[Supernatural & Drama Spring 2017] Like Angel Beats!? Watch This!

Introduction:

Here we go, people. It’s 2017 and with the summer season, we were granted a great range of shows. Now, if you’re trying to dwindle down the number of shows you watch per season or have a particular genre you love, then you’ll find this article pretty useful. For those who enjoy Sci-fi and drama, particularly the kind that Angel Beats granted us back in 2010, then you need to hear about two of the shows that came out this year.


About Angel Beats!

  • Episodes: 13
  • Aired: Apr. 2010 – Jun. 2010

Most of you have probably watched Angel Beats. The fact that this is an article about shows like Angel Beats, is probably the reason why you’re reading it. However, if you’re not familiar with the anime, it brings us to the afterlife, which happens to be a school. To be more specific this school acts as a certain purgatory for a group of students who refuse to submit to fate and want to continue living as they please. Throw in a lot of humor, some romance, and heavy drama and that’s what you will be getting with Angel Beats.

Liked Angel Beats!? Watch Sakurada Reset

  • Episodes: 24
  • Aired: Apr. 2017 – Sep. 2017
  • Read More

Sakurada Reset brings us into a small Japanese town along the coast that has a unique population. In this town, most people have a certain power. For Kei, this power is basically a perfect photographic memory. Not necessarily an amazing power, but one that definitely comes in handy when tests come around. However, this power actually becomes something more when introduced to Misora, the quintessential quiet girl of the school. She has the power to set time back, but it comes at the cost of erasing her own memory along with basically everyone else’s. Kei, however, will still hold onto his memories, and so the two become a team of sorts solving issues that they find worthy of their time.

Three Major Similarities Angel Beats! and Sakurada Reset

1.Backstory Galore

Sakurada Reset and Angel Beats! have quite a lot in common, but one of the main things you will notice is that every single character introduced in each show has a past that is well developed and affects the way they act on a day-to-day basis. These pasts are generally brought to the forefront sooner or later and most characters get quite a bit of air time thanks to that strategy. This factor is definitely a plus for both anime as it really ties you into the world. You feel more connected to the entire setting with each new person you meet. You also get to have the fun of finding a character who particularly resembles you or fits a role that you enjoy.

2. Breaking the Silence

In Angel Beats! and Sakurada Reset the main male character is introduced to someone who is on the outside, someone who does not socialize well with others. In Angel Beats! this is the character Angel, who is actually human but is seen as the system’s hitman by the rest of the humans. Most of the members of the SSS are positive that she is not human, but Otonashi finds something particular about her. He is consistently watching her and trying to figure out what makes her tick, and in the end, he is the main factor in bringing about the truth surrounding her circumstances.

Both characters can be seen as a little socially awkward in Sakurada Reset, but Misora is the true outsider. She is the quiet girl of the school and she mainly keeps to herself, with her only friend being the extremely extroverted class president, at least at the beginning o the show. It’s through Kei’s unique ability and nature that she finds an outlet to more appropriately express herself.

3. High School Matters

It’s true that a lot of anime try to convey the importance of school and the friends we create in such a close environment. That’s why there are so many anime that are based on school life. However, both of these shows take the importance of high school to the next level by injecting a high dosage of drama into these students. Not everyone has to deal with such traumatic issues as the characters in these shows, but there is truth to the idea that figuring out your emotional tolerance to certain stimulus is essential during the high school years.

In both shows, one can see how the characters are on the cusp of either being stuck with their emotional turmoil or finally breaking free. Such portrayal makes a clear suggestion that high school is paramount to our development and ability to handle situations. If we succumb during our tumultuous high school years then we will most likely be carrying those problems for a long time.



Liked Angel Beats!? Watch Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka? Isogashii desu ka? Sukutte Moratte Ii desu ka? (Suka-Suka)

  • Episodes: 12
  • Aired: Apr. 2017 – Jun. 2017
  • Read More

Suka Suka brings us 500 years into the future where humans are practically extinct due to the sudden appearance of “Beasts”. The only beings left to actually prevent these Beasts from taking over the entirety of the world are a clan of Leprechauns, young-looking girls who are capable of wielding magical weapons. Luckily for them, a single human, who somehow survived the human extinction has found his way to their village, and he is capable of providing the type of help they need (both in fighting and nurture) to beat the Beasts.

Three Major similarities Angel Beats! and Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka? Isogashii desu ka? Sukutte Moratte Ii desu ka? (Suka-Suka)

1. The Male MC

So, Willem and Otonashi are pretty similar characters. They both have lost everything in a sense. Otonashi is dead and has been transported to a world where he does not know anyone and can’t even remember his own life. Basically, does not have anything to his name. Willem’s in a somewhat similar boat. He has lost his friends and family and his old way of life. In other words, both are lost souls, who have found themselves in a strange new setting.

It is in this setting that they have the opportunity to construct a new life for themselves by creating new relationships and forming powerful bonds. These relationships also act as the basis for the show as the two provide a sense of hope and inspiration to the other characters who have found themselves caught at a certain standstill with the current situation.

However, let’s get one thing straight. Willem has to live on remembering everything that he has lost. This is a much different tragedy than the amnesia that Otonashi faces for the most part in Angel Beats! Willem would much rather forget his past while Otonashi is hoping to remember it at some point.

2. Fighting Fate

A big similarity between these two anime is the discussion of fate. Both anime put us in worlds that take on the question of whether or not it is possible to control the outcome in life. In each anime, it seems impossible for any of the characters to truly escape the situation they have found themselves in. They are locked into the world with only a few options granted to them. One of the options would be to assimilate and essentially disappear from the realm of individuality and true living. The other option, which the characters in both anime seem to take is resistance. They refuse to accept the way things are and they will fight with all they have in order to keep their way of life.

This theme is not necessarily new to the anime community, but both shows basically try to deal with the topic throughout the entirety of the series. Each episode reiterates this question of destiny as we watch the characters fight for their right to exist. However, it must be noted that the shows do handle this situation in slightly different manners.

3. Appearances Deceive

In both Angel Beats! and Suka Suka we are sent into a world where appearances are quite deceiving. If you were to just glance at the Myanimelist page for Suka Suka or Angel Beats! (admittedly it’s hard to miss the gun) then you would probably think the show is some type of fantasy school type show. Well, both kinda are and at the same time far from it. We definitely are given a supernatural setting in both, and that’s about it. In Angel Beats! the boring setting of the school is offset by the antics of main characters. In Suka Suka, the fantasy island has the shadow of war looming over its head.

It’s also important to note that characters in each show can surprise you at first glance. In Angel Beats, the main character gets stabbed by a seemingly harmless student right off the bat. This goes double for Suka Suka as we find out that these young girls are fairies and badass fighters.

Conclusion

If you enjoyed Angel Beats!, then fortune has smiled upon you, because this year has earnestly granted us shows that are pretty comparable. Hopefully, this article helps you narrow down what shows you will be attempting to tackle this summer. If you have seen the shows and can think of any other similarities, please share your thoughts below. Oh, and if there are other recent shows that you think have a lot in common with any of these anime, be sure to share that too!
Sakurada-Reset-dvd-2-225x350 [Supernatural & Drama Spring 2017] Like Angel Beats!? Watch This!

Writer

Author: Yoko Dev

Hello, my anime peers. I’m from the states, but have taken an indefinite leave to travel while freelancing. Outside of a deep admiration for anime that started long ago, I love to read, write, and play video games. The main issue of traveling so far has been not having a console.

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