Kujira no Kora is set on a fictional world, where people live on top of a floating island, or the "Mud Whale", as they call it. However, the island sails not on a sea of water, but on a sea of sand - akin to Final Fantasy XII's Nam-Yensa and Ogir-Yensa Sandseas. The inhabitants know nothing about the fate of mainland humans, so they sail alone, in a neverending journey with no destination.
The anime also features magic: the vast majority of people living there are "marked", which can be used for a plethora of things - aim assist, defence, moving objects and so on. People are either born with or without it, the latter being known as "unmarked". For an unknown reason, marked ones have a shorter lifespan - they can't live much past 30. Due to that, administration is left to those who can acquire more life experience and knowledge.
As an adaptation from the homonymous manga, Kujira no Kora is a dramatic shoujo within an amazing and unique setting. The question remains: can it live up to its expectation?
PLOT:
One of these days, another island is found afloat - as a somewhat uncommon recurrence, it is a mean to gather resources for survival. Main character Chakuro finds there an enigmatic and dangerous girl, Lykos, and brings her home with him. At first, it feels like Kujira no Kora is a light-hearted exploration and adaptation anime. However, later events completely change the anime's tone: tragedy befalls upon the whole island. What follows from there is a dramatic, interesting sequence of events. Unfortunately, the plot suffers from both bad pacing, mostly from weirdly-timed climaxes, and bad narrative, which comes from overdramatic focus on specific events. The anime tries too hard to surprise us with misfortune and pain, and it fails miserably. Still, it is a show about survival - after the storm, life goes on, and the show portrays that in a fine manner.
Besides Chakuro and Lykos, Ouni is the third main character. Despite them being the main trio, they aren't well developed as the anime goes on - which is a problem with the entire cast. All characters, and I mean ALL, are simply... boring. I could not care at all about Ouni's desires, Chakuro's inner battles nor Lykos' struggle. Besides them, Suou is the most important ally and the one who gets frequent screen time, and Liontari is what is portrayed as a maniac enemy, a character I utterly despise. Shuan, Sami, Nibi, Neri, Ginshu, the Elders and all the others feel like filler characters, existing just for rushed plot points. I wish this were a 24 episode anime, so each of them could have been explored and developed.
I'm split in two regarding the art direction - effects and backgrounds are incredibly beautiful, being what looks like hand-drawn. Despite that, I hate most of characters' look, as I feel they don't fit the atmosphere. I wish they weren't so "anime-y" just so they could match the environment around them. The sound direction is mesmerizing, it being Kujira no Kora's strongest part. Beautiful piano melodies fit melancholic scenes perfectly, while cheerful songs made us feel on-par with the happy moments around the island.
There are also a few more things to note. Some deus-ex machina bullshit happens with certain characters, which should have been avoided. The inhabitants of the island are densely stupid regarding fighting strategy, though there is an implicit excuse to that. Most of the misteries are explained, though some are either badly shown or left out for a sequel, which is a cue to another point: the show features an open end, which may or may not satisfy viewers. I didn't mind it, though some might.
CONCLUSION:
Kujira no Kora is a wasted potential. I wanted it to be great, though it was just a fine anime. It did not live up to my expectations. It left the same sour taste in my mouth as Lost Song did, which is not a good thing.
The worldbuilding is simply amazing, featuring both solid art and sound directions. The story itself is fine, though it could have been way better if it had fewer of the aforementioned problems. The characters are definitely the weakest link - too much time was wasted on drama I simply couldn't care about. It would have been better spent if it focused on character development, which is also lacking in many ways. Too many characters may not completely ruin an anime, though it can deter from the main ones. All in all, despite its flaws, I enjoyed watching this, and I would definitely watch a second season, should one miraculously come.
