Angel Beats!

http://www.otakunovideo.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Angel+Beats-258x300.jpg

Made in: 2010

Director: Seiji Kishi (Key visual novels)

Scenario Writer: Jun Maeda (Key visual novels)

Origin: By the creative staff at Key, creators of Air, Kanon, and Clannad

Studio: P.A. Works and Aniplex

Genre: Fantasy / action / high school / drama

Premise: A teenage boy wakes up in a high school purgatory, among a group of students who are fighting to stay alive. If they drop into normal school routines, they eventually disappear.

Length: 13 half-hour episodes

Anime Review
Show x Show: It's Haibane Renmei meets Haruhi Suzumiya

'''Is there a plot? '''Oh yes, and it moves quickly.

Is it plot-oriented or character-oriented? Mostly character-oriented, but there's quite a lot of plot for a 13-episode series.

'''Can I show it to my Mom? '''Yeah, but it's aimed mostly at otaku.

'''Can I show it to my kid brother? '''Sure, but he won't really get it either. He'll probably laugh at the stupid characters, but there are a lot of Deep Moments about growing up.

Can I show it to a non-anime fan? Well. It uses a lot of modern anime archetypes--the two main girls are very similar to Haruhi Suzumiya and Yuki Nagato--but it uses them to tell a strong, deep story.

Does the art quality vary from shot to shot? Yeah. While the show clearly has a higher budget than most, this show briefly became infamous for the wild changes in quality in episode one. It's not distracting, though.

Quality of action sequences: High.

Does it have any Tough Moments? A bunch of them. It's by the guys who basically created the "games to make otaku cry" visual novel genre. These characters have gone through some hard times, and they go through more during the show.

Did you cry? Yes. Several times.

Music: Perfectly appropriate.

Editing: Rather high-concept. A lot of cinematic camera angles and jumping rapidly from one character to the next.

Voices: Perfect.

Availability: Available on sites like Amazon and RightStuf. Streaming on Hulu.