Art
I wasn’t really sure how I was going to feel about this art. It seemed really generic and at times I was afraid it might take a turn for the worst. But instead I really just got used to it and I ended up finding it to be rather simple but still elegant. The colors come out really well and there is great contrast at times. I really loved when, in the darker moments of the story, there was a real fear that came about as a result of the way everything had shifted to a darker tone. The other thing I noticed was the amount of animation quirks that make for some kind of comic relief. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of these and I think it was overused here.
Sound
The soundtrack is amazing. If they sold this online somewhere I would buy it, it is that good. I absolutely love the pirate style tunes and the shanty type things that you hear as the series opens. The biggest thing it reminded me though, was of the video game series Kingdom Hearts. A lot of the music sounds like it would fit right in at Traverse Town (if you’ve played the game you’ll understand). Another thing I really liked about the music was when Nike’s singing came into play as a part of the story. This really was a great way to include even more music in this show and I think it really paid off in the end.
Story
The story here is that Princess Nike, of the Rain Dukedom, is sent off to marry the Sun King in the Sun Kingdom, where it never rains. Upon the discovery that the Sun King, Livi, is just a child and has the selfish motive of wanting her to become his play thing (making it rain whenever he pleases as a party favor) she reacts...poorly and Livi throws her in prison. Once she escapes, they begin to have this relationship and Livi starts to learn to see the beauty in the world of the stars, flowers and the earth; rather than all of the harm that it has caused him and the obsession with money and power. Once the King’s true colors come out, their relationship is actually able to grow and flourish and become something that really wasn’t expected.
Personal Reflection
So I was pretty unsure about this show. Almost every show I watch, I go in blind, but for the reasons I stated above I was a little weary on this one. However the more that I watched the better I felt about it. The relationship between Livi and Nike is very much like that of Lawrence and Holo from Spice and Wolf (another great show if you haven’t seen it). But as I grew into the characters I felt them grow into me as well. I wanted to see them get together and have a relationship of true love, because that is what I seek in life. My main gripe with the show was some translation errors (such as the title of the show being translated weird) and there were many episode titles that were off. Now I haven’t decided if that is the studio’s fault or Crunchyroll’s, either way it was annoying. This show gave me a warm fuzzy feeling, but it also was a little rough at times and I decided to watch other things. It didn’t drag me in as some other amazing shows do. But if you need a love story that has drama, singing, and even a few tears, just remember; The World Is Still Beautiful.
Overall Rating: 7.5/10
