Story(5): In all my years, I have never heard of such a ridiculous idea of an afterlife where you are allowed the opportunity to resolve your regrets from an untimely death. Death will come for you sooner or later whether you have regrets or not. If you are going to die sooner or later, why not move forward in life with your own two feet all the time? That way you will have lived a life worth living, thus this idea of requiring some disturbing afterlife world in order to resolve regrets will become completely unnecessary. As such, I believe this story to be quite silly even to Children. And Children are quite demanding when it comes to Anime afterall.
Art(7): This anime certainly is a delight to watch for its clarity of art. The colors and visual animations are at a very high level indeed. I foresee a day in which such animations would be considered one of the best art forms of the 21st Century, just as fake paintings of the Mona Lisa was in the 19th Century.
Sound(8): Such heavenly sound quality most certainly deserves high praise, the music is capable of completing the emotional element that is being portrayed visually. Often times, one is so drawn in to the moments of great emotion that the music exits your conscious mind and into your subconsciousness, wherein you may be moved to tears without your knowledge.
Character(8): Quite possibly the greatest strength and the saving grace of this anime is its Characters. Even with a ridiculous plot, these characters in Angel Beats have managed to perform splendidly. Indeed, they may be dead but they still were capable of moving forward or rather moving on to the next life. Once something is lost, it can never be regained; however, humans have the ability to hope, dream, and continue on even in the face of tremendous obstacles. Indeed, that is what sets us Humans apart from Demons. Therefore, even in death, the Characters remained Humans to the very end.
Enjoyment(7): Angel Beats is quite enjoyable, worthy of spending an afternoon watching while procrastinating on other tasks. Allow the characters to bring you into their world and you will experience the emotional thrill that is Angel Beats.
Overall(6): It is a great shame that such strong characters with high quality visual and audio works of art is spent on such a plot. Should you be one who enjoys witnessing the afterlife of characters who had their life shorten by unfortunate circumstances, you may come to love Angel Beats, unlike I. However, if you find such plots regarding the inner mind of characters to be boring, then I suggest you seek other Anime to enjoy.
