With the general grind of seasonal, 12-episode shows, it is not often that one comes along with an essence to redefine a genre. And Yet the Town Moves is not one of those shows. SoreMachi does not seek to redefine anything, but merely portray the life of a girl as the life of a girl is, in an abstract-reality sort of way. The show itself embraces real life at its core, and yet happens to use abstract ideas and hidden messages to transfer a meaning that is beyond a normal show of its calibur. I believe that this show's goal is to be as normal as possible, and yet, in the pursuit of that goal, SoreMachi has become an outlier in the Slice-of-Life genre, piecing together life both at the surface and at its core.
Story: 7/10
As with all Slice-of-Life shows, one doesn't expect anything seriously out of the ordinary to happen within the show. That's what slice-of-life is all about. And yet, the plot moves along at a pace that almost seems jumpy, like it is a spider, unsure of where to step on its dangling web. The first episode dragged, the second charged, the third lumbered, and so its pacing changed throughout the show. Some episodes that feel like fillers, as weird as that sounds in a slice-of-life show, are actually important, while the episodes that seem important often times feel either rushed or glossed over. While this may be a type of creative license on the director's part, it did make the story harder to enjoy overall.
Art/Sound: 8.5/10
Nothing super impressive about the art style. The show's art quality holds up well in the 2010-era shows. It was only after watching a few episodes, however, that I really started noticing how the intro and exit themes complemented the show so well. The calm song in the beginning was quite catchy, and having the VAs sing the ending theme is definitely a good fit for the show, as, explained in the next segment, the characters are the most important part of this show.
Character: 9/10
Although MAL lists five characters as main, only Hotori is truly explored in-depth during the show's airing. The lovely thing about this show is that Hotori does not really change throughout, but is rather forced to face the consequences of her actions without truly changing her behavior to avoid a situation in the future, but rather her friends change. However, the way her character does not change, until the final episode, is one of the best points of this show, as change does not necessarily define the success of a character, but how immersed the character is in her own personality to not change.
Enjoyment: 10/10
It took me a while to warm up to the show, but once warmed, it was a very hot sensation. I thoroughly enjoyed the show for the reasons above. Plus, I do have a bias towards shows which does not change throughout the course of airing.
Overall: 8/10
Ad Yet the Town Moves is a detailed expression of life through the scope of a teenage girl. The title itself professes the unimportant actions that each human takes, and that life overall will not bow to your whims and will. And Yet the Town Moves, with or without you. However, in certain episodes, the Town does change, it does Move for certain individuals, and the show ultimately teaches about how important one person is to the present, while acknowledging that one person isn't important in the future. It's a comment on time and life, and the show does that surprisingly well, even with a slightly botched story.
