Angel Beats Complete Series Collection [Blu-ray]

This is easily among the best of its genre, packed with a welcomingly fresh and original story, great characters with whom many can relate, and an amazingly beautiful soundtrack. I have watched a lot of anime in my time and few have managed to move me as much as this one did. As the anime's entire premise revolves around tragic stories of students who suffered from the terrible misfortunes of an unjust world, it is perfectly designed to pull on your heartstrings relentlessly and executes this in an equally perfect manner. The mix of humor and action with the drama is done flawlessly, never once seeming out of place or as if it was trying too hard.For those who are overly concerned about art style, this anime does not disappoint. It is clean and void of unnecessary fan service. Large iconic anime female eyes abound, as if that were anything to worry about.As I prefer to watch anime with Japanese voices and English subtitles, I cannot comment on the English dubbed version. That said, the voice acting is superb. You might get a few cliché lines here and there, but otherwise the dialogue is compelling and helps to drive the story forward. Hardly do the characters ever say anything wasted, especially considering that the series is only 13 episodes long and would not have any room for it anyways.If you are a guy watching this, be prepared to set aside your man card for a while. Your eyes will be sweating whether you want them to or not. If the character stories do not do it for you, then the music will. It is okay though - you can find a wall to punch later to regain your manliness.Overall, I highly recommend this series. Just be sure to have a box of tissues on hand. I ended up rolling right into Clannad afterwards - eyes felt a little dehydrated after all that sweating, but it was worth it.

This is a superb and moving series but be sure that you watch the ending all the way through as it occurs AFTER the final credits roll on the last episode. The series is seemingly typical and shallow at first, but it is actually deceptively subtle in that it starts out as a wild series of outrageous battles all over what appears to be a high school. Only thing is that this school is located in the afterlife (limbo? purgatory? the twilight zone?) and you can only get there by being young and dead.It takes the main character, Otonashi, a little while to fully realize and accept the fact that he is really dead and caught in some kind of surreal afterlife where he is swept up into a group of students who are apparently fighting a war against God and an angel with some pretty heavy weaponry like .50 cal rifles, pistols, machine guns, grenades etc. Otonashi also finds out at the very start that even though you are dead, you can still get "killed" again in this weird reality but you come back to life after a while. Only thing is, even though you don't stay dead, every time you get killed it's brutally and painfully unpleasant and there are lots of ways for you to get killed again and again.But the true core of this series begins to unfold layer by layer, like an onion being peeled, as Otonashi begins to form bonds with the other students in the group fighting a mysterious war against the powers that control this world. Along the way through the furious battles and self-searching of the individual characters you see the development of wonderful relationships and some really profound questions on life vs. existence, reincarnation, love, God, and what makes a person's life qualify as truly worthwhile and fulfilling. There are many moving moments as you see relationships develop and blossom among the characters and learn about their pasts as they learn about each other.This superb series is all too short and leaves you wishing there was another season but the pacing and length are actually perfect for how the series resolves. Just be sure you watch ALL of the ending which actually occurs after the final credits in the last episode.The English dub is pretty good and the music, artwork and animation are topnotch.This is a worthy addition to any anime fan's library.

I don't even know where to begin with this review. But this show is so damn good that I wish I had the perfect word for it. But I don't. This is one of the most touching shows I have ever seen, not just in anime, but in all forms of media. I fell in love with this show from the first episode and couldn't stop watching it, I was hooked on it so much that I finished it an entire day and I have no regrets.Of course I'm going to be getting this the second it comes out here in the states on DVD. This is a show I could watch over and over and over again, I would never get sick of it.I don't want to spoil the plot but I'll go into little detail just to get your head wrapped around it. When these young students die they are sent into an afterlife that they do not truly understand and they believe if they give up and announce they truly died they will vanish from existence, it's only when the characters ban together and work along side each other do they understand the truth about dying in peace.This show has so much going for it, a tremendous musical score, great comedy for the relief, a wonderful cast of developing characters, and one of the best stories I have ever seen. I don't care how strong you are or if you are too manly to cry, when you see that final episode you will have tears streaming down your cheeks on just how fantastic it is.Angel Beats is not just one of the best Animes I have seen, it's one of the best television shows I have ever watched.Do yourself a favor and don't miss this one.