I actually almost cried during this episode... What's wrong with me?! o.O;
Episode 13 Final – Graduation
After the whole incident with the completely unknown, nor properly developed, antagonist that died the episode he was introduced ( -.-;), we are brought to Yuri’s bedside, where we learn that all is well.
She lives!!
And apparently, with her leader duties finally laid to rest with the majority of the cast, she’s become more feminine. Yuri’s reaction to Hinata’s bold accusation regarding her “cute” side elicits a prompt…
Wtfwhyyousayingstuffthat'sembarassingandcompletelyunecessary!
I laughed. Sooooo hard~ Seeing a flustered Yurippe doesn’t happen at all in this series, so this took me by complete and utter surprise. Yes I have a horrible sense of humor.
Afterwards, the more serious stuff happened; they decided to imitate a graduation ceremony from the afterlife place that they are currently the only remaining people in. I’ll admit, it was a pretty fitting premise in my book.
Is it just me, or is this horribly off center?
Of course, Kanade added to the humor this time, with her Mapo Tofu Graduation song.
mapotofuuuu songggg LOL
Yuri receives her diploma, and her reaction to it was touching (which made me shed a tear… I feel like a sissy…)
Nice little detail that the creators included
And here’s where the serious stuff really starts kicking in. Hinata, Naoi, and Yurippe all move on to return to their lives, and the only two left are Otonashi and Kanade.
The first half of this episode really helped show us just how much crazy things happened in this series, ranging from the band’s diversion tactics to get lunch tickets, to guild traps, and the crazy antics of the lively cast. (Run on sentenceeeee~ :D)
It truly showed how much character the main cast for anime had, and the unique setting that this story took place in.
And a round of applause for.... the setting!! *clap clap*
Of course, there has to be that final twist. You know, the dramatic part that is supposed to balance out the comedy oriented first half.
It was cheesy, it was corny, it was definitely not expected, but I found it touching nevertheless. It was a fitting climax for the two primary characters, Kanade and Otonashi, that were featured in nearly every episode of this show. The climax to their slightly odd, somewhat misunderstood yet subtle relationship, was brought out. Without spoiling too much, seeing Otonashi bawling his eyes out made this all the more memorable.
Sniff....
A nice touch on the creator’s part is how they decided to handle the ending theme animation. Kanade finally is featured in that picture of the entire cast, and if you notice when the characters start disappearing, the final few characters disappear from the picture in the order they moved on to their new lives, with Otonashi being the final one disappearing. For those who were concerned with the ambiguous, melancholic end; this implies that Otonashi indeed moves on as well.
A final look at the entire Angel Beats cast
And, of course, there is an epilogue. Although I was more happy with the bittersweet, yet touching ending without the epilogue, the epilogue will satisfy those who were hoping for a happily ever after ending.
Epilogue was totally unecessary, but whatever...
This episode was much more, how would I say it, not over the top in contrast to the past two or three episodes. Unlike the previous chaos filled episodes, the final episode was much more down to earth, bringing a proper conclusion to the remaining cast. There were no crazy logic defying turn of events, or anything of that sort. It was a simple, honest end to a series.
Kudos to the creators for how they executed this final episode. This episode goes back to the roots of this entire show; a serious bit of drama mixed in with much comedy, a bit of mystery, complete with a dynamic, lively cast of characters. Of course, cheesy stuff too. A fitting way to end one hell of a unique series.
Overall Enjoyment: 4.5/5
P.S. for those that might want it, a quickly thrown together picture of Kanade in the epilogue clicky here.
Distant Paradise 
