Overview:
It is often said that there is no room left for new stories. Indeed we have been telling stories for so long that most popular stories are simply slight variations of previous ones. Comedies are especially susceptible to plot recycling and are generally the least creative in terms of plot across all genres. Even Shakespeare himself couldn't be bothered to create a new plot for each comedy, so he used the same formula and basic plot outline again and again. What does any of this have to do with Angel Beats?! Angel Beats is a comedy that actually has a fairly unique plot that really isn't like anything else I have ever seen before! This is an extreme rarity and took me entirely by surprise. Now lets look at one of the more uniquely odd comedies to come out in recent years!
Plot: 9/10
The story begins with our main hero Otanashi waking up in a strange new world. High school aged children are fighting with weapons against a powerful figure that is called "angel". These children are all dead and seem to be stuck in a bizarre sort of purgatory that resembles a school. The group's leader is the feisty and short tempered Yurippe, who believes that they are engaged in a battle with a cruel and spiteful God. Yurippe believes this mysterious white haired girl is an angel and messenger of God, so she convinces everyone to fight the angel in order to spite God. This story has a LOT of twists and I won't spoil anything here. You will just have to check it out. What I will say is that some might be put off by the break neck swing between zany comedy and heavy handed tragedy. You thought Elfen Lied was bad about that? haha. To quote Bender from The Breakfast Club, "Not...Even...CLOSE!" That is my only real criticism.
Characters: 8/10
Angel beats has a large class of amusing characters, but sadly many of them aren't given any back story or fleshing out. I wanted to see back stories for fan favorites like TK and Hayashida the 5th damn it! Other characters like Iwasawa are given back story that actually makes them interesting, only to disappear from the series immediately afterwards. I will admit that some of the characters like our main man Otanashi are a bit generic, but this IS a comedy after all. The series has already well exceeded the quota for creativity in a comedy. A couple generic characters doesn't take major points off in my book. It also must be said that all the character backstories are very tragic and "forced" if you will, but the that is kind of the whole point! Angel Beats isn't attempting to capture perfect realism. It is showing the strange and wonderful afterlife of a bunch of kids that lived horrible lives on Earth.
Art: 9/10
The art offers breathtaking visuals, good character designs, and fluid energy that helps with the show's frantic comedy.
Sound: 9/10
The soundtrack includes not only a beautiful opening theme played on piano but plenty of emotional and honestly quite pretty songs to help strengthen the tone of the many tear jerking scenes.
Enjoyment: 9/10
I could see why others might not like it with the extreme tone shifts and heavy handed tragedy, but I honestly enjoyed this one. It was funny, touching, creative, and overall a good experience.
Overall: 9/10
So you probably guessed that I like this series quite a bit, flaws and all. I wouldn't rate it perfect though, because no matter how much I like it, I think it had a lot of things it could have done better. I will give it a very close but not quite perfect: 9/10.
