This was a really weird episode. Why? Because the drama was better than ever, while the rest was worse than ever.
Let’s talk about the bad stuff first: overall I’ve been pretty happy with the voice acting in this series. It’s not the best, but there are a ton of series that have far worse problems with their voice actors. But then that damned pink-haired girl showed up. Seriously, listening to her feels like listening to someone trying to put a cat into a blender.
It’s probably because of that that the comedy also disappointed. I mean, the creators just kept repeating the same joke over and over. How many times did that blue-haired guy try to molest her anyway? The baseball itself also felt lacking, so much that even the creators just gave up half-way and decided to just show a montage.
And then the drama came, and it actually was very good! For once it didn’t feel out of place, or was way too extreme for its own good. It was an interesting story about a guy who regretted something that he failed to do when he was still alive. We’re not exactly told how he died, but there’s are enough hints that pointed that he died of drug addiction. That anti-climax of course completely ruined it, but on the other hand: I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an annoying anti-climax, so I guess it deserves points for creativity.
In any case, the past few episodes have been complete and undirected chaos, but that’s actually what I like about this series: the characters here are very much flawed in which they don’t really know what they’re doing, or why. I think we’re actually seeing a bunch of very confused spirits wandering around, all having some regrets that won’t allow them to pass on to the afterlife. When ghosts are portrayed in media, you often see them as very confused, not really having a full grasp of what’s going on. That’s exactly what I’m seeing with the Angel Beats cast as well.
Rating: * (Good)
i’m guessing that the characters being put in situations where their regrets can be cleared were not coincidences.
Of course it’s no coincidence, that was clear from the end of episode 3 already.
This is also why I didn’t like this episode at all, because the comedy wasn’t funny and everything we ‘learned’ was clear already…
And yeah, the baseball story wasn’t as forced, but come on…not catching a ball was the biggest regret in his life?! How about starting drugs and dying young?!
chounokoe: that was actually the part I had no problems with: after all, if he didn’t feel as down at that time, he wuold never have started the drugs. It’s very much plausible for him to have regrets for that very moment, in which he caved in.
chounokoe: i’m kind of slow when it comes to these things. 😀
@chounokoe But if that is the thing that everyone try their best to do by all of the time of their young life.It’s almost success. but everything fell because of you. If you didn’t feel down at all.It’s totally strange.
I totally agree with Psgels about drama.Although the time that they told Hinata’s story is more shorter than Iwasawa. But somehow it feel more dramatic than Iwasawa. that her story look forced for me.
Hmm.. But the Comedy..I disagree.OK In this series Comedy didn’t the thing that looks good from the start.But I think the comedy in this ep look fun and less annoyed than the other eps.At least.
This episode is a stark contrast to the previous episode. Last episode was animated well with passion and the story of Iwasawa pulled my heart strings. This episode was less inspired. Hinata’s story was good until they pulled off a goofy ending. And as psgels have posted the baseball match was just montage. Last episode they animated Iwasawa’s lip movement very well heck even her body movements was done well. This time they resorted through shortcuts. It seems that I have to expect inconsistencies now throughout the show.
man this episode’s opening theme really made me miss iwasawa.
I think this ep was rather rushed. And it’s not surprising… So, yes, baseball was no good. But what’s wrong with the comedy? Death metal, Broom and everything were rather funny. Well, they could spend more time on drama instead of comedy, but that problem lies in another department… Again… Short series suck…
And the ending was good too. I thought they are going to “kill” one of them each episode. And then, Hinata survived and that idiot found her use.
Hinata’s supposed ‘regret’ in this episode isn’t quite as unreasonable as it seems, if you look at it from the standpoint of anime cliches. He borked his team’s one chance at Koushien. Going to Koushien for the inter-high championship is pretty much the #1 motivating cliche for EVERY baseball anime/manga in existence. If it hadn’t already been stated that nobody in the SSS had committed suicide (intentionally), then that would have been the easiest way to explain his death at that age, all things considered…
The new OP isn’t as good as the other one, aww.
Yui is also super-annoying. This episode would’ve been so much better without her.
Wait, when did Hinata try to MOLEST anyone?
He was being the straight man to her comedy.
And sure the end was anticlimactic, but at least we know that they’re trying to mix it up a bit and not killing of a guy every episode. If it went that way, the show would end up stuck in a formula, and get boring that way instead.
And I personally like the new OP very much.
I thought it was pretty funny when Yuri said Hinata and Yui should just go ahead and disappear…
“In any case, the past few episodes have been complete and undirected chaos, but that’s actually what I like about this series: the characters here are very much flawed in which they don’t really know what they’re doing, or why.”
>> That sounds like a very lame, post-modernistric artsy excuse, don’t you think ?
I really can’t put a finger on it but I’m loving this series so much.
Its not really a show that does any one thing particularly well just it just clicks
Iwasawa >>> Yui.
I swear, Yui is so freaking annoying.
And I honestly thought this episode was pretty bad. I enjoyed the humor from the past episodes, but this time, I think they REALLY over-did it.
I’m sad that Hinata’s past was so easily glossed over. I know there’s a prequel novel out but not everyone has read it yet. I don’t think it’s fair.
About the anti-climatic ending: I think thats she didn’t hit him to be annoying but rather because she didn’t want him to disappear either. Just because it wasn’t a dramatic saving doesn’t mean that it was actually ridiculous either, especially since she could do the attack any time rather then right now. After all, it would be… just wrong to see Yui in a serious, dramatic scene XD
I dont think Hinata died of drug addiction. At least not directly. If u read the prologue novel of Angel Beats – Track Zero, Hinata’s last memory was getting hit by a truck. I assume due to drowsiness from taking the drug.
@Windspirit
I don’t think there’s anything pretentious or snobby by saying that the SSS doesn’t know what they’re doing and as a result they have stupid random plans. It’s pretty well established that they are a) stupid and b) motivated by blind emotion.
@Bruce
Rather than an expression of pretention, I think Windspirit was suggesting that psgels was lame by making ‘excuses. I kinda see where he is going with that: the attempt to justify an aesthetic ‘like’ for the series by reasoning how the character flaw I-don’t-know-what-I-am-doing, tying in with the theme ‘chaos’ makes this series enjoyable.
I guess you can say that that this series does seem a little ‘chaotic’, but it’s kinda flimsy. There are a ton of other anime series that demonstrate ‘chaos’ to a much higher degree and most of those IMO turned out horrible. On the other hand, ‘Wacky’/’crazy’ series tend to be fun and occasionally put together in incredible ways.
But let’s not try to nitpick opinions. I read psgels’s post again and I definitely see one of the aspects that makes this series seem enjoyable: “a bunch of very confused spirits wandering around, all having some regrets that won’t allow them to pass on to the afterlife.” There’s this ‘naive’ vibe I’m getting from most of the characters and I find myself constantly trying to guess what emotions they’re under as they do their little ‘battle’ against Angel. Nice insight about the ‘ghost’ thing by the way.
All boils down to what you love. Just a little something I noted: there’s this ever-going tension between cultivating an ‘elitist’ taste versus expressing personal likes and gripes. A clear distinction between the two does a lot to blunt that sense of judgmental snobbery.