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Year: 2010
Genre: Action, Comedy-drama, Supernatural
Episodes: 13
Rating: 4 out of 5
Where does one’s soul go after death? Is it Heaven, or is it Hell? Would you go to Limbo or Purgatory? Purgatory is a place or state where those who died in a state of grace undergo a limited amount of penance for their forgivable sins. Limbo is described as the condition of those who died whose souls were barred from Heaven yet not consigned to Hell.
What if you woke up in a place with others but lost all your memories? You meet someone, and they tell you that you have died and currently waiting for judgment. What would you think and how would you react? Would you curse the name of God, or would you accept your fate? What if you died as a teenager and never experience life to the fullest? What if you died in the worst possible way imaginable? Would you fight against God?
Angel Beats is a funny but sad anime that explores the subject of the Afterlife and how a group of kids fight against God before moving on.
Overview:
Angel Beats! is set at a high school, acting as limbo for teenagers who have died. The teenagers have experienced challenging hardships or traumas in their life before passing. The school serves as a way for the teenagers to come to terms with their life before moving on. Even in death, the teenagers can still feel pain when they were alive, as well as dying, but will awaken several hours later with no injuries.
Angel Beats! revolves around the protagonist Otonashi. Otonashi awakens at the school but realizes that he has lost all his memories of his life after dying. While wandering around, he suddenly meets a girl named Yuri, who has a weapon that is aimed at a girl. Yuri invites him to join her group, Afterlife Battlefront, but Otonashi wonders why she has a gun. Yuri quickly explains that Otonashi is dead, and her group fights against God for the negative experiences the members went through in life. The girl below is Angel, the enforcer for God. Otonashi, not believing he is dead, walks down to Angel to explain what is going on. Angel ignores him before stabbing him the chest. Otonashi awakens several hours later and notices he is okay and surrounded by a group of people.
Otonashi notices Yuri sitting at a desk. She explains again that everyone is dead, and she has waged war against God for what happened to her while recruiting other students. She explains that they are currently in limbo. Their only enemy is Angel, a girl who uses her supernatural powers. The rest of the school is populated by a large number of “normal” students and teachers that are deemed “non-player characters” (NPCs), which are not human but look and act the part. Yuri also explains that if anyone does anything related to school (i.e., doing school work), they will be obliterated and disappear from the world. Yuri offers Otonashi a position with the group and to fight against God.
After some arguing amongst the members, Otonashi decides to join the group. Yuri explains the plan for the day. They will use a four-girl band named Girls Dead Monster to act as a diversion. While the diversion is happening, Angel appears to enforce the rules. The group fights against Angel while Yuri releases thousands of food tickets. With their mission accomplished, they retreat back to their base.
Otonashi wonders what is in store with him as he gets to know the group. He wonders if this is what the Afterlife is really about.
Review:
The story of Angel Beats is simple, but as it goes along, it becomes very sad and emotional. It will make you think a little about the Afterlife. The story is about a group of dead teenagers, “living” in purgatory. Purgatory is a high school. The students must wait before moving on to be reincarnated. The leader of Class SSS, Yuri, has waged a personal war against God for the way her life had ended. When you see how she passed away, you can see where that vendetta comes from. I would be pissed also. As Yuri states, “I want to give God a piece of my mind.” She recruits an exciting and unique group of characters to help her on this mission. When Otonashi arrives in the world, he quickly learns that the teens have abandoned the idea of living at the school and battle against a girl named Angel, who they think is God’s enforcer. Yuri believes that if any does the school life by learning and participating, they will be obliterated. The first half of the series displays the many ways Class SSS tries to prevent or defeat Angel from doing her duties.
Some of the ideas they come up with are beyond out of this world. Good thing they have indestructible bodies and can’t die since they are already dead. I have never laughed so hard at the missions and dialogue between the characters. As the story progresses and Otonashi really learns the meaning of the school and what Angel’s actual job, the anime turns from a comedy tone to a serious tone. No one wants to think about death or moving on. This anime story would make you realize that it is okay to take the next step and go on another adventure but also to live life to the fullest if you missed your chance.
Without a doubt, the best part of this anime is the characters. The characters are downright incredible. The first area that the anime does well is that it gives every character a unique personality. Whether it Takamatsu always taking off his shirt to show his muscles; the female ninja Shiina who is always trying to focus on a task; TK, my favorite character, the large bandana, always dancing machine; or the dumb but always loyal Noda, each character brings a fun aspect to the story. Angel Beats also does a fantastic job of telling some of the background stories of the characters and their motivations. Almost every character had a really tough life and died tragically young without fulfilling their youthful experience in life. Yuri’s story is downright sad, while Otonashi’s story will make you show some tears. As the anime progresses, you feel sorry but happy, knowing things will turn out for the best. Another aspect that truly makes the characters great is the dialogue between each of them. The conversation is hilarious! Hinata: Otonashi…..I need you; Otonashi response: Are you that way? OR Ooyama: Crap, I forgot! Er, this is the trap where the ceiling falls; Otonashi: Don’t forget the necessary details like that! The dialogue is terrific and adds on to the characters.
Even though the animation isn’t a strong point, it does serve some of a purpose to the anime in making things visually appealing. It does the job. The anime’s color schemes and use of colors when situations happened made the scenes pop. The scenes where the musicians played was very eye-opening and appealing. Every character had their own substance about them, whether it was the color of their hair or eyes. Each character had a distinct personal appearance. Furthermore, the colors that were used when people told how they died. Besides the vibrant, happy color scheme, the colors changed to a darker tone that displayed sadness.
Finally, the music for Angel Beats is tremendous and matches every scene to almost perfection. The music really added to the overall tone and emotions to the scenes that were meant to make some waterworks happen. The music made me feel sorry for everyone but smile at the same time, knowing they were off to a better place. The opening theme, “My Soul, Your Beats!” is excellent, adding to the overall tone of the anime. Who doesn’t like a theme song with a piano? The ending theme, “Brave Song,” makes you think about your friends when it shows the group. Even the songs in the anime sung by the band are great in their own way.
If you don’t like an anime that will make you laugh and cry, you won’t enjoy Angel Beats. The comedy and dialogue amongst the characters make this anime enjoyable. My favorite episodes are when the group goes and tries to get Otonashi a weapon and must pass all the traps. The adventure is hilarious. My second favorite episode is when the group switches Angel’s tests. The distractions scenes, when the chair flies to the ceiling, had my almost laughing with tears. Angel Beats also makes some tears flow that might make you happy. When the realization that it is okay to move on and everything will be okay. This anime is definitely a top 100 anime.
