so this isnt going to be a typical review, (mostly because i suck at writing reviews) a lot of people have commented on the lack of episodes and the effect that had on over half of the characters being totally under developed due to time constraints (couldn't agree more), nor is this going to be a comment on the music in the show (which was very good) or the animation quality (again very good animation) im not even going to go into the story all that much

SPOILERS

while all these are important features to an anime and some aspects including length of the show stopped this from being a 10/10, this isn't what i want to spend time talking about, because for me these things were not what made Angel Beats one of the best anime i have ever seen

This show is one of the rare anime i have seen that got an actual emotional response from me (mainly because i watch comedies) it made me continually hit the next episode button causing me to stay up til 6.30 this morning (something my boss didnt appreciate at all)

i have only really been into anime for a little over 12 months now but have been watching anime films and shows for over 20 years as a very casual viewer and have about 150 shows under my belt, most in the last 12 months (not that i have become addicted or anything). I mention this because i missed all the hype about the show so the only thing i knew after i read the synopsis was the show was about a guy who wakes up to find out out he is dead from a girl with a big gun. this brief synopsis led me to believe this was going to be an action comedy all be it a very good one from the rating of 9th most popular anime of all time

Shockingly what i got instead was a heartbreaking story about loss and regret, pain, powerless and above all love and redemption disguised as a comedy action

i probably wouldn't have watched this if id have known what this show was actually about.(opting to stay in my planned queue for the rest of eternity) Ive never seen Clanned/after story and am avoiding it like the plague. i dont like shows like this. i watch anime for escapism, not to sit there thinking about my own personal regrets or times when i was powerless in my life or the times when life was just utterly unfair (i play poker so that's quite often)

i think the character that stood out most for me was Yui a young girl that was kind of on the outside of the main group who wanted to be a singer, a wrestler, hit a home run and fall in love and be married. she seemed to be a mirror of the show, full of life, fun but with a truly deep and touching aspect to her, My heart broke when Hinatoa confessed his love for her

overall this show was beautiful looking, great well written characters, funny, charming, far too short and i am so glad i didnt know anything about it before watching it, well worth watching if you have not seen it

if i was to recommend something else similar it would be hinamatsuri, more comedy and less dark but still hits you in the feels more than once