Angel Beats! unfolds in a limbo-like high school where death does not bring peace. Yuzuru Otonashi awakens with no memories of his past and discovers that the afterlife has taken the shape of a strange campus designed for people who died unwanted deaths, each carrying regrets, resentment, and unanswered questions.
Within this surreal world, the residents have organized themselves into the Afterlife Battlefront, a rebellious group that believes they were wronged by God and refuses to accept the fate imposed on them. Their opponent is Kanade "Angel" Tachibana, the seemingly god-like student council president who protects the order of this world and keeps the Battlefront from taking control.
Yuri Nakamura, the Battlefront's leader, recruits Otonashi to join the fight against Angel and help the group seize control of their own lives. As he moves between the two sides, Otonashi begins to see that the conflict is not only about rebellion or victory. It is also about the bonds, regrets, and common fate that brought these teenagers to the same place, and about whether they can find meaning before they let go of the lives they lost.