The plot centers around Otonashi, a young man who wakes up in the middle of a school yard, with no recollection on how he got there or any memories of his past. He is then confronted by a girl holding a rather large gun, her name is Yuri, the leader of a organization called the SSS, a group devoted to fighting god and his angels. Confused by her offer, Otonashi declines and decides to confront this 'angel', seeing how she appears to be a lonesome little girl. Unfortunately for Otonashi, this helpless little girl somehow manifests blades from her arms and stabs him. After waking up, again, but this time in a hospital. Yuri and the rest of the SSS reveal to him that they are actually stuck in purgatory, and how they can't really die within this world, but if they were to pass on, something Angel intends to make them do, they will reincarnate into another life. Yuri and the SSS rather not pass on, instead, they would rather fight against the god who destined them to have unreasonable lives and possibly reincarnate into water fleas. Otonashi agrees to join Yuri and her group, hoping to regain some recollection of his past and learn the mysteries of this new world.
Angel Beats starts off with great promise, interesting concepts and likeable characters, but ultimately fails to live up to anyone's expectations. People put the blame on the fact that everything in this series is restricted to only 13 episodes. But personally, I put the blame on the writer Jun Maeda. His work in visual novels is quite apparent in this series, as it seems like he's only good at writing scenarios, not a straight linear storyline. A competent writer should find a way to string these characters and events in a organic matter, instead of turning it into a nice jumbled mess.
Everything in the show feels episodic. It presents 'important' plot points and characters, but by the next episode, it disregards all previous plot points in favor for this new one. Rinse and repeat over the course of 13 episodes. As a example; the series also introduces a new villain about mid-way through the series, but over the course of a single episode he joins the SSS. Because of this, the story of Angel Beats feels aimless. It has no conflict, no resolution, doesn't center on a particular character or even a villain. Jun Maeda blames that he 'wrote too much' for Angel Beats, which is why it turned into a cross media project, but why couldn't he craft a storyline just for the anime, and leave everything else to the small series of light novels or the manga?
The one thing that does shine in this series is it's diverse cast of characters. Like I said earlier, they are all very likeable and surprisingly memorable. Even more so with a fan favorite called TK, a mysterious english speaking character who's constantly dancing. Because of this, the humor and interaction between the characters works really well, it makes for some enjoyable moments. But isn't it a little sad when the humor is more enjoyable than the drama in a supposedly 'character driven' series?
Speaking of the drama, it's nothing but forced. It's mostly used for the sake of making the viewer feel sad or a weak attempt to feel something for a otherwise unlikable character. This of course is done in a series of flashbacks into the character's lives, before their new lives in the SSS. Does it have any real impact on the storyline? No. Does it add anything to the characters? It does in a few cases, but not all. Most of the time you'll be wondering what was the entire point of that sequence, as it only serves as a weak selling point to feel empathy for the character. Which I hear is more apparent in Jun Maeda's other work such as 'Clannad', but I have yet to seen that series nor have interest in it.
Something I feel like I should point out is the finale, I won't reveal any spoilers, but it does start with a lick of promise and is touching in a sense, and it leaves on such a bittersweet note that could have left the viewer feeling satisfied with the conclusion. But there's a added scene after the ending credits that almost destroys everything the series is built around. Instead of teeing the story together, it just leaves you with more loose ends and questions. Now, there's a 'unaired' episode that will be included with the DVD and Blu-Ray release, but I doubt it will add much of anything to the ending.
Overall, Angel Beats has nice characters and good looking animation, but the episodic pacing and muddled story leaves the entire experience a little left to be desired.
I find it a little hard to recommend a series like Angel Beats, because of the reception for it seems to be quite mixed. People who are fans of Key's past works seem to enjoy the series, but think it's one of the weakest ones they produce yet. While people like me feel like it's one of the most underwhelming anime's to premiere this season.
Rating:
5/10
Check out if the show somehow interests you, but don't expect much.
