Angel Beats Episode 12: FINAL EPISODE

Angel Beats! is over.

Time for tears people!

Did I really just type that? I did and it is really sad. It seems like just like yesterday the series started and everyone was excited. But at the same time I feel as if this show had so much left to show us and it can’t possibly be over. Mixed emotions are mixed!

So here we have it. The end of a series that has sparked fans, haters, and people merely along for the confused ride. On with the show for the last time!
(I want to see the not shown episode NOW XO)

Yuri has lost her mind. What a great way to start this episode.

Episode Summary: Yuri wakes up and sees Hinata, Otonashi, Naoi, and Tenshi. It appears when Yuri met with her dead siblings she had a complete personality change and has turned into super shy cute girl. She acts like a moron as everyone guesses that she has found personal peace. After admitting to that HORRIBLE fact the 5 march to the gym. Otonashi explains very nonchalantly that everyone else, even Takamatsu, has moved on. Oh that’s good. And life moves on apparently. They go to the gym where the 4 (while Yuri was unconscious) set up their graduation ceremony. For the 5 of them. Because everyone else is gone and not in this episode. After Yuri has another personality spaz attack they sing the Battlefront song which Tenshi wrote. It is about her favorite food. Naoi and Hinata almost bond over hating the song. But Yuri loves her song because now they are best friends!! Next Hinata dresses up as an old man and hands out their diplomas (Otonashi gives Hinata his). Otonashi gives a speech about his time in this world and how all of his friends have touched him. He cries a bit. We see brief scenes of an empty school and personal stuff the rest of the SSS guys left behind. They sing another random song and the ceremony is over.

That will do pig. That'll do.

Naoi says goodbye to Otonashi first while crying. Then he poofs into nothing. Yuri then turns to Tenshi and says that she regrets not being friends with her while in this world. Then she poofs. Hinata turns to Otonashi and thanks him for helping all the other members poof home. The boys share a moment and Hinata disappears. Otonashi and Tenshi go outside and suddenly Otonashi has lost his damn mind. He wants to STAY in this world so when new kids come they can help them find their way home. Tenshi is like no you crazy pants. But Otonashi is like OH I LOVE YOU TENSHI. Tenshi reveals the reason she is in this world is because when Otonashi died she got his heart and she regrets never being able to meet him. So this apparently means the next time Otonashi tells her that he loves her she will poof. Otonashi starts crying because he wants to stay in this world but he says he loves you to Tenshi and she disappears. He cries and cries and then the credits roll and you are like OH CRAP did that really just happen?! Then in the real world a Tenshi look alike is humming one of Iwasawa’s songs as an Otonashi look alike walks by. He recognizes the song and runs after her. THE END!

Truly the end people. :(

That’s it people. Game over (except for that missing episode). And…well I feel a bit disappointed and empty inside.

Or the love triangle was Otonashi and Yuri trying to get Tenshi...

The love triangle angle never happened between OtonashixYurixTenshi. The most prevalent love triangle was OtonashixNaoixHinata. And that is like 75 percent truth and 25 percent yaoi fangirl wishing. Yuri never made a pass at Otonashi, she was not vying for his love, and in the end not very important to Otonashi. This makes me feel weird.

What am I seeing people?!

Yes it is weird. Weird how Yuri really didn’t have main character status this entire series. I thought the show was going to revolve around her but truly the central characters were Otonashi and Tenshi with Hinata for support and Yuri almost being the enemy at times. In her final moments she said goodbye to Tenshi while everyone else said goodbye to Otonashi. Who knows how long Yuri has been in this world hating on Tenshi but the few…weeks (being generous here) that Yuri stopped trying to blow Tenshi up apparently meant a lot to her.

Oh. So the writers are coming right out and saying they hate us. Awesome.

OR Yuri had a complete personality change and turned into a crazy person. Seriously. We had 12 episodes of Yuri being a hard ass and she turns into a giggly girl who acts like the world saw her panties? Why can’t she be the hard ass who finally has been able to move on from the awful event in her life? I don’t get the point with completely changing her character. Maybe I could see her being a bit softer but she almost acted embarrassed that she got over the fact that her three siblings died. I just don’t understand.

A beautiful song about...food. Amazing.

Hinata and Naoi were more in character. They bickered a bit and bonded a bit which was nice to see. Both recognized that it was Otonashi that made their leaving possible. Well at least Naoi anyway as Otonashi is the reason Hinata stayed. But I think they were true to themselves and took part in the silly ceremony to make Otonashi happy which makes me happy.

How is anyone's heart beating THEY ARE DEAD?! Also this is creepy.

I don’t know how I feel about Tenshi having Otonashi’s heart. I am not sure if that was totally unnecessary or sweet. Either way it confused me as Tenshi was in the world FIRST and Otonashi was the last person to arrive in crazy land of dead people. In any event it gives Tenshi a reason why to stick around in this world but I find it all too magical that she KNEW it was Otonashi.

Or how about NO?!

The biggest WTF of the whole show, the entire series really, was Otonashi…WANTING TO STAY BEHIND! After all he has been through he, the person who was okay with his life, wants to stay in crazy land. Oh I get the sentiment of wanting to help other people. I’m okay with that. But it came across as creepy asking Tenshi to because she has gone through so much in this world. Why would you want to put her through anymore?

GO WITH HER MORON!

Then when he realizes Tenshi doesn’t want to stay he still does?! WTF! You love this girl, hold hands and move on together. I get that you want to stay and help people because you are a good person. But like Yuri you have done enough. You can’t be responsible for every lost soul. You saved your share. Now is the time for you to move on with your love. You do not CRY as she disappears and you are left behind. WHAT WAS THE POINT??! Don't you want to be with everyone?!

WTF?! This is not a happy ending?!

Then the credit appear but backwards. Instead of Yuri being the first one (or last one in backwards land) it is Otonashi that is left behind and there was screaming at the computer screen. You seriously did not just do that!

This is all I get?! SERIOUSLY?!

But in the last thirty seconds of the episode a new Tenshi (relatively the same age as the last Tenshi) is humming Iwasawa’s song and the new Otonashi remembers it and chases after her. OH OKAY PEOPLE! All is better now because we threw you a tiny bone….I guess I should be happy Otonashi isn’t all alone in that world right?

So…I want to say that I am happy with the ending. But I’m not. We didn’t see everyone all happy in this new life. We never saw how anyone but Otonashi died. We only saw 5 back stories the entire series when the cast was pretty big. Oh and Takamatsu gets to move on too so we get a happy ending. Not that it gets explained or anything, he just gets to leave too despite being a NPC. GOOD TO KNOW PEOPLE.

Um...the group was actually meant to ATTACK Tenshi Yuri. You are forgetting that fact...

So yeah. I am disappointed. I think this episode could have been better. I do love the series as a whole (despite the problems with a HUGE cast, flip flop enemies of the week, and random direction) but this last episode didn’t do the series justice. It felt too empty with just seeing 5 people move on, 2 of which weren’t with the gang from the very beginning. Too much time was spent on the stupid ceremony and not the kids moving on with their lives. They were in that world for a reason and I don’t think they could magically move on so quickly. I wanted to see more tears, more raw emotions, and less stupid songs.

Would I recommend this series to someone? Of course. It was pretty amazing despite this last episode. And I did get my happy ending even if it was BRIEF and didn’t include the entire cast. I am a sucker for a happy ending so it gets my vote automatically. But it is not going on my best anime of all time list. It just can’t with so many unanswered questions. Unless the 14 episode is super amazing or something.

I feel like a bad fan. I really do love Angel Beats! Almost all the characters were likable. But I think with more focus the series would have been stronger and if the ending had more real world moments and not a 30 second teaser it would be happier. But…everyone is happy now so I guess I should be too. I am glad these kids were able to move on from the horrible things in their life. And in the end the show was really about Otonashi saving them rather than the battle or the enemies.

In closing…I was wrong. The kids were dead the entire time. GO ME.

See ya on the flip side!