Angel Beats!

Oh, good call Al. I was thinking to myself about where I've seen the twin-death-> replacement thing before, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

It feels like we're back to square one with the story in that we're trying to figure out what the heck's going on. Angel's not really an angel, and now we're left without an antagonist to drive things forward with.

I guess the weirdest thing that requires immediate addressing is how Kanade's staying in this word without rebelling.

Kanade's cute, but that doesn't stop the scene with a soaked Yuri being restrained being niiiice.

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

Angel's not really an angel...

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Angel will always be Angel for me. I was a little disappointed she wasn't crying when eating her mapo tofu like she's in most of the fan art. But she's plenty cute nonetheless.

In any case none of these arcs so far have gotten us anywhere in terms of finding out the truth behind that world (although they were of course meaningful by showing us some practical aspects and limits of it). In that sense this arc wasn't really significant other than to bring down the old Yuri built walls between the various student groups. Yuri was quite solidly stuck on uselessly fighting against Angel, which in the end was nothing but maintaining a status quo. She wasn't really achieving anything at all, least of all figuring out the world (which would translate to fighting against God).

Naoi mentioned that Iwasawa disappeared, not because she was a "model student", but because she accepted her death, completed her dream, and moved on. If you look it at from that perspective... and take into account what Yuri said about why Naoi didn't disappear (beating "normal" students in the shadows), I think it it's safe to say that Kanade could be harboring some resentment for her death, or has not yet had her dream fulfilled (which I totally place my bet on being loved/having a friend, which Otonashi is steadily moving towards), so that's why she hasn't disappeared yet.

I never expected her to cry while eating the Tofu, Kraco. That should show an emotion. It was completely surprising in itself that she showed envy when Otonashi mentioned himself eating it, and then anxious when he mentioned he would treat her. Surprising, but just enough for it to be believable. If she had teared up, her character personality would have changed dramatically, too quickly. I expect tears at some point in the series, but it will be for something bigger than the Tofu.

Also, I believe most everything up until now has done plenty in terms of discovering the truth of the world. The practical aspects and limitations, as you mentioned, are basic steps in figuring out how it all works. In the beginning, we were told whatever Yuri told us, but slowly and surely, we are learning that everything she said was either wrong, or misguided. We are back at square one (as Bill put it) in discovering the meaning, but the truth is steadily being revealed.

Wet and restrained Yuri did provide some enjoyment, on her part. Though her clothing should have been shredded just a bit more... =P

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

It feels like we're back to square one with the story in that we're trying to figure out what the heck's going on. Angel's not really an angel, and now we're left without an antagonist to drive things forward with.

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That reminds me, didn't anyone else find it strange how the vice-president also referred to Kanade as Tenshi?

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Originally Posted by Alhuin

Wet and restrained Yuri did provide some enjoyment, on her part. Though her clothing should have been shredded just a bit more... =P

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Wait for the BDs :)

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Originally Posted by Alhuin

I never expected her to cry while eating the Tofu, Kraco. That should show an emotion.

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I'm not sure if it's really an emotion you get when you eat blisteringly hot food.

She certainly shouldn't be crying from happiness due to finally getting her tofu but because it's so strong food. Even Otonashi had troubles eating it and he doesn't look like an angel.

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Originally Posted by Alhuin

Naoi mentioned that Iwasawa disappeared, not because she was a "model student", but because she accepted her death, completed her dream, and moved on. If you look it at from that perspective... and take into account what Yuri said about why Naoi didn't disappear (beating "normal" students in the shadows), I think it it's safe to say that Kanade could be harboring some resentment for her death, or has not yet had her dream fulfilled (which I totally place my bet on being loved/having a friend, which Otonashi is steadily moving towards), so that's why she hasn't disappeared yet.

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The dream thing would be a good bet too, since it's basically at the core of everybody's problems. The reason why "becoming a model student" made people disappear, the way I saw it, was that they become accustomed to and content with their current lives.

It'd then make sense that by being a model student, realising Kanade's dream became more difficult, adding weight to your argument.

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Originally Posted by Ark

That reminds me, didn't anyone else find it strange how the vice-president also referred to Kanade as Tenshi?

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I gathered that this guy's been doing a lot of information gathering. He more or less adopted that term from Yuri's group perhaps. He doesn't necessarily knows any more about Kanade than Yuri or Otonashi.

@Kraco: Can't believe I didn't realize this until you quoted me, but I meant to type "would show an emotion" instead of "should show an emotion". I meant it as, if she had blatantly cried, whether it was from excitement or the strong food, she would no longer be emotionless.

The idea of one individual being able to handle any type of strong food with no emotional reaction isn't that far-fetched.

I don't know if this changes your response though.

Not really, but it's not like I wouldn't know what you are going after. From an outside observer's point of view it certainly makes no difference if she's crying because of an emotion or as a simple physical response to all the chili.

However, I never really wanted her to belong to the emotionally impaired class of characters, so from my pov her showing an emotional response to something so early on wouldn't have been a wasted opportunity to break her ice in a more dramatic and meaningful manner.

I considered her a really sad and lonely character with walls around her, not one without emotions.

Excellent episode.

I like the fact that Kanade's "cuteness" is very natural. It's just her bring herself and it naturally come out.

Anime like K-ON tries to milk this "cuteness" element to the extreme and feel really forced a lot of times. It's like you can't have one scene without someone trying to do something "moe".

At first i thought we would have someone disappear every few episodes, but it's looks like they are gaining more members to the group. I'm beginning to question the whole "NPC" student concept since Kanade and Naoi seems to be normal people just like them. It's very possible that this place is limbo where people go to accept their fate. NPC students just happen the be people who can't remember their past and decided to try and have a normal life.

Yuri mentioned that NPC were either predictable or programmed in their actions and responses or something at the very beginning, so the concept of NPC people running around seems real enough for now.

As for Kanade, I'd like the more gradual melting rather than a shattering of her ice.

[Nipponsei] GirlsDeMo - Thousand Enemies

Lol, when it comes to Angel Beats not even Marik can win one over Al

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Originally Posted by Archangel

Lol, when it comes to Angel Beats not even Marik can win one over Al

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That sound suspiciously like a challenge.

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Originally Posted by Dark Dragon

That sound suspiciously like a challenge.

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No, just a fact. :p

Mazui - Episode 07

say.... what?


(awesome)

First half of the episode was boring. Sure, Otonashi got his memories back, but they ended up being irrelevant to the story (so it seems for now) and I definitely thought the way it happened was too rushed. I'm also confused... because didn't Yuri give him the name "Otonashi" since he couldn't remember anything? Yet when he was on the train, Mazui had his ticket translated to "Otonashi Yuzuru". So either, they made a mistake, or I'm making a mistake... or there is something else going on. Either way though, I was definitely expecting a more dramatic way for him to recover his memories.

As far as what he recalled goes, seems like he had a life of nothingness, just living for his sister... then when she left him, he became motivated to turn his life around. A sad and lonely life, but nowhere near as dark and depressing as Yuri's and Iwasawa's. Here's to hoping it was all fabricated, or there is a bigger picture.

Second half of the episode, however, was pure win. Kanade in that hat... so adorable. I honestly made an "aww, she lost her hat" comment when she... lost her hat. The "fishing" mission wasn't all that interesting, neither was the plan to feed the school, but the scenes with Otonashi and Kanade were heartwarming. "I've got to save them". And now they are on a first name basis.

Yuri definitely seemed annoyed during that mission, while everyone else seemed to accept Kanade as part of the group, once they started fishing.

As for the ending... all I can say is... what?
Need episode 08 now.

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Originally Posted by Alhuin

FI'm also confused... because didn't Yuri give him the name "Otonashi" since he couldn't remember anything? Yet when he was on the train, Mazui had his ticket translated to "Otonashi Yuzuru".

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He didn't get the name from Yuri he remembered it and gave it himself when she asked for his name though he couldn't remember his given name.

Looks like Angel had a sister.

It seems like I misunderstood something when I watched this episode. I originally thought Hatsune died during their Christmas outing since there was such an ominous feel to it with her weak voice and all. I was also expecting this to come up just as it did with a previous series.

So after that, I thought Otonashi left to pursue a career to heal other girls who were bedridden, rather than his own sister (and I took "losing" as her having died, not living away from him). In that sense, Otonashi's story would have probably felt more emotionally powerful to me than to others who interpreted this correctly, as he didn't just realise, but had to pay a dear price to do so.

Kanade moments were awesome. I need not say more.

The red-eyed Angel was actually the one who did the flying swallow attack on the fish (there were 2 Angels after the split), and she also kept her eyes closed after the attack. Why no one (from the SSS) picked this up, I don't know. Maybe Yuri did (since she wasn't worried about being eaten) and went to pursue it, resulting in her injuries.

When that first came up, I thought it was one of those jealous, cheap tricks where you hurt yourself and say someone else did it, but that seemed not to be the case.

Shiina's decapitating move proving to be an extremely effective assassination move, but an utterly pointless fishing one got a laugh out of me, especially since it was accompanied with the "Idiot" commentary.