Ranked #1578

Tooi Sekai

Tooi Sekai or Other Worlds takes you very briefly into the world of two people who are in a relationship and the complications and difficulty of being with someone you care about. Sometimes things aren't just always sunshine and smiles, and this anime reveals this almost ugly side of something that's very beautiful.

Not much is revealed about the story. It happens very quickly--the duration of the anime isn't even more than a minute and a half. But what isn't shown is just as important as what is. We are given a woman. We are given a man. They share a physical relationship, but is there more to that? Was there more to that? Will there be anything more to that? All these sort of questions are asked, and the viewer is left to speculate the complexity of human relationships as they see the answers unravel before them. The anime also seems in tune with that of film noir. No dialogue, just atmosphere.

In relation to its film noir style, the art of the anime is done in complete black and white. It gives it that traditional, romantic look as well as it reflects the bitterness that is ever-present in the anime: life and love isn't all that colourful and wonderful after all, especially for these characters. There is also an experimental sketchy look to the characters and backgrounds as well.

The sound was exceptional. The anime depended on other things to relay the sombre atmosphere, and the music does that completely. Gentle but powerful compositions that will definitely stir your heart. I couldn't find a fault with the sound.

Unfortunately, the characters were the weak point of this short. There simply was not enough time for them to be fully fleshed out. We don't see what made them what they are nor do we see how they change. But we do see two people who want to try, despite what appears to be a melancholy relationship.

Tooi Sekai is an emotional anime short that is definitely worth a watch, especially for those who know how it feels to try hard for something despite it all. read more

Well, what can you say for an anime that lasts 1m 27s :S.
It's essentially a type of romantic thing that i suppose is fairly typical in theme to much of Shinkai's work. It's a sort of silent movie with two characters simply talking about their relationship. Everything within is essentially designed to be simplistic, from the b+w colouring to the absence of spoken dialogue which I think works well within its own context. For something so short I thought it was fairly enjoyable.