Up until recently, Naho was the main executor of all every plan to save Kakeru, despite being one of the least decisive characters. But now that all her other friends have banded together, it gives them an opportunity to manipulate events without either Kakeru or Naho’s knowledge, leading to some interesting results.
Of course, the only one completely left out of the process happens to be Kakeru, the person they’re saving. While Kakeru is probably better off not knowing there’s an alternate universe where he’s dead, they’re unintentionally excluding him from the trust and camaraderie that the rest of his friends are forming through their efforts. While this could definitely go in a bad direction, it’s hard to blame them when none of this would be necessary if Kakeru didn’t hold them at arm’s length to begin with. If he only were to reach out to the people around him, they probably wouldn’t be placing all their hopes on getting him and Naho together but would instead be able to speak directly into the places where he’s hurting, but he’s not doing that, and so it seems to him that he’s alone.
But while he’s trying to get by on his own without even admitting to the group that his mother died, they are working to counteract every negative incident for his sake. Like Naho back when she thought she was the only one who had the letter, he sees himself as isolated when in fact he has had friends who are more than willing to support him all this time.
People aren’t the only ones we push away when we’re struggling. God is always speaking to us, but sometimes we choose not to listen, even when we need him the most. Even though all the impossible, overwhelming situations might very well be a means he’s using for our own good. Whether out of pride, or fear that he can’t really help us, we often try to walk alone when it’s really unnecessary. He’s always telling us he loves us and to trust him, so why do we refuse to listen? God is with us, and he will give us the strength we need to make it through whatever we’re facing.
It’s really interesting to see tension forming as Kakeru realises what a hypocrite he is being by not going out with Naho and yet still pursuing his feelings for her. Whie there are still plenty of small, interesting developments to keep the story afloat, I’m finding the pace to be a little slow, especially as the animation quality plummets. While I really enjoyed the scene with Naho and Kakeru in the rain, I feel like they are just delaying their relationship and it’s starting to get on my nerves. I am enjoying the inclusion of Naho’s friends into the main plot, however, and have high hopes for the relay, with all the build up it’s gotten. With only four episodes left, I’m looking forward to plenty of interesting developments soon.
- The 12 Days of Christmas Anime, Day 11: Angel Beats! - 12.24.2018
- Lynna’s Journey (Entry #8): Where Would You Like To Be? - 11.28.2018
- Lynna’s Journey (Entry #7) The Old and The New - 11.07.2018