Angel Beats 02 - Funniest and Saddest thing I've watched from this season

You have no idea how glad I was to see the hammer making a return.

Episode Summary -

The episode starts out with the gang planning on stocking up on their weaponry resources, meaning a visit to the guild. The only way to get there is through an underground passage full of many traps set to stop Angel if she ever comes by. Unfortunately for the team, Angel is nearing the Guild meaning their journey on the way there will mean avoiding a lot of the traps. After many inspired traps Otonashi and Yuri sit down for a rest, where Yuri talks of her gruesome and chilling past. They eventually both reach the guild together, but Angel continues to draw close.

I don't usually mention the OP's or ED's for anime since I'm not all interested in the music they use, but Angel Beat's OP was visually stunning!

Thoughts -

As I mentioned in my Kaichou wa Maid-sama review this was a very funny episode. Since the previews don't really give much away I wasn't sure what to expect from this episode, so it was a pleasant surprise to see such great comedy. Although now that I think about it Jun Maeda's work does frequently have many laughs when it's not focusing on the drama side of things.

So the first half of the episode was heavily comedy based, we of course had the much loved Hammer, the indiana jones boulder, the laser beams, the crumbling floor with spikes at the bottom, the list goes on, all of which slowly took members of the team down. All of these set up for some hilarious moments though. My favorite had to be where Fujimaki was certain Otonashi was going to be the next to die, only for Fujimaki die himself due to not being able to swim, loved it!

Anyone else getting flashbacks to the awful Resident Evil movie?

We also saw a flustered embarrassed side to Yuri as Otonashi climbed up her body, this is usually what's set up me wanting the two character to get together (I like romance in anime!) But despite this being one Jun Maeda's work I'm not entirely sure if this anime will have any love blossom between any characters. I won't mind too much as long as we get some powerful drama, make me cry Jun!

I can't swim either, but I don't die so easily because of it thankfully.

However the last half of the episode is where the comedy starts to die down, and despite the hilarity the member killing traps ensued, Yuri felt defeated as a leader, causing her to tell Otonashi what happened to her siblings back when she was alive, and what made her want to fight God. It's safe to say if you saw the episode that what happened to Yuri was indeed very horrible, and yet it shows how strong she truly is.

However she reveals that she did not kill herself due to the traumatic events, and that people who come to the after-life are not ones who have killed themselves. This promises some even more traumatic events and deaths perhaps? I can only hope Yuri's fate was not as cruel as her siblings fate.

However despite how horrible what happened to Yuri was, it didn't make me shed a tear. This was mainly due to the comedy set at the first half of the show, softening the blow of what we later learned. Perhaps Jun did this on perhaps to have Yuri's death be the true shattering tear jerking blow? Either way I'm hoping he manages to impress me as much as Clannad did.

I could complain how it's an antique ruined, but the scene is too sad for that.

Eventually they both reach the Guild where Yuri ultimately decides it's time to evacuate their current Guild, destroy it and return to their old one. The two of them both go off to give the guild members sometime as they distract Angel. This again wasn't an amazing battle scene but did show some nice effects. Otonashi didn't manage to do much though, although he saved Yuri from a fatal blow (although she wouldn't of died anyway right? It's the thought that counts.)

After successfully destroying the guild along with Angel falling into the destruction of it, everyone moves onto the old guild. Here Otonashi reflects on the journey to Guild and we see how much he now admires Yuri.

I suppose I can see the Haruhi resemblance, but without Aya's voice it simply isn't Haruhi for me.

All in all this was a decent episode that I enjoyed a lot, as I said the comedy was very good, although it did make the otherwise traumatic experiences of Yuri's not as sad as it could've been. But considering this is only the second episode I'm sure they have lots more up their sleeves causing us to get the tissues out. And with Jun we tend to get less laughs and more drama once the anime is nearing the end.

I've heard people talking about how this episode had some notable animation failures. Personally I didn't spot a single one of them! So they must of been pretty minor. The only thing I found odd animation wise was that when Yuri and Otonashi were climbing down a ladder the animation looked crazily smooth, have a look if you have no idea what I'm talking about. Although this isn't so much a complaint but an observation.

But so far I'm really enjoying Angel Beats, and this episode has really made me look forward to Saturday's now! I hope the same applies to you guys as well.

Oh and one last thing..

TK shows us how truly awesome he really is!