Lets talk about Angel Beats! An anime that is set in the afterlife following the character Otonashi, a character with amnesia and no memory of why he’s there. The setting being a limbo like state, though to the characters and audience it looks like a normal boarding school. Otonashi quickly meets two other characters – Yuri and Angel who seem to be in some kind of fight to the death. Yuri being the leader of a rebel group and Angel being the head of what can only be described as a disciplinary committee, Otonashi has to side with one and that’s where our story takes off.
As an anime set in the afterlife it plays with themes like life after death, acceptance, and moving on. Though that is only a brief touch in the depth that this anime goes. Characters are seen through knowing how they died, knowing what’s holding them back, and seeing how they move on. It brings a bitter sweet taste in your mouth when a character you love finds peace and finally leaves. It’s a very happy moment but also it’s tough knowing that the character is now finished.
This series is a short but sweet one as it only spans to thirteen episodes, though not all episodes are character based it still has a nice pace. None of the episodes are boring and all lead to thickening the plot. It’s good considering some short anime’s flop around trying to find footing when there’s no time. Though the first few episodes of Angel Beats are a bit strange it quickly finds it’s tear jerking nature and soars.
You can really tell what characters the creator wanted to focus on and what characters were there for comic relief. Though the anime has a plethora of great qualities I wish it would have had more time to show the story of a couple more characters. The moments when a character passes on is amazing, it leave you with a happy feeling that brings tears to your eyes. I wish it gave us a few more of those moments, that way I could fill my pool with tears rather than pay a high water bill.
(Yea manly tears. BAM!!!!)
All and all I enjoyed this anime and all of the qualities it had with it, the opening song is amazing, character progression was top notch, and the plot was solid and gave us many heart warming moments.
Now lets talk about how I didn’t cry.
And now lets talk about how I’m a compulsive liar.
10/10
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If you would like to watch this anime you can find it here on Ryu Anime or on Hulu.
Hope you all enjoyed this review I am trying to find what I want this blog to be about and I have found that I like to review the things I read or watch.
Have a good day/night 😀
NearlyWes 