It's true for everyone, I suppose. For one thing, I'm not a huge fan of idol dramas. I find some of the performances from the popular, young, handsome/beautiful celebrities lacked bite. To be brutally frank, they looked and felt wooden, even though I would acknowledge that they probably have done their best. Not every idol is like that though, and there could be underlying social messages as well as philosophies to be learned just by watching the show...If one isn't too busy gawking and swooning at the beautiful people.
Besides, who am I to say that I judge that they are always unsuitable for acting? Some of them might even go on to become great actors if their potential is developed properly. Never discount a rough diamond just because it doesn't look nice or good. That, of course, applies very much to people who aren't blessed with good looks or apparent talent at first glance.
I happily digressed, yet again. Moving on, this is the anime that I want to talk about:
What does this poster tell you? Not much, really. Depending on your interpretation, it could even be seen as a generic love-triangle story dealing with two girls and the guy shown on the poster, with the gun as the slightest hint of action, albeit comedic, in the show.
That is, of course, until you see the producer.
Maeda Jun is the producer of this little wonder. As some anime fans might note, he is also the producer of super popular hits like Clannad, Air, and Kanon, where the last and first of the mentioned were given revamped shows even, roping in new followers like me.
Being a new follower doesn't mean I am BLIND, you see. Equating followership with blind worship is the worst thing you can do for your own image, because it damages your own credibility in the eyes of others, making people think you are too judgemental and critical. Maeda Jun's works are known to be emotional rollercoasters, taking you from vastly hilarious situations and characters to the more emotional aspect of the show, where he either throws a sudden and powerful emotional curveball at you or slowly dissects the tragic past of certain characters, letting you feel for the characters on a deeper level.
The music and ambience set by the animation team plays a huge part, but what I've heard from tonnes of sensible fans is that even the old games themselves (All visual novels, by the way) made them cry.
Does it sound ridiculous? The skeptic would think so, because they have never even thought of trying it out. Not that it's a sin, of course.
Angel Beats falls comfortably into Jun's category of emotional rollercoasters already, after just 6 episodes. While the premises sounds pretty generic about life after death and the synopsis promises that there will be a lot of gun-toting, barrels ablazing action, I was STILL pleasantly surprised by the deep emotional levels of certain scenes.
The concept of Nirvana can be considered here, of course, that when someone in that world does something they have always wanted to do when they lived, they feel contented and disappear from that world. It doesn't even feel like Jun hesitated in taking away one of the increasingly popular characters just like that in order to progress the story, unlike a certain anime that messes up its story because its fans clamored for a major character to return and whoop the ass of the hated protagonist.
Another thing that hit me was how everyone in that world died a tragic death. This was one of the main things to look forward to whenever I watch an episode: To know how they died and why. Yuri's (female protagonist) situation was so tragic that I actually had to suppress a shudder.
One more interesting fact about the anime is that there seems to be no clear-cut baddies in the show. The people who have tormented our "heroes" (hilariously stupid characters, if I may add) are actually not that bad. The recent one has a rather tragic past of his own as well, and while the conclusion of the episode may seem a little...strange in a sense, it was nonetheless an emotionally powerful scene.
I could go on ranting, but Need to stop here for a bit. Rushing off somewhere you see.
Till next time.
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