Back to KanekoKTIA's Profile KanekoKTIA's Profile

First off AOKANA has a great concept and execution... in the visual novel. The anime removing romance has me feel less both towards characters and sports which you'd think would be improved cause it's given extra focus.

I finished playing both Aokana and EXTRA1 & 2 recently and they're all perfect imo, I've seen some people say the romance was a bit out of place at some points in the VN but this adaptation proves to me that "A story about girls flying through the sky and falling in love" (or something like that was shown at the Grand end credits) is a necessary part of ... this story. Should also mention some people believe the romance is what makes some of the heroines (Mashiro and Misaki specifically become such amazing characters by the end of their routes and EXTRA's thanks to their relationship with Masaya). The adaptation mostly focuses on Asuka's route and the romance in that was much more minimal compared to others but even so the reason they are able to go against Inui (not spoiling who wins) is the trust they build as coach and player which the romance also serves to highlight and that goes for the other routes as well this isn't even my main issue with the removal of romance - it's how they make Masaya's relationships with the girls feel less important (once again weakening the coach and player trust), in the VN he's the one who fly's with Asuka without Misaki and that becomes a key part of her trust towards him, He changes Mashiro's grav shoes to speeder not Rika cause he's the coach and is making decisions for his players which allows Mashiro to put trust in him (this one specifically annoys me cause Rika's reduced to a side character which is accurate to this route but still why the side character in the anime). There's also the loss of all other heroines asking about what if they had been the one to put in effort which isn't just some harem thing it's them genuinely wanting to be good at FC and shows their growth in both trusting the coach and love for FC. There's also Masaya's trauma which even if both Misaki and Mashiro handle it best in the VN Asuka still does a believable enough job of getting rid of it only thanks to romance making it feel believable.

FC is presented much better in the VN as well and somehow feels more dynamic than this animation, plus artsyle is really good in the VN and CGs (especially EXTRA CGs) look amazing.

The music still being Elements Garden and Ray's ED let the music be a saving grace but even then it's mostly the same as the VN and Crossing Way, Wings of Courage, One Small Step and one of a kind are all better OPs (anime still has a good op just not great) with Millions of You and Happy Tomorrow (Both Mashiro EDs) being close to a-gain.

So my point is play the VN, Asuka's route is like a shounen, Rika's is the worst one but is still good and provides some introspection on Masaya, Mashiro's is just adorable romance and even more so is her EXTRA (enough that I replayed her route within a week of first finishing it), Misaki's is just pure sports drama mostly in EXTRA2 but still some in main game. Every single character in AOKANA gets their chance to shine as well just not in the anime.

AOKANA, EXTRA1 and EXTRA2 are all 10/10 maybe even more so for EXTRA1 due to Mashiro bias but this...

This is the best fanservice I could've asked for from my favourite anime. It came as a real surprise since the Visual Novels have entered an indefinite hiatus since 1st beat was released and almost anything with the series seems to enter indefinite hiatuses. The only other thing we've got recently is the wedding dress figure (Which also surprised me when it was announced on my birthday)

Plot:
After the end of Angel Beats! Kanade is searching for a certain person after being reincarnated. It pretty much takes place during the credits of Angel Beats! final episode and before the post credit scene. The set up of ... Kanade traveling around the world in order to find "a certain person" is a great excuse to have each chapter giving each Battlefront member a sort of epilogue. Either emotionally satisfying or just great Angel Beats! humour.

Characters:
The main complaint I see towards Angel Beats! is how underdeveloped a lot of characters are but at the same time those complaints always say they were memorable (Which most series can't say in 13 episodes) and they were side characters so I think the fact they left an impression speaks more than the fact we don't know much about them. While it's not going to tell you how anyone died or anything this manga is a perfect display of the characters the chapter focuses on and gives fans of the show so many satisfying moments and references. Yuri living a happy life with her siblings and Iwasawa being a famous musician are such satisfying resolutions to their stories. The way some play out feels right at home with the rest of Angel Beats! humour, Matsushita's chapter with a boar challenging to an udon battle is amazingly dumb but funny, Yuri randomly mentioning crypto currency (It works cause it comes out of left field). I hope we get a good Yui and Hinata conclusion. Kanade herself as always is her cute emotionless self with unintentionally funny comments and her desire to see a certain person makes her somehow even more likeable and is perfect fluff even if we don't see him for a while.

The art is nice - idk I haven't read to much manga so don't know intricacies but this style looks really good

Fanservice (Not the ecchi kind):
Here because this is what most reading this will probably want as fans of Angel Beats! and it delivers perfectly so many little things are referenced, the previous things I mentioned with characters, Kanade constantly being called an Angel by those around her and her saying she's not an Angel, the reference to Kanade and Otonashi's nameplay, Kanade's game avatar being in her afterlife uniform.

If you liked Angel Beats! and wanted more this is the perfect thing for you, aside from the 1st Beat Visual Novel (Which you'll have to pirate if you want translation) this is the best continuation the series has gotten in terms of satisfying fans and for now will have to do to feed my hunger for Angel Beats! content.

Side note: We got this and a 1/7 wedding Kanade figure announced this year, aside from kaginado (Which I still need to finish some VNs before watching but I really want to) this is the most Angel Beats! related things we've gotten in years, is it too much to ask for more content? JUST GIVE ME A 2ND BEAT OR EVEN JUST A TRANSLATION OF HBR SO I HAVE MORE ANGEL BEATS!