Completed: Angel Beats!

and here i was thinking i wouldn't be able to finish anything for a while due to always being busy....

Anyways.

Angel beats starts off with the main character being told he died and if he doesn't want to be obliterated then he needs to fight against the threat of Angel. He of course doesn't believe a word of it... even if he can't remember anything... so he goes and speaks to the angel who proves to him that not one is he dead but they are in a place where there is no sickness or death... you just come back.... she proves this by stabbing him through the chest.

When he wakes up he tries to figure out why.... why is he there? why can't he remember? why must they fight? is what they're doing right?

The good:
The story is an interesting premise, the characters have nice designs and personalities and overall it feels really nicely done.... apparently it's got some connections to Key/Visual Arts (kanon, clannad, Air) but i am told it was never a game.... more just an idea...

The REALLY good:
Those who know me tend to know that i will judge things based on the music.... this show has a REALLY good score, the intro song has been stuck in my head since i started watching the show.... it does make the rest of the show more enjoyable because this title is not without it's flaws.

The not so good:
I haven't seen many PA works shows but i have liked the ones i've seen.... their animations has been good.... this show however is kinda hit and miss.... The intro animation is so smooth and clean but the in show stuff seems....... lackluster? it's nto bad but considerign how gorgeous other Key/visual arts stuff is (granted i think those three were done by Kyo Ani) it was just a bit..... okay... nothing special...

The outright Terrible:
The pacing of this show is so rushed at the end you may get whiplash.... it's almost like they went "oh no... .we're 11 episodes into a 13 episode show! and we need to resolve everything..... shit"... this would have greatly benefited from an additional 13 episodes.... it doesn't help that the second a threat is removed or put to the side another pops up right away... maybe i'm the only who feels like this though?

The distracting (though probably only to me):
The main character Otonashi is played by the same Voice actor as Takashi natsume from my fav show Natsume yuujinchou. I'm the type of person who is more likely to recognize your voice then your face or your name.... so when i associate a voice with a certain character it gets really hard for me to separate it.... another example is i always hear Luci christian as Duck from princess tutu even in shows like Claymore where it's hard to tell it's the same voice actress... so yeah i'm watching the show and every time he talks i see natsumes face and yeah.... it was just a bit distracting for me.


So did i cry? Yep.... a few times but mostly near the middle-3/4... the ending i thought was both really good and also a little pathetic.... i just didn't like what a few of the characters were portrayed as being. I don't want to spoil why it just seems like everyone just starts being really out of character... also i'm confused by the timing..... but i guess that doesn't matter....

do i recommend it? yes, if you like other Key/visual arts stories you will most likely enjoy this one.... if you like sadder anime then you'll like this one... it's streaming for free on crunchyroll (though only half is out at the moment unless your a subscriber like i am)

alright thats it for now... sorry these are so infrequent.... blame work.... though as the season ends i'll probably queue a few of these up to make it last longer then the weekend (all the shows i watch upload on either saturday or sunday.... it's kinda brutal)

alright i'm off~