Intro and premise
In a world devastated by war two girls embark on a journey to find the truth and along the way encounter many new lessons that adds new perspective to their lives as they see the devastated world.
Based off a popular web manga of the same name Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou also better known as the Girls Last Tour is a sci-fi and mystery anime that makes use of a premise and setting not commonly seen in the anime world which is a journey by two young girls in a world that was devastated by large-scale war that killed off much of humanity and left the few survivors to scavenge the ruins for supplies that they can use to live another day. The post-apocalyptic world setting is not one that’s easily seen in animes and more commonly seen in games instead so having two girls travelling through such a world as they go on their journey was what drew me to this anime. Using the journey and the experiences and encounters that the girls encounter along the way the anime allows us to see the girl’s reactions and sentiments as they see a world that while in ruins and mostly devoid of human life still provides many lessons that can be contemplated and remembered.
Though the world in which the anime takes place in is never quite revealed it can be seen that the world itself is an advanced one that takes the form of a tower that has many floors. Each floor has its own unique climate and theme and seems to be divided into different areas like residential or industrial. Though desolate the world also contains many survivors that have managed to survive and scavenge through weapon littered fields for gear and equipment that can be used to survive.
The overall story for Shoujo Shuumatsu follows the life of two girls as they embark on a journey across the vast expanses of the world that they live and include the driver and leader the serious-minded but intelligent Chito and her partner the carefree but oddly positive soldier Yuuri who acts as Chito’s second and best friend. As the girls travel across the vast expanses of the world and explore the ruins of a civilisation they encounter plenty of situations and encounters that provoke deep thought and questions in the girl's minds making them realise that the world is much larger and more complex than what they had read in the limited knowledge that they had.
Chito
Chito voiced by veteran seiyuu Inori Minase of Re Zero and Re Creators fame is one of the main characters of the series and serves as one of the main protagonists of the series. A cautious, intelligent and strict person Chito serves as the pairs overall leader and driver that directs the overall path that they take as they advance towards their goal. While a serious and strict person by nature Chito is also a level-headed and calm person that likes to have all the facts about a situation on hand before trying to determine the course of action that they should take. This is in contrast to her partner and friend Yuuri who prefers to act on impulse rather than logic. While quiet by nature Chito is shown to be a realist and is not someone that will develop high hopes for something and indeed she is one that prefers to take things slowly but cautiously accomplishing what they need to do in the less risky manner possible. An interesting personality trait of Chito’s is her love of reading, learning and documenting and it can be seen that this comes from her desire to both know about the ancient world and at the same time hoping to create a record of what they had learned in their journey so that it can be used by others. As a result of this, it can be seen that Chito is someone that values knowledge and the maintaining of records and can get surprisingly angry when these are damaged. While a soldier just like Yuuri is it can be seen that Chito is someone that is a pacifist by nature and doesn’t like to use weapons even to defend herself which I found was rather strange for a soldier. While not hostile towards strangers that they encounter in the wasteland that they travel through it can be seen that Chito is someone that trusts slowly and wary of any strangers that cross their path. However, once they have proven themselves trustworthy it can be seen that she can be quite warm and trusting towards them.
The character of Chito I felt was an interesting character and one that was well developed and designed. In addition to serving as the one that kept the pair focused on the overall goal of the journey Chito also served as a contrast to her partner Yuuri serving as a foil that dealt with the worst of Yuuri’s impulses. While her calm and cautious nature is what stops Yuuri from getting too crazy with her impulses the fact that Chito is also an avid reader and believes in seeking and recording knowledge also serves as an additional safeguard and adds charm to her character.
Yuuri
Yuuri voiced by veteran seiyuu Yurika Kubo of Youkoso and Urara Meirochou fame is one of the main characters of the series and is Chito’s partner on the journey that they are taking. A carefree, positive and happy person by nature Yuuri is someone that is the very definition of a joker as she in contrast to her partner Chito is someone that can remain optimistic even in the grimmest of situations. While Chito’s serious personality often results in her causing somewhat tense situations Yuri’s personality as a joker is able to balance this out by introducing a number of light-hearted moments that help defuse such situations such as building snowballs on Chi’s head after a long trek and seeing snow in the morning. Unlike Chito who is well versed in both reading and writing Yuuri is someone that lacks both of those skills but is able to bounce back up due to her ability to adapt to new situations relatively quickly. While Yuuri herself can be overactive and careless at times it can be seen that beneath that happy side of her Yuuri is someone that is more perceptive than she first seems and is someone that is cautious and wary of strangers. When new situations and parties appear in their midst it can also be seen that her bond and friendship with Chito is something that she cares about greatly and values and as a result, she is fiercely protective of Chito. The character of Yuuri I felt was an interesting one as her personality contrasted a great deal with her partner Chito yet at the same time she also complemented Chito’s own flaws as well. One aspect of Yuuri’s personality that I particularly liked is her ability to create the most interesting and comical of questions from the most random things that she sees on her journeys something that is necessary in the long journeys that the girls go on.
AMV
In terms of animation, I felt that the character designs for the series main characters of Chito and Yuuri were well done and reflected well on the fact that in this world fashion and style pale in comparison to ease of maintenance and functionality. The design of the girl’s main form of transportation which though unnamed in the series I felt was interesting as it looked like a combo of a bike and a tractor and as a result allowed them to travel along many different types of terrain quite easily. The various terrain that the girls travel through as they go about their journey though I felt was well developed and designed though as each level and area that they go through was unique in terrain and theme and featured unique challenges that the girls had to overcome as they encounter it. The music for the series I felt was pretty good and the background music did well to complement the different situations that the girls encounter along the way. The opening and ending themes of the series, I felt were also well done with the former being catchy and funny and symbolising positive thinking and the latter symbolising optimism. The voice acting for the series was strong and I felt that despite the lack of an effective backstory that Inori Minase and Yurika Kubo who voiced the main leads of Chito and Yuuri respectively did an excellent job of portraying their characters and showing the unique interaction that exists between them when they are exploring.
Overall conclusion
In overall Shoujo Shuumatsu was an interesting anime that had among its main strong points an interesting premise, interesting story, character interaction and excellent voice acting. Though the premise of a post-apocalyptic world is rare by anime standards it is not unheard off but the concept of a journey in which two young girls explore the wasteland as part of their quest to reach their objective was one that drew my attention to it. The overall story of the series while thin along the lines of what their overall quest was still managed to accomplish the task of expanding upon the wasteland and developing the girl’s characters by introducing various situations and events that the girls encounter along the way. Each of these situations and events while not overly dramatic and indeed rather simple also did well to introduce us to the state of the world that the girls live in as well as provoke some interesting theories and opinions that the girls express. The fact that knowledge about this world is so few and far between also serves to enhance this process as neither girl knows about the things that they can encounter along the way and as a result, their opinion and theories are based on their personalities instead which makes every event and encounter interesting to see. The fact that these feature many different themes I felt also served to enhance this. Within the series there are many examples of simple things that we take for granted that no one no longer knows exists such as music, camera’s, elevators and watching the main characters reactions as they encounter this and be amazed by it also serves to remind us just how much this world has lost to the fires of war. The interactions between the two main characters I felt was also one of the strong points to the series as between the situations and events that the characters encounter are many quiet moments and seeing the conversations that take place between the two as they head on to the next encounter I felt was funny and refreshing and helped greatly by the fact that these conversations can start from the most random of topics that can create the most interesting of answers. The atmosphere of each of the episodes as the girls explore the various areas that they encounter I felt was also well done and helped convey a sense of loneliness to the world that harmonises well with the setting.
In overall Shoujo Shuumatsu was an anime that while having an interesting premise and characters expanded upon its greatest weakness, which was its weak story by introducing events and situations that the girls meet along the way that featured a surprisingly large number of themes and questions and answers that were also surprisingly deep and well thought out that resonated well with this world that the girls live in where knowledge is rare and precious. In terms of final score, I think this anime will deserve a final score of 9/10.
