My only prior experience with Key/Visual Arts was Clannad, which made my expectations for Angel Beats!phenomenally high. Compared to a gem like that, Angel Beats! is clearly lacking finesse, but even those who've never seen a Key adaptation will notice that this anime could have been a lot better. The producers expect viewers to sit with their requisite box of tissues, waiting for both the laughter-induced and sorrow-induced tears to start falling; such moments never came for me. Angel Beats! is a little funny, a tad charming, and at times tragic- but that's all it is.
Angel Beats! Copyright P.A. Works, Key/Visual Arts
Yuzuru Otonashi, our amnesiac protagonist, seems to be the sole voice of reason when waking to a world where schoolkids team up to annihilate the kawaii Student Body President, Angel. The rebel band of high schoolers, who tentatively call themselves the Underworld Battlefront (their official title changes every five minutes or so), argue that Otonashi is dead and he must join their insurrectionist cause in order to avoid being “obliterated” and transcending the current plane of existence. I actually watched the first episode twice because I assumed there was pertinent information I accidentally glossed over; for most of the series, the premise truly is this simple: you either resist complacency and fight Angel, or you die. Angel doesn't actually kill anyone, mind you – people just disappear, for reasons the series later exposes.
This anime is saved by the fact that Key/Visual Arts understands the significance of fantastic characterization. Good characters can keep audiences interested in a series despite the absence of a relevant plot line; such was the case with Angel Beats! Combined with the unusually pleasant English dub by Sentai Filmworks, the show definitely has an alluring cast, each in possession of one quirk or another. Yuri “Yuripee” Nakamura, leader of the Ad Hoc Battlefront, is the series badass, fighting Angel in hand-to-hand combat on several occasions. She wasn't my favorite character, but Yuri commands attention and clearly doesn't need the rest of the cast. She could have successfully moved on to a solo career in a separate series, Yuripee Beats! The level of passion Brittney Karbowski delivered to her character amazed me, as every order she barks out to her team during their operations is guttural and authentic.
Angel Beats! Copyright P.A. Works, Key/Visual Arts
According to Wikipedia, the producers placed a lot of emphasis on developing the sound scape of Angel Beats! Normally I'd advise taking what Wikipedia offers with a grain of salt, but in this case Wikipedia happens to be telling the truth. What initially drew me to this series was the OP, “My Song, Your Beats!” greeting me with sonorous piano so lovely it gave me goosebumps. The theme is echoed several times throughout the series, albeit with changes in tempo. The more obvious musical fixation was with the Confusing Battlefront's rock band, Girls Dead Monster. They're supposed to help distract the other students at the high school (especially Angel) through concert performances so that their operations can run smoothly. These concerts, which are animated better than most other sequences in the show, are always entertaining treats.
As far as the narrative, there's a lot of talk about what role God plays in relegating this limbo world our characters occupy; after all, it isn't bizarre to think that someone or something is responsible for our characters being made to shoot at each other ad infinitum. What's made clear early on is that the members of What the Hell is Going On? Battlefront all experienced great turmoil when they were alive, and coming to terms with those issues can help people escape limbo. But for all of the concern our characters have about God, audiences aren't offered much of an answer as to what he does, or if he even exists. Instead, we eventually get a deus ex machina scene a la The Matrix Reloaded that attempts to explain everything . By the end of the series, no one knows how they got into this odd limbo/video game world, but the experience of being there at least served a higher purpose.
Angel Beats! Copyright P.A. Works, Key/Visual Arts
A lack of concrete answers isn't the biggest reason to dislike the show, but is merely indicative of the overall lack of direction in Angel Beats! The frequent fights against Angel don't feel very productive – they aren't. Otonashi immediately figures this out, quickly supplanting the only meager villain the series truly had. In the midst of frequent teenage gallivanting, our characters' pre-death lives are exposed and they learn how to cope with those memories. I suppose that arduous journey serves as substitute for a real threat, making the show unique, but not particularly good. The story begins to feel rushed and desperate, scrambling to give our heroes actual things to do while audiences wait for the less than satisfying explanation to the whole series.
Angel Beats! Copyright P.A. Works, Key/Visual Arts
The emphasis on childhood innocence and aimless hanging out with friends is intentional, mirroring theClannad formula to some degree... but this isn't Clannad. Clannad was a slice-of-life comedy/drama in the purest sense, so having a looser plot is appropriate and worked brilliantly in its 24 episode structure. Angel Beats! purports to have a higher stakes story with possible philosophical implications, so giving us a loose narrative in a brief 13 episode stint wasn't the best choice, denying audiences a satiating conclusion. The idea of “it's about the journey, not the destination” comes to mind here, an apropos description for Angel Beats!
I enjoyed Angel Beats! I really did, and I think most other audiences will too. The brilliant animation, memorable characters and music come together beautifully thanks to P.A. Works and Aniplex, studios that are normally successful on their own anyway. Having them cooperate naturally resulted in a double dose of awesomeness. If Angel Beats! had spent less time frolicking about and introducing new plot elements, and more time conveying a transparent narrative, this would have been another Key success story.
Angel Beats! Copyright P.A. Works, Key/Visual Arts
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