Angel Beats

Angel Beats is a real original piece of work, it's got the story, the Character Design, and all the things that an anime needs to be a appealing one it.

Character Design: The character design in Angels beats is just mind blowing, because no matter what character you look at each has their own unique background to them, and their personalities really stand out. As you watch the anime you are able to make connections not only with what they've been through but you are able to somewhat make a connection between your own personality and their own. I believe this is something a lot of animes lack because of some fan service, or another stupid reason, but Angel Beats stuck it out there and made the characters and their voices something to remember.

Story: Now from all the animes I've watched so far I have to say this has the most original feel to it. They did a really good job at making the story flow correctly to engage the audience into the story rather then just the action... Although I must say that at times it may have pissed me off or caused some tears, and I'm not going to lie about that one... Now I'm not going to give any major spoilers here but the build up to the climax of the story was a very carefully constructed one, and this allowed me to pick up the story, and almost put myself in the position of one of the characters which is something many animes lack. Just my opinion but I enjoy being able to put myself in my mind into an anime and imagine what it would be like to be one of the characters. Overall the story had an amazing feel to it, and was very carefully constructed to grab the audiences attention at all points within the anime.

Character Design: The character design in this is probably some of the best I've seen so far, because what it seemed like to me is is that they took each character gave them something unique and didn't just copy paste with a little editing of the personality a bit, which I've seen a lot of in many different animes. Overall the character design is something unique, and I can't say that I hate any of the characters like I can in just about every other anime I've watched.

Overall: Overall this anime is worth watching, as it will grab and hold a place in your heart even if it's just one or two characters. I know it holds a place in mine and I doubt I'll be forgetting it any time soon as it is the first show I've ever watched that has made me tear up, and cry at the end. This is defiantly worth watching, and I would recommend this anime to anybody.... I would give this a 10/5 if I could but I can't so yeah. Anyway give it a chance and I guarantee it will not fail to deliver.

Angel Beats is one i picked up the first episode for free and ended up buying the entire series. Despite it being short (which is the major drawback) it is funny and interesting while dealing with a very serious subject. Overall: Great anime, but suffers from being only 13 episodes long.

Story: Original and different. A -

Art: Clean, crisp. A

Length: C+

Characters: All were very funny and interesting while even with the less developed characters. A-

Angel Beats is definitely one of my current favorites. Despite having a very sad storyline, it provides some of the most hilarious and adorable moments in anime. The sad parts also seem very real, and aren’t too far fetched which makes the characters and their stories almost relatable. Overall: Great anime, loved every second of it and I hope to watch it again.

Story: Original and very touching. A -

Art: Clean and interesting, very HD. A

Characters: All very funny and interesting. They all provide different personalities for everyone, and frankly they are all lovable. A

IT IS INCREDIBLE! It has a solid story line and there is not one dull episode. I would be tempted to start the next episodes right after finishing one, and I'd think about it when I wasn't watching it. You start to fall in love with each character no matter how minor they are. The characters are so amazing. Especially Naoi... I love Hinata and Otonashi's bromance. It's the funniest and saddest thing I've ever put myself through.
If you don't watch this show you are truly missing out on a great anime. There are quite a few anime out there that have bland episodes and you sort of just save them for when you have time. No, this one will keep you wanting to finish it. It's great. Stop reading. Go watch now.

All the problems and flaws that drag Angel Beats down are due to the overall length of the series (Only 13 episodes). Because of this the rest of the show suffers from hardly any meaningful character development [too many characters to flesh out in 13 episodes] to the whole story having a rushed feel to it.

++Plus++
++Art and Animation
+The main cast was likable and lighthearted. [Thank goodness the MC was actually not a terrible caricature of a personality and had a fitting back-story to boot]
++The starting concept

--Negs--
-Didn't really captivate me, or let alone give me emotions for most if not all the characters.
-Corny and Anticlimactic romance story.
-Forced twists//out of the blue depression explanations that make you cringe.
---huge cast of characters, so very few episodes. overall the ending felt rushed.

I'm not a type of person to give an unfair judgement on a show based on author/studio but there is always something that I love and hate about every show done by Key and this one was no exception.

Firstly I loved the plot line which revolved around the theme of "adolescence" by having the fulfillment of teenage dream as form of their salvation. It grabbed my attention to these characters by giving each them a some kind of background which lead them to where they are. With "adolescence" being the forte for Key considering Clannad, Little Busters, and etc. what the Angel Beats had provided for me was neither above or below my inevitably high expectation.

Starting with the Bad. The Slapstick humor in the show is nearly identical to those in Clannad, and becomes more unbearable when some of the "main members" like that axe-guy exist only to serve as the comedic figure, which ultimately defeats the purpose of giving them the already established depth created with the plot line. Secondly, the show goes to the extremes when it comes to the background for some of the characters (e.g. Having the family member brutally murdered, Suffers from "conveniently set up" paralysis) just for sake of making them the subject for pity. For this reason there was distinct fondness that I felt with some characters, mainly because their background was more relatable to audiences, while not so much for the others.

What I loved about the show, aside from its great setting, was how significant the show made the protagonist to be. The before and after of realizing his own past, and his relationship with "Angel" as well as the other members were all great source of his character development. Also, like with most of their show, when the moment comes, even when you realize it is a tearjerker, there is much emotion to be had especially at the end. The reason why they can make it so powerful, I think, is that adolescence is a moment in life which we are most attached to, and also it is when the most distinct memories about our dreams, love, friendship comes and goes. But this has been the formula which they have used previously to bring out the emotion out of audience, and to be frank, I feel it is becoming a trend.

Though there are more goods and bads which I didn't mention, I still had a decent time watching the series. Especially to those who are fan of Key, you are getting exactly what you'd expect and that is by no means negative. However, just because you got the "feel" that you wanted, blindingly acclaiming the show is rather shallow way to disregard its flaws. Still, having to say all that, Angel Beats is a show which I thoroughly enjoyed and it is definitely recommendable to anyone looking for that "feel" which we already know and love.

And, no, the show was not too short. Don't be ridiculous.