The second episode in the series; there may be some spoilers. After the first episode introduced the setting and main characters, the second is a bit of a breather. Our protagonist, Otonashi, is still pretty much a spectator this episode, willing to follow Yurippe and her Afterlife Battlefront (SSS) in their combat against Tenshi but with his heart not quite in it. Whereas the previous episode had exposition, this one has action. The Battlefront needs to replenish their ammunition and guns and to do so they have to go underground, to the Guild headquarters where their weapons are made. There’s only one problem.
The anti-Tenshi traps protecting the long way down to the Guild headquarters are still active. Because as it turned out, Tenshi herself is also on her way down. Now the battlefront has no choice but to go on and hope to make it before she catches up, while trying not to die on their own traps. This is mainly an excuse for a bit of slapstick and comedy, as well as giving the chance to develop the various SSS members a bit further through the medium of dying stupidly. After all, death isn’t permanent in this world; just painful.
To no-one’s surprise, it’s Otonashi and Yurippe who survive, which gives Otonashi the opportunity to ask Yuri about why she founded the battlefront, why she’s fighting god. As her answer she gives her backstory, of how one day robbers came to her house and killed her two younger sisters and brother while forcing her to search for valuables her parents had supposedly hidden. It’s that memory, that unfairness that motivates her, which explains why she can go toe to toe with Tenshi, take her on in hand combat in a way nobody else can.
The problem I had with this though is that it’s so over the top it becomes less tragic than ridiculous. It’s too much like a superhero’s origin, too melodramatic. To be honest, the whole episode, while entertaining and moving the plot forward, feels awkward compared to what comes before and after it. Episode three especially will be gut wrenching, knowing what’s coming, while this feels like a filler episode for a longer series — it would’ve made more sense had Angel Beats! been a 26 episode series rather than a 13 episode one. Nevertheless we got some more character development for Otonashi and Yurippe, got a good sense of how dangerous and unstoppable Tenshi is and got some insight in the other Battlefront members. On the whole then this is not a bad episode, just the series having not quite found its feet yet.
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