Review of A Place Further Than The Universe

It's a bit of an eerie experience giving my first 10 on MAL to this kind of slice-of-life anime, but I honestly couldn't do anything else – in its own category, A Place Further Than the Universe is an absolute masterclass and I couldn't find any real negatives about it. It provided way more than I've ever expected considering the premise and charmed me to no end. The characters are full of personality and charming, but above all, they constantly feel human. Especially the main girls themselves are flawed and troubled in relatable ways, but while the show has moments where it focuses on their personalstories, it never gets overly melodramatic or sappy. It always keeps the perfect balance between drama, humour and casual SoL moments, without for a moment losing its pace or trying too hard to get the viewer emotional. It's humane and genuine like few other shows ever came even close to being in my experience.

The series is also beautifully produced, with visuals, music and voice acting all being rock-solid. It's really important in this kind of story, as it is heavily reliant on the proper atmosphere and sense of adventure (which, btw, applies even to the first half of the show, dedicated pretty much exclusively to the four girls meeting each other and finding their way to join the Antarctic expedition together).

It's hard for me to fully express how much I fell in love with this show and how strongly I recommend giving it a chance. Even if slice of life anime normally isn't your thing, this is just such a wholesome and subtly emotional experience that it's hard for me to imagine a person that wouldn't enjoy it at least to some extent. Try it out, and I promise you won't regret it!