Review of The World is Still Beautiful

"It goes beyond ´like´and ´dislike´. That´s right. This emotion.. it´s gratitude I guess". - Livius I often start to watch many shoujo/romance anime with a bit of skepticism, due to many of them are very stereotypical and doesn't bring something new and interesting (and don't even get me started about the damsel in distress-card that's being played way to often). But in this case I was very positively surprised. So why was "Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii" (The World is Still Beautiful) so different and great in it genres? I will get down to that know. Story: 9/10 The first thing that appealed to me. The title "The worldis still beautiful" is a very suiting title - how two people can make the world beautiful for each other, then at least one of them lost the ability to see the worlds beauty and the other never really saw the worlds true colors. They have manage to weave together shoujo, romance, adventure and fantasy brilliantly. Instead of having cute young girl meets handsome young man who instantly falls in love, we have a tomboy princess meets.. well.. boy king. And it´s definitely not love at first sight. *small spoiler* They actually getting in to a fight and Nike (tomboy princess) is thrown in jail by the boy king Livius *end spoiler*. And from there the story pretty much kicks off. They come from totally different worlds and slowly they start to understand and open up to each other. One of most beautiful love stories I seen. The show is pretty episodic but that didnt bother me at all, they managed to smooth out the lines well. The story isnt just about the romance, we also have some political intrigues, family issues and magic. We even get some darker moments and the comedy was actually pretty great.

Art: 8/10
The art isnt amazing overall, but absolutely more then decant. The thing that did stood out was some of the scenery´s. The sky in different times of the day, the falling rain and some silhouette of the castle and garden was absolutely stunning. Character designs was pretty great, liked them all (yes, you will run in to bi-shies).

Sound: 8/10
I liked the OST. It managed to highlight the atmosphere in the scenes and was over all pretty beautiful - the word I´m looking for is suiting. OP song fitted the show good and was pretty catchy. Voice acting was great (watched subbed). I really liked the voice actor of Livius - he really made a good job of bringing out Livius character.

Character: 9/10
One of the best things about this show. Both Nike and Livius are great characters, who for just a 12 episodes show had a lot of development without losing their original self's. I liked all of the supporting cast as well, but they were not that fleshed out so you really didn't get to know them that much (besides Bard that is). So who are Nike and Livius? Let me tell you.

Nike - A teenage tomboy princess with a special gift. She can call up the rain and wind. The wind can she also use as a weapon to literately slice of blades and steal. Nike takes order from no one at all. She is also very kindhearted and clever. Nike isnt over powered by no means, but her skills do come in handy. She sees the beauty in the world, and are like the wind - she feels like a free spirit that see and do things in ways others don't. Really refreshing in this genre.

Livius - The boy king (I think he´s around 12). Don´t appear as boy at all. He has the eyes of a much older man and can sometimes be quite cruel. When the show starts, he´s been a king for 3 years and conquered many countries. Livius has been marked by his past and become very cold and distant. He has lost the ability to see the beauty of the world. To see him with Nike's help to appreciate the beauty in the world again was heartbreaking.

They have one of the most beautiful relationship developments I ever seen in anime. Yes, I know I probably over use the word beautiful here but that is what it is.

Enjoyment: 10/10
I marathoned throw "The world is still beautiful" in a day. So yes, I enjoyed it hell of a lot. Great story, unique paring and the hardship they had to go throw was awesome. Add some nice music and scenery to it, and we have something unique and beautiful added to the shoujo/romance genres.

Overall: 9/10
GREAT is the word. Absolutely loved every second of it. Never ever was I annoyed, bored or confused. Yes, i cried and laughed to this one. The story wasnt super deep or complex, but it contained realistic elements that made it feel so much more alive. From what I heard, it is material for a second season so I have my hopes up. I really wan´t to see the rest of the journey of Nike and Livius.