Indeed the main force of this show is its simplicity. No matter where the story goes or what the characters do, it never tries too hard to provoke a reaction from the viewer. That makes its flaws much more forgivable cause they're not being forced down your throat. The World In Color's universe contains so many concepts that are usually milked to the last drop by other productions but keeps a reasonable tone about all of them. There is magic but you'll never see a magic fight, time travel but you'll never hear about time paradox or changing the future and even though the story is originally set in 2077, you'll never see any fancy sci-fi thing.
If there is nothing "epic" in it then you might wonder what kind of content The World In Color has to offer. It has to be said, the story is mostly driven toward characters development and that's definitely gonna be a turn-off for those craving for those plot twists and cliff hangers but there is a plot and even though it has its own pace it always feels like it's progressing.
Character development is where the story succeeded the most. What's interesting is that the characters' different personalities were well conveyed and are pretty easy to figure out except for the MC who has a more complex one. It's a good way to put her in relief to the others as it gives a meaning to her journey. Yuito is the disappointment of the cast, he's referenced as main character and definitely has a bigger place in the story than the other supports but doesn't have the quality or development to back it up. Shou and Kohaku are the highest quality people in the group and don't develop that much. Chigusa is the funny guy and also the youngest of the group, his personnality is pretty good even at his age but he's underused and doesn't develop much. Asagi and Kurumi have self-confidence issues and are working on it even though Kurumi is further down the road as she is older.
A lot of things could be better but overall The World in Colors' characters are great. The quality of their interactions is not always as good though, especially for the romance parts. They can feel cringey even though there's a lot of maturity and life lessons in one of them. That's actually where Yuito's lack of quality and development drags the show down since there's nothing to justify his romance other than plot convenience. Fortunately, the show never takes it too far and that's what saves it again. Their moments of friendship are great though and make for very beautiful memories to be shared between the group.
But what really makes the show beautiful is the art and music. The opening is simply wonderful and the beauty of the panoramas, landscapes and magic really lives up to the title of the anime.
Overall, The World in Color is a beautiful anime whose biggest strength is not trying too hard. Not devoid of flaws but so simple and genuine, the show makes for a good ride and definitely has things to bring to the anime culture.
