Before beginning the series, you should be warned— Shinsekai Yori is not a light watch. This is not the kind of anime that will provide laughter and cheap entertainment. It is an anime that requires the viewer to think and analyze in order to fully enjoy the story. As a result it can be a difficult show for some viewers to get into, but what it provides instead is an experience with far more weight and meaning.
Set in the distant future, Shinsekai Yori depicts a world ruled by humans with psychic abilities. Using their "Cantus", these individuals have the power to meld their thoughts with the outside world. Whether for building, crafting, entertainment, or defense against animals and monstrosities, there are a myriad of ways for Cantus to benefit society. But there are also hidden truths surrounding it. Horrors and conspiracies that will threaten the life of any who uncover them. For Saki and the other members Zenjin Academy's 'Group One', this is a danger that they lamentably fall victim to.
Despite the dark, foreboding tone set from the beginning, it's not until the group uncovers a secret on their school trip that everything starts to go dreadfully wrong for them. Disappearances, assassinations, and invincible beasts aptly called 'Fiends' are but a handful of the mysteries revealed to Saki and her friends. Society is evidently not the utopia that it seems.
The story is primarily conveyed through the perspective of Saki, but rather than focus on each character individually, Shinsekai Yori instead centers around interpersonal characterization. Group One is often treated as its own character due to the five's inseparable friendship, and this friendship itself serves as one of the core themes of the story. Gradually and together they mature from the naive children that they were at the beginning of the story, directly as a result of their relationships with others. However, do not be misled: this is not an anime about its characters. It is first and foremost a story about the mysteries and conflict that they find themselves pulled into.
Adding to the main cast is an astute race of bipedal mole rats, referred to by humans as "Queerats". Despite having intelligence nearly equal to that of humans, they are oppressed and treated as little more than the animals they have evolved from. Understandably they are not pleased with this. Instigating the inevitable rebellion is the Robert Fly colony, led by the machiavellian leader "Squealer". His presence serves to create a deeper sense of conflict in the story, but he is also one of the more well-written antagonists in recent years. He is not motivated by tropes such as madness or greed but by a deep sense of loyalty to his people. It's interesting how none of his actions can be defined as inherently 'good' or 'evil', and it makes one wonder if he might have been the hero instead if the story was told from a different perspective.
Such themes are not uncommon in Shinsekai Yori. Rather than presenting its story through black and white reasoning, there is instead an abundance of pertinent ethical questions posed to the viewer. Does the end justify the means? Do the same rights as humans apply to animals, and what truly sets humanity above them if not intelligence? Complex topics such as the human condition are also explored in detail and the story is not afraid to portray loss and death in a frank manner. This is an anime that's meant to be analyzed and it rewards the viewer for doing so.
One of the strongest aspects of Shinsekai Yori is its atmosphere. Throughout every episode exists an overbearing sense of dread and melancholy: the feeling that something very bad is about to happen, and indeed it often does. The pacing is also very much on the slow side, with several expository episodes before the story finally takes off, but once it does it becomes very difficult to stop watching. Shinsekai Yori is a macabre, sometimes uncomfortable story that will succeed in immersing you in its dark atmosphere. There's nothing else quite like it out there, which makes it an especially enticing experience.
As if to defy the conventions of mainstream anime, sexuality plays an important role in the story. The main characters are not innocent and devoid of sexual feelings, even despite their young age in the first two arcs. Much like us, they fall in love, experiment and desire to act out on their feelings. They are not restrained by otaku concepts such as 'purity', and this is an immense benefit given the mature tone of the series. One further thing to note is that they do not only express romantic and sexual desires towards the opposite sex— but towards the same sex as well.
Though one has to wonder why this created so much controversy. Even if the viewer finds bisexual interactions to be uncomfortable, there is scarcely a scene that displays such behavior in the first place. These relationships are not used for superficial shounen-ai or shoujo-ai appeal, but are instead there to reflect the characters maturing in a society unconstrained by social stigma. The most conspicuous of these few scenes is during the ninth episode, when two male characters play on the grass and then kiss for five or ten seconds. Why did such a trivial scene disturb some people so much? It's hard to say.
There are certainly legitimate criticisms to be had towards the series, though. In particular, the first few episodes are filled with expository dialogue which oftentimes amount to infodump. Granted, this is necessary to give the viewer a proper understanding of the setting and the rules which the characters live by, but there is no doubt a more elegant approach that could have been employed here instead. Further problems also exist within the two timeskips of the story, as it will abruptly change with no transition between past and present. This is especially an issue in the second timeskip, where twelve entire years are passed in the blink of an eye. We also see very little character growth in that time, which is quite odd, to say the least.
But these flaws are more than made up for by the sound design. A quality soundtrack in anime is often treated as an afterthought more than anything else, but Shinsekai Yori is one that understands the value that a good score can have. The music here is largely composed of haunting choir melodies, percussion, and ambient noises which serve to heighten the tension and atmosphere of their respective scenes. There's one particular song in the anime, usually used during the beginning of an episode, which was able to send chills down my spine each time it played. Now, this is the sign of a powerful score— having the ability to evoke emotion through music instead of drama. It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that the soundtrack is Shinsekai Yori's greatest strength, and that is not a statement that comes with little weight.
The art also compliments the tone of the anime quite well. Dark shadows accentuate the gloomy atmosphere of the story while thick lines are used to emphasize the characters and their facial expressions. There is a lack of polish, though, with regards to detail and animation quality, but you can hardly fault an anime for not being granted a lavish budget. Shinsekai Yori fortunately makes the very most of its modest budget, and its art quality manages to compete with some of the more mainstream titles to boot.
If you are looking for something unique in an era defined by generic rom-coms and ecchi titles, then this is an anime that will likely fill your appetite. Sure, it may not be a flawless triumph that will be remembered until the ends of time, but as one of the better anime in the past few years, it is well worth your time to give it a try. You would be hard-pressed to find anything else like it.
