source Edited with CanvaI'm happy to finally be able to write again in The Anime Realm community after two months ago I posted an isekai anime that I like, called Mushoku Tensei Season 2 Link Post, and some time ago I saw that the Anime Realm community appeared with a new face that was fresher and more active in providing support to members. This time I will take part in contest #1 held by The Anime Realm, namely writing about my favorite anime of all time which can be written with a minimum of 250 words in English. For other conditions, you can read in detail at The Anime Realm Contest #1: My Favorite Anime.
I started watching anime in middle school and I have tried watching almost all anime genres, both famous and not, I still watch because I believe that each anime has its essence, and even though many people have negative comments, I still watch it. Discussing favorite anime, there are several titles that I think are difficult to forget and the stories always remain in my mind because until now there has been no anime that can make me cry, sad, and happy because I feel the message conveyed by this anime so deeply. The anime is "Angel Beats!".
Angel Beats! As far as I remember, it was released in 2010, and I just watched it in 2016, at that time I was filling my free time after completing assignments at college and randomly downloaded this anime without first reading the synopsis or reviews from other people because the reason I watched it initially was just to entertain myself, and it turns out that after watching the anime Angel Beats to the end I felt entertained in a painful but happy way.
sourceThe story of this anime begins with a man who wakes up and realizes that he is no longer in this world but has been in the afterlife, A man named Otonashi Yuzuru realizes that he has died and a girl named Nakamura Yuri appears and says that Otonashi is in the world after death. Yuri is the leader of the Shinda Sekai Sensen (SSS) group which has a mission to fight a Tenshi (angel) named Tachibana Kanade, after saying that the Tenshi appeared carrying a weapon, Otonashi who didn't believe what Yuri said went up to the Tenshi and he was immediately shot dead without having time to do anything.
sourceOtonashi then joins the SSS to defeat Tenshi while finding out the mysteries that exist in the world after death, this is where the "Slice of Life" storyline begins which makes me not expect this story to be like this.
I thought this anime was about a man who rose from the dead and then joined the SSS group to fight Tenshi (angels), I imagined this anime was related to weapons, strategy, or friendship, but it turns out it's more than that.
sourceEach episode of this anime provides stories about the past experiences of SSS members, what led them to death, life stories, and unfinished dreams that touched me. Otonashi was finally able to reveal why these people were in the world after death, the answer was that while they were alive some dreams or ambitions had not been fulfilled, and they died first. Each SSS (Shinda Sekai Sensen) member has a tragic story when they were faced with death, some were killed in an accident, seriously ill, and several other tragic deaths that made the audience shed tears.
Otonashi, who already understands the situation, tries to help his colleagues in the SSS to fulfill their dreams in the world after death, people in this "Afterlife world" will disappear after their dreams come true, and because of that, Otonashi feels sad when he sees his comrades in the SSS have to disappear. But they disappeared in a happy state, and the audience's emotions played out in each episode, I felt happy because they worked very unitedly as a team and helped to the maximum so that their colleagues' wishes in life could come true.
I cried a little when I wrote this because I remembered how this anime taught me many life lessons, especially from Otonashi, who was willing to die to save other people, it made an impression in the depths of my heart. Now that it is 2023, I still clearly remember how the anime Angel Beats! really touched me from start to finish, even though many people commented that this anime was confusing, the plot was unclear, etc. For me, it doesn't bother me at all, and I don't even care about it, I just started reading people's comments about this anime before I wrote this.
sourceThe visuals of this anime are very eye-catching, and if you watch it nowadays you won't notice that this is an anime from the 2010s. Another thing that makes me unable to forget the aspect of the Angel Beats anime is the ending song, I still clearly remember the soundtrack by Lisa (Risa Oribe), a singer who is called the goddess of anime soundtracks. The song titled Ichiban no takaramono adds a sad and happy impression at the end of the episode, the deep meaning of Ichiban no takaramono (the most valuable treasure) makes us continue to be grateful and appreciate our lives, the people we love, and other people. Because when we die, we cannot go back to the time we lived before, so appreciate time and life while it's still there.
source