Yama no Susume

As a child, Aoi Yukimura adored mountains and was passionate about climbing. However, a playground accident has since left her afraid of heights, turning her toward indoor hobbies. Unfortunately, now a shy and timid first-year high school student, Aoi has become so absorbed in these pastimes that she can barely socialize with others, leaving her practically friendless. It is only when she runs into the lively Hinata Kuraue, an old friend from her climbing days, that things start to change.

Impulsive and high-spirited, Hinata insists on having Aoi join her in all sorts of climbing activities. Though reluctant at first, Aoi quickly finds that her time with Hinata brings back fond memories of their childhood and soon decides to start climbing again. As the return to her past hobby starts to bring her out of her shell, Aoi finds herself gaining close friends, taking on new challenges, and continuing to find her own encouragement to climb.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Yukimura, Aoi Main

Iguchi, Yuka Japanese

Aoba, Kokona Main

Ogura, Yui Japanese

Kuraue, Hinata Main

Asumi, Kana Japanese

Saitou, Kaede Main

Hikasa, Youko Japanese

Kuraue, Kenichi Supporting

Ogino, Seirou Japanese

Kasai, Tsutomu Producer

Kosuge, Hidenori Assistant Producer

Yamamoto, Yuusuke Director, Episode Director, Script, Storyboard

Oono, Kazuhisa Episode Director

Reviews

Sep 19, 2024

Panda_Roll

Recommended

Encouragement of Climb consists of 12 episodes each clocking in at 3 minutes.

Usually anime shorts like this consists of little sketches that are either comedic or fan service-y in nature. It's very rare that a show can contain the storyline within that amount of time and still be a proper one with arcs, character development and plot.

It also highlights the beauty of the locations mentioned (mt Takao specifically) and pays attentions to the details of both the climbers and the trail.

I can't believe this also counts as a point but it allows children to be just that, children. They look like kids, ... act like kids AND they don't suddenly flash their panties or get over sexualized when they're KIDS. I feel like 99% of all recent animes can learn from this.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Sep 6, 2018

JuneNephthys

Mixed Feelings

Initially, I didn't expect much from the collection of hiking shorts, known as Encouragement of the Climb, or Yama no Susume. And following my expectations, the first season of the series is just average, I can't say that it's anything other than average, but I thought the second season was good.

• Much like other moe shows like K-On, Yuru Yuri, or New Game! The second series are usually far superior, due to the fact the the studio seems to be more comfortable quirks, and the audience is more familiar with the girls’ cute quirksーso character and story exploration can take place. Encouragement of the Climb ... doesn't betray its sister shows in that aspect.

• Along the same vein of Akari having an existential crisis at the end of the second season of Yuru Yuri, the second season of this series goes more into Aoi's fear of heights. The first season does touch on it, but since the shorts in the first season are far shorter (episodes in S1 are three minute segments, while the ante is ramped up to fifteen minute weeklies in S2), before, the show only had time to teach us about hiking.

• Moe shows about a protagonist overcoming a fear or personality flaw is a stereotype, but a stereotype that I often enjoy. I really enjoyed that Girls und Panzer took Miho's character a step further than the rest, by having her deal with PTSD and an overbearing, abusive family.

• I enjoyed the cute little vignettes that made you think that this collection of stories is sweeter than a diabetic pony. I can also say that Encouragement of the Climb got me really interested in hiking, which is spectacular since I rarely leave my house. The arc where the girls climbed Mt. Fuji, or Fuji-san as they call it, was particularly touching and well-written.

• Overall, if you want to watch something adorable, emotionally moving, and something that will encourage you to break your shut-in habits, then you would probably love the hell out this series! If you don't like moe, then don't, but it’s a very fun and encapsulating experience for a series of short episodes: seriously the times range is from 3-13 minutes. I give the first season a 5/10, the second season a 7/10, and the third season a 5/10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Apr 4, 2013

djWHEAT

Not Recommended

When seeing the title of this anime, I thought that watching a acrophobic moe girl trying to climb mountains could lead to some funny hijinks. Sadly I was kind of disappointed when more than half of the show was about moe girls doing cute things and "talking" about climbing. This made the story kind of generic and forgettable.

The art of the show is your standard moe style, with all the bright colors, cute girls and big shiny eyes that you expect from such a show. Other than that I can't really say much about it, except that it was okay i guess.

The sound is where ... the show really looses quite a lot of points according to me. Because I think that the soundtrack of a show can really lift it to new heights or drop it down a cliff of being really generic. The later is sadly true for this show as the soundtrack was nothing more than quiet tunes of guitar and piano, which you didn't really notice.

The characters are your standard moe fair with "the scared one", our main character, "the hyper one", "the klutzy one" and "the tall and mature one". The characters also barely develops or changes over the twelve three minute episodes.

The show had some funny moments, but they were sadly outshone by whole episodes of just talking about stuff and nothing happen. I can't really say that I would recommend this show, unless you like the whole "moe girls doing cute things and talking about stuff" kind of thing.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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The Yama no Susume Official Fan Meeting, which was held on Saturday, announced that the series will receive a new OVA and a third season. The new OVA, titled Yama n...read more

Jun 3, 2017 12:37 AM by tsubasalover | Discuss (45 comments)

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At Sunday's fan event "Touchou Kinen Party! Hannou-shi Shimin Kaikan tte Doko!?" in Hannou, Saitama Prefecture, Japan, a second anime adaptation of gi...read more

Dec 1, 2013 5:16 AM by tsubasalover | Discuss (60 comments)

	Poll: Yama no Susume Episode 3 Discussion Stark700 - Jan 16, 2013	42 replies	by RGreatDanton »» Nov 14, 2024 5:11 PM
	Poll: Yama no Susume Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 ) tsubasalover - Jan 9, 2013	53 replies	by RGreatDanton »» Nov 14, 2024 5:06 PM
	Poll: Yama no Susume Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Jan 2, 2013	100 replies	by RGreatDanton »» Nov 14, 2024 5:03 PM
	Poll: Yama no Susume Episode 4 Discussion Stark700 - Jan 23, 2013	35 replies	by Daviljoe193 »» Aug 28, 2024 3:05 PM
	Poll: Yama no Susume Episode 5 Discussion Stark700 - Jan 30, 2013	37 replies	by PrawnGuard »» Dec 5, 2022 4:12 PM

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