What I have to say about Angel Beats! (Recommended if you have watched the whole thing, though there are no spoilers)

Alright, so I just finished reading Alec's review, and he made some pretty good points, despite the disappointing 5/10 he gave it.
The first time I watched Angel Beats, I loved it. I had watched the whole thing over night, and it brought up quite a bit of emotions (I'm not the emotional type, there are not many things that can make me feel so much feelings, but Angel Beats had managed to do so).
I watched Angel Beats a second time with a friend. This time it did not carry the power it did the first time I watched it. As Alec pointed out, it was because there was not enough time for character development. Thirteen episodes was just not enough.
Angel Beats was originally planned to be 26 episodes, but in order to cut the production cost in half, it was made into thirteen episodes. That's half the length lost! And it's obvious where that chunk was taken from: The Middle.



WARNING IT IS NOT RECOMMENDED THAT YOU READ AHEAD UNLESS YOU HAVE FINISHED WATCHING ANGEL BEATS (THOUGH THERE ARE NO SPOILERS, BUT POSSIBLY HINTED SPOILERS).










The Ending of Angel Beats had the largest impact of any ending I have ever seen (the first time watching it). When I watched it the second time, yes I felt some feelings, but it was not as much as the first time, because by re-watching it, I noticed how much was missing. IF the series had more development into the characters, and more development into the overall story, then the ending would be KILLER... and I think that was the way it was originally planned to be. (I will explain more in detail after the club has finished watching Angel Beats).

I feel that if Angel Beats was made the way it was planned to be, then it would be one of the greatest animes out there (and it would definatley be my favorite).

There is a lot of work being put into the Angel Beats universe, such as the manga series "Angel Beats! Heaven's Door", which is a prequel to the anime. I also believe that there is one more project, but I am not sure what that is.

I believe the thing that drags Angel Beats down is the fact that it is incomplete. Sure the creators were able to fit a good story in thirteen episodes, but I have the feeling that something important was left out due to this cut (I can point out a few examples, but I think it would be best to do that in an another post after the club has finished watching Angel Beats)

Pretty much, to sum it all up: Angel Beats did not reach it's full potential. It was not as great as it was supposed to be. 

-Varun


(My first blog entry, think I was a bit repetitive, so sorry for that!)