During the Fall season of 2012, animation studio A-1 pictures was airing two anime. One of them was the infamous Sword Art Online; the international sensation that essentially made money faster than it could be printed. It went down in history as one of the most hyperbolized and dramatic popularity explosions of all time. In the wake of the massive tidal wave created by the anti-Christ itself (or the messiah, depending on your perspective), there was another anime; an anime that was swallowed whole by the mainstream hype of the industry. An anime that barely anyone bothered to watch. An anime that nearly everyone in its already small audience dropped because of a 10 second yaoi scene in episode 8. An anime that was a complete financial failure.
Why is this story concerning? I’ll tell you why: because that anime was called “Shinsekai Yori”. If the name doesn’t mean anything to you, that’s probably because you haven’t seen it yet. There is little debate that this anime is something special; it has one of the most mature and refined tones in the history of the medium, the music and animation are unbelievably atmospheric, and the world building is absolutely unparalleled. To the anime community, none of that mattered. Shinsekai Yori’s monetary disaster coupled with SAO’s monumental success sent a very clear message to the industry: More SAOs, less Shinsekai Yori’s. *Sigh, this is why I drink. This is also why I write reviews. Ladies and gentlemen: Shinsekai Yori.
Synopsis: One millennium into the future, society exists as a utopia in which every human possesses “the god’s power”; a form of incredibly powerful psychokinesis. Our protagonist, Saki Watanabe, lives in this utopia that is completely barred from the outside world. However, her and her friends begin to discover some of the dark secrets behind their society as their perfect little reality begins its slow, downward spiral into disaster, as all utopias seem to do.
Let me reiterate something I mentioned earlier; this is a very mature anime. When I say that, I don’t just mean that there’s a lot blood and gore/sexual themes (although those things certainly exist in the show). Rather, I mean to say that you have to be a mature person to enjoy and understand this show. The pacing is very, very slow, there is a LOT of info-dumping, and the show lacks the energy or excitement that you would typically see in a psychological show. Virtually all of Shinsekai Yori’s plot is spent building its vast, unique, fascinating, and disturbing world. This anime is the absolute pinnacle of world building; arguably the best of all time. The utopia that is the focus of the story can only be described as staggering. The most beautiful thing about the setting isn’t merely its depth, however, but rather the way in which the show’s themes are built so perfectly around it. The implications of the way this society is run and how it began are legitimately shocking, dark and frightening. This anime will almost certainly give you the chills, but it goes beyond just that; it makes you legitimately think. Perhaps the scariest part about the show is that nothing about it is unbelievable. Nothing about it is unreasonable. There are no good guys, there are no bad guys. There is only a group of organisms behaving according to their nature. At the risk of spoiling the plot, I will not go into much depth about the intricacies of this outstanding storyline. Just know that it will leave a serious impact on you; it is easily the highlight of the show.
Because the main focus of the show is undoubtedly the world building, Shinsekai Yori’s characters don’t receive nearly as much time or attention. However, that certainly doesn’t mean that they aren’t good. Our protagonist, Saki Watanabe, serves as a parallel to the audience’s experience; she learns about the truths of her world at the exact same pace as we do. This makes her extremely relatable and the audience is able to know what she is thinking and what she is feeling at all times. Although some could argue that she (as well as all her friends) merely serves as a medium to explore the setting, the reason I believe that she is a fantastic character is because she is ultimately the one who brings the themes full circle at the end of the anime. Although she is certainly passive most of the time, it is ultimately her thoughts and actions that hammer in the message of the show. Saki is one of my favorite female characters ever. The supporting cast, however, lacks depth. While they all have their own basic personalities and motivations, they ultimately just serve as the passive mediums I mentioned earlier, this time without the thematic implications of Saki. They are certainly likeable (I really liked Sataru), but they don’t offer as much as I would have liked them to. Then there are the antagonists (if you can even call them that). Going into any detail on this matter is a spoiler, but the seemingly evil actions executed throughout the narrative puts the concept of morality itself into question; it makes you legitimately consider what is evil and what is justified. That is the mark of truly fantastic writing.
I also feel the need to mention the superbly surreal presentation of the show. The animation is incredibly crisp and the color pallet is visually appealing, but the artwork stands out in particular for its wide variety of amazing designs. Every human character has a great design, which is impressive enough, but the show also features a plethora of strange, grotesque, and fascinating creatures. Shinsekai Yori does a fantastic job of coming up with creative appearances for these creatures and making them all memorable. In short, the animation is top notch. The music, on the other hand, really steals the show. This anime has no OP theme, as is tradition, but it instead has one of the greatest ED themes of all time. Some would argue THE best. However, it is the OST that’s the really impressive aspect of the sound; it is absolutely mesmerizing. The potent combination of haunting, spine-tingling pieces and sad, somber pieces combine to form a remarkably large part of the show’s atmospheric and chilling environment. Also, the voice acting is well above average. Truly a memorable presentation style.
In conclusion, Shinsekai Yori is one of a kind. It chooses to walk the path of a mature, thought provoking, somber tale and never strays from that path. It’s not flashy nor is it particularly exciting, but it certainly is remarkably written. If you ask me, Shinsekai Yori is a masterpiece. You would be hard pressed to find a more fleshed out and imaginative setting in all of fiction; not just in the realm of anime. Needless to say, I highly recommend this show and I’m glad to see that it has gotten the attention is deserves after an initial period of failure.
