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Pellissier 2010-07-03 06:18

Angel Beats! - Overall Series Impressions & Total Series Rating
 
This thread is to be used for discussing the entire episodes of Angel Beats! ... your thoughts about the show, overall impressions, expectations and hopes about the DVD only footage etc.

A few subjects you might want to ramble on about:
  • General impression of the series.
  • Opinions on the overall story, writing & plot devices.
  • Thoughts about the animation quality.
  • Characters/Character Design
  • Voice Acting

  • Which kind of footage (DVD only) you feel you'd really like to see.
  • What the show meant to you.
  • What could the creators/animators/writers have done better.

And so on.

The poll represents your total series rating. In other words, how you would rate all the episodes combined (1-10)? If you'd rather rate the whole series by technical/artistic merits, you can do so. An example:

Animation Quality: 1-10
Voice Actors: 1-10
Script: 1-10
Soundtrack: 1-10
Production: 1-10
Enjoyment: 1-10
Emotional Involvement: 1-10

Average = Total Series Rating

Or a combination of the two. Or your general gut feeling.

Feel free to discuss and more importantly, have fun :)

AC730 2010-07-03 07:39

Animation Quality: 9
The animation provided proved to be one the best this season. From the first episode I was able to witness some fluid animations combined with some of the detailed backdrops complete with guns blazing, it just says it all for me. The scene with the tickets drifting down from the night sky along with Kanade in the spotlight won me over seeing quite a jaw-dropping scene, I may be exaggerating here but it definitely was a show of quality. It's not the best, but one of my most favorite. There are a few awkward scenes with characters doing some weird movements and expressions here and there but only slightly affects the animation quality.

Voice Actors: 10
Great cast and voice acting here. In fact this is what brought me over to watch Angel Beats after seeing Kamiya and Hanazawa on the list, I knew I had to check it out. The only problem in my case is that I get Otanashi, Araragi and Ko all mixed up after hearing him speak in the same tone and manner almost through out different series. The emotions conveyed through the VA's really were expressed quite well, notably in the last episode or just the preview for the last episode where you could really just hear Otanashi's words of sorrow and insight about the graduation. Just 'hearing' the preview really struck me and had me a bit teary eyed. A job well done.

Script: 9
This script was unique. Lenghtwise? It didn't quite develop out to it's full potential, if only there were more time to expand out to a second season for Otanashi's arrival and 'departure.' Other than that, the script proved to be a well played with the 13 episodes it had to explore with. It contained tidbits of humor, sorrow, insight and some true character development with the short time it had. I remember, I couldn't stop laughing with Naoi and Hinata's interactions while Otanashi's backstories really showed how he had changed and the sudden realization of his little sister passing really had me crying. The script wasn't the best one but it was an ideal one for the number of episodes it had.

Soundtrack: 10
The soundtrack is one of the best things in this anime. Dare I say, better than most anime's that we enjoy today. Actions scenes were supplied with a high paced track while scenes with sorrow were filled with the delicate touch of the piano and really meshed well with all the elements on screen. Now Girls Dead Demo, the fictional band in the anime didn't get much character development... However they were the driving force behind the music in the anime where songs like 'My Song' and 'Ichiban no Takaramono' were filled with lyrics that emulated emotions their respective characters. Just listening to either of those tracks alone is powerful enough to make me teary eyed. Combined with 'passing' of Iwasawa and Yui on screen which was sad yet beautiful just made those scenes filled with tears. The soundtrack provided is top notch, better than most shows I see today.

Production: 7
The editing involved wasn't quite what I'd expect this series to be. A notable scene where it shows flaws was when Otanashi struck Naoi down and gave an embracing speech. It was truly a powerful moment, all the elements were there with the soundtrack playing. But the scene suddenly cuts to Naoi's past which made the entire scene crumble as it really pushed for Naoi's backstory. The transition was an unforgivable muck-up they had made just made the rest of the episode seem quite rushed. The moment where Otanashi's finished speech transpired needed a few moment's to let it sink in and provide the audience with enough time to really grasp the major plot point. Extra seconds of the soundtrack going with both in the rain would've improved the editing significantly and dramatic effect. This also proves a similar problem to flashbacks of Yuri and Yui, as they suffer from the lack of a smooth transition between scenes, probably due to the episode limitations. A second season or the omission of a few supporting characters would've helped fix this. It was clear at the end, the group it focused on was the remaining 5 having the focus on them from the beginning would've clearly help fix the 'rushed' feeling of some episodes.

Enjoyment: 10
This anime was my favorite of the season. It was the only one where I couldn't wait patiently week by week. It wasn't perfect but it was so enjoyable. Angel Beats had a beautiful story to tell. And I participated. I'm glad I did...

Emotional Involvement: 8
I really was quite involved with the Angel Beats but episode 13 just didn't quite hold up to what I though it to be and it failed to reach to my relation to the characters on screen. I really wanted it to be the episode where it just blew me away, but the episode proved to be too short and needed to span out to an extra episode to truly develop the scene and allow the audience to be drawn in to the characters emotions. I'm hoping that episode 14 will add one more point to this.

Average/Total: 9
I really wanted this to be a 10 out of 10! I'm so sorry... It really should be an 8! But there's an overall appeal factor that just for me raises it up to a 9 and no higher. Angel Beats is one of my most favorite anime and explores on some ideas I have never seen, which is refreshing for once. This is one show I can literally show anyone based on it's content, as it covers a lot of elements within a show. I can guarantee they won't be disappointed.

Personal Thoughts:
Angel Beats! it's a great title! Initially it had me puzzled for quite a while but after episode 13 it truly brings out an implicit plot point. Moving on to that plot point, episode 13 was the most disappointing episode, I really wanted it to be the one where it would truly bring something so sweet but sorrow. But the explanations were too short and didn't leave room for me to grasp. I also really wanted Kandae to show her affection or reciprocate her feelings towards Otanashi instead of "Thank you!" which was felt half-hearted and really stung Otanashi not leaving him much to move on to. It was a bitter goodbye for him... For Kanade? I can't tell, it was too hard to interpret. However the epilogue truly made my day seeing how they met again somehow. If Angel Beats wants a 10, they need to rework episode 13 and really add substance in episode 14. I really hope they do remake it. Otanashi's journey to the Afterlife is truly something unique as I see and I love to see more of Angel Beats!

DarkWish 2010-07-03 08:45

Animation Quality: 9
Voice Actors: 9
Script: 8
Soundtrack: 10
Production: 7
Enjoyment: 8
Emotional Involvement: 9

Average : 8

I just wish it was longer than 13 episodes...

rasudoken 2010-07-03 13:56

Animation Quality: 9
Voice Actors: 10
Script: 7
Soundtrack: 10
Production: O_O?
Enjoyment: 10
Emotional Involvement: 8
--------------------------
Average: 9



I don't get production.



Also, I voted an 8 on the voting thing because i didn't read the post -__-

Archon_Wing 2010-07-03 15:21

Ah, Angel Beats. A fun ride, to say the least.

Visuals: 9/10 Pretty much top tier stuff. The backgrounds easily match anything Kyoto could toss, if anything P.A. Works can continue on just by releasing artwork. The quality was pretty consistent throughout, though it seemed to suffer a little near the end. But it's definitely eye candy. The character designs are pretty decent, but it took a while to get Yuri's right.

Audio: 9/10
Spoiler for details for audio:


Plot: 3/10
Spoiler:


Characters: 8/10

Spoiler:


Enjoyment: 7/10

Spoiler:


Overall: 6/10. A decent watch, while not good, is worth the time and sometimes memorable.

The anime ultimately comes off as more of a popcorn viewing show. But this is not bad; it's also funny and high energy. There are tons of shows that I wouldn't give the light of day and the fact that AB! has occupied me for these weeks which has been a nice experience. I also appreciate the show for what it is: Something fun and of value. It's just disappointing that with all the ingredients for success, the final result was just decent. But I'll take what I can get. I do hope for more projects of this kind; perhaps it'll be refined more the next time around.

Khu 2010-07-03 20:43

I'm a biased bitch, being a Key fanboy and everything, but I'll try to give it a fair shot:

Visuals: On par with Kyoto Animation stuff. The action scenes were also splendidly done, though perhaps a few characters seemed...a little off, but that might just be me. 9/10

Audio: All I remember is the music. And that the music was fucking awesome. The gunfire, and everything else was pretty top notch too. Yui's songs were also pretty good, going past the high note off tuners, but no one would notice if they weren't into music, so it's alright there. 9.5/10

Plot: Rushed like hell. Didn't seem to really BE a plot at some points. But however, it came together somewhat at the end, and of what I could make of it JUST FROM THIS ANIME, it was good. Again, more plot exposition through more episodes would've saved this category. 4/10

Characters: Good Key characterisations. Some were cliche, though. However that might be, the huge cast of characters just didn't differentiate some of the character designs that seem cliche on the outlook. So, this gets a knock for that, despite the laughs they gave us. 8/10

Enjoyment: I really liked this show. Not because of the Key moniker, but because it actually taught us something. It was explicitly said at the end, (which is bad writing on Maeda's part, but it was pretty rushed) and that puts it above most other anime today (B Gata H Kei, Working!! and Kaichou wa Maid-sama being the ones I'm comparing to). As well as giving us laughs, it managed somehow to teach us a life lesson. Rushed script lessened it, obviously though. 8/10

Overall: 7.7/10 (lol!) Probably a must watch for all Key fans, but I'd still recommend this to some people who aren't into anime yet. The rushed nature hinders it immensely, but it had that spark there, and hopefully that'll be explored much more deeply with the other media.

serenade_beta 2010-07-04 00:17

It was Key... but I was completely unmoved (except in a bad meaning for the last episode)
It was PA, but the animation really wasn't that good (The characters look absolutely great in magazine scans. The anime? Different... person?)

It wasn't a horrible... anime itself, but I felt like I expected too much. I didn't really care or even know myself, but it seems the staff and people really hyped it up to be awesome and amazing.
Yeah, pretty amazing, I know. What they are saying, that is.

One really bad thing was the characters. We have a few characters that end up having character development... and a whole bunch that honestly didn't really matter to the anime. To top it off, the last episode dumped them in the trash can really, by literally deleting them off-screen.
Kanade had the most character development... Otonashi also had good development (except the last episode)...
The rest... bleh...
The few that had a background story were all cheap tragedies. Pretty much, all of them were. Not very done well.

The story itself... Got better (I guess?) near the middle... slipped near the end... crashed into a pile of laughter for the audience at the end.
The last episode was the worst yet the best episode in the entire thing. It was just so horrible... but in return, it was so entertaining. Especially the part at the end. Seriously, Otonashi was great there.
There are some anime that have unique ends, like Kurogami, and this anime had one. Who would have though, we get the protagonist trying to flirt on a loli and it ends. So, you walk on the streets one day, you pass by a girl, you get this feeling you met her before, you try to talk to her who was leaving for some reason, and then you... what? Tell her they met in another world? Talk about creepy there.
And I still can't get how Kanade got to the AB world before Otonashi, even though he died first. Such an obviously odd thing, yet the staff still putted it in? No time left? Sure, you can explain it by saying time doesn't work right, but the anime itself doesn't bother giving a reason, and that is what matters. An anime leaves problems unsolved and you decide to solve it, but... that means it is fine the anime didn't solve those problems? Nah, I don't think so. At least AB didn't do a good enough job for me to ignore such a thing.

The music was the only thing really worth complimenting.

All in all... 4/10.

RedWing 2010-07-04 15:45

Angel beats is a complete mess. Nothing more than a junk of ideas thrown together with very little coherent plot tying them together.

Plenty of shows use their thirteen episodes to great effect, causing the audience to have developed an emotional attachment to the characters despite the short time you have. Angel beats however decided that having musical concerts in the anime was more important than character development, that having a lot of clichéd characters means you don't have to develop them as the audience already knows what stupid things they are going to do. This of course, is a particularly bad thing to do in a show which the plot is character driven.

Angel beats' plot is built on foundations of illogical actions and inconsistencies which build up upon each other. The show feels very much that it is being made up as it goes along, with rapid switches in direction, and feeling. A keen example of this is how Naoi Ayato goes from big bad to side character in, 0 seconds. Yes zero seconds, because they don't even show his change, they imply it which is supposed to fulfil all our qualms in that space of time. We are purposefully given very few details on the world so that any stupid idea that is conjured up can be shoehorned and the fanboys can be left to deny anything is wrong. Where does Monster stream fit in to the afterworld theme? Why are there programs and bugs? Why doesn't everyone use Angel Player? How can something like Angel Player exist? Why do people like this show? It seems Angel beats leaves the watcher with more questions at the end than when they started.

The show tried to be funny and became annoying, it tried to be sad and riveting and became melodramatic, tried to be thoughtful and became illogical. The show is based on a bunch of idiots doing idiotic things and it shows. Common sense should be left behind before watching this show otherwise you’ll start to wonder whether you could write something better than this. Problem is you probably could.

As you can tell I was immensely disappointed in Angel Beats and the way that blog writers seem to fall for the stupid, dumb tricks they use to cover up their failings. I haven’t gone into depth about the specific shitty parts of the show, but I tell you there were many. I also haven’t gone into the few things that were enjoyable (Music, ED theme in particular), but I don’t feel that the show deserves any more praise because I think it’s been riding on the Key name rather than its own merits.

Angel Beats – A show that did not graduate to anything beyond a silly joke.

5/10
Below Average.

Triple_R 2010-07-04 20:04

I gave a "Final Thoughts, Final Review" of Angel Beats here.

That review was inspired in part by Archon_Wing by the way, so kudos to him for that.

Instead of repeating myself (or copy/pasting a tl;dr post :heh: ), I feel it's probably better to just link to that blog review.

At the end of the day, I gave Angel Beats! 8/10 . I think that's pretty fair. It has its flaws, but it also had some real strengths.

dreamingxashley 2010-07-05 01:19

I like the anime so far, I have 3 episodes left... it has its flaws, its disjointed and it jumps around to much. The animation could be better, but atleast its not as abysmal as some anime I have watc - suffered through.

Trying not to like Yuri for her Haruhi-likeness (because I do), her hair colour is one of my favourites though... I think though the original band leader for Girl Demo was my favourite, I have always found myself liking the bit-characters the best.
And TK, I was always amazed he had such good English a subbed anime... you almost never hear it.

The music was good, and unlike K-On 1 and 2, they dont just tease you with musical scenes.

Episode 10, the one where Yui got her wishes fulfilled had me crying so hard. The hopeless romantic in me falls for it everytime. ^^

I wont give any ratings for it since I havent finished it. But as mishmashed as the series is, I really like it.

wingman32x 2010-07-05 18:55

Finished Angel Beats. Overall a great series. I really like the ending, except too many people disappeared off screen. Also, several members of the SSS were underdeveloped. I also didn't like how Otonashi behaved at the end of the episode. Why go against the idea you supported the last 5 episodes? The whole Kanade X Otonashi romance seems a bit forced.

That stuff aside it really was a good series. The characters had great personalities, the plot, for the most part, was good, and I loved the setting and premise. Another 12 episodes would have done wonders for this series.

Overall, I give this series an 8/10.

roriconfan 2010-07-06 04:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by roriconfan (Post 3106970)
Spoiler for THE BEST REVIEW EVAH (or not):

Average to Good (6.5)

Eak 2010-07-06 04:58

Just finished this series literally minutes ago and I won't go into too much detail but will elaborate if necessary :P

Gotta say I agree with it being average to below than average. The highlight of the entire series was without a doubt the telling of each character's previous life. It was incredibly powerful and this series shined in that respect (I'll admit Otonashi's story had me choked up and yuri's was just cruel).

The pacing was really, really bad. The last episode was rushed and stupid, trivial parts were given too much time.

Characters were as cliche as it gets.. Their only moment of substance was their previous life stories (The delivery of the final graduation was for some reason excrutiantly long).

This series was powerful in the themes of cruelity, life/afterlife and questioning God but fell flat in all other categories. In summary, Angel Beats tried to do everything and fell flat in the majority.

Had potential to to become a really dark, thought-provoking story.
Overall rating 5/10

PS I am going to side with a lot of people in regards to almost blatant plagiarism. Not all, but you can't have a lead character emulate something that's a cultural phenomenon and think you can get away with it.

Triple_R 2010-07-06 09:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eak (Post 3124290)

PS I am going to side with a lot of people in regards to almost blatant plagiarism. Not all, but you can't have a lead character emulate something that's a cultural phenomenon and think you can get away with it.

I agree that Yurippe emulated Haruhi Suzumiya to a significant degree (there are definite differences between the two, but there are some real similarities too, and they're not all just superficial), but I don't think that this is necessarily a negative.

If a particular character is popular, I don't see the harm in that character becoming a source of inspiration for future characters. You don't want complete clones of course (and Yurippe wasn't an outright clone of Haruhi), but some striking similarities can be good for marketing purposes, and can create added interest in a character. Think of all the "masked men" of Gundam, for example, which were all inspired by the original, Char Aznable. Most, if not all, of these masked men are amongst the most popular characters within their respective Gundam series'.

Velsy 2010-07-06 10:57

I rated it a 9

Two major critera that denied it from a 10 were: It was too short and not enough deepth towards the characters and events for the series. 2ndly the ending of the baseball episode was silly and uncalled for.

XGeneral2000 2010-07-06 19:01

Spoiler for Review:


Short Version - Great potential, not enough episodes. 7/10.

therationalpi 2010-07-08 01:51

They say the best way to understand what does work is to see what almost works. Angel Beats gave me several such examples for storytelling. Here's my list of things that Angel Beats has taught me not to do:

1. Introduce interesting characters with little to no relevance to the plot.

It might seem like a good idea at first: make every character interesting and memorable. However, the audience is conditioned to view interesting characters as important. We are left feeling like we missed something when a character like Yusa is given an intriguing character design, a name, and a personality, but has absolutely no impact on the story. This is certainly something I will take with me when I write in the future.

2. Allow character development to occur as a sudden shift in demeanor.

Once again, this seems like a good idea, on the surface. A sudden change allows the audience to pinpoint the specific incident that caused a major character change. However, character development should make sense within the context of time, not an isolated incident. Naoi, Yuri, and Kanade are the real culprits here. Naoi going from the megalomaniacal uber villain to a slobbering Yuzuru fanboy after one hug and a little exposition felt incredibly unnatural. The last episode saw Yuri lose all the self confidence and strength that made her an interesting character in the first place. Kanade also seemed to change suddenly, though the manner of this change is hard to put into words.

Honestly, all of these shifts in character had some reasoning behind them. However, that reasoning did little to offset the abruptness of the change.

3. Have "linear" story arcs with no twists or surprises.

The interest in the story does not come from the number of arcs, but the quality of the twists and reveals that section contains. Angel Beats has too many arcs: fighting Angel, fighting Naoi, Angel clones, freeing people from the world, fighting the shadows. As a result, none of these arcs are really interesting, and the biggest surprise is that they begin so suddenly. I will always remember to take the time to build interesting story into arcs.

AkasuraBoshi 2010-07-08 20:05

i feel like shooting red wing....
overall rating 9/10
storyline 8/10
voice 10/10
also redwing.... 5/10? your heartless lmfao. regardless of the short number of episodes,rushed plot due to the short number of episodes, unthrourough character backround due to short amount of episodes, and shit but thats wayyyy to cruel. anyway for my feelings toward angel beats. 10/10. for my thoughts on production,story flow, and ect, probably a 6/10. and you are right that angel beats regretfully belongs in average to below average when it comes to the overall anime. but it has a heartfelt anime with alot of touching scenes,emotional songs, and great voicing. and in my opinion, yuis byebye wasent cruel. it was very heartfealt and sad.though yui was my fav girl character sob -.-. Anyway... GOOD ANIME.regardless of whether bad storyling or bad producing, its a anime that anyone who likes school like,comedy,romance,and a heartfelt ending, will love.only people who have no hearts will give it a 5/10 in liking lol. just speaking my thoughts

coolasj19 2010-07-11 03:53

I now know how and why Lost fans were so crazy over Lost. I paced myself to watch this over 3 days for the emotional impact :D during episode 13 I literally got up from my chair twice and started talking VERY loudly. I am always a sucker for sad endings that have good conclusions. By the way, If you were looking for answers? Realize that you can't do that. You have to accept that everything is set by very crazy rules and the stuff that happens makes sense within those rules. Im buying the collection if it hits USA. Only $40 :D

Edit : Maybe I should talk about the SHOW? :P
Anyway, The charecters were not the most fleshed out people I will say that. But, there were simply TOO many. I was extrememly glad to see that Yuri was only the leader and not everyones love interest. I always knew something was up with Kanade but never thought that far ahead.

Now for the checklist.
Animation : I'm not one for OMG this needs to be the beest animations EVER!!! To score an easy ten from me. For some reason the scenes didn't feel Bright enough. Maybe I'm just a sucker for bloom effects.
9/10

Voice Actors : I know NOTHING of japanesse voice acting. Or maybe thats because I never heard any bad acting.
10/10

Script : Well I rely on subs. And I like my subbers. Even without the subs the words all made sense and everything.
10/10

Soundtrack : I never felt that it detracted from the show. But, I'm not a music in anime enthusiast
8/10

Production : UNGHHHHHHHH. So much to do so little budget and episodes. They made hard story cuts but they got it done. I fell in love with the way the episodes flowed. Comedy first half then fade out the comedy ever so slightly until BAM earth shattering story time.
8.75/10

Enjoyment : 10/10
Thats how much I enjoyed it. Think about it this way. I watched the last 1/3 of the series on a night where I had a plane trip that morning. My strategy was to keep my self awake so I can sleep on the plane easier. I stayed up for 6 hours on 4 episodes. Thats including forum time reading past replys!!! I archived this and can't wait to buy. I love me SHORT anime !!!!

Emotional Involvement : Short anime always like to leave me crying. This one is no exceptions. Except now... This one may burn for a little. But, ALAS. They gave us a happy ending in the last 5 seconds. So THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING OFF THE EDGE :D:D:D:D:D. Because of all of the themes behind it and touching but not tragic moments. A true shatter for medium hearts.
11/10

Personal Thoughts :
Episode 13
Our guy : I Love you... I love you
Hidane : Thank You . Thank you

I see why she said thank you. But I wish the last line she could've said was " I Love You "
The dissaperances were handle wonderfully. Except for the mass exodus.... That was one of the 2 times I got out of my chair "/
I would recommend to anyone.

Pinguma 2010-07-12 16:05

Voice Actors/Acting: 9

Probably part of what made Angel Beats! really shine through imo, top quality voices and voice acting. Particularly liked TK, Hinata, Yui and the soft Kanade in this respect.

Plot: 4

Ehm, can't say it was entirely focused well, it was just a train ride with everything jumbled up here and there throughout. When there was finally something with the shadows near the end, it was just so random with such little closure.

Soundtrack: 9

The songs were great as was the BGM, played appropriately and always seemed to fit the mood or atmosphere that was being projected.

Enjoyment: 8

I generally looked forward to watching it between airing but each episode didn't make me want to watch the rest of the show right there and then, with the show generally leaving nice aftertastes with each watching. I never seemed to get bored except maybe in episode 12.

Emotional Involvement: 7

Not the best of Jun Maeda's works, especially compared to something like Clannad or even Kanon which I felt was more involving. The only times I truly felt this was during the second flashback to Otonashi's past, the bitter yet heartwarming end to Ep10, and the finale.

Overall: 7(.4)

A good show that didn't exactly betray or exceed my expectations.


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