Introduction
OK, so what the hell is this new “Reflection” category? Well, as I watch anime, sometimes I come across an episode or a whole series that is so blatantly flawed in some fundamental way that I have to write about it. So, these reflective posts aren’t suppose to be written after every episode I see, rather they’re meant to point out the issues I have with some show as I come across them.
Critical Thinking
OK, so in the sixth episode of Angel Beats!, Otonashi and Angel have been locked up in prison. Yuri contacts Otonashi through a radio that she gave him earlier. Apparently, the guards at this prison don’t frisk down the inmates before locking them up, but whatever—not the biggest deal. She contacts him through the radio and says the following:
“I think Angel’s been imprisoned somewhere.
We went to the reflection room to find her, but she wasn’t there.
I think they put her in a different place, one not so easy to release her from.
And so I thought, maybe you’re with her right now?
Otonashi…
Get Angel out”
OK, we’re not given any more information than that. And here’s where my willing-suspension of disbelief completely falls apart.
How can Yuri possibly come to the idea that Otonashi is with Angel? How is that within the set of possibilities? First off, she has absolutely no data to indicate that Otonashi is with Angel. In fact, she has no information as to the whereabouts of Otonashi at all. She was never informed that Otonashi was with Angel prior to their capture and she also did not know that Otonashi disappeared at the same time as Angel. Even if she had that information, there is no direct line of logic that could possibly place Otonashi with Angel.
It would be like deducing that:
- Two criminals were caught robbing a bank
- Therefore, they must be in the same prison cell
It’s naive, uninformed, and illogical. There is no information to suggest that conclusion.
Yuri’s situation can be generalized to the following:
- I am looking for Person A
- I look in Location B
- I did not find Person A at Location B
- It just so happens that Person C went missing as well. I do not know when, where, or why they went missing. I was not given any information about Person C
- What can I conclude about Person A and Person C?
So, what’s the answer to the question above? I’ll spoil it for you: NOTHING!!
Josh and I got into a debate over this issue, but I believe he’s much more forgiving of this inconsistency because he’s more concerned with the two guys hugging at the end—not sure how plot holes are less of an issue than two guys hugging, but OK.
Other than that, the episode did have some mawkish and drippy man-love, which I was not a fan of. By far the worst episode this season. Let’s hope that this week’s episode will make up for it.
-Ja-ne
Anime Crunch 