Being a series based upon a supernatural concept filled with emotions and feelings and a hidden message for every individual watching it. Angel Beats! is an unexpected show with a lot of features and qualities to offer. Filled with drama, a slice of life, and comedy moments, it is one of those shows which can seem to be boring at times but copes upon fascinatingly. But this is just a general perspective of this series so let’s take a look at its features individually. But before that, an eye on synopsis is a must, so make sure you do so.
In a world that seems to be a residence for the dead, angels fight for their destiny and future. The leader of the Shinda Sekai Sensen (SSS), Yuri, fights against the God who wrote her fate of an unjustified life. On the other side, the chairperson of the student council of the world for the dead, Tenshi, battles against the members of SSS. The SSS members use armed weaponry to fight against angels that harness supernatural powers.
Author’s Review: Narrative
A vague concept of the afterlife that can confuse most of its audience with features within this concept and character-driven story can be seen in Angel Beats! An individual feels if his youth is taken away from him by God and how he would react if he had a chance to fight against Him is the whole premise of this show.
The setting of this anime is school; however, it mostly revolves around the characters within that school and their past life when they were alive in the real world. The theme of this anime is highlighting the incorrect mindset of humans to fight against something they disagree with rather than accepting the change and fulfilling their dreams under those circumstances. For such a theme, the school and afterlife narrative are unique and creative as one may never realize this theme in the first seven episodes but understand it over time.
Execution
The plot is a bit complicated in itself, and presenting it in such a unique and tough-to-pull-off setting is not a great idea. In other words, the theme and the environment don’t match well enough to let the viewers understand them in one go. For a slice of life series, the afterlife can be a great approach, but the school can hinder it, as witnessed in this series.
However, Angel Beats! Did manage to present the story well enough during the climax of this anime. There are several moments where one will burst out of laughter and enjoy the show to its fullest. The execution is good and took the half-comedy-half-plot route, where the story is humorous for 1-6 episodes and then focuses on the plot. One can admire the depiction of climax and emotions during that segment and the feelings and sentiments of various characters.
Animation
This art style is a pretty popular one as multiple famous anime are created by it. It was great for a drama-oriented series with moments of laughter and whining. The animation was good as well. A bit sloppy at times but nothing unpleasant on a significant scale. The art style shone best during the emotional and sentimental scenes in this series. Enhancing the mood and making it a lot more heart-touching is what this animation pulled off well.
Characters
Angel Beats offer a batch of enjoyable, crazy, and fun personalities! More or less, all of them are great and serve their purpose in the story quite well. I admire many of them for humor, many for emotions, and some for their attitude in general. There are so many entertaining and lively characters in the series but let’s just take a brief look at the main ones.
Yurippe
The seemingly main character of this series, Yuri, is the most well-developed personality throughout. One can admire her for her resolve in this world and the decisions she makes based on her experience in the real world. Her authentic self faced cruelty, but the way she overcomes that trauma and looks forward to her life is inspiring and fascinating in its path.
Otonashi
The original protagonist, whose entry changes the world drastically and brings peace to those residing in that world, is not a new concept, but it doesn’t matter because of Angel Beats! Presented this popular trait fantastically and entertainingly. Otonoshi’s sense of life is what one can presume to be the best amongst all characters and outstanding in general. The idea of ‘loathing upon your older self and not living your current self because of that is ridiculous’ has been portrayed beautifully by Otonashi and his actions. Not to mention his idea of living for others makes him a well-written character.
Kanade
Emotionless and cruel will be the first words that would come to your mind when you see her but her ideals are way too generous and admirable. She might look like a final boss in a video game but was the expressionless version of Otonashi and his virtues. One will adore her as soon as one realizes her true self and intentions.
Criticism
The elements of this show are presented awkwardly and vaguely. One may enjoy the series till episode 5 because of the humor. Still, things start to become so random from Episodes 6-9 (excellent) that you may feel like dropping the series for not understanding any of the actions taken by the characters. Even though it all comes together in the end, some aspects were kept unclear throughout the show. It would have been better if they gave a reasonable explanation about the school, NPCs, Angel, etc.
