Reviews

Jul 21, 2016
Should a story aim to be a self-contained little bit of perfection, merely outlining a small aspect of human existence – or should a story aim to contain the world? Should a work be self-sufficient and explain everything within its premises, or demand that a person experiencing it strive to reach its level by poring through setting details and whatnot before experiencing it? In both cases, Kyoukaisenjou no Horizon strove to be the latter. The sheer amount of information packed per episode is focused solely on aiming for that little explosive ‘wow’ factor that comes with its recognition – while the problem is whether the experiencer’s mind is open enough to cede to that recognition.

The amount of expansive detail within the setting would do well to put any writer who aims to create ‘worldbuilding’ fiction to shame. Especially given that Horizon is one of the most politically intense Anime out there, maybe only behind Ghost in the Shell, Twelve Kingdoms and Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Of course, to even understand the importance of what’s happening on screen requires some flipping through exposition regarding the exact relationship between the countries within the fantasy metaphysical system created.

Is that a bad thing? Maybe bad in an economic sense, because it prevents newcomers – although at this point in time, the amount of fan articles on the net makes up for that. A plus to using a method like this is that exposition can be minimized within the narrative itself, allowing for things to be just as fresh upon rewatch.

In the end, Horizon teaches a very simple lesson that many people don’t realize when creating fiction like this. Structure is everything. It has taken so many adventure arcs from all sorts of works out there, so many methodologies from history, politics, and economics, so many cues from sports Anime, and even so many jokes from ecchi-comedy – but the structure is simply impeccable. The battles may be in so many different varied shapes and forms, from political debates to one on one battles to flying gunship battles, but Horizon understands push and pull (almost losing, then winning, then losing, then winning) so perfectly that it can catalyze the exact same sense of “FUCK YEAH” at the end of every single one of these by structuring multiple trajectories within a single over-arching path.

Even then, it isn’t without thematic support. The overexuberant youth and adventure in the face of ridiculously large adversity makes Horizon closer to Trigger’s Ideal of Anime even more than Kill La Kill. Simple romance stories are given the weight of kingdoms, and simple emotions are reflected a thousandfold into all of the characters. Horizon has no moderation, even while it has an intense logic to its method (take note that I said logic to method, and not to the setting itself) and, what else should you expect from art like this?

Horizon is the text-book for anyone who wants to learn, similarly for how Lord of the Rings set the standard for the genre years ago. It synthesizes all of its influences and opens up a new pathway for what should be written next. It’s a shame there are little who are willing to match Minoru Kawakami at this level – but there can only be hope.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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