.

What really does happen when you die? That's a question plaguing man-kind for centuries. Is there a life after death? Do our physical bodies stay behind and our souls go somewhere else? What about if your past life was full of sin and bad choices? Is there a hell, or an in-between such as purgatory? Angel Beats! describes such a question and more: what if your past life was regretful? You then are stuck in a high school, living adolescence in a different setting with people like you. Interestingly Angel Beats! lets the viewer interpret what happens rather than giving you all the information, and ... does so in a rather funny way sometimes.

Story: 9/10

Background: Otonoshi dies. He wakes up to find this mysterious girl aiming a gun. All hell breaks loose as he tries to figure what is going on and why he doesn't remember how he died, only that he died. Is this the afterlife? Purgatory? Hell? He sets out to find out.

Reading some other reviews, I noticed the story received a rather low score for some people. I, personally enjoyed the questions about the afterlife and each character's back-story. It made the anime feel more personal, as if you can feel their pain and empathize their suffering. Each character has a flaw in some way, and is paramount to each of their personalities. Otonoshi, the main character, interacts with others just like him and comes to terms with himself throughout the anime. Oddly, there seem to be a ton of supporting cast, many who barely appear for a couple minutes, then fade into oblivion. They don't seem to contribute much to the story, other than to offer a distraction or comedic relief for a couple seconds or minutes. Also, the story begins markedly slow, yet picks up pace much faster than it ought to (think a e^x graph for you math people). Overall, though, the story was enjoyable, funny at times and made the viewer wonder where the next plot twist would come from.

Art: 9/10

Visually, this anime was stunning. Beautiful backgrounds and settings, detailed characters and multiple camera angles offered a wonderful amalgamation of visually appealing sensations. I continually made mental notes of how the water sparkled or the hair fluttered just so - it added to the surreal mood of the anime. Everything was drawn to near-perfection, and when needed the art become dull and drab to reflect foreboding or light and colorful to indicate happiness or comedy. I couldn't find a flaw anywhere within this beautiful artwork. The school uniforms were pretty, yet the members of the SSS had different clothing on, symbolizing their differences with those NPCs.

Sound: 9/10

The OP was incredible. Beautiful and nostalgic sounding, it perfectly matched the mood of the anime. The ending hit home even more, sounding like a good-bye, but a tearful good-bye. Paired wonderfully with each other, they both foreshadowed and epitomized the underlying theme of the anime. The voice-acting was decent, never getting too crazy but not too dull either. I wasn't much impressed with the background music, but the sound effects were astounding. The gunshots and clashing of metal were accurate; I've shot many weapons before, and those guns sounded exactly realistic.

Character: 9/10

Ok, here's where it gets iffy. I definitely loved Otonoshi and his story, as well as Yuri and especially Tenshi. These three characters drove the story to its climax and beyond. They never faltered in their personal quests, and became a foundation to the overall success of this anime. Then there were the supporting characters. I mentioned before that they did little to enhance the storyline, other than to offer some humor and jokes. Sometimes they became pretty fundamental, but there were so many useless characters I kind of got tired of seeing them appear. I mean, sure I loved their little sound-bites and humor, but I think this anime would have flowed much better if it focused more on the big three (not Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt, mind you). I wanted more interaction with those three characters; their development, I feel like, was cut short. There were not enough episodes to fully develop them. The ending seemed rushed and stressful. So, no, it wasn't perfect. But it had potential.

Overall: 9/10

I could have given this a 10/10. It was within my grasp. I loved almost everything: story, drama, action, guns, romance, comedy. It had every tool in the arsenal to make this a perfect story. But alas, it became too much like something else and failed to meet all my expectations; however, it still amazed me and continued to impress me throughout the whole story. It kept me riveted and piqued my interest, but it wasn't perfect. The animation and sound quality were above average, and overall I thoroughly enjoyed most characteristics of this wonderful anime. However, it wasn't perfect and its execution wasn't great. But nonetheless, it is one of my favorites already. Remember: life is beautiful. The afterlife, not so much.

Angel Beats! takes place in a world where you can’t die. Sweet right?........... Not so much since everyone in this world is already dead. What Otonashi (the lead male) discovers is that this world is a place for young souls who can’t move on from their former lives due to regrets, and yeah also his dead.

Ok story, the viewer sees things mostly from Otonashi point of view. Since he has amnesia this makes it very convenient, as Otonashi learns about the world around him so does the viewer and this sets a good pace. Most of the show is very humorous and had ... me laughing out loud. The concerts were amazing as well. But those elements are just sides to the main story which deals with the idea of what happens when we die?

The sound was excellent. There’s a great range of songs in this anime brought to you by Dead Girl Monsters. But by far the best was the op by Lia which sets the tone for each episode and the visuals behind it are as good as the song. Also I loved the way the added songs to comedic moments, nice touch.

Animation, I can’t fault it anywhere. The colours are amazing and scenes were very detailed. Animation has come a long way since I first started watching anime and this show is just the standard I expect.

The Characters all have unique back stories, while we only get to explore a few of them they’re all tragic. While they almost bring a tear to your eye, they also create so much depth to each character and it was a real shame that we didn’t delve into everyone’s past. I also enjoyed the hints of romance between a few of the characters.

I did enjoy this show but I felt they could have done a bit more with it. A lot of characters were wasted but I’m reviewing what they did do so I’ll move on. The story had a few holes in it, if you took a minute to think about it. And l the last episode was dull until Otonashi and Kanades final conversation.

All in all it was a very enjoyable show, since I don’t think too much I went with the ride. The way they mixed humour, music and afterlife makes a very well balanced and I would gladly recommend this show for someone to watch.

Thanks for reading and criticism is welcomed

Purgatory. The world in between. The waiting room of the afterlife. This anime is based in said world. To wake up in this world with no idea why you came here, and to be met by a girl in a school uniform with a sniper rifle who tells you “you’re dead” would sound alarms in your head. This situation is Otonashi Yuzuru’s. After being confronted by Nakamura Yuri (The sniper rifle girl), Otonashi is left with a choice : Join the Afterlife Battlefront, or disappear. Neither of these choices sound too good do they? Not wanting to disappear for no reason, Otonashi chooses to fight ... a being labelled as “Angel”. And so the battle begins.

Now that the quick synopsis is over, let’s begin the review.

~Story~

Angel Beats! story is very lacking in the beggining of the anime. Mostly in the first few episodes is a lot of comedy and humour, which is what Key normally would do with their anime. Later on though, Angel Beats! takes a sharp nosedive into the drama that any who watches Key’s production knows and loves. Snapping from comedy to drama with a tinge of humour is a rather sharp turn. Though this snap occurs, it’s easy enough to handle because storyline deepens and events start to take place. Throughout the rest of the anime, we are met with drama and sadness, Key’s seemingly favorite thing. After battling shadow monsters and split personalities, we are met with the end. Like all Key animes, it leaves most of us in tears. The reason I cannot give you as it would absolutely spoil the ending.

Storyline : 8/10

~Art~

Nothing much to say about this other than absolutely fantastic. The flow of everything seems to be flawless, everything is easy on the eyes and when it comes to CGI, Key reigns on top. This anime is no exception.

Art : 10/10

~Characters~

Character development wasn’t as strong as I’d hoped it’d be. Too many characters made me realize that a 13 episode series wouldn’t be able to even cover HALF of the amount of characters I saw. Most characters were used as comedy than actual storyline. Only the 3-4 main protagonists had even a remote storyline. Unfortunately this anime failed to deliver a deep storyline for characters, and it saddens me to give it this rating.

Characters : 6/10

~Music~

Oh my.. Oh my.. The music in the anime was absolutely phenomenal. It was used in the most appropriate of times and in the best way conceivably possible. Words cannot describe how such an awesome piece of work could trigger so many emotions. If this music was used to promote something, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy whatever it was.

Music : 10/10

Total score? 9/10

With the combination of art and music, Angel Beats! Was saved in my book. Absolute must watch. If you can get past the character development, then you are set for a GREAT anime. I won’t hesitate to buy this when it comes out.

You're dead. You don't have to take my word for it either. Go talk to that girl down there... Yeah, the one with the silver hair. (There are no other people around, after all.) I'm sure she'll do a nice job of killing you. Again.

Of course, nobody stays dead in purgatory, which is the humor of Angel Beats!.

The anime is set in a high school, where the majority of people aren't people at all, but non-player characters designed to persuade you that the high school is a reality. Once you accept that the high school is a reality, and begin to enjoy life within ... its confines, you are "obliterated," meaning you leave the world of purgatory.

And that's a bad thing.

Story

The plot is definitely the weak point of Angel Beats!. Many times, the anime withholds crucial details, or introduces ideas and presumes to expand on them later, but never does.

In other words, Angel Beats! lacks continuity, and fails to expand upon or think of key details. What happens when you leave the high school grounds? Is there a larger world, or are you brought back to the high school? How did (x) die? We don't get many back stories on key characters- they're just sort of "there".

For thirteen (technically fourteen, including the special) episodes, this show lacks much follow-up. As such, it plays out less like a story and more like a large collection of concepts.

Don't get me wrong- it has a plot line. The plot line just isn't coherent enough.

Art

The art style of Angel Beats! is good. In fact, the animation is one of the reasons I started watching Angel Beats!, though not because the art style is revolutionary or exceptional.

When I look for an anime, I like to find familiarity, and Angel Beats! had that familiarity in the form of its art style. The illustration is similar to Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, another show I've reviewed and would highly recommend.

So while the animation style is not revolutionary or ground-breaking, it certainly doesn't detract from the show. The often light-hearted and comedic air that Angel Beats! has is captured well in its illustration.

Sound

You can almost watch Angel Beats! for its sound alone. The soundtrack to this show is exceptional. I'm not going to make ignorant pretenses, because anime is a new genre for me, but the intro to the anime is extraordinary in my humble opinion. The background music for the show is often quite catchy, and the ending theme for the show, coupled with its animation sequence, is enough to make you feel sad that the episode has ended and to go looking for more.

Of course, Angel Beats! is based around its music, as is implied by its name. The band, Girls Dead Monster, (GDM) is a fairly significant part of this show.

Believe it or not, the idea of a music-centered anime turned me off at first. When I watched it, and found out that Angel Beats! meant that it was probably going to have a lot to do with music, I thought that it meant that it wasn't going to do as much with plot, and I was partly right, but for the wrong reasons (see above.) This show really doesn't do enough with its band, but then again, you can't expect too much in thirteen episodes.

The music in Angel Beats! is outstanding. It complements the show extraordinarily well, and can almost stand on its own. Beyond that, I often watch this show over just to see the introductory sequence, which is really quite enchanting.

Character

This story lacks much character development, which is another one of its drawbacks. At times, this has a fair amount to do with the plot of the show, because the show juggles too much at once. Often, characters are introduced who have no real back story and who only come up once more in the series, if at all.

That said, the characters in the show also add to it a fair amount, especially TK. TK is a stock character, who often says the most outrageous things, and who is a "mystery man" with an unknown back story. He adds a fair amount of humor to the show, and it's characters like him, who only add to the comedy of the show, that make Angel Beats! worth watching. I only wish the forces behind this show would have developed their characters more...

Enjoyment

To say I enjoyed Angel Beats! would be an understatement. The show made me laugh. The show made me cry (and I almost never cry). I anticipate that I'll be watching this many times over. In fact, I am now. And I'm wearing socks.

Overall

Angel Beats! lacks many of the things that make a good show- character development, a coherent plot, etc.

And yet for some reason, you can forgive it for that. Perhaps it's the beauty or the depth of the show itself, which poses questions about what it's like to be human, or whether or not you're prepared for death. Perhaps it's the music of the show, which could almost carry it completely.

Either way, Angel Beats! is worth watching. You shouldn't expect much in the way of answers to the questions that the show puts forth, but you should expect a great deal of enjoyment.

On a side note, the creator of Angel Beats! claims a second season is on the horizon. Some presume that this is all talk, but supposedly the show is coming out this spring. The cast list is completely different, which is a disappointment, but maybe this next season will still answer some key questions that the first season never answered.

In the meantime, I'll be finding more anime to watch and reading the show's manga, which might also provide some insights into the show itself.

Character

Otanashi is dead, but is also the protagonist of the story. This may seem weird but it really gives Angel Beats! Its own identity. Otonashi wakes up in the familiar environment of a high school with no memory besides his name. He is quickly informed that he is in fact dead, and is in a purgatory like environment where teenagers who died without accomplishing anything can live out there childhoods which were troubled before they died, and will disappear once they find fulfillment in their new life though many students don't want to disappear and form the SSS to fight against god for giving them ... such tragic lives. Otonashi soon joins the "like-hell-I'm-dead-battlefront" or SSS. Otonashi is now caught up in a battle against god itself.

In Angel Beats! I'd say 99% of the cast is dead, the other 1% of the cast are just small roles in the flashbacks of the former lives of (sadly) a very small number of the VERY large cast, too large in fact to give everyone there own moments, but the anime is only 14 episodes long including the one OVA. While it would have been easy to just have each episode reveal a certain characters past Key decides to advance the plot through "operations" against the series antagonist While each character does fit into the story well, only about 4 maybe 5 ( depending on if you count a certain baseball player) get a flashback, while these flashbacks into the lives of the characters are few they are very powerful. I've seen multiple people get very emotional during these flashbacks.

There are, in my opinion 3 main characters, Otonashi, who the story follows, Yuri or "Yuripee" the leader of the "SSS" who fight against Angel, the anime's main antagonist, and last but not least
Angel who is as I just said is the main antagonist. There are several important sub-characters like Hinata and Naoi. While others seem to be there for comic relief, like everyones favorite character TK, who among a sea of Japanese voices TK's signature broken English phrases never cease to amuse the viewer, I also like think that if he did have a flashback he would have been the voice behind DDR. Other characters never go anywhere like Ooyama, fujimaki, takayama, takamatsu, the band, Noda, Matsushita and many others. Despite the long list of "unimportant" characters they all still somehow hold some emotional attachment to me, the show accomplishes this through comedy all of the sub characters have about them that that makes them quirky and funny. While Angel Beats! Stumbles with length issues the attachment you will feel towards nearly every charcter makes this anime very compelling.

Art
I'm not very picky about the art of anime, Angel Beats! art does stand out to me. Key pays particular attention to lighting in this anime, like how light casts a shadow and how it generally reacts to the environment which they do well. I feel that the particular art style does fit the mood and tone of the anime very well the generally soft color pallet does make the anime visually appealing. Another interesting and refreshing aspect is that while characters talk they do move, which may not seem important but is a nice touch. Sorry for the short art review but I'm not that picky with art.

Sound
I, can't find anything to complain about in Angel Beats! Sound. The opening song really fits its easy to believe that Angel really would play the song on the piano. The more upbeat (which isn't super upbeat but still happier) opening really gets you ready to hear Yuri's crazy operations, while the ending captures the usually depressing endings of each episode. Also the general background music truly fits the situation that is currently occurring. Overall a good soundtrack that I continue to listen to over and over again. The voice actors are top notch they really sell the story they are a HUGE part of the believability of Angel Beats!

Fun
Angel Beats! Is always interesting, I was hooked from start to finish which took about a week. I actually stopped at episode 11 because I didn't want it to end but eventually I had to finish it. While I won't spoil anything the ending is the only anime ending I've ever shed a tear to. Key uses many different tactics to get the viewer to truly care about the characters, besides the pure sympathy used with the main characters, humor is effectively used with sub-characters. Even though these characters never get the spotlight you will probably remember things about each one. With it's familiar yet, strange setting of a high school , memorable characters and a story that holds you until very end Angel Beats! Is a truly special anime I can't wait until season 2 I highly recommend checking out Angel Beats!

Angel beats is really recommended if you're looking for some comedy and some drama. Most anime start with comedy first so look forward to it! Then the comedy and drama just mixes together, because people (sort of) die a lot in this story. They are good sacrifices indeed. Otonashi just appears in the afterlife where no one has R.I.P.

I really loved this anime, because it gives you so much heart filled emotions. The stories plot was amazingly detailed and just kept on adding to it, like you didn't expect some things to happen. That's where misunderstandings develop. Though without the misunderstandings the story wouldn't progress ... right and it wouldn't turn out good. So, thank the misunderstandings! *applauds*

The ending is like a good punch to the face that makes you want to burst into tears, so look out for that! That punch was good, though it made me fall off the bed crying. Don't forget to watch the after credits in the last episode! If you do, you'd miss something awesome that will make you thank God!

The first thing I heard about this anime is that it's a tearjerker, but I did't expect THAT many tears. I love all everything about this anime : the art is beautiful, the story is unique and deep and I love how all the characters have amazing and intriguing back-stories. And the end made me sob so hard I could bearly breath. It was a great plotwist.
But the best part is that you have no idea what comes next, and the anime makes you think about a lot of things about this world.
Overeall, I think everyone should watch this anime.

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story:
they story was beautiful and catches you right out of the gate. i found the story captivating and moving, it made me laugh with its ridiculous comedic moments, and ALMOST cry with its heart felt story and tragic events. the ending, despite being controversial among fans, i found, gave me closure. ( wait for the after credit scene!) as touching as i found the story to be i found many plot holes that slightly bothered me, but not too much to the point were the show was ruined.
art:
the art/animation for Angel Beats is about standard for its time. the quality of ... the intro does not necessarily match that of the series itself. even though the animation is average, the fight scenes were not as fluid as i would have liked, but over all very standard.
sound:
the sound, the music in particular DRASTICALLY effects the environment and atmosphere of the situation so well i could almost feel it. over all the sound was amazing, but it lacked any one song in particular i would be willing to listen to without visual aid.
character:
i find the characters is where this anime really fell short, i can't necessarily blame the writers though as this is a short series with a huge cast, physically not allowing them to properly develop the characters as well i would have liked.
luckily you get to see the two main characters back stories along with some of the supporting characters as well, but only for a small portion of it over the course of 1 or 2 episodes and then nothing else. there were some characters Angel Beats i was looking forward to seeing develop only to be disappointed by the end to realize they got none.
enjoyment:
i personally loved this anime, i found it truly beautiful to say the least. this anime is far from perfection but the overall mixture of every aspect of this anime allowed me to oversee its flaws and enjoy it for what it was.
overall:
overall i will be giving this anime a 9/10, as it truly touched me on a personal level as well as being a great watch. i highly recommend this anime to those of you who DON"T get too easily attached to characters as you may cry. ( both sd and happy tears)
------------------------------FLASH review----------------------------------------------
story: the story was interesting and touching but had minor plot holes, but the ending was over all conclusive to say the least

art: standard. nothing outstanding

sound: incredible, though lacking in one single outstanding track

charicter: lacked much needed development, though giving cast size and time this was unavoidable

enjoyment: it is defiantly a fun watch!