The first episode starts off strongly by introducing many ideas regarding the story, although a lot of things are left unexplained. However, as the series progresses details are gradually revealed bit by bit. The setting of AB is a school that's part of the afterlife, and it's this mystery and intrigue which makes this anime quite appealing in the early episodes. Another interesting twist is that all the main characters are already dead, which opens up many opportunities for creating comedic situations. Throughout the series you'll encounter drama, comedy and a fair bit of action. Personally, I thought the drama (eg. flashbacks on how unfair life was for certain characters, which is why they won't accept their deaths) was most effective at telling a story such as this. I found that the strongest episodes were the ones which took the plot seriously and focussed on the drama aspect instead of the comedy. The comedy can make you laugh whenever it’s done correctly, but too many jokes are rubbish and/or repetitive. At times, comedy is put in the wrong places and ruins the momentum of the anime, causing a sudden standstill to the plot.
The animation is excellent in AB. The studio responsible is P.A. Works, who've also produced high quality animation for True Tears and Canaan. Character models look great, although some of the characters look similar to each other. The various action scenes in this series are done very well which makes the battles fluid and exciting to watch. Music concerts which take place in specific episodes are a visual treat and a great spectacle. No complaints here.
The music is another one of this anime's strongest points, especially the theme songs. The opening is probably one of the best I've seen, with a soulful track accompanied by superb animation which changes slightly for each episode. The ending credits also changes as new characters are introduced and older ones disappear. The timing and choice of background music at certain moments are a big help in setting up the emotional scenes as well as the funniest parts. There's also a music band in the storyline who play insert songs (ranging from good to great ones) throughout a few episodes. The dialogue is okay and voice acting pretty decent. Together with the animation, this shows a lot of time/money was put into the production to makes its quality stand out.
The characters are a mixed bunch, and represent one of the weakest areas of this show. The protagonist, Otonashi, is quite bland at first because he's lost his memory and we know nothing of him, but he doesn’t improve much throughout. There's Yuri, the leader of the SSS with a strong personality, and when you see a flashback of her life it's easy to understand why she wants to be a rebel in the afterlife. Her rival is Angel, a mysterious person who tries to deter the activities of the SSS group. With the exception of maybe two or three, the rest of the (reasonably large) supporting cast don't have much development and are only around to say a few lines and contribute to some comedy and fighting. Perhaps it would have helped if this anime was longer, like 26 episodes, to explain how more of them came to the afterlife and why they fight. I didn’t judge the cast by their appearances, but by a combination of their personalities, backgrounds, significance to the plot and their interactions with the other members. Taking this into account, many characters in AB are largely forgettable and difficult to become emotionally attached to. Deep characters (main and supporting) are a must in an anime that relies heavily on mystery and drama, and in this aspect AB fails to deliver.
One of the major flaws of AB is the episode count. I’ve seen anime which have done okay with only 13 episodes, such as Kino’s Journey and Elfen Lied. Angel Beats, however, is not one of them. It doesn't help that as the story picks up in the final episodes new plot elements are introduced and existing ones are just dumped to the side or rushed to completion; this results in terrible pacing and leaves more questions than answers. Also, a lot of suspense and mystery is built up in the first half of AB, but the revelations and plot twists are far from massive. By the end of the series, we still only know the backgrounds of four or five of the cast. As I've mentioned, the drama is one of the things AB does very well, but when it's squeezed into an episode it can feel forced and unnecessary. It also doesn’t help that some early episodes barely progress the plot and instead acts like filler material, with comedy being its main focus. I like comedy, and I'd welcome it in any series if it improves the entertainment, but not at the cost of other aspects. AB is already too short, and a lot of the "funny" dialogue/scenes could have been devoted instead to developing the plot/characters/drama further.
Overall, there are some great ideas here, but it's a little frustrating when the fantastic production values (animation, music) of this anime aren’t matched by the other areas of it (plot, characters, pacing). It has its fair share of flaws but also some great moments, so if you like the plot summary, or have enjoyed Key's other works, then give this series a try because a lot of people probably enjoyed it more than I did. Angel Beats is a good anime series, but I think that it had the potential to be so much better.
