Produced in 2010, "Angel Beats" was one of those anime shows that gained enough popularity to be synonymous with the genre of anime itself. Considering that the previous title of such fame, the "Haruhi Suzumiya" franchise, was ending around the same time, this was probably no coincidence. My problem is that it doesn't seem to know what it wants to be and loses a lot of personality, although the show makes up for this with an emotional payoff in the second half.Otonashi is a normal looking high school boy who wakes up one day, not knowing who he is (and yet he does remember his name pretty quickly). He wakes up outside at night in front of a high school, where another high school student is holding a sniper rifle aimed at another girl below. The rifle girl, named Yuri, explains the girl below is "Angel," a subordinate of God, and that her "Battlefront" team of other students are out to stop God. You see, all these students have died, and this version of high school is a fake one they are stuck in instead of being reborn or moving to an afterlife. But because they all died with unfulfilled lives, they have it out for God and want to confront him, and thus don't play by the rules that other students do (which seems to be to attend class like normal people). It's an interesting premise, and wouldn't be out of place for one of the "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona" video games. But it allows the show's creators to put a bunch of students in a regular high school setting with guns and action and violence. And to give them "important" missions to make the stakes feel high, even when the stakes are as mundane as getting extra meal tickets. And they don't die (since they are already dead), allowing more physical comedy at their expense. Comedy seems to be the main genre focus here, since many of the students will die in humorous ways, often by their own traps, only to be appear minutes later. Also, their deaths will lead to a lot of blood... the first couple of episodes seem to have more blood flowing than even the most violent of anime. And the important missions? Led by Yuri, they serve to only make the lead characters appear more like bullies instead of heroes. This misunderstanding for the first half of the show makes them unlikable at first for their methods and the unnecessary complexity of their actions. There's a lot here, from comedy to action to dramatic fantasy, but no distinct personality for the show to hold on to. The show wants to be "Haruhi," and arguably becomes what it seeks to be better than "Haruhi" was. But it is a comedy, and an action show, and a rock-idol show, and a sweet show about accepting death and living to the fullest. All the characters feel like architypes, even if they are (mostly) likeable by the end. It's original, and yet it isn't. And these genres don't really merge properly... they sort of take their own scenes and full episodes as their own. It doesn't help that character development feels rushed, a few extra episodes would have done them well here. The animation is fair, almost on par with Kyoto Animation's other work, which is still pretty darn good. The action scenes stand out a little. The music isn't great, but is good, and because of its use in the show is does stand out a lot more than usual. The English dub is average.
I sound like I beat on the show's story and characters, but don't get me wrong. The last few episodes of "Angel Beats," and the last ten minutes specifically, are arguably the most touching I've ever seen, and for that alone it is worth watching. And overall, it is fun to watch. It's a show that has been popular with anime clubs for a reason. For something that tries to be everything, you can't go wrong.