Review of A Place Further Than The Universe

A Place Further than the Universe is a title that evoke a sense of wonder. What can possibly be further than THE universe? Well, for the average person who lives a life never traveling more than a few hours from home that distance might be shorter than they think. And so, without much fanfare originally, A Place Further than the Universe (aka. YoriMoi) came in early 2018 to surprise the world with a touching story about those that travel to that place, the place that lies so far a way that it feels like it lies in a place completely disconnected from the world they've alwaysknown. A story of friendship, grief and, most importantly, discovery.

< STORY: 9>

The story of YoriMoi is relatively straightforward story-wise as a sort of take on a modern adventure story combined with the sensitivities of so-called "Cute Girls" shows, with a focus on character interactions as opposed to a deeply layered, introspective plot. We are introduced to the main story by the end of the first episode and even though the goal is set up early and clearly, to go to Antarctica, it is also made abundantly clear from the beginning that the journey to get there is not going to be easy, especially for a group of high school girls. At the same time however, the show takes its time to have the main cast prepare for this trip and, along the way, the four girls forge a strong bond with each other, despite all of them having their own motivations for traveling that are separate from each other. While getting to Antarctica is the main goal, as the story starts to move forward it becomes apparent that it's not necessarily the end goal in and of itself and this opens the way for the girls to go into their own personal arcs throughout the show's run.

The pacing is handled excellently, as every part of the story is given space to grow and the ease the viewer into them. The themes that YoriMoi deals with are mostly condensed into the idea that this journey is a big endeavor that lets each of the girls discover themselves, along the way they also unite as they move forward with the preparations and eventual arrival to Antarctica, slowly getting to know each other better.

The big failing of the show is that it feels like it did what could with the runtime it had, but it could have done even more by having a little more. Even though the pacing never falters and the story is still satisfying, the later plot points at times feel like they did not have the proper time to be fully explored. This is not a big problem, but it certainly seems like there was potential for the story to go even further but couldn't push for that anymore than it did lest the overall quality of the writing take a hit for the worst, as so much is already going on in each individual episode.

< ART: 8>

The visuals of this show are expertly done so as to be easy on the eyes while still showcasing a degree of subtle attention to detail. The animations are well done and, even though they don't push any limits, they nonetheless have great effort put into making them consistent and smooth.

The background are beautiful and fit very well the scenes they are presented at. The overall level of quality in the visuals of this show are almost on par with those of an anime movie and that is honestly impressive.

The problems that are present in the visuals are a combination of personal taste and minor issues. The biggest problem visually is the use of CGI. There is significant use of 3D models in the show, especially for vehicles and most of the time it is quite easy to tell that they are models and not hand-drawn, in particular I can point to the cars in a certain scene of episode 2. As for the matter of personal taste, I've never been much of a fan of the artstyles that use white outlines on borders. While I get that it tries to evoke a watercolor/cutout feel to the visuals, it never feels quite right to me and while I like they way YoriMoi handles it, I don't love it.

< SOUND: 10>

There is not much to discuss regarding the audio. YoriMoi has an amazing soundtrack that contains a handful of insert songs and instrumentals that go from subdued tension to lighthearted silliness. Both the OP and ED are also outstanding, inspiring songs with equally amazing visuals to back them up.

The sound design of the show is well done with no faults to be seen, with sound effects that just get the job done well. But the real star of this section is probably the performances of the voice actors, particularly those of the main cast, who delivered a multitude of dialogues with great emotional weight throughout, really capturing their characters onscreen.

I don't see any real flaws in this section so it gets a perfect score.

< CHARACTER: 9>

The characters of the show are the real highlight in terms of the writing of the show. Rather than going for the more stereotypical depictions of teenagers as just younger versions of adults with crazy hormones, the girls of the main cast are portrayed in a more realistic way, where they are not really know-it-alls about the world. They have at times a very shallow and immature way of looking at the world, others they act in a much more adult-like manner, and sometimes they just goof around and have a good time. The girls of the main cast are just teenage girls that have a grand goal and are trying to achieve it. Even though they all have their own personalities they are all fairly well rounded individuals and that is great as means of conveying the fact that this show has a (somewhat) realistic setting. Exaggerating the traits of their characters to extreme degrees so as to make them more cartoony would come at great cost in this instance and the show walks the tightrope of not shooting too far in that direction perfectly in the more comedic moments of the show.

However it's not just the girls that get fleshed out, as a handful of the adults get their moment in the limelight, particularly those related to Shirase Kobuchizawa's own arc, and to a lesser extent, Kimari's parents. Even though we don't get to meet the entire crew of the expedition to Antarctica, the characters that we do get to see are distinctive enough for the (for the most part) small time onscreen that we get to see of them.

The only pet-peeve I would have with the characters is that while the arc of Kimari's friend Megumi is interesting in how it subtly hints at her opinion on the whole journey to Antarctica, the conclusion feels a little sudden and maybe too short. Meanwhile Kimari herself feels a little weak in terms of her own arc compared to the other girls, but these are minor things that others may be able to look over.

< ENJOYMENT: 9>

If it hasn't been noticeable up to this point, I personally loved this show. I came into it with not much expectations and left thoroughly satisfied, despite a slight aversion to cute girl shows. What struck me in particular about it was how well-rounded everything is. The show does not mince words when it comes to the challenges that expeditions to Antarctica face and it's made abundantly clear all the way through. At the same time however we get plenty of the silly moments where the characters are just enjoying to the best of their ability this unique situation they have gotten themselves into. This is true of both the main cast and the other members of the expedition.

The drama that brews in the show occasionally is usually low intensity and gets resolved within the same episode. Every episode also feels like a story that stands on its own within the larger narrative, and this is what I think kept the pacing of the show so engaging for me. However what really sells this show to me is how it all comes together in the most simple of ways. Both during my original watch and a later rewatch of the show there were moments where I would find myself sharing the emotions of the characters without even understanding why, at that particular moment. The fact that the show managed to break me a second time in the same scene despite already knowing the story is a testament to how much I got emotionally invested into this show.

The only caveat I have for the show is that there was one particular moment in the story in the later episodes that I didn't feel all that invested into and, even though I understood the motives behind it and could comprehend why the outcome was the way it was, I still couldn't enjoy it to the same degree as the rest of the show. Fortunately the climax of the story more than made up for that for me, but that one part remained the only one of the story I did not care all that much for.

< TL; DR >

YoriMoi is a great show that took the world by storm with thoughtful and well-rounded characters in a story of self-discovery and a touch of adventure, with amazing production values and direction.

If you have ever had a feeling in your life that you could be doing way more with your life than what you've got going right now, this show is very likely to resonate with you on some level. It can be a little slow if you are used to the more mainstream anime with big action scenes and heroic epics, but this show is way more than a typical anime, it is a truly great show all of its own.

I encourage any reader of this review wholeheartedly to give it a try, while I don't find it to be a masterpiece personally, it is pretty damn close to being one.

< OVERALL SCORE: 9.0/10 = 9 >