Angel Beats! on Adolescence (MAJOR spoilers for the end of the series!)
At first, I was surprised that Angel Beats! had the central theme of Adolescence. I expected it to have Life, but that was the core theme of Little Busters! instead. I suppose that's why people felt them too similar...
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized it really was a story of adolescence, just as much as it was a life-affirming story.
Not only for the obvious reasons (this afterlife is themed as a school, populated only by the souls of children in their teenage years), but also because of their fears regarding the uncertainties of what will become of them when they pass onto their next life echo those of adulthood. How nice it would be to stay in the gardens of youth forever! Especially in such a place where you could never grow up, fall ill, or even die. It really would have been a Paradise... but it was never meant to last. It's not eternal, only a middle stage, which they were meant to graduate from by leaving behind their pain and regrets; not by denying them, but by accepting them and moving on. Anyone who lingered would only suffer the loss of anyone they befriended. The Programmer had the right idea in that respect.
Otonashi, who starts out the series with no recollection of anything other than his name, feels the loss of having no memory of his life but is apprehensive about remembering it, because of his fear (not without its place) that he would not be able to continue living so happily and simply should he remember it.
The others refuse to move on due to their memories of their terrible childhoods. Otonashi was scared of moving on simply because he didn't know what waited for him ("I don't want to be reincarnated as a water flea!" was literally his reason for joining the Battlefront xD;). Iwasawa moved on because she realized, when she composed and sang My Song, that in doing so, she could save another who was suffering with her songs, just as she had been saved. So, by growing up and leaving that childhood behind where it belonged, she could make a difference in the lives of other children like her.
I always found Naoi's Hypnosis ironic (in the dramatic sense) because rewriting others personalities and manipulating the roles they play, making them lose awareness until after the matter, always felt like perpetuating what he went through, initially willingly playing the role of his brother, only to realize at the end that his life was spent living a lie.
Yui has very, very many dreams for the future, wholly unrealistic in combination, like a lot of kids, and she's easily the most childish character, but she also has the surprisingly mature dream of getting married, which she personally viewed as impossible because of the circumstances of her life (her disability which led to her living a very sheltered life)... but Hinata proves to her that it doesn't matter, comes up with a scenario for them to meet regardless of her inability to leave her room, and vows to marry her regardless of disability, illness, or infertility.
The fact that the last episode largely focuses on a graduation ceremony lends even more credibility to that.
After helping everybody move on, Otonashi suddenly decides he no longer wants to move on, because he wants to stay here with Kanade and guide others... but Kanade has had enough of staying in this place, having been unable to move on for so long.
"Please let me believe what you believe... let me believe that life is wonderful."
Otonashi takes her place for a while, in title and in role, playing Angel to help others move on, before he finally leaves the Afterlife behind. (See "Another Epilogue" after the bonus episode 14!)
Unless you go the bad end route, but let's just go with the ending where they both move on and Otonashi's just a bit late, okay. Maeda Jun confirms that: "It was no use being there by himself, so I believe he also left the world after that. Besides, he was rewarded. It wasn’t a bad life. It wouldn’t be like Otonashi for him to stay.."
Is Angel Beats! about life, then? Yes! But is it also about growing up? Even more so! The best part is that it's all up for interpretation, so everybody gets something different out of it.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized it really was a story of adolescence, just as much as it was a life-affirming story.
Not only for the obvious reasons (this afterlife is themed as a school, populated only by the souls of children in their teenage years), but also because of their fears regarding the uncertainties of what will become of them when they pass onto their next life echo those of adulthood. How nice it would be to stay in the gardens of youth forever! Especially in such a place where you could never grow up, fall ill, or even die. It really would have been a Paradise... but it was never meant to last. It's not eternal, only a middle stage, which they were meant to graduate from by leaving behind their pain and regrets; not by denying them, but by accepting them and moving on. Anyone who lingered would only suffer the loss of anyone they befriended. The Programmer had the right idea in that respect.
Otonashi, who starts out the series with no recollection of anything other than his name, feels the loss of having no memory of his life but is apprehensive about remembering it, because of his fear (not without its place) that he would not be able to continue living so happily and simply should he remember it.
The others refuse to move on due to their memories of their terrible childhoods. Otonashi was scared of moving on simply because he didn't know what waited for him ("I don't want to be reincarnated as a water flea!" was literally his reason for joining the Battlefront xD;). Iwasawa moved on because she realized, when she composed and sang My Song, that in doing so, she could save another who was suffering with her songs, just as she had been saved. So, by growing up and leaving that childhood behind where it belonged, she could make a difference in the lives of other children like her.
I always found Naoi's Hypnosis ironic (in the dramatic sense) because rewriting others personalities and manipulating the roles they play, making them lose awareness until after the matter, always felt like perpetuating what he went through, initially willingly playing the role of his brother, only to realize at the end that his life was spent living a lie.
Yui has very, very many dreams for the future, wholly unrealistic in combination, like a lot of kids, and she's easily the most childish character, but she also has the surprisingly mature dream of getting married, which she personally viewed as impossible because of the circumstances of her life (her disability which led to her living a very sheltered life)... but Hinata proves to her that it doesn't matter, comes up with a scenario for them to meet regardless of her inability to leave her room, and vows to marry her regardless of disability, illness, or infertility.
The fact that the last episode largely focuses on a graduation ceremony lends even more credibility to that.
After helping everybody move on, Otonashi suddenly decides he no longer wants to move on, because he wants to stay here with Kanade and guide others... but Kanade has had enough of staying in this place, having been unable to move on for so long.
"Please let me believe what you believe... let me believe that life is wonderful."
Otonashi takes her place for a while, in title and in role, playing Angel to help others move on, before he finally leaves the Afterlife behind. (See "Another Epilogue" after the bonus episode 14!)
Unless you go the bad end route, but let's just go with the ending where they both move on and Otonashi's just a bit late, okay. Maeda Jun confirms that: "It was no use being there by himself, so I believe he also left the world after that. Besides, he was rewarded. It wasn’t a bad life. It wouldn’t be like Otonashi for him to stay.."
Is Angel Beats! about life, then? Yes! But is it also about growing up? Even more so! The best part is that it's all up for interpretation, so everybody gets something different out of it.