Why can’t Ningyo ever just shut up and like something he watches?
I can’t even begin to tell you how incorrect this sniping procedure is.
Before we know it, such wonderful series as RediBato are over and it’s the beginning of a new season. Cue drumroll, and the woes of many an anime anomie theorist, lamenting over the newest moe fad that would never stack up to the glory of the past.
Cue Angel Beats, the series everybody is loving to hate. Why? Well, I’ll tell you the premise, and you decide on your own.
Of course. It just has to start like this.
Our story starts with the protagonist waking up in the afterlife, unsure of where he is, or even what his name is. Yes folks, amnesia – a trope even I’m guilty of having abused before, so let’s move on.
Here, the hikariman makes a rather valid point: the plot is thrown at the viewer in ten minutes. Pure exposition; there is no showing here, only telling. Our protagonist is told that he died and was now in the afterlife. Before he’s given much time to gather the situation, the girl who’s telling him this, a sniper who really shouldn’t be talking, invites him to join their ‘Shinda Sekai Sensen’ – the Warfront of the Afterlife.
Indeed, the recognition dawning on you right now is correct: this is anime purgatory. And it’s only fitting that it’s a school, filled with lanky teenagers in school uniform, doing battle with guns and halberds. Now all they’re missing is a Gundam.
Why a war front, you ask? Who is this Yurippe girl sniping? Well, the SSS is an organization made to rebel against God, and Yuri was supposedly sniping an angel – another girl of similar stature, only capable of materializing an Edward Elric wrist blade and moving so quickly she can deflect bullets fired from a semi-automatic pistol, as well as flinging a two-metre long metal halberd thrown in her direction far into the air. Because muscle mass doesn’t mean anything in heaven. Or in anime, really.
Why his mouth does not move at all between these two lines even I cannot tell you.
Now, anybody who is as unfortunate as I to be stuck in a second semester religion class will know why Angel Beats forks out religious fallacies that really gets the piss boiling.
Yeah well, you guys are already in the afterlife, it’s a little too late to be discussing religious philosophy.
For one, faith in God is belief, and belief exists as belief because it is unproven. One cannot ‘believe’ something made manifest right before their eyes – that thing would essentially be a truth, fact. In that sense, existence in the afterlife and the existence of angels would prove God, making the SSS’ motto of ‘No God, no Buddha, no Angels’ not atheistic, but anti-theistic.
That because reason may or may not be corrupt, one should ‘wager’ that God exists, living life accordingly as there is nothing to lose and all to gain from doing so. That regardless of proof for or against God, eternal salvation is the possibility at risk.
Remember Pascal’s Wager? The SSS kicks Blaise Pascal in the package, affronting God and his status quo even after they know as a fact he exists. I take it back; that’s not anti-theistic, that’s just stupid. Guys? He’s GOD. Stop talking about confronting him in the afterlife! You guys have obviously never died before! On that note, theirs is a very unmotivated god, if she allows them to continue harassing her angel.
Anyhow, moving away from that touchy subject, you can now probably deduce for yourself why people haven’t taken too well to it. Disregarding my biased assault on Maeda Jun’s religious standpoint, there’s still the exact nature of the premise. As Chag puts it, “it’s how neatly the premise fits into really generic pockets”. The afterlife is a realm of boundless fictitious creativity when observed from this side, and Angel Beats cops out – or perhaps something else – by including every anime trope that would make the series comfortably familiar. Halberd wielding high school students, girls with guns, angels in the form of little girls, materializing blades, hyperfast movement, ineffective slapstick, amnesia, more dakka; Angel Beats has got it all.
Guys, bullets don’t work like that.
Why is everyone in anime so against wearing the damn strap?!
Notice how the big guy’s weapon has suddenly transformed from a M-16/carbine-like to a sten. Without the strap. Someone can clarify because I really don’t know what kind of weapon that is, but I do know that it’s shapeshifting.
Alright, enough beating around the bush. Here’s the verdict: I liked it.
Don’t hush up like that. I’ll justify myself. I’ll agree that the characters certainly are lackluster and little too trope heavy – again, as Chag said (his analogies are really apt), “all of them look like they’ve been pulled from the ‘friend character’ bin from various eroges”. Unsurprising, since Maeda Jun was seeking to create a screenplay that was very ‘Key-like’, to give Little Busters a rival successor, but in the end, all too true. The protagonist himself really is as bland as the white-slate galge protagonists we’re supposed to relate with, providing the logical questions to satisfy the wondering audience. The greatest isn’t in the characters.
Except for this guy.
What actually worked for me was the premise. Really. Though flawed from a religious standpoint, and indeed from a logical one, it does just that: fall neatly into really generic pockets. Angel Beats takes the alien concept of the afterlife and fleshes it out with things very characteristic of contemporary anime – this struck me as charming. It’s watching these characters in a self-contained afterlife that really entertained me. It’s a little like writing fanfiction – why write fanfiction, when you could write a proper narrative? Because there’s something sacred to fans in bringing what already exists and something alien together.
It’s hard to explain, but I think I can sort of grasp what Maeda was intending with Angel Beats. It’s a weak excursion in the spirit of anime familiarity, and by being so slight and proximate it ended up being enjoyable for me. Decipher that as you will.
Also, this:
Pick bassist? Boo!
Fly away, kokokara…
Whether my newfound love for band music has anything to do with it or not I’ll leave up for debate, but I thought the song sung by Iwasawa of ‘Girls Dead Monster’ was the catchiest thing ever. I mean, it’s still looping in my head right now. Whether it’s actually good or not I’ll leave to someone more suited for the fine appraisal of music, but I can’t deny that it’s catchy as all hell.
And then, it might just be because I’m desperately clawing at anything remotely good and calling it cinematic gold, because of the stuff otherwise we see more often than not nowadays. You never know with initial reception.
So, I’ll follow up with Angel Beats. The series I love to watch people love to hate.
Ningyo
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April 4th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
Hmmm. I pretty much agree with everything you said. I really, really hate the main character but I think I can ignore him. The plot isn’t as generic as I figured it would be. They seem to be handling that well at least.
But yeah, I wasn’t impressed with the music scene until Miyuki Sawashiro (lovelovelove her anyways) started with that awesomely catchy song.
So even if I hate the show for having the first episode be a infodump and making ‘omg KEY twist’ potentially obvious, I think I’ll still watch. That is, of course, if they don’t befriend the stoic Angel. I’ll stop right there.
April 4th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
I dug Angel Beats. Mainly cuz it has guns.
But to be honest, i find the premise a bit stupid and nonsensical, no matter how original it is. Alas, it’s all for good fun anyway. It’ll make for some fun fights to watch.
and Guns. GUNS. Bullet TAIMU.
April 4th, 2010 at 11:47 pm
Hmmm, the reason why I couldn’t enjoy Angel Beats’ premise is probably because it’s treading on such familiar territory — so much so that the freshness of the afterlife premise is overshadowed by the legions of school supernatural stories out there. Sure, the exposition suggests offers something refreshing, but underneath the mass of the other tropes being exploited, I found it hard to make out the alien concept.
Also, no wonder these goons can’t even take down a little girl together — ALL OF THEM ARE SPRAYING FROM THE HIP! Those guns have stocks for a reason, you know…
April 4th, 2010 at 11:53 pm
Just screw the religion and enjoy the other parts imo. Hopefully this is not going to be like Eva with all those religion shit involved…
April 5th, 2010 at 12:50 am
I was actually looking forward to this show a bit, but that plot seems kind of…..well……sovsnSTUPIDsoimv.
Needless to say, I must watch for myself before I make any rash decisions….I just thought of a joke:
Why did the dermatologist get fired?
He made too many RASH DECISIONS!
….crickets….
That joke doesn’t actually even make much sense, but I thought it was funny…..what the fuck am I talking about here? I need to sleep…
April 5th, 2010 at 1:49 am
Haven’t seen this yet… Not sure if I’ll be able to catch up and watch it depending on how busy I am. Are there enough ecchi materials for me to work on to make on my blog post? I’ll take a look at the first episode at least, but not too sure about the mixed reviews.
April 5th, 2010 at 5:10 am
So it’s like Haruhi season 1 by Kyo-ani condensed into one episode -_-”… I stopped part way and will see if episode 2 will be better or not before finally deciding if it’s a fail or a must watch for me…
April 5th, 2010 at 5:26 am
Lol! That was one great point with the Ed’s blade! Didn’t think about it that way.
That’s really detailed analysis. Now that I read your post, I realise that there are some terrible, illogical plot parts. Didn’t give it much thought while watching though. Nice catches!
Well, but when we look at it positively, that stuff is really minor, and comparing to most of the latest series that one is actually shining. I suppose all these ‘bad opinions’ (or atleast most of them) are caused by the disappointment that it went far away from basic Key’s style. No Clannad in my Angel Beats! :)
Btw. His mouth actually moved between these lines. You just catched it when it was back to the same position ^^
April 5th, 2010 at 6:17 am
Hi haruhi don’t start like endless eight -__-
April 5th, 2010 at 6:26 am
Have you read anything about the Cathars? They were a heretical Christian sect in medieval France, which got exterminated by the Church in the early 13th century. (Incidentally, this event was the origin of the phrase “Kill them all, God will know his own.”) They were just one of many such annihilated groups, but the main theological point that got them in trouble was their belief in not one, but TWO gods: The true god of the spirit, known as Sophia, and the creator-god, known as the Demiurge, who trapped us in the world of flesh.
As a thought exercise, try to push the Christian image of the universe out of your mind, and look at Angel Beats! again. Even if there is some solid proof of a god in this strange afterlife, there is zero proof that this god is good. Granted, Tenshi doesn’t seem to have done anything unprovoked, but whatever being she serves could very well be a Demiurge. Or they could be in a strange chamber built with alien super-science and floating in space, like in Dark City. Or, well, they could be in the Matrix.
The point being, this world has no more validation of faith than ours, so the only reasonable thing to do is to stick to what you believe is true. If you meet the Buddha, kill him. If you meet an angel, get your shotgun.
… I was very tempted to convert this into a proper entry on my blog. But I wrote it for you, and for you it shall remain. :) My point is, I also liked Angel Beats! a lot.
April 5th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Pretty much the same thoughts. It was a logic hellhole, and poorly executed, I thought. Which is shame since the premise seems great and interesting. Dead high school students rebelling against God? Badass.
In spite of all this I liked a little too (but don’t tell anybody).
April 6th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
@Fang-tan
It seems many really hated him ^^;
For some reason he wasn’t really offensive to me – following our Key motif, I saw him as the representation of that candid-personality’d main character designed to propel the story forward. I suppose it’s the difference of seeing that becoming a character on its own, separated from the viewer and being the focus of the story that doesn’t quite work for him.
Well, it worked for Kyon…
I would fly into a blind rage if that happened. That wouldn’t even be funny.
@Jubbz
Good fun – yeah, that just about summarizes it, with the dubious part being ‘good’. Well, we’ll see. Given what it really is – a bunch of kids in a highschool afterlife rebelling against God – a bit of nonsense isn’t too surprising.
As for guns, I’ve heard of preferences for a more realistic gun depiction, as opposed to the silliness in Angel Beats, but that’s all the viewers cup of tea, anyhow.
@Chag
Mmyea, I knew that didn’t stand too well with you. It just so happened to feel very comfortably for me, watching clichéd-anime’s rendition of the afterlife. Happened to land somewhere on the saucer of my cup of tea, I suppose.
Hoh, you’re right. I’ll forgive the guy with the tommy gun, but the others… Well, I can see amateurs doing that. Before they take any supportive stance, Yurippe should fix her sniping posture first.
@Delon
Now now Delon, I’m not religious myself but religion does happen to be humanity’s greatest mystery. I acknowledge that it gives anime, or any work of pop culture, a relation to mysticism that’s been deeply rooted in our beings since probably only this generation. For better or for worse, religion was one of Evangelion’s highlights, no?
@Glo
Oh, glo~
Normally those jokes are deserving of my boomstick, but when you deliver them they have special significance.
@rob
PLANETARIAN. FIRST. ‘Nuff said.
And there isn’t much material for you, I’m afraid. Though, I take there being a lack of ero-slapstick a good thing; one less thing for most to complain about. And to think the first comedies were audiences shutting up and swallowing their slapstick.
It seems this seasons’ reception is quite mixed. Which is always a good thing, keeps things fresh.
@martin
Hmm… sooomewhaaat. Isn’t there a big difference between fail and must watch :p? Well, right, only time will tell.
@Velore
It’s actually longer than Ed’s I think, but that was just the first thing that came to mind.
To tell you the truth, I never intend to be half as detailed, if detailed is even the right word to use. I end up going on and on, and then this much gets churned out. It’s really a big expenditure of time.
But right, that’s what I meant by me clawing at anything remotely good – things have been poorer than not lately, so Angel Beats is a bit of fresh air. No pun intended.
Your take makes sense; I know people were expecting Key from this, and perhaps found something else. Oh well, to each their own boats.
Yeah, I was assuming his mouth moved. It just so happened between the two screencaps nothing but the subtitle changed, so I couldn’t resist pointing it out.
@moemoekyun
Endless Eight with Angel Beats? I dare them.
And apparently, Yurippe’s headband was inspired by Amagi Yukiko’s. There’s perhaps something people should know.
@2DT
I unsurprisingly have not – I know of the name, but I’m pretty sure it’s part of the Catholic District School Board List of Materials to be Censored (TM). It’s only as good as our religion teachers can describe it.
Well, my point isn’t that the SSS is some malicious, anti-catholic regiment that affronts our great and holy God almighty the benevolent (Christians have a reputation for doing that, it seems), but that they’re opposing God, in a realm where Pascal has already wagered true and they know for a fact God exists. The point isn’t whether God is good, no; it’s that he has dominion over their afterlife. I wasn’t trying to defend God, that’s not my job; I was more along the lines of “if I actually end up in heaven, and God tells me to jump, I better as hell ask ‘how high’.” When an absolute being is established as existing, it just seems illogical to decide to go against him, right?
And yes, the Matrix vibes are strong in this one. Tenshi’s materializations are numbers, and Otonashi wanted some blue pill with that.
Aw, thanks, I’ll gratefully accept the exclusive piece. Don’t let me stop you from blogging it, though.
@Dani
Badass indeed. If only God had a bit of a greater presence, and didn’t sit around playing chess instead of stopping them from shooting up the angel.
Mm, maybe Angel Beats is a guilty pleasure for the plot conscious…
April 9th, 2010 at 12:31 am
I thought I saw “The Matrix” written in someone elses comment. That is enough reason to watch this show.
April 9th, 2010 at 2:31 am
“affronting God and his status quo even after they know as a fact he exists. I take it back; that’s not anti-theistic, that’s just stupid. Guys? He’s GOD. Stop talking about confronting him in the afterlife!”
I agree with 2DT. Even if God is proven to exist in their world, she is not necessarily proven to be benevolent or infallible. Of course, from a Christian standpoint, God is omnipotent, but we all know that in anime that even Gods can be slain.
April 9th, 2010 at 6:53 am
LOL you are spot on. It is bad but I found myself enjoying it. What the hell is happening?
April 10th, 2010 at 12:45 am
@Glo
Right, I did too. Right from the very beginning Otonashi was pretty much offered the Red Pill-Blue Pill.
@Yi
Well, when you bring in the anime standpoint, where grown men play children’s card games on motorbikes, and legendary English kings are summoned to the future as sword-toting young girls, I’d be hard pressed to provide any rebuttal :p
It’s just that, from my logic, God doesn’t need to be benevolent for one to know better than to oppose her. I’m not quite specifically incorporating the Christian God into this; just the idea of a nameless god that has dominion over a location called ‘heaven’, where the deceased go.
Pascal may have been talking about the Christian God, but he does make a lot of sense. The flipside of his wager is supposed to be an evildoer going to heaven, seeing the divine and going ‘Oh crap, you actually exist’. To rebel even knowing that just struck me as very illogical.
It’s a bit like rebelling against a totalitarian government with Big Brother-like/Big Brother-exceeding capabilities. Even if it contradicts one’s humanity, it’d be smarter to just go along.
Still, I guess in a world where you can’t die, these guys can do whatever the heck they want. Seems like it’s a monistic god in control, or one that hasn’t heard of torture.
@klux
I ultimately enjoyed it too, don’t worry. Have you seen the OP? Pretty spectacular stuff. It’s Lia again, too.
April 25th, 2010 at 12:03 am
Apologies for the late response:
“To rebel even knowing that just struck me as very illogical.
It’s a bit like rebelling against a totalitarian government with Big Brother-like/Big Brother-exceeding capabilities. Even if it contradicts one’s humanity, it’d be smarter to just go along.”
I still see a problem with this idea of caving to the will of a god just because they’re ostensibly more moral – it’s “smarter” only in the sense of self-preservation. Which, arguably, is less relevant when they’re *already dead*.
Pascal’s wager isn’t really relevant here – or anywhere else, to be frank. What’s been proven is that there is an afterlife, and that there are superhuman beings in this afterlife. It’s been *proposed* that there is a godlike figure who runs all the cleanup, but why should it be assumed that this head of the afterlife has any dominion over the living world, or is omni-omni, or has a good reason for their actions?
Feel free to call placing morals before self-preservation “stupid”; I tend to call the reverse “cowardly”.
April 25th, 2010 at 12:06 am
…that should be “powerful”, not “moral”. Makes the reply entertainingly nonsensical, though!
April 28th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
@Jaren L
I wouldn’t call it ‘only’ self-preservation, when any god worth their salt should be able to put a meager human through an eternity of excruciating, torturous suffering, only possible because they’re dead ;) That’s why Pascal’s Wager stands for me. ‘Oh crap, you really do exist’ should be quickly followed by an eternity of hellfire to punish the non-believer.
But you’re right, the ‘god’ in Angel Beats doesn’t have much presence at all. Note though that this was a reactionary post to the very first episode – and things were comparably hazier then.
The core of human nature tends to be that way though, so your comment of ‘cowardly’ extends to a lot of people. I wouldn’t count on myself to save anybody but myself when it matters, either.
So yeah, try not to go to the Shinda Sekai Sensen with me, or even get holed in with me during a zombie apocalypse.
May 4th, 2010 at 12:32 am
[...] allow me to explain. In fact, the root of the problem can be very easily explained thusly: Fang-tan April 4th, 2010 at 8:35 pm So even if I hate the show for having the first episode be a infodump and making ‘omg KEY [...]