Review of A Place Further Than The Universe

Winter 2018 started off with a clash of titans. In the red corner, the impossibly hyped-up Violet Evergarden. In the blue corner, that snazzy Studio Trigger mecha show. Everyone was taking wagers on who would be the next heavyweight champ. But as the rounds went on, whispers fluttered through the audience. Did either of these really deserve the title? Eh, maybe. For the record, 10 episodes in I find Violet Evergarden to be exceptional. Darling in the Franxx has yet to conclusively prove itself, but it has a ton of potential and a long way to go. But I definitely think that A Place Further thanthe Universe (henceforth Sora Yori) deserves its share of time in the spotlight. While this is my first ‘cute girls’ anime, there are elements shared across all genres that Sora Yori executes really well on. The series primarily works around wholesome comedy and drama elements, and consistently sells it. The story manages to generate interest without holding a looming endpoint and effortlessly swings in the direction of some serious thematic drama when the time comes.

Most notably, Sora Yori just has great main characters. They are all hilarious, seamlessly pull off being close friends, and provide interesting dramatic interplay with each other to give the plot some shape. While comedy tops the list of reason I enjoyed the show, the opportunities each character can give the others to shine really cannot be understated. This is backed up by the strength of the shows presentation, which, while not stylistically inventive, is clean and consistent. Only rarely does the art feel like it needs a quality check, and the stylistic choice of highlighting hair in this series is actually notable and a great effect. Additionally, the sound design really has no weak points. The voice acting is absolutely godlike across the board. Several good tracks that are always used properly. Hell, the series can even sell a horror scene.

No series is perfect, and while Sora Yori really has no glaring weak points, it could still be improved in a few ways. (1) The big drama moments are pulling like a .700 batting average for me. Certainly good, but the worst thing about dramas is when the big moments don’t stick the landing. (2) Having a new point of drama every episode is a little exhausting, especially since it feels like the show is at its best when indexing into comedy. (3) The side characters are tough to keep track of and uninteresting, which is fine. I don’t even know if the series is worse off for that fact, since this is sort of how side characters are in real life. To me, the complaints don’t really mean a whole lot. The series just doesn’t need these attributes to be wildly successful, and as a result, I think Sora Yori makes a great contender for anime of the season.

[Pros & Cons]
[+++] The girls are great!
[+++] Voice acting is superb, especially on main characters.
[++] Comedy execution and writing hits the mark again and again.
[+] Standard but solid sound design.
[+] Strong visuals that rarely flub. Minor stylistic choices that pay off and create a unique presentation.
[+] Story does a great job highlighting the personality and background differences between the main characters.
[=] Side characters generally hard to balance and uninteresting.

[Rating]
Story: 8
Art: 8
Sound: 9
Character: 10
Enjoyment/Overall: 9