Sora no Method

Sora no Method leaves an intensely illuminating image in the mind, reflective of the deep and abiding memories of its lead character, Nonoka. Sora no Method's visual splendor is like the prettiest fireworks in the sky, lighting up faces and hearts for both its characters and the show's viewers. This is one anime show that is both beautiful to behold, as well as beautiful in its emotionally resonant treatment of friendship, hope, family, and struggle against the corrosive effect that the passage of time can have on all three.

However, as strong as Sora no Method's heart and artistry is, its story can tease and ... bewilder at times, even though it is not particularly complicated. I would recommend this anime to anyone who is a fan of Key-related anime works, as well as to fans of the AnoHana anime, but I do want to prepare you for some of the show's weaknesses.

The story often has an air of magically mesmerizing mystery about it. At its best, it can prove enchanting and engrossing. But at its worst, it can leave you raising eyebrows over the actions and choices of its characters.

I found the characters to be very likeable, and well-actualized, but there are at times a questionable inconsistency to them. Their choices and emotional attachments sometimes fail to come across well, and it's often only later and in retrospect that they start to make more sense. So this is an anime that demands a certain type of patience. Not in a basic pacing sense, as I didn't find the plot overly fast or slow, but rather when it comes to how you approach the characters.

The characters develop gradually, meticulously, and sometimes in a "2 steps forward, 1 step back" sort of way. At times, they can be exasperating, and this can undermine the effectiveness and sense of flow to the story.

Nonetheless, the central characters all have a strong sense of agency to them, and it is easy to get caught up in their wondrously whimsical wavering and movement. Noel is of consistent chipper cheer, leaving her name a very fitting one given the well-known holiday that also bears that name. And so she serves as an anchor that keeps the Sora no Method ship sailing straight through the torrential storms of the other character's emotional typhoons and crashing waves.

The high-spirited yet also high-strung Yuzuki often amuses, and the relationship between her and her brother is one of the more realistic sibling relationships I've seen in anime in recent years.

Shione provides an edge and sharpness to the show that helps provide a good balance to its syrupy saccharine sentimental aims. She can exasperate or even infuriate in her worst moments, but those moments are probably essential in giving the otherwise straightforward story the momentum it needs.

Koharu is the pleasant poised peacemaker, who's generally gentle touch is supported well by a touch of iron within. She has her moments of weakness, to be sure, but her softness speaks soundly of a good and reliable friend.

Then there is Nonoka, who's dauntless determination infuses the show with a swiftly sprinting synergy of powerful and vibrant character relationship dynamics. Nonoka is a well-balanced lead character that I found very easy to like and cheer on.

And it is because of exquisite emotional engagement, that I feel comfortable in giving this show a very good rating in spite of its narrative weaknesses. If you're looking for a thrilling or thought-provoking show, then this might not be the best show for you. But if you're looking for something strongly spirited, an aspirational adventure that slowly grows under the glimmering lights of a saucer above, then this is one show that I think you will heartily enjoy.

This show is probably one of the most underrated show of the Fall 2014 season. It is a shame that this show is going to be lost with the others of its genre. This show falls victim to the "don't judge a book by it's cover" scenario where at first glance, it seems like a typical moe-blob show with hints of melodrama, but it grows into something much more than that and tries it's best to differentiate itself from the rest of the shows this season. Sure it is no Fate/ Stay Night UBW or Parasyte, and it isn't even close to being compared to ... classics like Kanon or Anohana, but with the right mindset, this show can easily stand its own ground.
The main problem I keep hearing about this show is that it's "too melodramatic." Lets be honest, without a little drama and character conflict, this show will still get ripped on either way. The story itself starts off with a very solid premise with some shaky execution problems along the road. It should be noted that this show is really character driven, and if you hate one of the characters, the story might drag for you. Our MC Nonoka just moved into her childhood town where she reunites with some of her childhood friends. However, it might not be as easy as it seems as her friends drifted apart due to the presence of a saucer hovering over the cit, a saucer summoned by them when they were little 7 years ago. From there, Nonoka meets with Noel, a girl of unknown origin, and with her tries to reunite with her friends as they were before the saucer came in. The story itself isn't perfect, and it can be quite predictable at times. There are even some questionable moments such as "why isn't the government doing anything about the saucer" or "is a certain character's reason for hatred towards the saucer justifiable?" If we stand back and look at the story for what it is, a coming of age story about old friendships and new relationships, the story is quite bearable and delightful to watch.
Another plus of the series is sound and art/animation department. The art style is really, how should I say, bright, cheery, and beautiful. The animation, for the most part, is pretty solid, it gets the job done. The soundtrack is quite well done. All the pieces compliments the scenes it was played too, setting the mood right, whether it is really sad, or really hopeful. The OP and ED songs are relatively good compared to shows of this genre. The OP is good but whether you want to download it "legally" is up to you. The ED on the other hand is agreeably great and definitely worth listening to outside the show.
If there are any flaws in Sora No Method, and there are quite a few, it's the character department. Although some Characters. such as Shione, Nonoka, and Yuziki, had some decent character development and back story, some really didn't get any, like Nonoka's dad or Souta. If there is one character worth mentioning, its the shows mascot, Noel. Noel, in a nutshell, is "THE MOST ADORABLE CHARACTER THIS SEASON!!!!" Jokes aside, Noel played her part well. By that, I mean being the adorable girl everyone wants to hug and be around. Although her role in the story is somewhat disappointing as the main plot device revolves around her and the show hardly focuses on her and focuses more in Nonoka and her struggle to conform with her friends. Speaking of friends, some of her friends motivations for disbanding and conflict are somewhat shallow and could have explained upon more or at least portrayed better. There are seriously moments where you just want to facepalm and slap a certain character. Although it really didn't happen, what they all became in the end was really satisfactory and worth the journey.
Sora No Method, sadly won't be remembered this season, besides that it is the "moe-blob" of this season. But it is just so much more than that. By the end of the series, I walked away really happy, and would love to see some more Noel cuteness and adorableness. This show is worth trying out as it is a good breather away from those adrenaline pumped action shows and hyperactive comedy/slice of life shows. If you are looking for the next Anohana, steer clear away from this anime as it would leave you disappointed. But if you are looking for something different in the moe supernatural genre, check it out. I really hope this anime gets noticed more as it easily falls into one of my favorites this year.

I finally got around to finishing this show, and I'm glad I did. It reminded me a lot of Nagi no Asukara or Glasslip, as all three are very heart-warming and relaxing. The opening and ending are both equally enjoyable. All of the main characters were very well written, and the story really sticks with me. I was surprised with how much better it got in the last two episodes. Shione is such an important character. The last episode must have given me chills 100 times, and I even teared up there when Shione was looking at the papers to enroll in her old school. ... Overall, I'd definitely recommend this show, and it was very enjoyable to watch!

Sore no Method – “That’s what I’m here for, to grant your wishes”. A simple and innocent story of a girl just trying to reconnect with all her friends so that they may all smile together again. Except it is much more than just a friendly story. It moves you in ways that you cannot explain. Emotions swell within you yet, these emotions cannot be distinguished from happy and sad. It becomes hard to differiate between heartbreak and heartwarming, or that the tears upon your cheeks are from joy or sorrow. Sora no Method takes all of these feelings and blends them together into the ... happiest sad anime of the year.
Story – 7
Nonoka is returning to her hometown after being in Tokyo for seven years. Although the town itself hasn’t changed much the attitudes and tourists have, because now there is a giant saucer hovering right over the middle of the lake. As Nonoka starts her new life she goes back to school. Luckily she ends up in the same class as most of her childhood friends unfortunately, she forgot about them after being gone for so long leading to some of them becoming mad at Nonoka for forgetting them. Later as she returns home to start unpacking more of her belongings she finds Noel looking through the items, and in Noel’s hands is a picture of Nonoka’s late mother with its glass covering broken. Infuriated at the thought that Noel broke this picture she yells at Noel to leave, its not until her father returns and tells her that the picture was already broken while moving that Nonoka realizes the mistake she had made. As she desperately searches around the town for Noel she remembers a promise she made to Noel before she moved away. Nonoka then runs to the abandoned observatory, there she finds Noel and apologizes. Only to have Noel say it was ok and that after Nonoka fulfilled Noel’s wish of her returning, that it was her turn to make Nonoka’s wish come true.
The story can easily be described with two words: melodramatic and moving. There are tons of forced drama in the first few episodes with everyone but one of her ex-friends holding a grudge. Slowly yet surely Nonoka with the help of the ultra-cute Noel becomes friends with almost everyone. And that basically ends most of the forced drama. The last few episodes are beyond moving. The story has such a beautiful meaning and delivery no one cannot help but feel their heart getting pulled upon, and for a few tears of both joy and sorrow roll down their cheeks. With a final ending that will just melt your soul.
Characters – 7
Nonoka only wants to be with friends again. She is a slight tragic character in the beginning with everyone blaming her for the saucer that came and changed their lives. Through it all though Nonoka never breaks, she does get beaten back especially when trying to sway Shione to forgive her. Luckily she is always helped by the wonderfully adorable Noel. And to get it out of the way: Noel is the most adorable character this season. Now I’m sure you’ve heard others call her that too and think she’s just become an overhyped loli who does a few cute things but nothing more. Instead Noel is one of the most dynamic characters of the story. Always working hard to bring everyone together with a smile, and while all the other characters might break down and cry Noel never once stops smiling. It’s unfortunate that the other characters, apart from Shione who only comes into herself in the final moments of the season, are somewhat bland compared to the developments that Nonoka and Noel go through. But that still makes them solid characters while not as important or entertaining each can easily hold their own throughout the story and all make important contributions.
For the most part Koharu never holds any grudges against anyone, and actually blaming herself for the falling out of Yuzuki and her brother Souta before the events of the story. She never makes a large impact on the story but constantly keeps pushing everyone to be friends. The Mizusaka twins, Yuzuki and Souta, are two very different characters. Yuzuki is very active in both fending off Nonoka’s early attempts at befriending her, but then adamantly trying to sway Shione into becoming friends once again. While her brother Souta really is not much of a character as he stays in the background making sure the girls don’t hurt themselves. Shione is actually a difficult character to describe as she is almost two faced. She refuses to talk to Nonoka and even threatens her at points, but at the same time acting like a big sister to Noel. This relationship goes until the very end of the series and because of key spoilers I won’t discuss the matter to that point.
Art/Animation – 9
It’s stunning. A very simple yet elegant art style perfectly matches the innocence of the characters and story. Beautiful background shots are used everywhere. The animation looks exceedingly good whenever they put they use the saucer as something to draw on. Also the final scenes are so beautiful and smooth the art itself was one of the reasons that it evoked so much emotion.
Sound – 8
Simple and innocent, the ever going theme to describe this anime. While they can’t stand out from the anime itself the beautiful background music enhances every key moment and just makes you smile. The OP and ED are very cute sounding and some of my favourite’s of the season.
Enjoyment – 8
The anime easily had its ups and downs. Over the course of the season it was unfortunate that this show was one of the first I would “save” until next week to watch. Until the final few episodes it was a basic slice of life, yes we saw an over-arching story and really good characters. But nothing made me think “You know I really need to watch Sora no Method this week” and it is just that unfortunate that is what the genre has us do. Now luckily what happened is that I pushed it back so much that I ending up marathoning the final four episodes which is actually something that needs to be done. Because it is these four episodes that everything comes to light, everything comes together, and everyone smiles.
Overall – 7.93

Sora no Method, or Cosmic Method, was a show that, when airing begun, didn't really attract much attention, but for the people that have watched it or plan to soon, this show is a very lighthearted slice of life that won't blow your mind, and it certainly won't resonate with everyone, but for what it's worth, i'd say it did it's job pretty well.

Story - 7

The story isn't incredibly groundbreaking, but one word that i feel can be used quite effectively is unique, the story follows Komiya Nonoka, a girl that, at the best of times, is quite inspiring, and at the worst, annoying ... as hell. She has moved back to her hometown where a saucer occupies the sky. The saucer was called by Nonoka and her friends when they were kids, and now Nonoka embarks on a emotional journey with her childhood friends, as they all become more and more entwined with the saucer and the mysterious girl that came with it.

Art - 7

Nothing amazing in the art department, Animation had a really nice water colour look to it in my opinion, and the hair of almost every character was something i really liked looking at, the eyes however, not really, i like big eyes as much as the next guy but i don't know, something about the lighter shades at the bottom half of characters eyes just didn't look very nice to me, but then again, i am a picky person when it comes to eyes. Everything else was so-so, as aforementioned, nothing amazing, but it certainly isn't bad to look at.

Sound - 8

Beautiful ED, pretty good OP, music in episodes was average, what you'd expect from the kind of show it is. That ending theme though, god that was great, I know a lot of shows do this but when I heard the start of the ED fade in at the end of each episode i got a little excited and, well, tried my best to sing along (we all do it, don't try to deny it). The OP was alright, I don't think it really displayed the right sort of scenes at time though, like when Nonoka runs onto the wharf, and turns around to see Noel, her face drops into despair it looks like for a second, i don't know, maybe it's just me but i found sometimes the OP didn't really fit the cheery song sometimes.

Characters - 7

Most of the characters in this show were your averagely generated attitudes and personalities, you've got the stubborn one (Shione) the energetic one (Yuzuki) the nice one who accepts everything (Koharu) and the one who seems like they don't care but they really do in the end (Souta). As much as my descriptions might not be top notch, that's how i saw most of the characters, not to say that in a negative manner though, i enjoyed the dialogue between most of them, expect for Shione and Yuzuki being absolute bitches to Nonoka at first, that annoyed me a little.

Enjoyment/Overall - 7

Overall this was a very lighthearted show with some magical aspects about a group of friends going through what friends go through, mix in a cute loli with blue hair who is just the god damned cutest thing ever, i mean come on, Noel carried the comedy in this show, and you've got yourself an upper average slice of life that gives you a warm feeling with each episode, a smile at the nice ending and enough cutesy dialogue to make you see it through to the end.

~Xeno156

My simple review of Sora no Method.
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Art: 9

The most redeeming quality Sora no Method offers is the extraordinary art. If you enjoyed the art in Nagi no Asukara, the color scheme and visuals are similar, though NagiAsu does it better in my opinion.
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Sound: 8

The second most redeeming quality is the ost and voice actors. The music was catchy and beautiful and the vice actors did amazing in their roles.
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Now Story and Characters, where the series fell flat on their face.

Story: 4.5

Story was a decent setup but it delivered poorly without answering numerous questions and having too many plot holes to count. It really is a shame because they could've done so much with the set-up.
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Characters: 5

The character designs are cute and unique but the personalities of these characters are bland and their actions hardly ever make sense or are even logical. Noel was the only decent character even though she was a typical moe blob copy.
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Enjoyment: 6

I enjoyed this series as a viewer but as a reviewer I can see why it can be disliked.
BUT I don't think it deserves less than a 3 because the series had a lot of positives you cannot deny like the ost, voice actors, art, and character design.

Overall: 6.5

I just finished this Anime and I can say that it is underrated if you accept the fact that it’s target audience is skewed to a younger audience. Basically, it is a show about growing up and friendship. I selected it just by chance, when I was in the mood for something light and cute. I must admit that I did during the first few episodes wonder why I was watching it but after a little while the characters started to grow on me and the plot became more interesting. But it is the last few episodes that make the show ... worth watching. The simple seen between Nonoka and her Mom is truly precious and the lesson about the impact a good friend can have on our life is heart warming to say the least. So if you are in the mood for something simple and cute which is targeted to a younger audience then you may want to give it a try.

The basic plot (without any spoilers) revolves around a UFO or "disk" which hovers over a small town. Nonoka (the main protagonist) is moving back with her father to this town, after living in the city due to her mother's health issues. Nonoka is suprised to find a small girl named Noel waiting for her, and that her and a group of (now distant) friends were responsible for initially summoning the disk. As she begins to re-connect with her past acquittances drama unfolds, as specifically with Shione, who resents her for Nonoka for forgetting about her.

As the series goes on we learn more ... about how the "summoning" happened, the relationship of the characters, why some hold resentments to the "disk", and Noel's reason for existing. I will admit I was initially not too interested at first but as time went on, and the conflict between the characters began I became more intrigued to see how the storyline would transpire. There is some filler, and of course a hot springs episode which was probably the most boring point of the series, it was worth it in the end.

I will say I am surprised at all the other reviews here complaining about the lack of any interesting traits in the character of the series, although I do understand the sentiment to an extent, I feel like the characters don't really need to be "extraordinary" here. If you're going into this, you're not really watching for them, you're more watching to see the relationship between them, and what happens to the disk. If you're watching to find your next Oshi maybe this isn't for you.