On television, the anime Angel Beats continued to air, releasing a new episode each week.
Despite being a lighthearted and comedic series, the sudden disappearance of Iwasawa Masami in the third episode after fulfilling her dying wish left many viewers feeling anxious. For several subsequent episodes, they watched the show with a mix of amusement and apprehension.
The fourth episode, titled "Competition Day," focused on Hideki Hinata, a member of the Afterlife Battlefront and the Male Lead's closest friend in the afterlife. In the second episode, Hinata had repeatedly helped the Male Lead escape danger during their infiltration of the Guild's weapons manufacturing base.
In the fourth episode, his lifelong regret was revealed: he had been a baseball player and, during a crucial game, missed an easy fly ball that dropped right over his head. This mistake caused resentment among his teammates and plunged him into despair.
If he could just catch that fly ball, his regret might be resolved, and he would likely disappear from the afterlife, just like Iwasawa Masami in the third episode.
What was even more crucial was that the competition day in the fourth episode was a baseball game.
Hinata first invited the Male Lead, then used various schemes and deceptions to assemble a baseball team and enter the competition. They fought their way to the finals, where they faced off against the team formed by the Student Council for the championship.
Then, in the final, pivotal moment, the situation mirrored Hinata's regret from his life—a simple fly ball that dropped right over his head, one he could have easily caught.
Throughout the first half of the fourth episode, flashbacks of Hinata's memories kept appearing. Coupled with Iwasawa Masami's disappearance in the third episode, this led viewers to believe that Angel Beats was an animation where one character vanished per episode, and that Hinata was next on the chopping block.
However, just as everyone was thinking this, at the critical moment, Yui—the girl who had replaced Iwasawa Masami as the new lead singer of GDM and constantly bickered with Hinata—interfered, causing the ball to be dropped. As a result, Hinata didn't disappear after all.
Although the episodes kept viewers on the edge of their seats, no characters actually disappeared. As a result, when the fourth episode aired, no one criticized Lin Zhiyan; in fact, many viewers gave it positive reviews.
One reason for this was that the fourth episode maintained the series' signature lighthearted and comedic tone. Despite Iwasawa Masami's disappearance in the third episode, the story didn't become overly somber, and the entire episode remained highly entertaining.
Another factor was the opening of the fourth episode. Instead of immediately showing the opening sequence, it began with the Afterlife Battlefront members in the briefing room discussing whether Yui should replace the vanished Iwasawa Masami as the new lead singer of Girls Dead Monster. Many were skeptical of Yui's abilities, but she insisted on singing a song for them first. Then, the opening theme kicked in with a god-tier insertion.
This meticulously crafted, god-tier insertion naturally earned praise from viewers. It was also a clever way to generate buzz and discussion, boosting the anime's popularity.
In the fifth episode, viewers remained anxious, but again, no characters disappeared, and the overall tone stayed light and cheerful.
This episode focused on the "Angel," Kanade Tachibana.
To counter the "Angel," the Afterlife Battlefront members devised a plan to swap out Kanade Tachibana's exam papers during a test.
Through a series of elaborate schemes, the Afterlife Battlefront successfully replaced Kanade Tachibana's exam papers, resulting in her scoring zero on all subjects. The answers on the replaced papers were so absurdly insulting to the teachers that they all became furious. Consequently, Kanade was forced to endure a public reprimand before the entire school, and was stripped of her position as Student Council President. Naoto, the vice president, was promoted to Acting Student Council President.
The process of replacing the exam papers was hilarious, but the latter half of episode five primarily focused on "clearing Kanade Tachibana's name."
In episode three, the Afterlife Battlefront had infiltrated the Angel's Domain and discovered that they might have misunderstood the "Angels." However, they couldn't yet prove the "Angels" weren't enemies, so they continued to oppose them.
In episode five, after Kanade Tachibana was removed as Student Council President, she stopped paying attention to the Afterlife Battlefront's actions.
The Afterlife Battlefront planned a new "Tornado" operation, and the newly formed GDM band held concerts recklessly. She turned a blind eye, merely passing by and exchanging her meal ticket for a Mapo Tofu voucher.
Before she could leave, the voucher was swept away by the "Tornado" and eventually picked up by the Male Lead.
The next day at noon, the Male Lead exchanged his meal ticket for a plate of Mapo Tofu. He learned from Yuri that the ticket he had found belonged to Kanade Tachibana. His mood grew complex, and he couldn't help but doubt the actions of the Afterlife Battlefront members.
Then, in the sixth episode, during a break between classes, the Male Lead proactively invited Kanade Tachibana to the cafeteria for Mapo Tofu, insisting on treating her.
Kanade Tachibana loved Mapo Tofu so much that she even forgot that eating during class breaks was against school rules. As they were eating and chatting, they were suddenly taken away by Naoto, the Acting Student Council President, and locked in detention.
Normally, this wouldn't have been a big deal. In fact, being locked up together could have rapidly escalated their relationship. However, Naoto wasn't an NPC in the Afterlife like the others; he was a human with a soul, just like the Male Lead and his friends.
Normally, humans with souls who studied hard and lived well in school would disappear as their regrets were resolved. Naoto appeared to be a model student, but in reality, he was a scheming, hypnosis-using, delusional teenager who fancied himself a God.
Naoto had been secretly persecuting others all along. After locking Kanade Tachibana in the dark room, he became even more reckless in his persecution of Afterlife Battlefront members, truly believing himself to be a god.
The Male Lead learned of the situation through the intercom. Worried about his companions, he asked Kanade Tachibana for help breaking down the detention room door. They rushed to the playground and found Naoto and the brutally beaten Afterlife Battlefront members. With Kanade's assistance, they rescued their companions. Through a lengthy, fiery debate, they even managed to turn Naoto from an enemy into a friend.
Over three consecutive episodes, no characters disappeared. This left some viewers, who had firmly believed Angel Beats! was a Depressing Anime after the third episode and refused to listen to Lin Zhiyan's explanations, both anxious and utterly surprised.
Yet, as they grew accustomed to the unexpected, some gradually lowered their guard, even starting to think, "Maybe Angel Beats! isn't really a Depressing Anime after all. Maybe Iwasawa Masami's disappearance in the third episode was just an accident."
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