angel beats 10
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“I’ll marry you.”
Great episode. I mean it. When Hinata stepped up to the plate and passionately confessed his love for Yui, it was awesome, on par with Simon rescuing Nia and the Nintendo 64 kid. I’m pretty sure it was the episode, but it might have been my allergies, but it was just so sweet to see Hinata and Yui fall in love in the real world. Sigh. This is how I expect Sword Art Online to end with Kirito eventually finding Asuna. The new insert song (Little Braver) combined with the pretty sunset also helped the mood.
But. Um.
Wait, I thought they were all dead?! Yui’s not dead? Somehow, she can influence the world in which she’s not dead and bring Hinata along for the ride? Come on. We’re two episodes from the end, and the rules are being redefined as if Sunrise were involved. The only way the story now makes sense is if the people weren’t dead but living a parallel life a la Lost… except… as we’ve seen from Araragi’s, Hinata’s, and Iwasawa’s stories, they are dead. Okay, let’s assume that Yui’s and Hinata’s happy montage at the end was just a fictional montage, where does it leave the plot? Yui fulfilled her wish, hence she disappears. But Hinata stays? You’d think that him finding his true love would trump missing a fly ball.
(If you didn’t see Hinata and Yui coming, you haven’t watched enough Saved by the Bell. They’re a classic AC Slater/Jessie Spano couple. I would go more into this topic except I already overdosed on Saved by the Bell references in the prior K-On!! post.)
And why is it bad that they disappear? At some point, it was purported that they think they would be re-incarnated as something bad. From all that’s happened, this is not the case. Everyone finds contentment and peace and moves on.
Still, it’s an episode that injected a lot of questions when we should be getting answers. In this respect, Angel Beats is the anime analogue of Lost.
I don’t think Angel Beats is bad. It’s enjoyable. The animation is great (for the quality complainers, you do realize they are using Jun Maeda’s art style which isn’t the greatest… Kyoto went away from it for Clannad and Kanon), the music is great, the story is classic Jun Maeda. The sad stories with a happy ending at the very end? Check. The ultradespair scenarios? Check. The magic? Check. The resolution via sports? Check.
(Can’t believe how many people in Key’s fictional universe have been redeemed by baseball. It’s unfathomable. I can’t wait for his next work about a pitcher getting screwed out of a perfect game by a bad call and then getting redeemed by a magical force. Knowing Jun Maeda… the star would be the umpire, not the pitcher.)
My problem is that it’s episode ten. Shit should be wrapping up. We should be thinking about wiping our asses, flushing, and washing our hands at this point– not introduce new wrinkles to the plot. Is Araragi seriously going to solve everyone’s (sports-related) problems in the next sixty minutes? I would feel better knowing if Angel Beats!! is happening next winter season for a 26 episode engagement. Right now… if the story is supposed to conclude… it’s not going to be pretty.
I have another problem in that no new students have been introduced. Shouldn’t new dead people join the old dead people? And, yes, if Angel Beats were lost, then Angel would be the Hurley-like gatekeeper at the end.
I did enjoy the montage. Loved how Yui insisted that Hinata help her mom with taking care of her when the only taking care of Yui that we’ve seen is her mom giving her a nakkid sponge bath. But it was sweet. Hinata vowing to break windows until one flew into Yui’s room was like Tomoya telling Nagisa that, no, things wouldn’t have been better if they never met. So what if Nagisa’s dead? So what if Ushio’s dead? His life was still better for brief time they were together than it would have been without. He was willing to do all of that again. Crap, did I slip into Clannad mode? Come on, name me one Hollywood TV series as compelling from a redemption standpoint as Clannad? Or even one Hollywood series with as straight of a narrative. That’s one thing I really like about anime– stories that have an actual beginning, middle, and end. I just hope Angel Beats is one of those stories.
(Araragi could have agreed to marry Yui… but he hesitated! It’s because he’s saving himself for Naoi, and you can’t convince me otherwise.)
If you rank Yui against the Clannad haremettes in terms of baseball playing abilities, she would rank between Sunohara and Kotomi-chan. Not great, as Sunohara sucks, and Kotomi-chan only got a lucky bloop single (that ended in a Sunohara double play).
Enjoyed the guitar confiscation scene… who knew it would eventually be ruined because Yui really can’t play guitar?
(You know her problem? She doesn’t have a cute name for her guitar. It’s true… guitars with cute names sound 60% better than guitars without cute names.)
A few thoughts on the German suplex…
1. Onizuka-sensei would be proud.
2. Who screams the move being done to them? Hearing Araragi scream, “GERMAN SUPLEX!” as he gets owned is like hearing Anti-spirl scream, “GIGADRILL BREAK!” as Simon penetrates him.
3. Who wouldn’t want to be German suplexed by a cute schoolgirl wearing a miniskirt with some interesting garter belts?
4. Too bad she didn’t do a Stone Cold Stunner.
So let me get this straight… Araragi’s goal is to make Yurippe disappear, and to this do, he’s making Yui disappear. Coupled with Iwasawa leaving and Hinata not being able to leave… I get it! Araragi is trying to get all the girls to leave so there would be no one left at the school except the men! And then he could broach the idea of a huge gay orgy without it seeming weird. “You know, we all have urges, and the girls have all gone, so…”
OTL.
(We’ll know for sure if Shinra or the hawt bassist are the next in line to disappear. But, come on, is it coincidence that the two cute leads for Girls Dead Monster were the first two to go? And is being lead for Girls Dead Monster equivalent to being kissed by Yoko? What happens if Yoko becomes lead for GirlsDeMo? Is it like crossing the streams in Ghostbusters? I want to know.)
And good job PA Works and Jun Maeda in clipping Girls Dead Monster again. Sigh. I can’t wait for their next lead… Azu-nyan!
(When Hisako mentioned that maybe they should recruit a rhythm guitar, don’t tell me that you didn’t not not think of Azu-nyan. Quadruple negatives 4tw!)
Angel’s acting was awesome in this scene. She’s like the cute anime girl version of Keanu Reeves.
“DON’T LET ME CRY!”
OMFG! An actual attempt at a conversation with TK! And he says more words than I’m willing to type! The best being…
“KISS YOU!”
Araragi: “That’s the spirit!”
I cheered at gym clothes Yui and her ponytail.
I like when Yui asked Araragi why he’s interested in her dreams, and he does a classic tsundere move in, “If you don’t want to talk about it, it’s fine with me.” And she tells him. Andohbytheway, with someone as connected and as observant as Yurippe, wouldn’t she find out by now that Araragi and Yui were sneaking off? And that Araragi was having secret liasons with Angel?
(Another thing I liked about this scene… Yui just completely blew off practice to have an iced coffee with Araragi.)
41 Responses to “angel beats 10”
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“What happens if Yoko becomes lead for GirlsDeMo?”
.
Doesn’t such an event transform her into Kana Minami, and thus resulting in the Breaking of All Peoples?
I had the impression that Hinata made up the confession to Yui because he knew what Otonashi was up to and decided to help. The events leading up to episode 10 didn’t convince me that Hinata loved Yui that much, but in all honestly that stuff is irrelevant.
>So let me get this straight… Araragi’s goal is to make Yurippe disappear, and to this do, he’s making Yui disappear.
Wasn’t it obvious from the previous episode that Otonashi’s goal was to make everyone disappear, and that in episode 10 he said he’d start with Yui because she’d be easy?
>My problem is that it’s episode ten. Shit should be wrapping up.
Yeah, definitely looks like 13 won’t be enough at this point and it’ll run for a second season or something. Bummer.
tears..
I think you missed the point of the end of the episode. Hinata mentioned “I’ll help you until the end”, meaning he knows about Araragi’s (and probably Tenshi’s too) plot to make everyone pass on (much better phrase than dissappear). So, whatever feelings Hinata has for Yui, I’m sure at least 1% or more was an act, and that Hinata’s final desire is not getting married. Also, the montage is purely fictional. It is Hinata trying to spell out to Yui what he could have done in the real world, to make her feel more at peace. Yui is saying they wouldn’t have been able to see each other because of her sickness, then Hinata tells her “I will hit a baseball into your room”, then fall in love with her. Yui, seeing the plausibility of this scenario (however unlikely), then passes on.
lol at slow comment writing.
@anon: agree.
Two words: Starfish Sex
>> “get it! Araragi is trying to get all the girls to leave so there would be no one left at the school except the men! And then he could broach the idea of a huge gay orgy without it seeming weird. “You know, we all have urges, and the girls have all gone, so…â€
OTL.”
This post brought up my sadness again that my favorite character is gone… GONE FOREVER, and now you make jokes? How am I supposed to be depressed and laugh hard out loud at the same time?
But in all seriousness I agree with math4origami, the whole montage scene with Yui and Hinata is fictional, kinda just animating the type of story he and she were making for their next life when they’ll miraculously meet and not know who each other are, fall in love, etc etc..
But I’ve been saying since last episode as well that I have no idea how they’re going to finish this show in 4 more eps (3 now), I don’t like it when such a fantastic show gets rushed… or so I thought but they STILL spent an entire episode on one character, one AWESOME character.
And what Anonymous said about not ending at 13 and getting a second season – that’s a fucking great idea in my opinion, I want more… of course it won’t be the same for me without Yui’s cheeriness around.
Wow, bassist Sekine got spoken lines! Though the drummer spoke first and got more.
Kanade’s bad acting is fantastic. First she forgets the lines about noise complaints to jump straight in with “your guitar playing is killing the band”, prompting a hilarious reaction, and then the oh-co-cute collision and guitar toss.
As math4origami said, I think you watched the episode a bit quickly. For some reason Yui thinks she’ll be bedridden even if she is reborn. Hinata says he’ll find her even if she is. The montage just shows how if could have happened in the last life/could happen in the next. Hinata then says I’ll stick around till the end, since there are still a lot of people he’s worried about here. The thing about the fly ball was that it was directly related to his death, and catching it would have meant he fulfilled the thing he most wanted to in life, where seducing a hyperactive loli may not have been one of his priorities.
A while back (episode 3?) Otonashi had the realisation that the prospect of a bad reincarnation was not what was keeping the SSS-dan there, but that they wanted to rebel against the god that they perceived Tenshi as representing who gave then such sad fates in their last life.
Otonashi’s whole “you didn’t realise?” conversation with Kanade last episode was him realising that in fact disappearing is a good thing, which is why she tried to encourage conformance to the school rules, and that the SSS were wrong. The rest of the members just haven’t realised this, prompting his plan to help them all disappear.
>>Two words: Starfish Sex
Dude… that’s… I mean, that’s just…
Hilarious.
Anyway, I was under the impression that they weren’t actually dead. With perhaps the only exceptions being Arararararagi and Angel. I don’t think we’ve actually seen a confirmed death have we?
Tenshi is awesome, she should be on the American Idol panel. Every gritty comment she makes still sounds sweet.
Just like to point out, it was Na-Ga from Key who did the character designs for AB (also little busters) and not Hinoue who was in that role for Clannad, Kanon, Air … etc. Overall the animation weren’t bad but given all the budget and time they had, you’d expect something better though.
Oh my Oyakata-sama……………..a stone cold stunner would have been soooooooo good!
We still have time!
Maybe I’ve been watching too many Key shows, but this show was really pouring the Key oldies.
Key coffee, anyone? (Vending machine) What about Air’s dinosaur plushie, or Potato plushie? (Bedside dolls)
And, for some odd, really weird reason, I just saw Clannadman in that episode.
13 episodes; 3 episodes to go, and they seem to be introducing a new “shadow” thing. Which, leads me to believe we’ll get a montage end with nothing answered.
Like Lost.
From the look of next episode, I seriously doubt the story will conclude in time… but then again if there’s season 2, it will mean Yui-less season… and she slayed me with that Yui-Nyan pose. (Didn’t see this episode coming at all, I thought Otonashi was going to send Hinata off since Hinata is the only one that he knows what the regret is)
My money (both dollars) on the whole thing not being death but a collective near-death experience where everyone either experiences a peaceful and/or fulfilling enough life to move on or find the will to live again. like jacob’s ladder, except pretty much the complete opposite.
It’s episodes like this that make me upset every time I remember that we only have 13 episodes left. We’re starting to get that story pacing that typically happens when a US show gets canceled with only 4 episodes to go.
That being said, our assumptions on how the mechanics of this particular universe and people’s back stories have already shifted a number of times. I’ve lost track of the number of times Kanade’s switched sides, where Aaragi switched 3 times in the first episode (Yuri makes Aaragi believe she is an enemy, Aaragi believes she’s can’t be, Kanade “kills” him and he switches back.) In fact, Aaragi’s death was first assumed when we saw the train crash, and then when he drops the pen. Likely death? Sure. 100% positive? Well…
It could be possible that everyone is there because of the resistance to their current situation, and rather than going back to continue fighting AND living, they’re trying to move on to a different incaration, since life is so unfair. This world is to show them that there is value and fairness, even in the unfair one that they were living, a sort of It’s a Wonderful Life/Family Man look into the value of friends. Jun Maeda being a huge proponent of friends pulling each other through, you’ll notice that none of the backstory show friends being a huge part of any of their lives (short of Aaragi’s instant disaster friend bro-mance). My guess would be that if all of them disappear, they’ll be rewarded with finding each other in the actual world. Hinata and Yui’s montage is (hopefully) the foreshadowing of that possibility.
Yui is one of my top 3 favorite characters in the series. The genki tomboy clueless girl who not only gave us some wonderful comedic scenes, but did great in her GirlDeMo scenes. I’m not sure how I would rank the different Yui modes that we got: Wrestler Yui, Soccer Yui, Baseball Yui, and Pajama Yui. Hard for me since I love them all!
If you think that Hinata and Yui didn’t get along and get along wonderfully, then you clearly don’t understand or appreciate the thin line between love and hate. Most people you truly hate, you just disassociate from. You never try to correct them, nor do you spend time trying different wrestling holds on them.
With Aaragi as a guide, you may have a regret that brought you to the Battlefield world, but it doesn’t have to be the same one that keeps you there. If Aaragi didn’t have the conversation with Yui during his first trip to the Guild, he might have disappeared as well. It looks like Hinata’s is now staying to help all the friends as well.
That was one pathetic Botan plushie, PA works. I guess Toei isn’t the only studio that can make crap out of Maeda’s works.
Loved how GirlDeMo just stood there dumbfounded as Tenshi took the guitar. Maybe they just didn’t want a psi blade to the gut if they resisted…
BTW, in case you haven’t bothered to learn the names of GirlDeMo, Hisako=guitar, Sekine=bass, Irie=drums.
actually, the montage was more like… an imagination that yui had
@Uesuri
Interesting theory but I wish they’re dead and not in the world between living and the dead, at least for some of them like Iwasawa. Although she realized that her life was not in vain and it had purpose, it would be too cruel to just send her back to live her life without her voice again. Unless, Jun Maeda works his magic (like in Clannad After and his other works) and somehow restores her voice or something.
You know jason, I’m pretty sure your blog wasn’t so gay a couple years ago…. What the fuck happened? The worst of it is, it all seems so natural…
*sigh* Yui was dumb, funny, had interesting garters belts and was bragging about her breasts and now we won’t have any of this awesomeness anymore.
>>And then he could broach the idea of a huge gay orgy without it seeming weird. “You know, we all have urges, and the girls have all gone, so…â€
lmao.
Arararagi is a bastard, he made TK fly after he helped him.
> And is being lead for Girls Dead Monster equivalent to being kissed by Yoko?
It seems a bit more like being the drummer for Spinal Tap.
Hinata proposed to Yui in Otonoashi’s place because he wanted Otonashi all to himself. He couldn’t bear with the thought of Otonashi hooking up with someone else, even in name, so he sacrificed himself to do the deed instead. I was worried for a moment that Angel Beats! wasn’t a boys’ love story anymore, but thankfully Hinata stepped up to the plate.
[blockquote]Atashi: Hinata proposed to Yui in Otonoashi’s place because he wanted Otonashi all to himself. He couldn’t bear with the thought of Otonashi hooking up with someone else, even in name, so he sacrificed himself to do the deed instead. I was worried for a moment that Angel Beats! wasn’t a boys’ love story anymore, but thankfully Hinata stepped up to the plate.
[/blockquote]
I knew someone would bring that up. Yurippe brooks no interference with her BL fantasy as God, and eliminates anti-yaoi pairings ruthlessly. Only Kanade stands between her and total yaoifest ending. Which is why Yurippe kept trying to finish her.
Isn’t Jun Maeda the scenario writer as one of the co-founders of Key? Itaru Hinoue was the artist.
And the complains didn’t really stem from the Key “moeblob” style, but from comparing PA Works with KyoAni. I’m in the camp where the art in Angel Beats! is actually better than their previous series, it’s the pacing of the animation they still have problems with. The flow of the story in visual novels don’t really synch up as a tv show.
While I know this doesn’t do much for the overreaching storyline, I enjoyed this episode a TON from a standalone perspective. Seriously, though, could Kanade be any more cute? I think we’ve established from the latest three or four episodes that she’s quite possibly the most adorable thing since Azunyan and Mio. Come to think of it, I’m pretty sure that if Azunyan and Mio were to bump uglies, Kanade would be the result.
That being said, I will freely admit that Yui’s story and resolution were really close to getting me to bust out in tears. It was such a sad and yet fulfilling story, especially when Hinata came in and did his entire routine. I’m on the fence on if he was faking it or not (the entire hate >> love thing he had going on with Yui), and I’m still trying to figure out when exactly he noticed what Otonashi was trying to accomplish. The end of the episode was the very first time that he had made any mention of it, so I don’t know what’s going on. Obviously, earlier in the episode he definitely looked skeptical at some of Otonashi’s plots, but I guess we’ll see.
I really hope there’s a second season – I really don’t see any real way for there to be any meaningful resolution in the remaining episodes.
I think Jun Maeda is Buddhist. This concept of Otonashi as a saint delaying one’s passage to the next live so he can help others, is just like a Buddhist bodhisattva. There are also themes of karma and reincarnation in all of his works including Air.
Hoooooly shit TK dual-wielding guns frenzy: http://www.angelbeats.jp/story2/ep10.html
I think he finally just became my favorite characters.
My own personal theory is that no one is dead, that this is some sort of strange limbo between life and death. We don’t know how any of them died or even if they died. Guitar-vocalist girl whose name I can’t remember just said she passed on or something which may or may not mean she’s actually dead. They suggest that Hinata and Yurippe died but don’t actually explain how they died or directly address whether they’re dead or not. Likewise with Otonashi.
TK carried out a straightforward conversation! In Japanese! I feel so betrayed. Is there anything left to believe in anymore?
TK is fantastic.
@Giant
It was already shown that TK not only can speak Japanese but doesn’t REALLY know English. Thus his design was VERY carefully made: use a fluent english speaker to play a Japanese man that spouts out horrendous Engrish. They probably have meetings over deciding the most badly grammered phrases they can get away with. It worked and worked WELL.
meanwhile
Yui’s story fits well when you remember a big constant: that it’s not really a ‘wish unfulfilled’ that holds them but something that makes their lives have meaning. The sports goals weren’t REALLY what was stopping her-they were just “the boss you thought was the big boss…but WAIT!” Her true bother was that she would never be loved. She has little to give a husband, little she can do with a husband, a tremendous burden to her, and anyway, she never goes out so Mr. Perfect will never find her. Hinata solved all that in one stroke: He loves her for who she is, doesn’t care if she doesn’t give him children, would help her mother take care of her, and can find her via horrible baseball-related cliche (which works WELL since she’s a big time TV Child). The montage was just showing how it would go down if it DID happen. The Homerun issue showed the final key: Yui doesn’t care that it DIDN’T happen and just wanted it know it COULD: that she could have a chance to try. She knows now that, although unlikely, she COULD’VE found her love and that was enough for her.
Sidenote: I believe Hinata was aiming fully on helping her pass on, but WAS serious overall that he could see himself marrying her. It really is the “They fight alot but they really care” thing.
Last note.
The biggest gripe I’m hearing about this show is that it’ll end too soon. The biggest ‘solution’ is “another season”. Says ALOT for how people think about this show ;).
They’re all comatose patients. When they wake, the dreaming ends. You can relapse into coma. Fits perfectly. I will be proven wrong by the end of this series. I just wasted seconds of your time on this plane of existence. Mohahahaha.
@PhoenixDown: … … I need to contact my drawfag.
my own crazy theory is that they’re getting the chance to rewrite the ending to their lives. That’s why Yui disappeared when she got a happy ending instead of her depressing one and why Araragi didn’t disappear even though he got a resolution, because even though his shitty life had meaning it was still pretty shitty.
and I’m nthing the idea that this is getting another season, I just don’t see how they could fix everything in a few episodes unless they do some kind of deus ex machina and I hope they don’t do that because it would really ruin the show for me.
Honestly, I just don’t want a train wreck ending, so I’m holding out hope that they announce another season. Also I think the end of the episode was what happens when someone in the office says, “we aren’t Lost enough,” and someone replies, “well we could add a smoke monster.”
@dakarian:
TK’s actual English fluency is irrelevant. It’s the principle of the thing. Accept him talking normally today and tomorrow he’ll be not breakdancing – and from there it’s a short but slippery slope to him wearing a three piece suit working 9 to 5 for The Man. And when TK don’t jive no more, what then huh? What then?
then he disappears D:
I think dakarian and others have hit on the theme, which I would summarize in the word “hope”. To disappear from Purgatory High, you have to overcome the despair that brought you there, and all you really need is the hope that things could turn out better. That’s why Hinata’s “flashback” didn’t stop at the dropped catch, but kept going through the aftermath in the locker room to emphasize the despair. It also hints at Yurippe’s issue – it’s not that she died (or not, doesn’t really matter), it’s her feeling of helplessness watching her siblings get butchered. I predict that she will be saved by Otonashi pointing out Something She Could Have Done that gets her out of that hole.
Also, worst case scenario: sometime in the next two episodes we get a five minute Julia-Roberts-Trying-On-Hats-Montage showing Otonashi and Hinata systematically disappearing the other cast members, each one showing two still-frame pans of Their Situation and two of Their Solution, finishing with a return to actual animation for Christ (Otonashi calls him by his nickname and *poof*), then leaving one episode to disappear Yuri in dramatic tear-jerker fashion. Someone needs to start a “1,000,000 People for a Second Season of Angel Beats” facebook petition-group.
I take it not many people watch past the ending credits…?