Why can't onii-chan buy me BL manga like I ask? Besides, I already read the scanlations of this series.
Summary:
All this time I wasn't stupid; I just had a stupid haircut!
Otonashi’s male harem grows larger as Ayato joins the SSS and insists everyone call him God. It’s all in fun, but Yuri wants Ayato to hypnotize Otonashi into recovering his memories. This leads to a flashback of a delinquent Otonashi skipping school, but working hard manual labor to support his sick little sister, Hatsune. He keeps buying her manga because he loves hearing her thank him, and he even works multiple jobs in hopes of taking her out for Christmas. Unfortunately, after sneaking her out, we skip forward and find that Hatsune died and Otonashi has a new goal in life: become a doctor to cure all cute little imoutos of the world. We learn that Otonashi’s first name is Yuzuru and he now finds meaning in life. Things go pretty well at first, but like a Sunrise series the experience quickly ends in a massive train-wreck.
Back in the present, the SSS is out of meal tickets and Yuri audibles for Monster Stream instead of Tornado. The SSS go to meet fisher Saitou, and Yuzuru insists that they bring Kanade along. When Saitou notices Kanade’s strength (Overdrive is a passive skill), he decides they should challenge the Master of the River, and so Kanade pulls out a monstrous fish that threatens to swallow everyone. Yellow-eyed Kanade invokes her mad binary skills to vomit out red-eyed Kanade (henceforth “Ranade”), and Ranade saves the day. Later, after serving fish soup to all the NPCs and cleaning the dishes, Yuri appears and declares that Tenshi attacked her. Yuzuru knows that his new best buddy Kanade was with him the whole day, but when the SSS look up they see Ranade on a tall building.
Reaction:
Noooo, my admission form to a university reknown for its mapo tofu!!!
I can’t help thinking that Ranade is a manifestation of Kanade’s deep, dark, secret desires: do massive burst dps, dual wield, and beat the crap out of Yuri before looking down at her from a high place. Next episode is definitely going to feature Ranade putting together a band to spank GirlDeMo before blowing away everyone’s meal tickets so that she can eat mountains of free mapo tofu. Enjoy your presidency while it lasts Ayato, because Ranade’s coming for that number one spot! Of course, the other possibility is that Kanade’s friends didn’t disappear in the happy Asami sense, but rather Kanade’s frenemies hit on her crush and so Ranade had to come out and cap those fools. BTW, the reason Ranade’s eyes are red is because she drinks human blood; yup, I learned that from the Twilight series.
It’s hard to get used to calling Otonashi by his first name of Yuzuru… Thankfully it’s a plot point so I don’t have to go back and fix it in posts, but I am not sure if his flashback is completely accurate. The train-wreck seems to debunk the theory that everyone in the afterlife committed suicide, but I wonder if Yuzuru’s denial goes so deep as to fabricate this medical school miracle life. The disjointed flashback makes me seriously wonder if Yuzuru didn’t just kill himself after he inadvertently killed Hatsune on Christmas. However, if Yuzuru really did turn into a smarty-pants, then I want to know where he gets his hair cut!
This post was written by...
Kabitzin – who has written 1971 posts on Sea Slugs! Anime Blog.
One of the founders of Sea Slugs, I handle most of the blog admin tasks while wearing my I AM BOSS shirt. I like my action series well choreographed, and my romance series extra trashy. I also have a soft spot for puns.
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
For a minute I thought Yuri was just scheming to win her group back when she showed up all beaten up at the end because she didn’t seem at all pleased when everyone ran to help Otonashi/Kanade during the fishing scene. And Yuri might not like Ranade, but I bet there are more than a few SSS members who are thinking twincest/threesome.
His turnaround did seem a bit convenient, and I wonder if Hatsune actually died before he took her out for their Christmas jaunt. Suicide still seems to fit better as cause of death for everyone whose history we’ve learned so far. I’m not buying all this random accident stuff.
Yeah, Kanade x Ranade added extra spice to the hump line that the SSS formed while fishing… even though their combined effort had a negligible benefit to super-strong Kanade.
As for everyone’s flashback just suddenly ending (at least Yuzuru’s had a real ending), it reminds me of annoying shows that just stop and leave the viewers hoping that a second season will be announced.
I don’t really buy the suicide theory as most of the bad stuff happened when the characters were relatively younger than their current high school form; if it were suicide, it would be more likely that this would be a middle school rather than a High School of the (Un)Dead.
From the stories we’ve heard from Iwasawa, Ayato and Yuzuru, what seems to be in common is that all of them had pretty lousy pasts BUT just as they found hope and purpose for the future – Iwasawa lost her voice before she hit the big time, Ayato lost his father before he made a really great piece of pottery, Yuzuru got SUNRISED before he could become a doctor. A tiny start for each but that was snatched away from them – their Hopes and Dreams (even Yui-nyan’s small ones) being crushed before they could be born. The odd one out so far is Yuri. Well, that’s assuming everyone’s memories can be relied on but there seems to be enough of a common theme that matches Jun Maeda’s penchant for snow, sadness and melodrama.
That’s a good point, but I just have trouble believing Yuri; my heart doesn’t know how to trust
I’m also no longer quite certain they are in a machine, since only Kanade ever seems to give off binary sparkles.
You don’t know that Yuri didn’t dream of having a little brother with siscon aspirations for his responsible onee-sama…
I still can’t believe the snow actually killed Yuzuru.
Potter guy is totally gar for Otonashi. Too bad he’s got his sights on Angel. Dark Angel is probably how Angel remains in the world, because if all she did was regular student stuff, she should disappear, too, right?
Ayato is going to have to fight Hinata for Yuruzu’s heart. You make an interesting point about Ranade, since that would put her on par with Ayato.
I don’t think so. I think Yuri created Dark Angel so she could look like the victim. Basically she was jealous and wanted to be the center of attention again.
I don’t actually think that Yuri cares that much about being the center of attention. She didn’t even participate in the baseball tournament. I think Yuri just wants to stick it to the Man.
if you pause the part when kanade used harmonics(ep 3, the one that splits her) the one that diced the fish had red eyes and its unlikely that yuri is jealous.
why? in ep 6, she knew yuzuru would approach kanade so she gave him a walkie talkie instead of saying “avoid tenshi”, she didnt mind much when yuzuru invited kanade and in track zero, she had tea with her in her room(really they did)
well thats what I think, yuri doesnt really seem evil if you examine the episodes closely, she’s just a smart, strategic and understanding leader.
to add, even if she is jealous, I dont think she’s desperate enough to do this, and how the heck can she make another tenshi?
Because the blogosphere insists on comparing Yurippe to Haruhi, and one of the themes of Angel Beats! is to twist expectations of the usual viewers of these sort of shows.
In short, of course she couldn’t “spawn” another Tenshi. Not by herself, that is. If there was a Big Bad, it’s more likely someone manipulating things behind the scenes. Though it’s more likely Angel Beats! isn’t a shonen or an RPG, and there most likely won’t be a Final Boss to fight.
The interesting thing would be if Ranade is all of the bad stuff in Kanade, leaving the current Kanade as the extra-goodie-two-shoes Kanade who won’t even leave class for Mapo Tofu. I figure like most series with lots of befriending, there will be some bad guy behind the scenes that all the early bad guys and good guys will unite against.
Her desire is to do DPs? Oh my Kabi-tan. Oh my. (was going to add a link but it’s so NSFW)
Whatever the reason for the 2nd Kanade, I bet it’s a dumb explanation that will become clear very soon.
I’ve never been a fan of the ‘suicide theory’, and I was happy about his story. I really think there’s other explanations for all of this. Then again the series could seriously troll us and end the last episode with seeing Kanade disappear and that’s that.
It took me a while to figure out what you were saying. That is just terrible!
Clearly all of Otonashi’s past troubles stemmed from his emo-hair. Once he cut the hair it was a clear path to a fulfilling life!
It was really shaggy in the back; he looked like Ein towards the end of Phantom.
I don’t want to lie to you… when I saw Key retelling the goddamn same old sob story they always tell (male lead attached to moeblob with KeyAids, leading to a sad sad scene where she’s dying in the snow), I wanted to strangle a kitten.
Seriously, how can Key possibly retell the same bullshit after all this time? For the love of god, haven’t Air, Kanon (2x) and Clannad (2x) been enough? I was always chuckling when our timer founded the “Anti-Key” club for this pretentious and repetitious nonsense, but lord knows that when I got the same crap once again in AB7, I just HAD to join.
Goddammit, Key. You should take a lesson from the subtlety of White Album. Instead of delivering the same old so blatantly like a kick into the teeth.
Because it’s Jun Maeda? Jason’s joke about his psychiatrist aside, I think he just likes familiar motifs… It’s just his happen to be sad girls dying amidst a snowfall.
And LOL at Mai Nakahara voicing Otonashi’s sister. Nagisaaaaaaaa!
Subtlety of White Album like when Akira got run over?
Ranade is rather curious. It kind of makes me wonder what exactly Kanade is. Agreed with the first poster about yuri twincest potential too. That’d be nice.
Anyways, love the yaoi moments.
Great episode really enjoy this show each week, nice to see Otonashi’s story very sad indeed. And now there are two Angels its getting interesting now, so looks like ones evil and ones good? or something like that. Wonder if its a heaven and hell thing Ranade being the devil? -shrug- I could be looking to deep into the show xD
And LOL at Mai Nakahara voicing Otonashi’s sister. Nagisaaaaaaaa! — this made me laugh a bit xD
Where to begin…
@ Zyl nicely put man, in light of what’s happened, it doesn’t look like the majority of students here died of suicide. Yuri’s death however is still the mysterious, and where we lack the most detail. Yuzuru also strikes up a bunch of questions. I know its possible to lose parts of your memory if you bump your head, but to lose it in the afterlife is still pretty questionable. Why exactly is his memories the only one that were lock away?
@ amado I’m not sure if Yuri can be excused from being suspicious. She seems to know more than what she’s letting on. If not, she’s pretty good at predicting the enemies movements.
@ Halfadeckshort, wow I really did think she put on a charade to make Kanade to look bad. To see two Tenshis was just too bizarre for me. I really don’t know what kanade is anymore, a computer program, or a game’s AI.
This just throws all my theories for a loop. Now this “Ranade” just complicates things. She’s definitely the darkness in Kanade’s heart or some twisted part. And it has all of her attacks. These turn of events must mean Kanade lost her binary powers…probably not, but I’m really in the mood to see a battle between the two.
It’s definitely possible that suicide was not involved and Yuri was telling the truth. It just seems odd that all the previous deaths were glossed over. It could be a statement that the actual act of dying was not as important as the experience of living a miserable life.
A very interesting episode, to say the least… The most important developments would be the revelation of Otonashi Yuzuru’s past life; and more importantly the cause of his death- the appearance of “Ranade” is also significant, but it raises more questions than it answers; thus is not a revelation. I will touch on that later.
So to begin with Yuzuru’s past. We now know that he had a little sister named Hatsune who was stricken with a certain unmentioned terminal illness, and eventually died of it. This drove him to work hard and get admitted into medical school, in order help others like her. Yet on the way to the first day of school, he was involved in a (fatal?) train accident, all at once destroying his dreams, and his reason to live- right before he could even begin fulfilling his dreams.
There are three reasons why the revelation of Yuzuru’s past is so important. The first and most obvious is simply because it’s the back story of the main protagonist, which is always an important focal point in any story; the revelation of his first name only adds to this.
The second reason why this is so significant is because it is the first time they actually revealed a character’s cause of death (Or, if we hold fast to the Matrix-world speculation, cause of a “comatose state”). Because Yuzuru “died” in a train crash, we are now able to confirm (Although with questionable certainty) Yuri’s statement from early episodes that no one in this world committed suicide. Yuzuru was able to remember his cause of death, which means that everyone else can probably remember theirs too; perhaps they were simply too ashamed to tell him about it- and if they can remember, it is very likely that they’ve told Yuri, who was the first of them to arrive in that world, and is their beloved leader. [Yet I say this with “questionable certainty” because there is still the possibility that they actually COULDN’T remember their cause of death (due to mental trauma, etc.), and Yuzuru remembering it was simply a side effect of Ayato’s hypnosis.] At any rate, we now know that suicide is unlikely to be the main cause of death for the characters in this show (unless Team Maeda decides to pull a fast one on us at the ending). The most plausible explanation of the purpose of this world (as of now, I think) is that it is “limbo” for dead (or comatose) souls with broken dreams, made to help them pass on; the cause of death is not an issue.
The final, most significant part of this revelation is one that may not be immediately obvious, but the Production Team seems to have put quite a bit of focus upon it. The only way this can be observed is by comparing Yuzuru’s back story to those previously revealed. When this is done, you will find one GLARING difference between Yuzuru and the other characters. It is that Yuzuru had already once before lost his raison d’être (that, is when his sister Hatsune died)- however, unlike the other characters who basically threw in the towel after having -their dreams dashed/losing their reason to live- for the first time, Yuzuru is able to move on and find a NEW reason to live, that is to become a doctor and help others like his little sister. It is here that he is killed/rendered comatose SUDDENLY in a train crash- without the onset of any despair. Yuzuru is the lone existentialist surrounded by fatalists. And I think his role in the story will be to teach his peers that you can always find a reason to live, whether in this messed up world, or the real one- most likely this will end with a friendship/romance kind of reason.
Here is a theory on the purpose of this world (and let me stress, it’s only a THEORY; what I consider most possible to be true at the moment, with the given evidence.):
This world, be it digital or metaphysical (Let’s call it “the system” from now on) was created for the purpose of helping the dead/comatose with broken dreams to move on into the afterlife. These unfortunate souls cling onto their broken dreams, refusing to pass on, so the system was created by (God?/A mad scientist?) in order to allow them to eventually find some kind of fulfillment and pass away peacefully. This is what the system was “programmed/set” to do. The normal (Or at least, intended) progression of anyone who enters the system is to eventually find fulfillment and be able to peacefully pass on, truly “dying.”
However, the creator of the system, (whoever that may be) -did not take into account/opposes for a metaphysical reason- the possibility that its subjects may actually find a NEW reason to live during their time within it. Thus any actions towards this goal are also considered to be rebellion (by default) and put down. “Putting down” anyone attempts to oppose the system’s programming/intended progression is done through its moderator/overseer figure, a model “inmate” elevated to the position of student body president. The criterion for selection is compliance; one that submits to the will of the system and is able to serve as a role model. For a long time, this position was held by Kanade. She is ousted when the SSS deceives the system into believing that she has begun to rebel- by doctoring her test papers. So the system goes to its last viable alternative, which was Ayato Naoi. But then he too is converted by Yuzuru Otonashi, the existentialist wildcard.
So now the system no longer has anyone to fall back upon/use (from among it’s captives, anyways) as an agent of regulation. And here is where “Ranade” comes in. The system is desperate for a means of regulation in order to maintain its programming, thus it creates one for this purpose. It creates this entity in the image of its first overseer, Tachibana Kanade. Thus Ranade is formed, and she is very probably an avatar/representative of the system’s “mind”/God. And she (the system itself) will be the main antagonist for the remainder of the show. Most likely the Angel Beats will end with the SSS triggering some kind of system breakdown through their rebellion which -might- allow them to return to the world of the living.
Well, that’s just my speculation; at least it’s the way I would write the rest of the story, given where it’s at now.
Aside from that, there’s still the slight possibility that Kanade is not really human- very unlikely, but I wouldn’t completely put it behind me until they actually give some concrete confirmation of her humanity- like a back story.
World, not a physical one, for this I also think it is more likely that this is a metaphysical one for this one reason: If it were a digital world, it would be impractical, if not impossible to find and collect dead/near-dead people with broken dreams to put them into the system. If this were a metaphysical world, then this problem is solved- any such people would be sent there automatically.
We’ll just have to wait and see what everything in this show is really about, but I don’t really think I’m wrong about Yuzuru being different from the others in that way (As in an existentialist among fatalists), and I’m pretty certain that it’ll be crucial to the plot.
Interesting, although I disagree with the speculation about Ranade. I think it’s just another one of Kanade’s abilities to spawn a clone of herself. For all we know, Ranade might not even be evil; Yuri can be kinda an ass sometimes. Maybe she had it coming. Maybe Ranade was about to disappear and Yuri was the closest student she could beat up. There’s too much unknown about Kanade now to make defensible speculations, but I’m sure the EKG and music will play a critical role in the next few episodes.
If anything, Yuzuru has the most reason to be pissed. He got screwed twice! He wasn’t even depressed at the end and he still got screwed! Maybe I am just a skeptical person, but I’m not sure I believe Yuruzu or Yuri completely. Then again, we’re running out of episodes for a believable plot twist, so maybe it wasn’t suicide. So unless Yuzuru was lying about becoming uber-student, he probably wouldn’t have had any reason to off himself. It’d be awesome if we saw the scene again except that outside the train was Yuri and a bunch of her goons blowing the train over to steal everyone’s acceptance forms.
Did anyone quite notice the marvelous resemblance of CLANNAD Afterstory when Otonashi brought out his little sister Hatsune to the Christmas celebration and she died in the snow? Well, not quite literally In the snow like afterstory, but you understand! I absolutely loved Kanade, undoubtedly my favorite character even before I could watch the second episode, I knew she would be my favorite. I liked Kotomi a lot in CLANNAD, so I wonder if that has anything to do with it. I really felt horrible at the the Great ending of this anime because something similar happened to me… But that isn’t something I need to look back on, I guess. You can tell that this is work of Key, of Visual arts, the wonderful quality and music, and unique storyline. I hope I didn’t offend anyone, so please take my words and reply your opinion!
“All I ever wanted was to hear ‘arigatou’”…