Code0018's Blog

Aug 7, 12:56 AM
Anime Relations: Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou
Very beautiful finale for the show although not entirely what i expected. Cut connecting the camera to the submarine and just opening up this entire new world up to the girls through all of the memories in the camera was interesting and as a viewer felt quite bittersweet. Seeing the past and the people that lived normally and peacefully in their own little words, much like ours, to then flick to the progressive recordings of war starting, then back to people unbeknownst what's to come, then back to the war and the machines and killing felt really deep and grim. But understandably for the girls that were born into war, they thought it was interesting seeing the old world and maybe the lead up to the war, as a viewer, born to late to explore a post apocalyptic earth with your bff, but born just in time to still have to pay taxes and maybe experience the start of one lol.

Chito chasing after Yuuri after she got eaten was also a pretty good scene, all the flashbacks did a good job at reinforcing their relationship and the realization of what the other meant to them was heart touching and felt like nice character development.

The reveal of the creature that ate Yuuri, that was also substantially the same species as "Cut" was not what i was anticipating, nor how i thought that scene would play out. I mean overall, i think they were suppose to resemble the earth being able to evolve and slowly heal itself from man kind's clutches from how they explained their functionality, just them being able to unwind into mushrooms shocked me, also how intelligent they were, also still have questions to how the previous civilization and worshiped them as deities, and the final scene of them flying off into the sunset really confused me.
I honestly just thought they were gonna be some form of byproduct new life-form that mutated from like left over radiation or just from the war, and kinda have that "life always finds a way" or "war can also give birth to new life" meaning to it, but either way, i think i understood the gist of them.

Overall 9/10 this anime hit a vibe and mix of genres that i have never known existed, could exist and something i'd love so much. To cut it short, never have i ever thought i'd enjoy watching 2 girls exploring a post apocalyptic dystopian metropolis straight chilling, creating their own fun, living the life and occasionally talk about deep philosophical meanings until i watched this show. They blended this mix of genres that made it work good, the aesthetic, theme and premises for this show had me hooked from the start and imo were utilised well with the overall plot of the show to cover the philosophical / hopeful aspects of it, over time it honestly felt like a gift that kept on giving and i was all for it.

Story overall was quite good, i think the episodic approach was the right move as it was able to show a lot more off about the world which seemed to be one of it's main focuses. Chito's and Yuuri's stories i also thought were simple yet enjoyable, they wanted to survive and reach the top floor. What made it enjoyable was the shows ability to balance humour, suspense and exploration, most of the time the girls are having a lay back day of driving around to find supplies and joke around but could likewise quickly find themselves traversing unstable terrain hundreds of meters above ground or fighting off the elements with no shelter in sight, honestly it kept me on my toes with how it would shift between the two.
The themes in the story i think were a very core aspect of the show, each episode had a theme or philosophical question that would be asked or shown and the show would explain said theme through the characters or environment. Honestly i felt all of them were presented well and explained in a fit enough fashion to understand where the writer was coming from, and also like a nice touch back down to reality to think of the smaller things in life.

Chito and Yuuri were by far the best mc's i could ask for in a show like this, both had unique personalities, interests and even quarrels that made this show so much more enjoyable to watch and more much more alive despite the setting. Although this show isn't arguably character focused, side characters that would cameo for singular episodes still felt rememberable. Mostly due to how side characters in this show are utilised to represent a theme or philosophical view, they're personalities and individual characters felt fleshed out enough that they still felt like a character with emotions and goals. I think Ishii's character is best suited to show this, her ep and theme i think resonated with me the most.

Visually the show felt like a masterpiece with the design in my eyes, again, i cannot stress how much i loved the design and concept of the cities setting, the colour palate, the background, the architecture and ideas to not just the buildings, but the technology. So many narrative tools used as well like the abandoned military equipment and forgotten robots in aquariums and trains that paint a picture without even talking. I could probably rant on more about why i think this show's world is so incredibly visually beautiful, but i'll just end it by saying i'm thankful the creators were able to balance the main plot and exploring the world.
So admittedly things such as art style for characters felt quite simple and didn't have too much detail, but i think that can have it's own charm on the show since it can make character expression quite funny. CGI at times was a bit rough especially when it was on Chito and Yuuri on their vehicle, those were the times it was the most noticeable.

OST and SFX i genuinely also believe is another staple for this show, the ambience was always on point imo and help separate the cute and carefree moments to the build-up suspension moments. Things such as wind, moving mental or debris were used incredibly well to hammer in that feeling of solitude in the massive cities for certain scenes, likewise the OST helped the more cheerful scenes more heart-warming and hopeful. I think the Rain episode is the easiest example to give, the utilisation of the sound of raindrops to resemble music transitioning to the outro song is another moment i won't forget.

edit: Overall ranking

Story: 8/10
Characters / development: 8/10
Visuals / Animation: 8/10
SFX / OST: 9/10
Overall: 9/10

Posted by Code0018 | Aug 7, 12:56 AM | Add a comment
It’s time to ditch the text file.
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