Review of A Place Further Than The Universe
𝗦𝗼𝗿𝗮 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗶 𝗺𝗼 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗶 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗼 (𝗮𝗸𝗮 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗶) - 𝗔 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝟴/𝟭𝟬 I normally don't write anime reviews, but I believe this should be an exception. I will keep this review as spoiler-free as possible, so your experience won't be ruined. "𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆." Consider an adventure the way to break free from your self-made cocoon, in search of a new perspective toward this ever-changing world. Of course, like they always say, the real journey is the friends we have made along the way. People, regardless of age, gender, personality and social background, set thepath on an adventure because they want to accomplish something different. Destination may not be the only thing in mind, but it sure will be a catalyst for blooming friendship.
What makes Yorimoi worth watching is how it turns me from not impressed, to pleasantly surprised. Surely, a journey to Antarctica, combined with "civilian expedition" (allowing regular citizens to accompany by experts) may sound like something out of the blue for many, but considering I have watched the more bizarre part of anime, that would be a rather, "standard" plot. Whether you have been to this destination before, or that you are a literal newcomer, like our four main characters, doesn't matter. An adventure will always lead to new discoveries, in this case, the emergence of true friendship.
This brings me to the next point: this anime is truly an emotional rollercoaster (yes, I finally decided to use this phrase after having seen it everywhere on MAL). I can argue that this has one of the most touching scenes I have ever witnessed, crushing any preconceptions of what a sad scene should look like. The breakdowns, arguments, tragedies are all there, for one reason: they tighten friendship. Believe it or not, through such occurrences, you will feel one step closer to your friends. Like the poles of a magnet, they will stick for eternity.
𝗛𝗼𝘄𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿, 𝗜 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝟴 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴:
This anime is the prime example that a great anime should not only encompass a stellar storyline, but also art, sound, and length. Each and every one of those elements will affect the viewing experience in one way or another. Unfortunately, this has not been the case for Yorimoi:
The soundtrack, except for the ending, is overall consistently, poor. Probably it has something to do with my previous shows leading to this anime, which all had amazing audio, if not, spectacular. There is not even one scene that I feel satisfied about the audio - it doesn't make the experience seem one-of-a-kind, just some mainstream sound effects that they all use in typical anime(-like) shows. That is, not to mention the constant yelling I had to suffer while trying to relax with an episode after hours of work.
Art is plagued with CGI. This may not be a problem for others, but for me, this excessive use of 3D elements and objects is beyond belief. Clearly Madhouse could do a better job, just look at MAPPA doing Zombieland Saga, using the right amount of CGI at the right moment is nothing but breathtaking.
Were this to be 2 episodes shorter, I would even consider this to be a 9/10. I know that a journey includes many steps and challenges along the way, but 13 episodes is a bit too much for this storyline. Episodes feel rather dragged as the result, which will negatively affects how a viewer interprets it.
𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗲, 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳.