Story:
The story takes place in Japan one thousand years from now, in a world where humanity has discovered, and developed, supernatural telekinetic abilities. People have used this ability to form a utopian society where all humans live together in harmony. But all is not as it seems. There are rumors about mysterious cats that abduct children, and, even though several children start disappearing, no one seems to notice or care all that much about it. Something is definitely not right in village of Kamisu 66. What’s really going on in this supposed utopia? That is the question that starts the long, and incredible journey of our main characters.
The story is told from the perspective of five characters. All of the characters attend the same school and are apart of the same class group, group one. As well as the story being told primary from her point of view, the main character, Saki, also doubles as the narrator for the series. The story takes place over several years, and information is slowly revealed to you each episode. From the New World uses a lot of flashbacks to provide background information on the characters and the world itself. This makes the amount of time that the story covers even larger and will help keep you engaged in the story. The show is constantly progressing and is purposely vague, and you’ll have to continue to watch the series in order to fully understand what’s going on. The story is continuously building upon itself by using great writing and foreshadowing to build tension and suspense.
From the New World also does a great job of building the world that characters are living in. While initially, and purposefully, vague you will come to understand why the world is like it is. The story provides a detailed history of how the world became the way it is, and what it was like before. This provides essential context to the events that are currently occurring, and it was all explained really well. Even though there are several flashbacks and time skips, the story never felt rushed. Everything was built up and explained really well. There are also other things that will be mentioned or subtly alluded to, and you’ll have to be paying attention to understand what’s being referenced and shown to you.
There is a lot more to the story but it would be hard to talk about a lot of it without spoiling it, and that’s the last thing I want to do. The story is really well done, and it concludes with a fantastic ending that wraps almost everything up. And the thing that is left open is where the ending really shines. The world is messed up and they know that it is, but the beauty of the ending is the hope for a better world in the future.
I had no major issues with the story, but there was one small thing that I wished was explained a little better. That thing is the psychic powers of humans in this series. Not their origin or exactly what causes it, because it’s said that even the characters in the series aren’t totally sure of that, but the limits of those abilities. While there are definitely people in the series who are better at using their powers than others, I never got a sense of what they could or couldn’t do with their abilities, other than the parameters explained at the beginning of the series. I just wonder if there really wasn’t away to deal with some of the problems that the characters in the series run into. But, that is a very minor issue.
Animation:
From the New World has a unique animation style, and it’s pretty fantastic. The characters are all animated really well, and have distinct features that separate them from one another. The series places these unique character models on top of great looking background scenery, which is varied and pleasing to look at. And, at times, the background scenery looked fantastic all by itself. The backgrounds usually have an almost painted look to them, which helps it to create beautiful scenes.
From the New World also uses different types of animation throughout the series. During some flashbacks and fight scenes you’ll see a totally different style of animation. Sometimes, the entire scene uses this style, but in others it’s mixed in with the original style. It’s done in a way that doesn’t make it feel out of place, but in a way that actually blends in perfectly with the other style of animation.
As mentioned earlier, this series does have some fight scenes, which are all animated really well. It does a good job at showing the audience how a lot of the invisible actions of the character’s psychic abilities affect the people that they are fighting, and the objects that they are using.
Other than a couple of times when it looked like the characters lacked a little detail, the animation was great throughout the entire series.
Sound:
If you couldn’t already tell From the New World is a pretty dark series and, for the most part, its soundtrack (OST) reflects that. The OST is large, and showcases several different tracks that can fit the tone of any scene that the series portrays. While the series leans a lot more towards the dark side, there are light hearted, and heartfelt, moments in the series. There are plenty of slow, sad songs, and up-tempo, upbeat songs to fit those moments as well.
The OST also features several different ways of presenting its music. While there are plenty of dark and thrilling tracks they present them to the audience in different ways. The OST uses several different genres of music, from rock, to hip-hop and even a little bit of trance. This adds even more variety to the music that the series uses.
While From the New World doesn’t have an opening, other than the second ending that the used as an opening for episode 16, the OST is complimented by two great endings. The second ending is particularly good because it is debuted during a critical character moment in the series, and every time you hear it it’ll make you think back to those events.
Characters:
From the New World stars five main characters: Maria Akizuki, Shun Aonuma, Satoru Asahina, Mamoru Itou, and Saki Watanabe. All of the characters in this series have their own distinct personalities and ways of doing things. They are a fun group to watch because of the interactions between all of the characters.
Some people might say that this series doesn’t have a lot of character development, and, in away, they’re right. None of the characters in this series change very much in terms of their individual personalities, but you can definitely see the characters change significantly in other ways.
As I just mentioned, the characters in From the New World don’t change who they are at their core, and I think that that’s something that makes these characters different from a lot of other characters. The story takes place over several years, and we get to see how the characters change during that time period. While who they are as characters doesn’t change, their view of the world they live in and the relationships they have with one another do.
There are several great side characters in this series. Even though they weren’t given the most detailed background story, or even developed to a great degree, they were excellent characters that each added something meaningful to the story. Without spoiling exactly who it is, I also have to mention the amazing antagonist. The character was fantastic, and will get you thinking about the characters motivations and if they are in fact justified.
The characters are all likable and enjoyable to watch.
Enjoyment:
I really enjoyed watching From the New World. This is probably the only anime that I’ve re-watched that I can say I enjoyed watching just as much as when I watched it the first time, if not more. This series was great on all fronts, and it’s a shame it hasn’t gotten the publicity that it deserves.
This isn’t a series that you can just watch the first couple of episodes of, and get an understanding of what’s going to happen next or even what’s going on. Information is given to you throughout the entire series, and even when you think you know what’s going on, there will be another twist that will yank you right back into the story.
Verdict and Breakdown:
Story: 4.8/5
Animation: 4.4/5
Sound: 4.6/5
Characters: 4.4/5
Enjoyment: 4.6/5
Verdict: 4.6/5
From the New World is a brilliant story that will keep you thoroughly entertained, as well as make you think. There are some philosophical questions that this series proposes that are definitely interesting, and tough to answer. But, that’s part of the reason this series is so good and why I highly recommend this series
