Discussion of Naoi’s character in Angel Beats! and Angel Beats! Heaven’s Door. As of now all known information about the Angel Beats! anime and the Heaven’s Door manga may be discussed without the usage of spoiler tags, so be wary if you’re not familiar with them.
Let’s make good memories~
Find providence in the Hype Train.
I don’t like it.
Feels like it’s just giving the SSS something to fight for no reason.
Naoi is the best character in the series. Even if it was rushed as hell, he quite possibly experiences the most development out of anyone in the anime series. He’s introduced as a mysterious antagonist who nearly takes over the world, is given a tragic backstory, and we also have one of the most emotional scenes in the series when Otonashi saves him from himself. Then he becomes a raving Otonashi fanboy while still showing that evil side on occasion; it’s a pretty funny dynamic. Of course the anime overdid it, but I feel like he’ll be a lot more fun in the VN.
What I especially like is how he’s always trying to put up the front of an elite, but in the end he’s a super softy.
Naoi not only has a bunch of deep dynamics, but he’s a character that brings in an unprecedented amount of questions. Hypnotism? Taking years to build a prison? He’s the other character to ‘get it’ when it comes to obliteration and takes control of what he believes the world is for, which is unique. Kanade lets people find solace in the world, Naoi looks to make it a system, Yuri looks to stop it entirely, Masami finds it herself- He’s a core piece of all of the… Correct, or incorrect… or ‘simply works’ views of the world. He could, for all intents and purposes, be entirely right- Just as the rest of the characters could be. It goes without saying that the events of his life are a very realistic issue. Example? (Little Busters) Kengo. PRETTY GOOD TOPIC.
His aggression (outlet) to NPCs is a means given to him as the god of this world that allows him to stay there, whether he may know it or not, that he earned. His idea to help people move on is actually a really good thing when you look at it on paper, and the violence was brought upon the SSS because they brought it upon themselves to fight against a power that is so far above them.
You know how in life, he had to take on the life of his late brother? At first, I thought that was intentionally put upon him by his father so that he can say the heir had survived and the less accomplished was the one who died, kind of like Hinata from H2O: Footsteps in the Sand. However, I think that Naoi himself pretended to be his dead brother so that as far as everyone else knew, the successful one, the one who had a promising future, had lived. I even think it wasn’t about stealing his brother’s life, but because because of how worthless he saw himself compared to his brother, he thought it’b better better if he was the one to have died and his brother had lived. He probably lived the rest of his life like that. I don’t even think his father learned the truth, but maybe he did. If so,did he find out on his deathbed, or did he find out along the way. Maybe he knew all along.
Also, I don’t think people take Naoi that seriously because he would later become a comic relief character like Hinata and Yui, especially since in the dub, he was voiced by Greg Ayres, a voice actor that many people find annoying and is mostly known for voicing comic reliefs like Sunohara and later Masato.
I had the distinct impression watching that flashback in the anime that the role was forced on him by his father. His father went through the trouble of forcing Naoi to learn all the skills his late brother had, until eventually he was finally make that one good ceramic that his father praised him for. There’s no way he wouldn’t know.
And wasn’t it his father that said “You’re the one that died” to him?
@TRBO_188 I’m pretty sure his father knew all along, hence the “The one who died was you”. That’s a sentence directed from his father to Ayato, meaning that he had now to continue the live his brother had.
I’ll seize the opportunity and I’ll talk a bit more in general about what I think about Ayato. Now, I don’t think he’s a bad character from a design point. I think he just doesn’t benefit a single bit from the story. When people say that his “arc” is rushed, it is that it is really rushed. In half an episode, he almost slaughters all the SSS’s members, explains his whole tragic backstory, and is “saved from himself” by Otonashi. The fact that this is done in half an episode implies that the result of all those actions is the following:
His backstory is OK, but is presented so quickly that the viewer doesn’t have enough time to think about it and change their opinion that Ayato is an asshole.
Otonashi “saves” him so fast that it looks like Ayato told him all his traumas, Otonashi told him “nah, don’t worry, it’s fine” and Ayato just magically accepts his life.
Then, Ayato turns into a comedic relief character and doesn’t have much more impact, so his story, trauma and resolve are easily forgotten. This is at least my view from the anime.
Unfortunately, the VN doesn’t do much better. It still feels rushed, however, the fact that you can choose what Otonashi does when he finds everyone in the SSS dead or almost dead adds some value to the scene, it feels like you are Otonashi himself trying to solve a complicated situation. While the things that happen in the VN are pretty much the same, the added value of the choices makes it overall a lot more intense, hence making it more memorable for the reader.
We can’t experience a whole lot of Ayato as a comedic character in the VN, but the part we can is fine. The added scenes in the VN are hilarious and Ayato makes use of his two personalities, the evil and the Otonashi-adoring one, to their best.
Overall, Ayato is a well constructed character with an exceptional idea behind him, but with a very poor execution in the anime and an execution that can’t go much further than “standard” in the VN. Still, he accomplishes the basic for a character in the Angel Beats! universe. A tragic backstory, character development and some fun value.
Hold on, you’re acting like we’ve seen everything Naoi has to offer. We still haven’t even gotten to his route yet!
Arguably, the fact that his backstory has already been revealed means his route can only follow future events. I’m very curious to see what development his route has in store for him.
Indeed, but since his backstory has already been revealed and his trauma solved, the main conflict for his character has already been solved. Sincerely, at this point, either they invent a whole new backstory for him that hadn’t been told (something that would be very stupid IMO) or some unexpected events that lead into him having another important conflict.
However, he still feels like he’s been denied from developing that great potential he had when he was first presented in both anime and VN.
But again, like you said, there are 6 VNs planned, I’m sure he’ll be given some love in one of them.
