Prepare to smile and prepare to cry as you venture to Antarctica

As with most anime I go into them pretty much blind, and this one is no exception. Apart from a few images I saw before it had even finished airing, I knew nothing about this anime, other than they go to Antarctica, hence why I had left it so long. But now, I feel like an idiot for putting off something so beautiful for so long.

Sora yori mo Tooi Basho, or Yorimoi, is one of the most beautiful anime I have ever watched. I didn't expect it to be such an emotional roller coaster, let alone have such depth to the story and the characters. Whether it's the backstories or the development of their current relationships, everything is so well done.

Everything about Yorimoi just fits so well. The artwork, the background music, the characters, and the story, there's nothing that feels out of place or lacklustre. 

I think it goes without saying, spoilers ahead.

English Name:

A Place Further Than The Universe

Japanese Name:

宇宙よりも遠い場所

Studio:

Madhouse

Episodes Watched:

13/13

Posted on:

22/Mar/2019 at 10:54

They are just school kids, looking for an adventure

I don't think it's abnormal for children to want to explore. Whether it's a 6 year old wanting to go into the woods where their parents tell them is too far, or a 16 year old wanting to travel the world. The latter is what Yorimoi is all about, and where they want to go is Antarctica.

It's an amazing idea for an anime, and one which sells the story perfectly across the globe. If the girls went to Rome, then Italian fans could feel that Rome wasn't portrayed correctly, but with Antarctica very few people know what it's like. So for everyone, it is a new adventure. 

The compelling nature of the adventure for the characters is compounded by the reasons they want to go. Whether it's Shirase who wants to go because of her mother, Yuzuki who has to go due to her work, or Gin because she wants to finish what she started. Everyone who goes to Antarctica has a reason. No one there doesn't want to be there, even if it means risking their lives or livelihood.

A million yen, and its lack of importance

When Shirase first says that she has one million yen, and intends to use it to get to Antarctica, you expect she's going to buy her way on to the expedition, and that be that. But it's not, and that was great move number one.

Then there was the situation where they would need to change their flights, so the million yen was used to get different plane tickets. Once again, this wasn't needed, which again was good. However, at this point they are off to Antarctica, and Shirase is still quite rich. But we see no reason for the money to arise once again during this story, and by the time you see it once more, you kind of forget about it, apart from Shirase counting it out.

But then when you see she left it as a treasure for someone else, much like her mother left her laptop as a sort of treasure, it really breaks your heart.

The most fitting background music I've encountered

The background music always feels on point to what's happening. Whether it's the excitement of a new adventure, or the sombre mood of watching your friend leave for a place further than the universe.

Although the background music is generally quite subtle, and you wouldn't even realise its there, there is one song which stood out. It didn't stand out in a bad way, it stood out because it summed up the series almost perfectly in tone and what the song is saying; and that's Haru ka Tooku (second video). It has a great mix of slow, and upbeat. The AMV with the song sums up the series' highs and lows, in the first 6 episodes, extremely well to the beat of the song too. 

The only issue I could find is extremely minor

I couldn't get enough of Sora yori ma Tooi Basho, but if I was to nitpick, and try to say something I disliked about it, it'd have to be some of the facial expressions.

Some of the smiles, especially from Shirase, didn't seem human at all. However, they were always overly enthusiastic, so them not looking normal is fine, as it showed just how excited she was to go to Antarctica. 

There is so much that can be said about this amazing series, but I don't think I can do it the justice.

All I know is, there hasn't been an anime that's been able to make me feel like this one has for such a long time. Some will make you laugh, some will make you cry, but very rarely can you find one that can make you do both within the space of a few minutes.

I started and finished this one in less than 24 hours, which I haven't done in a long time, but I just couldn't stop watching Sora yori mo Tooi Basho, it had me hooked. I only stopped, begrudgingly, due to other things popping up and getting in the way.

When I started, I didn't expect to be having to rethink my top X lists, but now I am going to have to go back and rethink some positions. 

But that's it for Yorimoi, next up is the 3rd season of one of my favourite anime of last year, Yama no Susume, as I completely forgot that it had finished airing. But that's for another day, until then じゃね!see ya