Aug 3, 2013
"To the well organized mind, death is but the next adventure."
- J.K. Rowling
I joined MyAnimeList yesterday, and today I write my first review about one of my favorite animes. In truth, it is only the first because of alphabetical order, but as I sink into my memories of the story and soundtrack, I think its appropriate I begin with this one.
.:.: Story -- 9 :.:.
Angel Beats is about the struggle. Not fights and certainly not the ideals behind them. The setting makes it very clear that it's too late for such things. It's about what to do along their struggle for happiness when not even
...
death can spare them of it. Everyone gathered in this setting have had a terrible life. Their cries for help gone unheard. And their worst nightmares came true.
The premise is that people with horrible lives are brought together through supernatural means for unknown reasons and must struggle against a terrifying supernatural existance: the "Tenshi". Which literally translates to "Angel" in english. In the afterlife, where death means only taking a short nap, they continually struggle what seems to be a hopeless fight with constant physical pain of enduring Tenshi's powers and their own psychological problems from their past, miserable lives.
What particularly strikes me is how the perspective given from the start (our dear protagonist, Otonashi Yuzuru) is that a emotionless supernatural being is out to enslave them, or worse. Out of desperation and being attacked by her after exchanging very few words, Yuzuru agrees to join the SSS ("Shinda Sekai Sensen" or Afterlife Battlefront, if you prefer). But thorughout his adventures he comes to realize that despite how easily they can manipulate things in the afterlife, the reality of life itself remains the same: they must cope with their struggles, both past and present.
I think the message of the story was that communication between people is truly priceless. Words alone can indeed save people.
.:.: Art -- 9 :.:.
The art here is first-class fit for a first-class story. Whether it be the wild chases along the beautiful looking afterlife setting, the eye-catching lighting effects with indoors and otherwise, and the character designs themselves. All of them can be summarized with words like "cool" or "beautiful" if not both.
.:.: Sound -- 10 :.:.
Angel Beats' soundtrack is second to none in the universe of anime. There are noteworthy and/or memorable individual opening themes, tracks and ending themes in many animes out there, but very rarely is the package deal as great this. I dare say that there are only soundtracks AS GOOD as Angel Beats. You can clearly notice the detail and love put into each of them; it's as good as it gets. Hell, Girls DeMo? The musical group within the cast of characters? They're an ACTUAL BAND that had their debut in this show. Those are the reasons I hold Angel Beats' OST in the highest regard. The members are the voice actors for each respective character. How much more awesome can it get? To me, it can't.
.:.: Characters -- 9 :.:.
Since about 50% of any story progresses in regards to the protagonists and antagonists, it's only fair I leave no stone unturned here. Or it would be, but this just so happens to be one of the cases where the back stories of the characters are the ultimate spoilers. And unfortunately so, because while Angel Beats deserves its reviewers to look over all details. What I can tell you is this: the "emotional truth" captured by this show is very impressive.
But their painful pasts aside, there is much to enjoy at face value. They really are that good. Yuzuru suffers from amnesia and goes by means the others in the SSS consider "too radical" to recover them, so far as to attempt communicating with "Tenshi".
Yuri, the leader of SSS, is the unwavering dedicated leader who suspiciously spends a lot of time alone sorting out her thoughts and burdens. It grows even more interesting given how she was given a position of leadership at a young age, and the cost was the curse of the afterlife she shares with the rest of the cast.
.:.: Enjoyment -- 10 :.:.
I don't think I need to say anything to justify this. It's purely subjective, I know, but I don't think any more needs to be said after I've spent so much time evangelizing everything else for you, my dear reader. I wrote all of this because I really think everyone who reads this should watch the show.
.:.: Overall -- 9.4 :.:.
Angel Beats earns a rank of 94% awesome in my book, and I hope you enjoy it just as much as I did.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
