Angel Beats Episode 3

Out of the loop here, what is that suppose to be?

Is this work week almost over? I swear the last few days all I have done is sleep and work. Bleh.

No! This is a happy Angel Beats post. It is my calm before the storm. I will accept that work will be meh tonight and cherish my moments with Angel Beats before I am subjected to hell. Hell I say.

Be gone negative. Bring on the positive and the fun. Spoilers and speculation for Angel Beats episode three. A lot of speculation actually. And a lot of singing!

Well that was drama free....

Episode Summary: Iwasawa plays a new song that she wrote for the SSS but Yuri says that a ballad would not make for a good distraction. Otonashi apparently was not paying attention during episode 1 and has to be explained that the Girls Dead Monster is a band that the SSS uses to get the NPC kids out of the way why they fight Tenshi. Iwasawa handles the rejection pretty well and the meeting continues. Yuri wants to break into Tenshi’s strong hold and hack her secrets. She has enlisted the help of a computer genius who likes to be referred to as Christ. Otonashi is a bit of a freak thinking about where Tenshi lives. But he is dedicated to the cause and practices with his weapon. He stops briefly as he sees Yui, a crazy Girls Dead Monster fan, hanging up fliers. She seems happy to be doing her part and skips away.

I can't even play the recorder! X_x Such talented kids.

Otonashi takes another break when he hears the Girls Dead Monster practicing. Iwasawa joins Otonashi in the hallway and tells him her sad back story when she learns that Yuki already revealed hers. Iwasawa had a pretty crummy home life. One day the songs of a musician inspire her to find escape and with the help of an abandoned guitar Iwasawa starts finding herself. She plays on street corners and works odd jobs to reach her dreams of being a singer. But during one of her parent’s fights Iwasawa is injured and is unable to sing again. Iwasawa is called away before she can tell Otonashi how she died. The plan takes place later that night. The Girls Dead Monster plays their distracting concert while the SSS break into Tenshi’s room (which is just a normal room to Otonashi’s dismay). The concert is nearly shut down but Iwasawa breaks away to get her old guitar and plays her rejected ballad. This gives Christ enough time to hack into Tenshi’s systems. At the end of the song Iwasawa realizes that she has found something and with a peaceful smile she disappears. Yuki claims it is because that Iwasawa has accepted Tenshi’s way of thinking but Otonashi thinks differently. Yuki has a lot on her plate though as the data shows that Tenshi might not have any special powers at all and there is in fact no god. The end!

Yuri needs this all to be true or she loses her reason to live.

This episode was all about Iwasawa. Of course she tells her sad back story to Otonashi. People often tell their sad back story to strangers they just met after all. But I am not going to snark Iwasawa’s sad and brief life. I guess coming from an abusive family is more typical than having three of your siblings randomly murdered. An easy cop-out but it is a story that many kids can relate to. The teenager finds something to immerse themselves in while them home life goes to crap. A very relatable story.

This could have two different meanings...

So while Iwasawa’s past was very sad (especially the part where her escape gets taken away by the same fighting she tries to run away from) that wasn’t the real focus of the story. At least not for me anyway. Something all the kids share in this world is that they are all dead. But instead of telling Otonashi about how they died they are telling Otonashi sad events that happened in their lives. Now I am sure it is possible that Iwasawa did die from complications due to the concussion. But I don’t think that’s what happened.

Maybe Otonashi will believe my theory.

What I think happened was Iwasawa woke up in that hospital room and was unable to sing. She was filled with thoughts that she was never going to reach her dreams of escaping her home life and becoming a successful singer/musician. And then Iwasawa took a flying leap off the hospital roof to her death.

But Tenchi Yuri said in the last episode that people who commit suicide aren’t in this world. Well that is if you believe Yuri. Or if you believe that these kids are actually dead.

Despite her disappearing this scene was really pretty.

This might be too early to speculate but since Iwasawa disappeared already and it was only episode 3 I think Angel Beats wants us to start thinking these theories. Iwasawa’s last words are “Finally I found it” before she disappears. What I think she found was a reason to keep on living. As in she tried to commit suicide and she is in this world to get a second chance at life. Yuri thinks that they are accepting life Tenshi’s way but really Iwasawa is going back to the real world because she wants to fight there.

Are you just getting that now...?

Is this even possible? We all know that Tenshi is not really a bad guy, even before her comment “I guess I am a the bad guy”. She is trying to maintain order and it is revealed that she doesn’t have god-like powers like Yuri thought she did. There is speculation that Tenshi might be like the others but is trying to help them reach the real world again. I rather think that Tenshi is in charge of this world but is still trying to guide them.

Hello big glaring hint!

But there are other hints too. Such as the logo for this show. I commented before that it looked like a heart monitor. As in all these kids are still alive but they must make the decision to leave this angry world of regret and rage and go back to a tough world with a stronger resolve. There is also the fact that two people have told Otonashi their sad back story but have neglected to tell him the most important issue at hand: how they died. Why would they open up that much and skip the factor that ties them together? Of course it doesn’t explain why Yuri lied about the suicide issue if she did in fact lied but hey. My theories aren’t perfect. Just throwing that out there.

Will we still have this energy now that Iwasawa is gone?

That all being said…the amount of music in this series is wow. Or the quality is wow. Maybe both. More than K-On!! at this point I should say. XD That might change now that Iwasawa is all poofy but it made the episode fun. It also made the episode feel a bit short but I think thing singing revealed more about Iwasawa than what Iwasawa said about herself.

Someone else is not impressed...

I think the mission to Tenshi’s room was a bit lame. Especially given the fact they found something. I often keep my super secret information on a computer when I know determine kids are out to get me. That and if Tenshi is really the ruler of this world does she really need to document her abilities and stuff? But if Tenshi is less than special and more like Yuri I guess keeping records makes a bit more sense. I don’t think much will happen with the knowledge they gained about Tenshi today. But when things starts coming together in Otonashi’s mind he will bring these issues up to Yuri so she will face reality.

Tiny fan girl is tiny but cute.

Yui and Christ were just bleh for me. Well more bleh on Christ and oh look Yui is a crazy fangirl. Maybe if Yui had more reasoning behind why she loves Girls Dead Monster Band. Christ was just annoying. Was not a fan of his self inflated ego.

Threatening people makes them work harder true facts!

But I really enjoyed this episode. And all my crazy theories. I hope that I am right because being wrong is no fun. That and I don’t want the kids to actually be dead. I realize that they have the chance of being reincarnated but I like them the way they are now and I want them to find happiness in this life. XD If one can after all that sadness of course. Good series is great and I hope everyone is excited about the series. That and it’s not a Haruhi fest every week now is it?