エンジェルビーツ
Angel Beats! Special

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Yuri has her next plan for the SSS, which she calls “Operation High-Tension Syndrome.”  Basically, she wants the group to spend the next twelve hours keeping the tension levels high by acting like everything they are doing is the greatest thing ever, thus apparently showing contentment and thus blowing Tenshi’s mind.  Tenshi would then be forced to consult God and then SSS could follow to confront God.  So starting immediately, since Tenshi could be watching at any time, the various members of SSS go all out with Yui going to write a song for Girls Dead Monster; some of the guys going to play baseball, and the rest heading to the cafeteria, all the time shouting about how great it is.  When the baseball group encounters Tenshi, she reminds them that it is almost time for 2nd period, thus they have to shift gears and go to class gleefully.

At the various classes, the gang shout their enthusiasm for the subject at hand which does catch Tenshi’s notice and Yuri’s pleasure.  After class, they are going to try baseball again but Tenshi reminds them they have to clean,  So they guys get into that, save Otonashi who just goes with the flow.  The guys have a contest on who can clean the floors fastest by hand.  Meanwhile, the girls of Girls Dead Monster keep the tension up with their practice and decide they need to have an outdoor concert immediately rather than risk losing food for a week as punishment from Yuri.  Back in the cafeteria, the guys there stuff themselves with great enthusiasm, though TK gets sick.  However, they decide to head out and dance off this food with TK leading the way.  This leads all the entire SSS meeting at the baseball field, each having their own agenda.  Otonashi decides that they should turn this into a sports festival since most of the school is already there.

The impromptu sports festival is on with the usual things that happen when Japanese schools hold these events.  With night falling, the final event is the cavalry event with three teams selected, mixing SSS with the NPC students.  Some of the NPC’s go to the supply shed where Shiina is making teddy bears.  In grabbing headbands for the final event, one of the small teddy bears is caught up in it and worn by one of the SSS males.  When the match starts, Yuri observes as Tenshi leaves her Student Council meeting and goes down to the field.  However, Shiina arrives and takes out the entire group of students to rescue the bear, telling Tenshi it is cute.  Tenshi says she has to make a report, so when SSS follows her, they discover that instead of finding God, they find Tenshi is tending to the plants of the disbanded Garden Club, having been reminded by Shiina.  Thus, Yuri announces no food or drink for a week for SSS, though she exempts herself.

Thoughts/Review:

It has been some time since I last saw anything from Angel Beats! so it was good seeing the old crew again, though sadly, I couldn’t remember anyone’s name except for Tenshi (and there, I couldn’t remember her real name).  Seeing everyone again was also odd, especially in light of having known whom Tenshi is and the fact that “God” never came into the original series.  So it was kinda strange seeing Tenshi as a potential enemy again and even more strange when she backed down from a fight after seeing that she wasn’t going to be attacked.  I couldn’t look at Yui’s wacky behavior without remembering how her story resolution made me tear up. I guess because of how the story ended up, picking up a side-story from the middle just didn’t work so well since the operation was already doomed to failure.

Anyway, while things made me smile and occasionally chuckle, nothing here really made me laugh.  The cafeteria group stuffing themselves silly was a chuckle moment, especially when they waddled out to the field.  Shiina’s “rescue” of the teddy bear was a chuckle moment.  Of course, the whole “password” thing at the end when the rest of SSS just pressed a single button and the giant metal doors opened when Yuri was sure that this was the passage to where God was and thus the keypad was for entering a security code to gain access made me chuckle. Tenshi’s explanations  to Yuri’s misunderstandings were amusing but again, I just didn’t laugh.

Beyond that, I really don’t have much to say, mainly because there’s no analysis to be done on the events of the episode (as there could have been had the episode been aired during the initial run of the anime). ^_^;  I was entertained by the episode and did enjoy it, but it wasn’t one that will long stick in my mind nor cause me a desire to pull it out and watch it again.

I might read the prequel manga, which is based on the light novel, just for the heck of it.  I haven’t made up my mind yet, but I do have access to it should I decide to go that route.