WARNING: contains spoilers

A very popular anime that is considered by many to be a classic, almost a sacred cow. After hearing so many people talk this one up, my expectations of it were raised quite a bit. I sat down and watched it one day years ago, eventually with it ending with what I believe to be the OVA at the end, which is apparently set to events taking place during some time in the middle of the series run. At the risk of being burned at the stake, I am going to have to be totally honest in stating that I just wasn't feeling this one. It just didn't move me, which is weird considering that the theme is supposed to be mortality and seeking solace for unfulfilled goals and dreams from the life left behind to cross over. Naturally I would be inclined to expect the plot to be melodramatic and very deep, very heavy and emotional - with the occasional light comic relief to give the story some levity in a sort of cynical George Carlinesque way. This isn't the experience I got.

When I don't like something, I can usually be certain of why. I think one of the main reasons I didn't care for it, is that so many of the secondary characters just seemed so shallow and juvenile. Yuri, the male protagonist ( given as Yuzuru on the roster here ), and to a lesser extent, the members making up the girl band, are like the only characters in the story that I really felt any kind of connection with. Yuri was the only one whose name I could even remember since watching it all that time ago. Some of the more distinct characters I could put a face to, but not remember their names; such examples include the silver haired Tachibana ( or simply "Tenshi" ), the dark haired boy wearing the kepi cap with his school uniform, and the American who looks like Axl Rose from the band, Guns N' Roses - the latter felt like he was added in as a sort of joke character who is always "speaking street/jive talking" like he's from some inner city in the Continental US.

I remember that the unfulfilled dream of one of the characters was to simply perform a German Suplex ( wrestling move ) successfully on someone in a sparring/training session...like I said, no substance. I get that this scene was probably intended to be comical but, would it have been so hard to write it where the character's motivation was something more ambitious, yet still retaining the humorous tone? Overall, the plot seemed kinda weak for the type of story it was supposed to be.

I understand from reading what others have said, that the source material that the anime is based on actually fleshes out more of the dimensions around the cast of characters, with each character supposedly being given their very own vignettes which explain the backstories and motivations for each of them. I don't know that it necessarily means that I would like the manga but, it might have made for a better anime adaptation if it were done that way. I know that I am a very harsh critic but, I try to be fair.

The Good

Decent opening theme song

The Bad

Not enough depth in the development of many of the characters

Angel Beats is hard to beat. One of my Favorite animes

The Good
This anime has it all. Good story lines excellent graphics great character development and oh yeah lets not forget about the music.

The Bad
The only complaint I have is that it's too short.

Tear Jerker

I loved this anime. It made me tear a little when he changes his mind and begs her not to go. When they humanized Angel I started to like her too. What they did for each other was what kept me comming back for more. It was an exciting series, the only thing id change is that it would be longer.

The Good
When he realizes whats going on and helps the fellow students.

The Bad
When he works with Angel and starts helping everyone get out of limbo. The last one to go was the girl he developed strong feelings for. He helps her move on but changes his mind in he middle and breaks down crying. I literally cried a little..it was pretty insane.

Emotional Awesomeness

When I first watched Angel Beats, I instantly fell in love with Kanade Tachibana. (Tenshi) I love everything about her. In my opinion, she needed to be the protagonist instead of the ""antagonist"" she was portrayed to be by the others.

One of the things I loved was that every main character had this heart-wrenching story from when they were alive. It invoked so much emotion in me that it made me cry. It's rare for an anime to be able to make me cry. It's just so wonderful!!!! Everything about it so beautiful! Even the ending, while sad, is beautiful and executed wonderfully!

Overall, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this anime to everybody!

The Good 
So emotionally moving!
Amazing story!
Beautiful!

The Bad 
Needed more airtime of Kanade Tachibana
I wish it had more episodes.

Simply Amazing

I had first started watching Angel Beats several months back, and I don't even think I got halfway through the first episode before I dropped it. Recently, I decided to pick it up again, and I figured I would watch it from the start again as I had already forgotten many things that happened within the first episode. I was not disappointed in the least. As I discussed in the pros and cons, this anime does everything right, except for maybe being not long enough (however, if it was longer, it might have felt too stretched out). This is currently tied as my favorite anime, and I'm a bit sad that it ended, but I'm really glad I gave it another chance. I would suggest for anyone to watch this because it is just simply amazing, but don't be turned off if the first few episodes are kind of slow.

The Good 
1) Well made characters
2) Great ending
3) The story/art/ and even the OP were just amazing

The Bad 
1) Needs to be a full season, not just 13 episodes.