Shuumatsu Train Doko e Iku?

The introduction of 7G Network technology promised miraculous technological advancements; however, the aftermath of its launch plunged Japan into chaos. From drastic changes to the terrain to bizarre mutations among people, the way of life is overwritten with new rules. The town of Agano is one of the few remaining settlements, and its citizens aged 21 and above have transformed into animals.

Shizuru Chikura, a high school student from Agano, is desperately searching for her friend, Youka Nakatomi. Coming across a picture in a newspaper placing Youka in Ikebukuro, Shizuru starts packing for a trip. But with public transportation effectively shut down, her options are limited. Fortunately, Tairo Zenjirou, a senile old conductor and the only human adult in town, comes to the rescue when he teaches her how to operate an abandoned train.

With her destination set, Shizuru ventures off on a journey to find her missing friend. On the day of departure, however, her other classmates—Nadeshiko Hoshi, Reimi Kuga, and Akira Shinonome—decide to tag along at the last minute as they embark on this one-track adventure that might expose them to dangers far surpassing anything they have encountered in Agano.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Shinonome, Akira Main

Kino, Hina Japanese

Chikura, Shizuru Main

Anzai, Chika Japanese

Kuga, Reimi Main

Kuon, Erisa Japanese

Hoshi, Nadeshiko Main

Waki, Azumi Japanese

Zenjirou Supporting

Okitsu, Kazuyuki Japanese

Matsutake, Keiko Supporting

Fukuen, Misato Japanese

Suu-chan Supporting

Izawa, Shiori Japanese

Kudan Supporting

Saitou, Chiwa Japanese

Chaos Supporting

Nakamura, Yuuichi Japanese

Kesshi Supporting

Shimoji, Shino Japanese

Itou, Shousei Producer

Sotokawa, Akihiro Producer

Nishimae, Shuka Producer

Kawamoto, Sachi Producer

Reviews

Apr 18, 2024

Ember0110

Recommended

Preliminary (3/12 eps)

I am not good at reviews, but this show deserves more reviews than it has, so here I go.

If I had to imagine what one of my favorite anime would be, it wouldn't have been a surreal post-apocalyptic fever dream with casual 'slice of life' anime vibes, but here we are.

Ever get that feeling when you're watching a new anime that you're witnessing the beginning of something special? Train to the End of the World gives me that feeling, and I haven't felt that in a long time. This show toes an interesting line because I'd say at this point that it's still ... fairly family friendly - but there are a lot of dark undertones, the most obvious in the first episode being the bloody handprints and bullet holes in the armed caravan vehicles. The art, animation, sound, voice acting - all are superb. Practically every scene in the first episode would make for a great desktop background.

It is dialogue heavy - like Monogatari levels of dialogue heavy. All of the conversations feel natural and have great flow, and I think they are important for establishing the atmosphere the show is going for, but I know people that cannot handle that. If there were any reason to dislike the show this would probably be it.

I'm very interested in seeing how this goes. There's a lot of potential for it to go to a very dark place - the clues are certainly there - but even if it doesn't I'm still on board.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Apr 15, 2024

Neo_Randomz

Recommended

Preliminary (3/12 eps)

A man-made creation that has warped the world into a hellish place
a phenomenon that transforms humans into something other than human when they reach a certain age
a journey of a group of girls on a train through a post-apocalyptic world to find their friend.
this anime combines three plot points that could each stand alone as separate stories, yet remarkably, it works.

The story revolves around an accident where a 7G network warped reality, turning Earth into a post-apocalyptic world. In the subsequent years, the same accident also caused some humans to transform into animals that can talk. On the other side, a group of ... girls discovers that their friend, who is essentially the one responsible for the accident, is still alive. Determined to find her, they embark on a journey by train.

The plot sounds like a fever dream, it's basically feels like when you are asleep and having a weird dream yet nobody wakes you up so it goes on and on and on,which also make this anime a very great mystery anime, because not only we don't know what the fck is going on,the characters also don't know what the fuck is going on, and the fact that it's an original story makes it even better.

The music and animation add depth to the viewing experience. The portrayal of the world's end in this anime is hauntingly beautiful, conveying a sense of serenity tinged with underlying dread.

An original show with a genuinely unique plot, it's definitely worth watching.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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May 28, 2024

WollenbergGaard

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (9/12 eps)

"Train to the End of the World" is a whimsical show that very much felt like it had a lot of promise at the start.
Even now, 9 episodes into the show, it still feels like it intends to build to something big.
However, the show sadly also has quite a few problems that undermine its own whimsical and saney tone, and which makes it hard for me to call the show little more than "Fine" in quality.

As the synopsis for the show explains, the show is about an alternate version of our world that has been transformed into a whimsical-but-dangerous wonderworld filled with oddities and ... strange phenomena. In this world, a group of girls take control of a train so that they might travel this "wonderscape" and find a lost friend of theirs. As they ride the train from stop to stop, they experience one weird and dangerous encounter after another, seeing what has occurred to the citizens of this altered world. Furthermore, as the plot progresses, the girls slowly learn more and more about the dark secrets behind how-and-why the world has come to be as it is.

Now, this premise sounds like a really fun and technically quite simply structured adventure. The show offers the viewers a sorta "monster of the week"-style story (but with a focus on one or more oddities rather than monsters as such). This is however where problems start to show with the series. The pacing of the show is generally quite fast, which I acknowledge doesn't have to be a bad thing, but in the case of "Train to the End of the World" it constantly feels like the show is rushing itself from one conversation to another or from one oddity to the next. The show almost never allows itself to settle and truly explore its odd ideas. And when the show occasionally does try to take its time with a scenario, it often does this with some of the least wacky of its ideas (such as spending two episodes on a town of tiny people).
This really "rushing pacing" also frequently hurts the show's emotionally complex scenes. The show very clearly wants to be something more than just a wacky adventure, and thus it often attempts to have deeper scenes, especially in flashbacks to before the "end of the world---if you will." And these scenes are indeed also some of the times when the show shines the brightest, but even still, they are rarely allowed much room to breathe before we have to rush on to the next scene----be it serious or silly.
Thus, if people will forgive me a reference to a show outside of anime for a moment, it feels like "Train to the End of the World" is trying to be something akin to the show "Adventure Time," a show that masterfully balances both serious and silly scenarios. However, it is also a far longer show than "Train to the End of the World" is, so I can't help but wonder if the problem deep down simply is that the show is too short? Would it have benefited from having a 24-or-so episode run? It is hard to say.

In conclusion, "Train to the End of the World" is not a bad show in the slightest, but it is a "busy" and "messy" that seems to struggle with where to put its focus and time, a lot of the time. The show has had a lot of promise since its beginning, something that it has struggled to live up to during the majority of its runtime, but even still it does still seem to be building towards an interesting ending. However, even if the show manages to stick-the-landing, viewed as a whole, I would still only consider it a decent experience.

I hope these thoughts have been helpful to any potential reader.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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