I was truly surprised to see that this anime is so highly rated among viewers. I get the feeling that this review will generally be ignored for that reason, so I ask that if you're an avid fanboy/girl of Angel Beats!, please just scroll down to my overall section of the review where I acknowledge that I didn't hate the series, so as not to rage over objectivity.
I'm not sure if my dislike towards this series has to do with my lack of "experience" with anime, or if it might in fact be because of the lack of "experience" on the viewers'
...
part. Before I say anything about the series itself, let me just say that the main problem I had with it throughout was that almost every aspect of it was simply a cookie-cutter copy of a different anime, but without the charm and execution. This is also my first review, so forgive me if it lacks any thoroughness.
Story: 5/10
I thought that the story, or at least the setting, was among the anime's strongest points, before you get down to the specifics. I've always enjoyed anime that involves throwing children/young adults into their own situation where they are the ones who act as the adults, making their own decisions. I liked the idea of the "alternate universe" that this story takes place in. I liked the idea that the students at the school have formed their own faction and hierarchy of command. I also really liked the idea that there was an aura of peril and urgency to the story.
What I really disliked, however, was the overly-dramatic character backstories which drive the whole anime. I can appreciate a really sad story, not only as the setting for the anime itself, but for characters, but this takes it way overboard. Each character has their own horrific backstory, but they're horribly written. It feels like the writers just compiled everything negative they could possibly think of, and then they just carelessly dumped it all into the characters' pasts. Hardly any of the characters' stories were believable, and with almost every story-advancing episode, I found myself yawning, saying, "Here we go again, more tragedy, more sadness".
The amount presence that tragedy and sadness have in this story is so enormous that it's borderline humorous, and it made a lot of the story very predictable, which really spoiled what I think would have otherwise been a few decent twists. It isn't without it's few sweet spots, though. Some bits of the story were genuinely sad or happy.
Art: 6/10
One of the big things that turned me off of the anime to begin with was the odd animation. Don't get me wrong, I can definitely appreciate that it's a pretty-looking anime with the gradients in the hair and the eyes. The overall art style was pretty pleasing to the eye. What bothered me was that the actual animation itself was very choppy and weird. No matter how pretty the art style may have been, I can't shake the feelings of "cheap" and "low-budget" when I watch an anime in low FPS with choppy animations.
Sound: 8/10
I thought that the sound was among the strongest points of the anime. I don't know what to say, other than that I enjoyed the music and the sound effects were nice.
Characters: 2/10
Quick note, here: Kanade (Tenshii) is generally an acception to this section of my review. I quite liked her. To be totally frank, I pretty much hated the characters -- None of them really had any depth unless you count their "tragic pasts", and beyond that, they were all pretty typical, cookie-cutter copies of other personalities in other anime to begin with. The anime tries to make some of the characters feel mysterious and distant, but I feel that it failed every time. Above all else, the humor that constantly demanded attention throughout the story was absolutely cringe-worthy most of the time.
None of the characters, Kanade included, were really original.
Overall: 6
I'd like to note that despite my many problems with the show, there were a few nice spots that I really enjoyed that made it (somewhat) worth it to stick through it until the end. I particularly liked the ending and the way it tied off a few loose ends, though it was a little corny. I also really enjoyed the few scenes that involved the main character's past, and (so as not to ruin the story) the events that led up to him being put into this alternate world.
I think that this anime would have excelled if it were aimed at a younger audience, but I can't bring myself to believe that that was the intent, given all the instances of suggestive themes thrown in here and there. Most of the characters were really annoying and lacked depth, aside from the backstories which were unbelievably loaded with tragedy, which in turn made the whole thing pretty predictable. I found the humor to be generally juvenile (with the exception of a few cases), which really left the characters without any real redeeming qualities. Overall, I appreciate that the writers wanted the characters and story to incorporate a lot of the things that we love from other anime, but I felt that it just couldn't deliver in an original way.
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Jun 27, 2013
Angel Beats!
(Anime)
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I was truly surprised to see that this anime is so highly rated among viewers. I get the feeling that this review will generally be ignored for that reason, so I ask that if you're an avid fanboy/girl of Angel Beats!, please just scroll down to my overall section of the review where I acknowledge that I didn't hate the series, so as not to rage over objectivity.
I'm not sure if my dislike towards this series has to do with my lack of "experience" with anime, or if it might in fact be because of the lack of "experience" on the viewers' ... |
