A Place Further Than The Universe

Yes, my decision to watch the hopeful anime about high school girls going on a trip after watching the calming anime about high school girls going on camping trips was entirely intentional. A Place Further Than The Universe may be a bit more emotional and serious than Laid-Back Camp was, but it's just as effective at making you want to get out of your seat and do something adventurous.

A Place Further Than The Universe is a show about four high school girls all making the decision (well, technically except for Yuzuki) to go on a trip to Antarctica. It's a solid premise executed very well, as it feels like the writers thought of every obstacle the girls would have to deal with on such a big trip like this. This anime's episodes has the main cast deal with seasickness, training, cold weather, and of course, actually being allowed to go on the trip, but there's still remains a fairly optimistic tone the whole time. The sheer determination of its main cast makes seeing them complete their trip to Antarctica all the more satisfying, and it helps that this anime is almost entirely character-driven. Each major character is incredibly fleshed-out and complex, with their own motivations for going on the trip and character arc that gets completed.

Shirase is probably the most important character and the catalyst for the whole anime. Her mother Takako disappeared on a trip to Antarctica, so Shirase spends the whole series desperate to go there so she can find and reunite with her. It's not much of a secret Takako actually died there, but it makes Shirase's moment of realization all the more soul-crushing. Yuzuki is a child actor who hasn't been able to make friends, so her arc revolves around her befriending the other three characters and dealing with what that entails. Hinata quit school due to being bullied for her intelligence. And Kimari, the least developed of the bunch, just wants to do something spontaneous for once. All of the characters are likable and interesting, and I love how the last four episodes each give a member of the cast their own time to shine and complete their arcs. I also love how every cast member subverts an anime trope in some way. Shirase looks like your standard aloof dark-haired girl but she's easily the most emotional of the cast. Hinata looks like your standard airhead but is easily the smartest of the cast. And Yuzuki is the rare child actor in an anime who actively despises being an actor. 

Presentation-wise, A Place Further Than The Universe is also really solid. Its unique style with its thick character outlines might take a bit of getting used to, but it looks great in motion, most notably in that fantastic running scene in Episode 2. But what really makes the show work visually for me is actually the confident direction. The lighting, pacing, and storyboarding is all fantastic, and you can tell the people working on the show put a lot of thought into pretty much every facet of it. Outside of that, the voice acting and music is fairly solid as well. The whole voice cast absolutely nails the emotional scenes, and the usages of vocal tracks near the end of episodes are always well-timed. 

While the show's quality is fairly consistent, let's face it, A Place Further Than The Universe's highlights are pretty obvious:

Dear My Friend: The last episode before the Antarctica trip begins, Dear My Friend takes the time to shine a spotlight on Kimari's friend Megumi. Despite being a minor character who won't appear again until the finale, Megumi's arc this episode as she has to deal with her only friend leaving is really engrossing, and the scene with the "friendship breakup" was the first truly emotional sequence in the anime.

Bash The Drum Can: This is the big Hinata episode, as we learn why specifically she quit school. I mostly just really liked that final scene where all of Hinata's friends call out her ex-friends for 

A Place Further Than The Universe: This is the climax of the whole series, not only does it have the cast finally complete their expedition, but it has Shirase finally have to face the fact that her mom is dead. The whole second half of this episode was an emotional rollercoaster, from Shirase's heart-warming monologue to her seeing all those unread emails. But what really got me was seeing Shirase's friends sitting outside of her room, crying along with her.

We'll Go On Another Journey Someday: Coming after the heartbreaking previous episode, this finale was a lot more lighthearted. It did have a bit of a bittersweet edge with Kimari dealing with the trip coming to an end and Shirase getting over her mother's death, but for the most part, this was a very heartwarming and happy ending to the anime.

Overall, A Place Further Than The Universe is just a damn solid anime, executing its simple premise with a love for its characters and a sense of confidence. It's never blew me away (as a matter of fact, I'd say its first half wasn't really anything special), but it did hit its emotional mark and make me want to go on a grand adventure of my own.

4/5 Stars

With only thirteen episodes, I thought I'd just cram the ranking into the review. Here's how I would rank its episodes:

1. A Place Further Than The Universe (S1.12)
2. We'll Go On Another Journey Someday (S1.13)
3. Bash The Drum Can (S1.11)
4. Dear My Friend (S1.05)
5. Partial Friendship (S1.10)
6. The Ship That Sees The Universe (S1.07)
7. Kabukichou Fremantle (S1.02)
8. Antarctic Love Story (S1.09)
9. The Follow Backs Don't Stop (S1.03)
10. One Million Yen For Youth (S1.01)
11. Four Caterpillars (S1.04)
12. Welcome To The Durian Show (S1.06)
13. Howling, Maddening, Screaming (S1.08)