Why couldn't Otonashi of Angel Beats pass on?


Everyone in the anime 'passes on' after coming to peace with the life they
used to have, except for Otonashi. Unless I'm really confused, Angel seemed to
imply that the reason Otonashi couldn't pass on is because when Otanashi was
alive, he was an organ donor who gave away his heart.

This explanation doesn't make sense to me. Does that mean that _all_ organ
donors are stuck in limbo like Otonashi?

Why couldn't Otonashi find peace/pass on to the next life?




Otonashi did pass on, although he was the last to pass on. He is assumed to
have reincarnated at the end of episode 13, the final episode of _Angel Beats_
, and it is heavily implied he meets the reincarnated version of Angel.

The reason why he couldn't pass on just yet was not fully explained, but we
can try to form a conclusion from it, so it is not entirely speculative.
First, he lost all of his memories and so he has to regain it to truly
understand what he regretted. He did not end up in the afterlife normally like
the other students had, so it's highly possible that he did not have a regret
in the first place. It could be that he was in that afterlife in order to have
Angel move on with her life, as she regrets not being able to give thanks to
the person who gave her heart. Kanade, the Angel, was there before him and
that normally wouldn't make sense since he died before her.

Another explanation is that he simply regrets not being able to achieve his
dream of becoming a doctor or more specifically, to help people. He wanted to
help people after his sister's death and because he died before he was able to
reach his goal, it's understandable that he regrets not being able to see for
himself that he saved a life. Once he sees that Kanade was able to live her
life, that she was content with the life he gave her, he was able to move on
shortly after.

I don't think all organ donors would necessarily have regrets. If they lived a
full life, they would not be stuck in this afterlife school in the first
place. Remember that you will only be in this afterlife if you have regrets.
Otherwise, you would presumably just be reincarnated. Just because you donated
your heart doesn't mean you get to be stuck in that limbo.

* * *

Sources:

  * [How is it possible that Kanade has Otonashi's heart?](https://anime.stackexchange.com/a/5153)
  * [Wikia: Yuzuru Otonashi - _Another Epilogue_](http://angelbeats.wikia.com/wiki/Yuzuru_Otonashi#Another_Epilogue)




Otonashi did pass on, although he was the last to pass on. He is assumed to
have reincarnated at the end of episode 13, the final episode of _Angel Beats_
, and it is heavily implied he meets the reincarnated version of Angel.

The reason why he couldn't pass on just yet was not fully explained, but we
can try to form a conclusion from it, so it is not entirely speculative.
First, he lost all of his memories and so he has to regain it to truly
understand what he regretted. He did not end up in the afterlife normally like
the other students had, so it's highly possible that he did not have a regret
in the first place. It could be that he was in that afterlife in order to have
Angel move on with her life, as she regrets not being able to give thanks to
the person who gave her heart. Kanade, the Angel, was there before him and
that normally wouldn't make sense since he died before her.

Another explanation is that he simply regrets not being able to achieve his
dream of becoming a doctor or more specifically, to help people. He wanted to
help people after his sister's death and because he died before he was able to
reach his goal, it's understandable that he regrets not being able to see for
himself that he saved a life. Once he sees that Kanade was able to live her
life, that she was content with the life he gave her, he was able to move on
shortly after.

I don't think all organ donors would necessarily have regrets. If they lived a
full life, they would not be stuck in this afterlife school in the first
place. Remember that you will only be in this afterlife if you have regrets.
Otherwise, you would presumably just be reincarnated. Just because you donated
your heart doesn't mean you get to be stuck in that limbo.

* * *

Sources:

  * [How is it possible that Kanade has Otonashi's heart?](https://anime.stackexchange.com/a/5153)
  * [Wikia: Yuzuru Otonashi - _Another Epilogue_](http://angelbeats.wikia.com/wiki/Yuzuru_Otonashi#Another_Epilogue)

