I have been watching anime for a little over 3 years now, and my first review is for one that doesn't break into my personal favorites, but one I will surely remember. This review will simply discuss my thoughts on the general elements of the show, rather than character analyses or comprehensive episode-by-episode reviews. I want to write this as a recommendational review, so I have tried to keep my comments general as to not give details to major plot points or characterization. Proceed with caution.

The production value that studio P.A. Works brings to the table is something that the viewer will instantly appreciate, and is one of the strongest aspects of the anime. The music throughout the show is extremely well done across the OP, ED, and OST. The music scenes themselves that appear mainly in the first half of the show are also great, coming from someone who isn't particularly captivated by music anime besides Your Lie in April and Bocchi the Rock! Angel Beats! is not a music anime by any means, but the scenes with the band are extremely important to a couple of the characters' development. The animation and cinematography are also very good, there are no scenes where it is glaringly obvious that the studio cut corners, which allows the viewer to appreciate the integrity with which the studio worked with to create the anime. For me, anime is brought to life through voice acting, and this anime happened to have two of my favorite voice actors/actresses at their best. Hiroshi Kamiya and Kana Hanazawa execute their roles as Yuzuru Otonashi and Kanade Tachibana perfectly, their contrasting characters exemplified in their voices. If you're someone who places a great amount of importance on music, animation, or voice acting, then you will have no issues with Angel Beats!.

The characters are the driving force of the plot in Angel Beats!, and very early on the reader is introduced to a pretty large amount of characters for a 13-episode show. Each main character has a distinct and animated personality and both main and side characters each have at least one charm or element that allows them to be recognized throughout the show. The most interesting of which to me was TK, who probably spoke more English than Japanese throughout the show. In the back half of the show, the protagonist, Yuzuru Otonashi begins rapidly developing, which sets up the falling action and resolution extremely well. In the case of Yuri Nakamura, while I wasn't wowed by such an important character until the second to last episode, the show made sure to develop her in a way pertaining to the show's themes after presenting the viewer with her seemingly impossible goal. During the final episode, Kanade Tachibana, my favorite and in my opinion the most interesting character really shines in her dynamic with Otonashi. Our final questions regarding her are answered, and the two characters reach their conclusion in a very bittersweet way, along with other main characters Yuri, Hinata and Naoi. My only complaint regarding the characters is that about half of the characters leave just as quickly as they came, with no real introduction or conclusion, making them cannon fodder (sometimes literally) at most. Overall, the show presents compelling main characters that can shadow over some of the issues commonly associated with side characters in 12-13-episode anime's.

Angel Beats! is a series that has many distinct ups and downs, but never fails to keep the viewer interested in the show's main ideas. It is at its best during the real school settings, where the viewer learns about the main characters' memories and what is driving their actions in this world that they are now in. In the beginning, it presents harsh questions regarding the existence of God despite countless young lives having been lived in horror or misfortune. While the question of God's existence in their world never gets answered (something I was looking forward too), the characters learn the true nature of the world they now live in, and allow their souls to finally rest. These themes are one of the strongest parts of the show, and encourage the viewer to think about the life they are currently living, and how we can inject meaning into what we do while we are here.

A couple minor critiques I have with the show mainly fall on some of the aesthetics and dialogue, specifically in the first half. A military grade battalion in a school in certainly an interesting idea, but to me it doesn't work that well here. I found most of the fight scenes overly serious with over-serious military related dialogue that just came off as a little bit cringy in an anime set in a high school. I also went into this anime knowing it was a tearjerker so the military aspect just confused me. Sometimes it felt as if I was watching an anime adaptation of a Tom Clancy book instead of the soft emotional anime that Angel Beats! is regarded as. If you liked addition of the warfare with guns and military grade bunkers, power to you, I just feel that this aspect was important to note as it did affect my enjoyment of the show at times. Overall, the last four episodes of this show really immerse the viewer in its true purpose, which makes me think that since it succeeded in this aspect more than it failed in another, I can turn a blind eye to these complaints and give the show a great score.

Angel Beats! was a refreshing anime for me, as the anime progress in my life has slowed to a crawl. This show offers great production, great main characters, and the themes I needed to be reminded of how much great is in this medium. If you're looking for a short anime that has the potential to leave a lasting impression on you as a person, Angel Beats! is certainly one I'd recommend from my list.