Angel Beats! is a 13-episode Japanese anime television series produced by P.A. Works and Aniplex and directed by Seiji Kishi. The story was originally conceived by Jun Maeda, who also wrote the screenplay and composed the music with the group Anant-Garde Eyes, with original character design by Na-Ga; both Maeda and Na-Ga are from the visual novel brand Key, who produced such titles as Kanon, Air, and Clannad. The anime aired in Japan between April 3 and June 26, 2010. Key worked in collaboration with ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Magazine to produce the project into a media franchise. Two manga series are serialized in Dengeki G's Magazine: one illustrated by Haruka Komowata, which began serialization in the December 2009 issue, and the other drawn by Yuriko Asami, which started in the May 2010 issue. A series of illustrated short stories written by Maeda and illustrated by GotoP were also serialized in Dengeki G's Magazine between the November 2009 and May 2010 issues. Two Internet radio shows were produced to promote Angel Beats!.
Summary:
In a world after death, angels fight for their fate and their future. Yuri, the leader of the Shinda Sekai Sensen, rebels against the god who destined her to have an unreasonable life. On the other hand, Tenshi, the chairperson of the student council for the world after death, battles against the SSS members. SSS members utilize armed weaponry to battle it out against the angels harnessing supernatural powers.
Characters
Main Characters
- Otonashi is the main protagonist of Angel Beats!. Due to his past, he has a caring personality and does not want anyone to experience pain or sadness. After dying, he lost his memories of the time when he was still alive, but later regains them. He had a younger sister, Hatsune, who died of an illness and who he cared for very much. When she died, he decided to go to school to become a doctor, but died in a train accident before he could take the entrance exam to college. Initially unskilled in any equipment, he starts to practice his marksmanship, and pulls through for the team when they are in danger. He carries a Glock 17. His love for Kanade is expressed later on in the anime.
- Yuri, also known as Yurippe, has a determined personality and invites Otonashi to join the SSS, an organization she founded and leads which fights against God. She is smart and decisive when making operations and decisions. She carries a silver Berreta 92 but is seen using a TDI Vector, Chey Tac Intervention, and M4 carbine with a drum magazine. Not only is she skilled with a gun, but she is also capable in close range hand-to-hand combat. She vowed to fight against God after her three younger siblings were murdered by burglars looking for valuables when she was alive and never forgave herself for failing to prevent their deaths. She is an effective leader, but does not think so. She does not really notice that she actually cares a lot for the SSS members like another family. She regrets even fighting with Kanade later in the story, because she feels she could have been great friends with her.
- Angel is the student council president at the afterlife school. This places her at odds with the SSS as her responsibilities require her to suppress delinquency and other disruptive activities that the team does. The SSS initially calls her "Angel" since they do not know her real name, but they still refer to her by it even after finding out her real name to be Kanade Tachibana. It is difficult to understand what she is thinking due to her rarely showing any outward emotions and her way of talking bluntly. Despite her gentle demeanor and small frame, she is incredibly powerful and near indestructible to the point of ejecting bullets out of her wounds during battle. She creates her powers through a program called Angel Player. She is personally dedicated to helping others overcome their regrets and pass on. She has an affinity for eating mapo doufu, a spicy dish.
SSS members
- Hinata is a bright, dependable boy who is the closest to Otonashi. He always tries to save his friends if he can and is a reliable force in the team. He and Yui constantly irritate one another on a daily basis, but deep down, he cares for Yui, as shown when he helps her pass on. He is a talented baseball player. He nicknamed Yuri as Yurippe when they co-founded the SSS as he did not feel comfortable calling her Yuri, because his mother has the same name. He died by getting hit by a truck.
- Takamatsu is an honor student who has a polite personality and wears glasses. He mainly contributes to the SSS through intelligence gathering and other affairs, but does not actively fight. Yuri herself says to not be fooled by his glasses and that he is actually an idiot. Though appearing to be slender, he works out and is actually well-built muscle-wise. After he first reveals this, he tends to take his shirt off, much to everyone's discomfort.
- Noda is a self-reliant boy who executes the strategies formed by the SSS and fights with a halberd. He does not listen to anyone other than Yuri, for whom he has adoration, and is antagonistic to almost everyone else. He has a one-sided rivalry with Otonashi. He is a complete idiot whose weakness is education. He is not afraid to harm or kill anyone who gets in Yuri's way.
- Shiina is a female ninja who fights with dual-wielding kodachi and shuriken. She is able to sense when danger is coming and is a highly capable fighter. Despite her serious demeanor, she has a weakness for cute things like stuffed animals. She is strict in her training and is very self-critical when she fails, especially to a newcomer like Otonashi. She rarely speaks but will normally remark "how shallow-minded" whenever the obvious or something stupid is said.
- Yusa is an operator in the SSS who conveys the state of the battlefield to Yuri. She is a calm and gentle mannered girl with a straightforward character. Much like Angel, she does not express her emotions and is called scary by Otonashi and Hinata. She cannot calm down without her earphone. She rarely talks, and she sometimes hurts others' feelings even though she does not mean it.
- Fujimaki is a delinquent who fights with a long shirasaya. He picks on new people like Otonashi but does not seem like a bad person himself. He cannot swim.
- TK is a mysterious character who wears a large bandanna over his eyes and tends to break out in dance every so often. No one knows his real name or past. He speaks in semi-nonsensical English phrases depending on the situation, mainly quoted from pop culture, but apparently does not know English fluently. He saves the team many times and does know some Japanese but rarely speaks it, though he seems to understand what others say to him. He carries Browning Hi-Power and LAR Grizzly handguns or a PP-19 Bizon submachine gun during missions.
- Matsushita, also known as "Matsushita 5-dan", has a large build and is a master at judo. He never forgets a debt he owes, especially when it involves food (specifically gyūdon). He carries heavy weapons such as rocket launchers or machine guns into battle. He later loses weight after training in the mountains.
- Ōyama is an ordinary boy who has no special talents. He does not excel at anything, but is as capable as any normal person; in other words, he is a Jack of all trades. He is a pure boy whose feelings will get hurt from things like a making fake confession or watching his teammates "die". He carries a Remington 700 sniper rifle or a P226 handgun.
- Takeyama is an intelligent boy who is good at hacking computers. He wrote the "Briefing Manager" program that Yuri uses to brief the SSS prior to a mission. He insists everyone should call him by his username "Christ", though nobody cares about it. He tries to execute all plans as perfectly as possible. He does not engage in combat or any other physical operations, but rather gathers data and information.
- Chā is the leader of the Guild. Despite looking much older, he is about the same age as Otonashi and the others.
- Naoi is a human originally thought to be a non-player character (non-human). After he died, Naoi developed hypnotic powers that allow him to control others and cause them to enter a dream-like state. He later befriends Otonashi after he acknowledges him and joins the SSS. As acting student council president for a time and self-proclaimed God, Naoi is strict and arrogant, but this is quick to disperse when Otonashi chastises him. He is affectionate to Otonashi, much to the latter's chagrin, and always tries to earn his affection.
Girls Dead Monster
- Iwasawa is the initial leader of Girls Dead Monster who is in charge of the vocals and is the rhythm guitarist. She also writes the lyrics and composes the music for the band's songs. She plays a Sienna Sunburst/Maple Fender Stratocaster guitar. While usually a quiet girl, she is able to fascinate listeners by striving to create music that speaks her thoughts. She used music as an escape from her constantly fighting parents in life. Her full name is Masami Iwasawa.
- Hisako is second-in-command of Girls Dead Monster who plays a Fender Jazzmaster electric guitar as lead guitarist. She has a candid personality and likes to play mahjong, which she has incredible luck with. As noted by Hinata, Hisako is also athletic and is greatly admired by Yui for her guitar riffs.
- Irie is the drummer of Girls Dead Monster who, despite being dead herself, is bad with hearing stories about ghosts or spirits, which Sekine likes to take advantage of. She is best friends with Sekine and joined Girls Dead Monster at the same time as her. Her full name is Miyuki Irie.
- Sekine plays a G&L L-2000 bass guitar in Girls Dead Monster. She likes to play pranks on those around her to see the surprised faces of her victims. She also likes to abruptly improvise during performances, much to Hisako's chagrin. Her full name is Shiori Sekine.
- Yui is a big fan and initially an assistant to Girls Dead Monster. She is known to be hyperactive and talks extremely fast. Hinata finds Yui annoying, which results in bouts between the two of them though in truth, they truly care about one another, saying that had they met before they died, they would have fallen in love with each other. She wears a devil tail and shackle bracelets on her wrists, giving her an image of an imp or devil. She also has wings hidden by her hair on her back. After Iwasawa's departure, Yui becomes the new rhythm guitarist and vocalist of Girls Dead Monster, as well as its leader. Yui plays a Gibson SG Special electric guitar. She later becomes a part of the main SSS, following them along on missions, though she does not contribute much.
--Taken from Wikipedia--
By: Atika Nurfitriyani
