Angel Beats English Dub: First Impressions or What I Got This Week




Iwasawa & the moron. Of course I mean that in a nice way but you knew that. Right?
Credit: P. A. Works

                            
                Angel Beats English Dub: First Impressions or What I Got This Week

                                                                  by

                                                                      Jay Agan

      My birthday present to myself came earlier than expected. I placed the order at Amazon Friday night. "ETA" 8-4 to 8-6. Came 8-3. No way was I going to pay an extra fifteen bucks to get it 8-1. I waited months for the release, I could wait a few more days.

      Opened the package (snail mail) & there they were. Angel Beats & Kiss Me Deadly. The one I waited for & Ralph Meeker as Mike Hammer. Mickey Spillane & anime, what a combo! Va va voom, Mikey! Pow!

      When I read of the English dub casting I had misgivings. Luci Christian as Iwasawa? I immediately thought of the "bad girls" Ms. Christian VOed in the past. Kaname Chidori /Mikura Suzuki/Miss Yukari as the driven musician? No Way! I thought the part of Yuri to be more fitting. My concern lessened as I viewed the eighth ep of Kinos' Journey: "Land of Wizards-Potentials of Magic" wherin she voiced Nimya, the aviatrix. And you know what? She did Iwasawa more than well!

      Brittney Karbowsky, by the way, does an excellent job as Yuri, the girl gunning for God.

      I at first thought Hilary Haag as Yui to be a little too intense, but as the character is that way to begin with, hey, how else could one play the irritating, hyper, too cute to live (She is dead after all.), lovable dipwad?

      Months ago, I You Tubed the series in the original Japanese. I got the impression the show was rather somber with comedic elements here & there. I was a little surprised when I read reviews saying it was more a comedy than I thought. Now watching it in English, I see what they mean. Comedy, at least in my case, is easier heard in ones' own language.

                                           Article copyright © 8-4-2011 Jay Agan

Angel Beats: Not A Haruhi Clone here.

Angel Beats Episode 4.5 here.

Angel Beats Redux here.

Go to Main Page here.

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Angel Beats Episode 4.5



"Oh Yuzuru! This really sucks! Everyone's acting like a
buncha Yuis on habanero sauce!" "Yeah, babe. I know."
Credit: P. A. Works, Aniplex.

 
                                                          Oh Geez!

                                                               by

                                                                 Jay Agan

     Have just seen the Angel Beats OVA (episode 4.5), & wish I hadn't. I guess I'll start with the premise.

     Scheming to get face to face with GOD (Insert lightning flashes & peals of thunder.), Yuri cooks up a plan (Operation High Tension Syndrome) wherin everyone pretends to be fired up/enthused over school activities for a period of 12 hours. Of course, since they're faking it, & thus not finding "fulfillment", none of the gang will vanish "in the twinkling of an eye" (Take THAT, Hal Lindsey!). This is to confuse Angel/Kanade into thinking something isn't quite right in the "matrix" & she'll run to the Supreme Being and report. Yuri & co. are to follow her and finally confront the "Uncaused First Cause". If the operation is unsuccessful, everyone (Except Yuri) is to go on a seven day waterless fast!

     This is kind of like the dog who chases cars. What's he gonna do with it if he ever catches one? I'm no theologian but I think God's a little bigger than a Buick & I'm including the 1960s/70s "Deuce & a Quarter" in that estimation. Details ..... details .....

     Did I say the gang was to be fired up? More like exploding! To anyone who wanted to see other members of the SSS be more like Yui (An irritatingly hyperactive, though lovable, moron.) here's your chance. Hyper they are (And LOUD!) but minus Yuis' endearing charm. Never before, have I seen so many characters be so obnoxious & annoying at one time. They make the Three Stooges look like paragons of reserve & civility. Classes & halls are disrupted with gang members personality traits amplified beyond max tolerance levels. It's the invasion of the uber-Yuis with Angel & Otanashi vainly being characters for the viewer to identify with. The only thing more irritating is the omni present, beeping "high tension meter" in the lower left corner of the picture. Oh yes, Yui is "worse" than her usual self. Something I originally thought impossible.

     I hope this isn't IT for the OVA. And I hope any further chapters don't get this extreme. I really like this series & any attempts to "pad" it out like this, could only hurt. I would not introduce newcomers to anime (Or this show.) with this ep.
                                                           
                                         Article copyright © Jay Agan

For exact plot details, go to LuRas' Anime Blog here.
                                                 
Previous Angel Beats article: Not A Haruhi Clone here.

Angel Beats article: Angel Beats Redux here.

Return to Main Page here.

DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP