Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-5513888-20130903031231/@comment-30081036-20160927060853

I reacon I can give a much simpler explination. Time is mostly consistant relative to the characters deaths. They appear at a regular inteval.

Shiina is the oldest coming from feudal Japan. The amount of time passed in the real world is irrelevant and only useful for determining the order of their deaths.

Otonashi moved on happily. He was in the true afterlife with other dead people rather than the youth who had no life.

Kanade's heart (from Otonashi) failed before long. But she wanted to thank Otonashi but as Otonashi moved on, she couldn't.

So Angel Player steps in. It finds Otonashi's soul (takes a while. Lots of souls to filter through). Otonashi can't go to Purgatory because he was happy. So Angel Player wipes his memories and sends him to Purgatory to help Kanade.

Anime starts.