Table of Contents
Angel Beats!
Angel Beats is a multimedia franchise that started with an Anime created by Key. The anime was quickly followed by a Light Novel, and then a few Manga spin-offs. Key then released a Visual Novel intended as the first part of sixā¦we are still waiting for parts 2-6. Finally, a Manga was released that would go over the story intended for the VNs.A)1)
Broadly, Angel Beats is about a guy who dies and finds himself in an afterlife, with amnesia. There, he meets a group of people who have sworn to beat up God as a form of revenge.
Reviews
Anime
I quite liked the Anime. Sometimes the animation looked iffy, but thatās a minor detail.
The characters and their interactions were handled pretty well and itās likely one of my favourite parts of the show (along with the gags, both foreground and background).
The worst part of the show is how short it was. We get a bunch of characters who are either:
- Introduced, but we donāt learn much about them.
- Have unique designs, but they almost never have plot relevance.
I read somewhere that this was because it was originally planned to have twice as many episodes, but some behind-the-scenes stuff reduced it to 12. At least the extended material (including the OVAs) minimize this short length.
I highly recommend the OVAs. They are mostly comedic, but theyāre still worth watching. They made me laugh, if that means anything.
Heaven's Door
Chapters 1-70 focus on the first year. Time is then compressed, by a lot. This is the aspect I dislike the most. The time between individual chapters goes from a few days or weeks to several decades. Iām not joking.
Overall, I like the Manga; since we get a deeper look at the characters and the start of the Battlefront.
1st Beat
As I was playing the VN the first few times through, I knew it would become my favourite VN.
It manages to do exactly what Iāve always wanted from both VNs and Games and surpassed my expectations a bit. Iām sad I didnāt try to play it before I did.
Basically, every choice you make affects the game in some way. A seemingly unimportant choice near the beginning can lead to a completely different outcome near the end. The best part? There are hundreds of choices. You can play it hundreds of times and youāll still end up seeing things youāve never seen before.
For your first playthrough, I recommend making decisions you would make IRL. Then, play the complete opposite (usually a huge pervert for some reason). Youāll understand immediately what I meant in the previous paragraph.
Also, although this might just be me, the VN is incredibly immersive. In fact, I donāt think Iāve ever experienced anything as immersive as this. Very early in my first playthrough I already felt like I was a part of the world, I didnāt see myself as following Otonsahiās viewā¦ I was the one experiencing everything.
Although itāll sound strange, I have a tough time separating Otonashi from myself in my mind. Heās justā¦ a part of āmeā. (This may have philosophical value, so wait for Soul!)
Route;Iwasawa
This route radically diverges from the Anime.
The Iwasawa route honestly broke me for a while. So much that I still feel bad about it and I wholeheartedly believe I will still feel bad about it for the rest of my life. Thinking about it makes me tear up.
The route is a rollercoaster, going from extremely happy to extremely depressing in the span of a few hours.
Overall though, the ending is bittersweet. Iām not sure if Iāll experience anything like it again.
Takamatsuās bro status took me by surprise andā¦ itās just so heartwarming.
Route;Yui
This route is basically just the Anime.
Overall, the Yui route is a lot better than what we see in the Anime. First, it takes place over a longer time frame. Second, you get to learn more about all the characters involved (Yui, Hinata, etc.). We actually get to learn Hinataās backstory here, his backstory is pretty interesting too.
While I thought I wouldnāt cry (because I didnāt really cry in the Anime for Yui, heartless I know), I was taken by surprise. Something about this just works much better than in the Anime. I actually buy the relationship between Yui and Hinata.
Overall, a pretty good route.
Route;Matsushita
This route doesnāt diverge from the Anime as radically as the Iwasawa route.
Although I hesitate to say so, I think this is the weakest route. That being said, it isnāt bad.
The whole route is basically the bromance between Otonashi and Matsushita, one that isā¦ beautiful, honestly.
This one did make me cry as well, Iāll admit. Though aspects of it did get on my nerves, but I canāt remember what those were.
Characters & Worldbuilding
Otonashi
In the animeā¦heās basically the straight man and, as far as the series is concerned, the only person who is normal.
In 1st Beat, his personality can vary wildly depending on the decisions made by the player. Heās either a completely normal dudeā¦or a massive perverted piece of shit. Or gay. Though his status as a med student is frequently hinted at.
As I noted in the review for 1st BeatB) the writing is so good that, if youāre playing as just yourself, you may find it difficult to separate yourself from him.
Trivilinks
- Official Site (Note: JP)
- 1st Beat Site (Note: JP)
- Wikia (Note: Pretty bad)
- After some bare-bones research on the VNDB forums, I discovered that parts 2-6 of the VN had been unofficially canceledā¦or at least put on hiatus for the foreseeable future. Development originally stalled due to the writer, Maeda Jun, experiencing severe health problems. While he has recovered since, development hasnāt started up again. There is still a chance the remaining parts will be created, but nothing concrete has been confirmed. The Manga Angel Beats! The Last Operation covers story intended for the VNs, and itās currently still releasing.