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Angel Beats! tv Review
Story & Characters
Story Introduction
Otanashi , the amnesiac protaginist , suddenly found himself in the middle of the city , lying on the floor at night
while a girl is carrying a sniper rifle before him , aiming at another girl whom she claims to be "Tenshi"
Not believing that he is in the Afterlife , he went to talk to the girl , only to be stabbed in the chest.
He later woke up , finding that his wound healed and he is "alive".
As the story progresses , the protaginist realises the truth about the world and those who exists in it.
Terms Sypnosis
SSS
This is the final name of the Warfront that most of the characters are in.
It is essentially a group formed by Yuri , who had decided to rebel against the unfair lives they led and
"God" whom she believes to exist who gave them such a life.
Guild
The Guild is often situated underground and is in charge of producing weapons for the Warfront.
Well , naturally , it's filled with traps to repel the possibility of infiltration as such.
Girls Dead Monster
This is a band which is part of the Warfront which serves as a distraction to distract Tenshi by drawing students to
listen to their music.
Afterlife
Well , there isn't exactly an official title for the world they live in after they die.
In this "world" , there lives people who had died and have regrets in their past life , ending up in this
world as a result of such an event.
No one can die in this world , even after being mutiliated into a dozen pieces , but strangely enough , the people does
drink , eat , play and fight as such in normal lives.
They can also create weapons from practically any material if they have the technology.
"NPCs"
Essentially what you call a "Non-Player Character"
Despite being a strange name , it strangely suits the people who doesn't actually have a soul in this world. They
are there for eternity and does not behave exactly like a human.
Hand Sonic
Hand Sonic is the ability of Tenshi which forms a blade above the hand.
Essentially , there are a total of five versions.
The first one being a simple blade , the second one is a bit longer and slimmer with a design to it , the third one
resembles a tanto , the fourth one is a flower and the fifth one is a gothic claw-like blade.
Guard Skill : Distortion
This is the most oft used technique used by Tenshi.
It essentially creates an invisible barrier that deflects and repels any projectiles.
Character Sypnosis
( Only Early Names and Characters
)
Main Characters
Otanashi
As he is suffering from amnesia , he can not remember who he was in the past unlike the others.
He only joined the Warfront so he can recover his memories safely , but he soon grew to like the group.
After realising who he is , he devoted himself to helping all those around him.
Personality
Initially , his personality is pretty dry and weak , slightly comical but not really what you call a distinct
character.
But after realising who he was , his personality and character became more distinct and even before that , he wants to
help others and his words have a heavy influence on those around him , healing their hearts and allowing them to forgive
themselves and the life they led.
Nakamura Yuri
She is also known as "Yurippe" and is the leader of the Warfront since she is the first who started
rebelling.
The reason why she rebelled is because of the cruel event that had happened when she was a child.
Yuri is also fairly sharp and intellectual , though not exactly what you call knowledgeable.
Personality
Yuri often makes threats she doesn't really mean , though she may do it none the less.
Also , she have a firm and strong personality , though that is mainly because of her goal which she had devoted herself
to.
She also have a somewhat "Tsundere" side to her as well , though it isn't very clear or
distinct.
Tenshi
A mysterious white haired girl who is also the Student Council President of the school.
She is dubbed as "Tenshi" , solely because she is believed to be the agent of God and is treated as the enemy
of the Warfront.
That is not exactly without reason as she alone managed to handle the entire Warfront with ease.
Personality
Tenshi ( Whose true name is later revealed ) , have a rather passive personality.
She doesn't exactly seem evil and she is fairly bad with words.
However , later on , it can be seen that she have a fair bit of emotions as well , even making facial
expressions.
Hideki Hinata
Hideki Hinata is one of the few SSS members who took on Otanashi on friendly terms early in the plot.
He had proved to be fairly dependable and tends to look out for the greenhorn of the team.
Personality
Apparently , he is a very good friend to have indeed.
He often looks out for Otanashi's back and saves him from trouble.
Though fairly easy-going , he might retaliate if offended.
Warfront Characters
You might want to skip 'till the Story
Overview
Noda
Noda is one of the early characters met in the game and he wields a halberd of sorts with skill.
He is fairly hot blooded and easy to temper , though extremely loyal to Yuri.
Shiina
Shiina tends to speak little and acts like a ninja , often saying "How Foolish" at bizzare scenes.
Despite her cold attitude , she have a weakness for cute items and animals.
Takamatsu
Takamatsu , despite his glasses which he nevers seems to take off , is claimed to be an idiot.
He tends to push his glasses up a lot and well , he really is an idiot.
Fujimaki
Like Noda , he does'nt like the greenhorn , Otonashi , early on in the plot.
He wields a sword as a weapon.
TK
A strange dancer who wears a bandana over his eyes and raps a hell lot over the episodes.
He tends to dance a lot as well.
Yusa
A somewhat emotionless conveyor of information of the Warfront.
She often report situations and events directly to Yuri.
Matsushita
An extremely bulky member of the team.
Despite his size , his athletic abilities is acknowledged amongst the Warfront members.
Takeyama
Or better known as "Christ" , which he insists to be called by.
His the genius hacker of the squad , apparently.
Oyama
A boy who is claimed to be of "without any redeeming qualities"
Well , despite that , I think female fans would like his "innocent child-like" personality.
Cha
Cha is the one whose in charge of the Guild.
Despite his...beard and all , his actually a high school student.
Girls Dead Monster / GirlDeMo
Iwasawa
The singer and guitarist of the band.
Her past is ridden with troubles.
Hisako
She is the main guitarist of the band.
Apparently , she is pretty athletic as well.
Irie
The drummer of the band.
Little is known about her actually.
Sekine
The bass player of the band.
Also , little is known about her.
Yui
An energetic girl whose initially a fan of Girls Dead Monster but joined as a vocalist and guitarist later on.
She also became part of the Warfront but often bickers with Hinata.
Story Overview
...I'm crying.
....*sniff*
...All right , seriously , the storyline , for the first half , is pretty much dry , empty and ridiculous in every
sense. But funnily so.
However , the first half , despite it's comedic entrance , is essential as it builds up affection the audience
would have for the characters to execute the second half effectively.
Despite having very short tales for some of the characters , the developers had effectively constructed a very emotional
and depressing past for each of these characters. Though some of them aren't exactly strong enough , they are
emotionally displayed and even secondary characters would become a significant one due to the lives they had faced.
However , the story only truly does kick in in the second half of the Anime.
As expected of KEY's work , it's somethng saddening yet heart warming.
Essentially , the audience would witness the bond between the characters , their friendships , their past and the love
they have for each other and what kept them going till this day and finding their answers so they can finally move
on.
To cleanly break the heart of the audience , they made one , very serious and very emotional plot twist near the end ,
but naturally , since it's KEY , they mended it back after the credits.
But honestly , it's certainly a plotline that will drive you to the edge of tears. Though not exactly as emotional
as KEY's other works like Clannad due to the short span of the Anime , it is certainly , in it's own way ,
well constructed despite the little amount of episodes.
I can't say that all the stories are emotional and all , but each of them are distinct in their own way and tragic
in their own way.
Oh yeah , of what people said of the ending...I don't really get why they called it strange... It's an event
that signifies friendship and love , no?
Rating:
Art
Artwork Review
WORSHIP THE ARTWORK!
Alright , seriously now...The artwork is at the levels of that of CG graphics in Visual Novels but animated.
They have drawn detailed folds of the clothes and not to mention , distinct characters that can easily be differed from
each other.
It's very different from the usual artwork style of KEY's works if I must say and somewhat similar to Little
Busters!
Also , the coloring tone is very rich and bright , somewhat perfectly reflecting on the comical mood on the Anime , but
also beautiful and elegant at times like in the Opening , which reflects strongly on the emotional part of the plot.
Well , I guess I'm exaggerating this , but that's how I think.
Moving on , other than the rich coloring and detailed folding of the clothes which you guys probably won't give a
damn about , the shadowing and lightning effect is very well done as they practically "move" along with the
characters.
The physics of the characters can be awkward at times , but it's so amazingly well done most of the times that
it's literally at the standard of Anime Movies.
As for the textures , they don't really overdo it but make it up with the coloring scheme.
Oh yeah , I also kinda like the fact that each of the characters have a different "look" to their eyes so
it's easier to distinguish between the characters.
For certain scenes , you may find yourself pretty surprised by the artwork as well , which you would find undeniably
beautiful.
Also , they had drawn the sceneries pretty well as well and I'm kinda surprised how much details they had given to
the bed of sunflowers in one of the episodes.
Opening Review
I usually don't mess with the Opening , but the Opening of this Anime is really good.
Well , you can practically see Tenshi pressing on the keys of the piano and the sceneries are really well drawn ,
what's more , each Opening have short animations on the events found in the episode without giving out spoilers
while making it pretty epic at the same time.
Rating:
Sound
Music Review
I can pretty much say that the lyrics match the storyline pretty well.
In fact , you would probably find the song more and more beautiful per episode.
Music is also very common in the earlier part of the Anime , particularly due to plot reasons and rather than skipping
any of them , the audience would probably find themselves listening to it instead , particularly the Opening. For once (
Or maybe twice or thrice ) , I find myself listening to the Opening through out all the episodes.
Emotional and beautiful songs , that's what I call the songs found in this Anime. :3
Voice Review
I don't have much of a trouble with the voices , though I was initially confused by Yuri's voice at first due
to the "Tsundere" feel to it.
Though in the end , it does seem that everyone's voices does match up with each other.
Though the small cliche is , Yui's singing voice and regular voice does...have too much of a difference with each
other that it's unrealistic.
Rating:
Presentation
This is a Review of Angel Beats!
...Pass me a hankerchief...*sneeze*
Anyways , though perhaps not as emotional as other KEY works like Clannad , they have pretty much effectively stuffed a
lot of emotional stuff in thirteen episodes which would drive you to the edge of tears , if your human enough.
Each story is well constructed , perhaps due to the affection the audience built up for the characters due to all the
comedic sequences , but mainly because each past that the characters have experienced is down-to-earth yet heart
wrenching at the same time.
But undeniably , the Anime is no where near serious till the second part of the Anime comes into play.
There's just one very strong plot twist at the end which I haven't been expecting which had given me a second
Clannad experience...
Damn , now I feel like crying again.
Overall ( Others )
Age Recommendation : 13+
Genre : Romance ( Mild ) Slice of Life Tragedy ( Mild ) Comedy
Humor
I can't say that their exactly the sort of humor that would make you laugh your guts out , but each of them would
definitely make you laugh , or at least , grin.
Just expect most of them to be a very...mmm..."painful experience" for the characters :D
Oh yeah , humour , in this Anime , knows no bounds. It literally happens at all corners , even at times when your least
expecting it.
Which may in turn make some scenes anti-climatic to the state of being ridiculous XD
Romance
To be honest , I'm rather upset with the romance sector.
Though there were minor hints between the affair of the couples in this Anime , the serious problem is that the events
that happen between them is so minor that when they suddenly decide to confess to each other , the audience is like
"EH!?"
In short , it's literally almost out of the blue , if you get what I mean.
Psychology
Essentially , there are moral lessons in this as well.
Live your life to the fullest.
...Mmm...Well , not that I really learnt from it , but still , it had caused a pretty hard knock to me one way or the
other.
Also , prepare some tissues 'cause your gonna cry if your emotionally feeble like me.
Each character have a realistic past which in turns built up the personality they have of now. Though not really
elaborated , it's finely constructed.
Trivia
o There are two Mangas for it , called Angel Beats! The 4-Koma and Angel Beats! Heavens Door respectively.
o There is an OVA for it
o There is a book called Angel Beats! Track Zero , which is a prequel
o There is an Internet Radio Show for it
o Other publications holds fragments of storylines unreleased with the Anime due to the timespan of the Anime
~ Thanks for reading the review and if you spam , I'll send Tenshi to run amok on your Guestbook ~
Rating:
Final Verdict
8.8333 (very good)
Reviewed by z827, Nov 15, 2010
Comments
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SchRita Dec 23, 2010
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Ak1r0 Dec 29, 2010
its a great anime - a must watch.
great job Z827 buddy... ;) -
fallenkaze Mar 05, 2011
I like the reviews format how its all seperated and well defined as to where something ends and begins
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