Animeph

Upon waking up, the first thing Otonashi sees aside of this beautiful night sky is Yuri, who is aiming at a girl they call Tenshi (Angel) with a big automatic gun. He has no recollection of who he is or how he got there. The world he finds himself in does not reach further than the school grounds and is inhabited by 3 kinds of people: First NPCs, who are soulless students and only appear to have normal behaviour; second the students, who teamed up to build the Afterlife Battlefront led by Yuri; and third Tenshi, who they are desperately fighting against. After Otonashi joins up with the Afterlife Battlefront he learns that in this world no one seems to age or die and that this world seems to be some kind of afterlife limbo. Everyone has deep regrets about their previous lives they don’t really want to talk about, projecting their hate and bitterness onto God and Thenshi. Yet, Otonashi is the only one who still doesn’t remember anything. Unlike the other members of the Afterlife Battlefront, he asks questions and does not simply drown his regrets in an everlasting battle against this mysterious Tenshi girl, dulling their pain and forgetting that the one they really hate are they themselves and their helplessness.

Angel Beats is an original story and arguably one of the best and most successful anime of 2010. What seems like a weird scenario at first, quickly turns into an emotional roller-coaster as you learn about the tragic pasts of the main characters. These authentic depictions of the problems and hardships of contemporary teenagers let the viewer relate to them on a level very few other anime can compete with. In between there is a lot of humor and mystery, which fits in just perfectly. Music, opening and ending are equally as beautiful rounding up an already perfect anime. Many complain that 13 episodes are not enough and wish for more episodes, while I think it is just fine the way it ended. It’s one of those shows able to move viewers to tears and will not disappoint.
Rating: 10/10

Review: Shinichi is the top piano student at his university and is popular among the other students. His goal however is to become a famous conductor. For this goal he’d be better off studying in Europe, which is impossible for him because of his deeply rooted fears about travelling. After being constantly annoyed by his teachers and dumped by his girlfriend he meets Nodame. Nodame is an easy going girl who just happens to have been living next door all the time. She has the talent to play songs on her piano after just listening to them once. As Shinichi discovers her messy apartment and lifestyle he finds himself taking care of her again and again. Watch them grow as people and musicians.

The awarded manga this anime is based on also had a very successful TV drama adaptation. Being animated by the same company who was responsible for Honey&Clover there can be found many similarities in comedy and characters. You don’t have to be interested in classical music to get into this show. It’s a story of life, love, comedy and dreams.
Rating: 8,5/10

Review: Light Yagami is an outstanding student and genius. His father is a high ranked police man and Yagami often helps him solve difficult cases, but still he is bored all the time. One day he finds the Death Note a shinigami (Death God) has dropped by accident. He can kill people by knowing their face and writing their real names into the Death Note. Just few days later lots of criminals in Japan and all over the world die from heart attacks. Yagami intends to make this world a better place by killing hardcore criminals and making people afraid of committing crimes this way. Soon it becomes obvious that all those mysterious deaths can not come by coincidence and there must be someone behind it. Society is split between those who support Yagami’s idea and those who think he is a sick murderer. The police of course have to find and stop him, but many officers are afraid of getting killed if they investigate Kira (Yagami’s new nickname). They hire a world-known detective who is known as “L” to catch Kira. Will Yagami be able to find out L’s real name to kill him before L finds out that Yagami is Kira?

Death Note is an unique story revolving around 2 unique and very intelligent characters with lots of unexpected and interesting plot twists. It is based on a manga bestseller that even has a successful live-action movie adaptation. While the manga already is a masterpiece, I could not find many scenes where the anime lacks behind the manga, so you can have equally high expectations of the anime.
Rating: 10/10

Review: This series continues in the same style and quality where the very popular first season of Honey and Clover (15.04.2005 till 27.09.2005) left off. It is a funny yet serious and authentic view on the life story of some friends who try to graduate from an Art College. It is the story of complicated relationships, unrequited loves, new careers and the search for their own goals, dreams, personalities and things that are important to them. Only few anime have such deep and authentic story-telling to make an anime outstandingly good even without complicated fantasy plots or giant robots saving the world, which is why I count Honey and Clover to my top10 anime. Even the background music, made by the popular J-Pop band “Spitz”, perfectly supports the tragic and happy themes and rounds up a master piece that way.
Rating: 10/10