[Review] Anime: So Ra No Wo To
Alright, it's now time for me to review K-on! Army Version. K-on! of Duty is a piece of crap that tried to be a War is Bad story, a slice of life comedy, and a moe anime but failed at all three and was totally mediocre.
Er... wait what? Oh, I'm sorry, I was momentarily possessed by some jackoff who doesn't understand how two or more genres can come together and support a story's theme.
Okay, well, maybe that is a little harsh, but I will get to that.
Sora no Woto, or "The Sound of the Sky", is an episodic anime series about girls in the military in a world that seems to have early 20th century technology. I say seems to because there is more to the setting than that. The setting combines several different cultures, and it may seem silly that people with Japanese and German names are in a Spanish town full of French people who speak Japanese, but it'll make at least a little sense once you're done, I swear.
The story follows Kanata Sorami(MEANINGFUL NAME ALERT), who is a bright and chipper girl who is totally optimistic about everything. At first I thought it was because her parents died and she was overcompensating for that fact by being cheery instead of depressed, but then I rewatched an episode where she gets a letter from her mom. In the aftermath of a battle, she heard an allied soldier perform Amazing Grace with her Bugle, and she decided she wanted to learn to play like that too and joined the military(because in this world, only soldiers can afford to have schoolin'). She joins the 1121st Brigade, stationed at a fort in the small town of Seize(and with a name like that, it's just asking to get attacked). At first, Kanata is terrible, but with the help of her Cool Big Sis, Rio Kazumiya, she'll eventually get better. She makes friends with the other members, Filicia Heidman, Noel Kannagi and Kureha Suminoya, and soon her optimism and energy affect them greatly and a bond between the five is born that cannot be broken.
Sora no Woto is a story about what war does to people and their surroundings, of how it can destroy the peace you have worked so hard to create. It puts forth the ideas that life is meaningless unless you come up with meaning yourself, and also that simply being "the enemy" does not make a person evil or inhuman. The lighthearted slice of life and serious war focused parts of the show may seem to clash, but that is merely the point. The first part sets up the fun aspects, while the second slowly moves toward the serious. It moves toward the peace of our characters nearly being completely shattered.
The characters are also rather good. They deconstruct the typical moe anime lineup, at least a tad, with each character. To tell you any more than that would be to spoil it. Everyone(save for one) has somewhat of a character arc, a change in their character, though it doesn't amount to much really. The most important development is Kanata's getting better at the Bugle, but her character never really changes. The character who doesn't get change at least gets a backstory, a really good one as well. I always find that a backstory can be a good substitute for a character arc, as it lets us know that they have gone through change at least once in their life. All characters get backstory as well, but sadly my favourite one didn't have nearly enough time spent on it. Overall though, they all grow in one way or another, and learn some life lessons. Plus, they're really fun and are like a close family. D'awww.
The music is phenomenal. Every track is good and beautiful; with songs ranging from cheery to sorrowful. My favourite is the insert song, Servante du Feu, which plays partially in the first episode, and fully during the last. It's a hauntingly gorgeous French song sung by an actual Frenchman, and serves to sum up the main themes of the story. Honestly, the series would not have been as great without the soundtrack.
The animation is nice as well, being done by A-1 Pictures. The downside is that, yes, the designs do look similar to K-on!, and they were criticized for it. I didn't mind the designs, I think they contrast well with the darker aspects of the plot, like in Madoka Magica. People didn't complain about them looking like Hidamari Sketch characters, did they? However, I would have preferred the original designs, which you can see on my main blog in my post about this series. They are way better and would have fit the series more, I think. Regardless, the animation is good.
The main problems with the show is it's pacing. The first half mainly introduces the setting and characters, whereas the second tells about the backstory of the characters and gets into serious territory. Because the show is episodic this causes problems. The pace becomes inconsistent, with the first part being slower, and the second being faster. Not to mention, they only get into the main plot on episode 10, with 11 and 12 having the most to do with it. This is sad because 11 and 12 were the best, with interesting events, shocking revelations, and overall feel of importance. It was also heartwarming and emotional, and showed the great willpower and resolve of its characters. It should have been more like 4 episodes for something like this. Really, if it could have been longer, it would have been better. Or, maybe if they skipped some of the parts that, while funny and characteristic, were really not important. Still, in the end this was a really good show with nice story and character, wonderful music, good themes and messages, and it will be a long time before I forget it. It's sort of like something akin to Live-a-Live, it was an interesting experiment, and it was really the first time it had been done like that. It may not have been perfect, but the ideas and concepts were executed well enough for it to be good.
So, without further ado, I will rate this series. Against my better judgement(desu no), which tells me to give it a 4/5 instead, I give it a 5/5. It was a really good show for me. If what I've said here doesn't turn you off to the show, please watch it.
Until next we meet!
EDIT: Oh, I also wanted to say that Sora no Woto ranks up there with some of the most beautiful and heartwarming stories I've ever seen in an anime. It has wonderful melancholic moments, an ending that's bittersweet when you think about it, and is an all around great and heartfelt message to it.
"Someone was saying the world is ending, but I like this world." - Sorami Kanata
"There can't possibly be any meaning in this world. But isn't that wonderful in its own right? Because if there isn't any, we can make our own." - Filicia Heidman
"We don't have a choice, we're soldiers." - Helvetian Soldier
Savour the Harmony of The Sky
Er... wait what? Oh, I'm sorry, I was momentarily possessed by some jackoff who doesn't understand how two or more genres can come together and support a story's theme.
Okay, well, maybe that is a little harsh, but I will get to that.
Sora no Woto, or "The Sound of the Sky", is an episodic anime series about girls in the military in a world that seems to have early 20th century technology. I say seems to because there is more to the setting than that. The setting combines several different cultures, and it may seem silly that people with Japanese and German names are in a Spanish town full of French people who speak Japanese, but it'll make at least a little sense once you're done, I swear.
The story follows Kanata Sorami(MEANINGFUL NAME ALERT), who is a bright and chipper girl who is totally optimistic about everything. At first I thought it was because her parents died and she was overcompensating for that fact by being cheery instead of depressed, but then I rewatched an episode where she gets a letter from her mom. In the aftermath of a battle, she heard an allied soldier perform Amazing Grace with her Bugle, and she decided she wanted to learn to play like that too and joined the military(because in this world, only soldiers can afford to have schoolin'). She joins the 1121st Brigade, stationed at a fort in the small town of Seize(and with a name like that, it's just asking to get attacked). At first, Kanata is terrible, but with the help of her Cool Big Sis, Rio Kazumiya, she'll eventually get better. She makes friends with the other members, Filicia Heidman, Noel Kannagi and Kureha Suminoya, and soon her optimism and energy affect them greatly and a bond between the five is born that cannot be broken.
Sora no Woto is a story about what war does to people and their surroundings, of how it can destroy the peace you have worked so hard to create. It puts forth the ideas that life is meaningless unless you come up with meaning yourself, and also that simply being "the enemy" does not make a person evil or inhuman. The lighthearted slice of life and serious war focused parts of the show may seem to clash, but that is merely the point. The first part sets up the fun aspects, while the second slowly moves toward the serious. It moves toward the peace of our characters nearly being completely shattered.
The characters are also rather good. They deconstruct the typical moe anime lineup, at least a tad, with each character. To tell you any more than that would be to spoil it. Everyone(save for one) has somewhat of a character arc, a change in their character, though it doesn't amount to much really. The most important development is Kanata's getting better at the Bugle, but her character never really changes. The character who doesn't get change at least gets a backstory, a really good one as well. I always find that a backstory can be a good substitute for a character arc, as it lets us know that they have gone through change at least once in their life. All characters get backstory as well, but sadly my favourite one didn't have nearly enough time spent on it. Overall though, they all grow in one way or another, and learn some life lessons. Plus, they're really fun and are like a close family. D'awww.
The music is phenomenal. Every track is good and beautiful; with songs ranging from cheery to sorrowful. My favourite is the insert song, Servante du Feu, which plays partially in the first episode, and fully during the last. It's a hauntingly gorgeous French song sung by an actual Frenchman, and serves to sum up the main themes of the story. Honestly, the series would not have been as great without the soundtrack.
The animation is nice as well, being done by A-1 Pictures. The downside is that, yes, the designs do look similar to K-on!, and they were criticized for it. I didn't mind the designs, I think they contrast well with the darker aspects of the plot, like in Madoka Magica. People didn't complain about them looking like Hidamari Sketch characters, did they? However, I would have preferred the original designs, which you can see on my main blog in my post about this series. They are way better and would have fit the series more, I think. Regardless, the animation is good.
The main problems with the show is it's pacing. The first half mainly introduces the setting and characters, whereas the second tells about the backstory of the characters and gets into serious territory. Because the show is episodic this causes problems. The pace becomes inconsistent, with the first part being slower, and the second being faster. Not to mention, they only get into the main plot on episode 10, with 11 and 12 having the most to do with it. This is sad because 11 and 12 were the best, with interesting events, shocking revelations, and overall feel of importance. It was also heartwarming and emotional, and showed the great willpower and resolve of its characters. It should have been more like 4 episodes for something like this. Really, if it could have been longer, it would have been better. Or, maybe if they skipped some of the parts that, while funny and characteristic, were really not important. Still, in the end this was a really good show with nice story and character, wonderful music, good themes and messages, and it will be a long time before I forget it. It's sort of like something akin to Live-a-Live, it was an interesting experiment, and it was really the first time it had been done like that. It may not have been perfect, but the ideas and concepts were executed well enough for it to be good.
So, without further ado, I will rate this series. Against my better judgement(desu no), which tells me to give it a 4/5 instead, I give it a 5/5. It was a really good show for me. If what I've said here doesn't turn you off to the show, please watch it.
Until next we meet!
EDIT: Oh, I also wanted to say that Sora no Woto ranks up there with some of the most beautiful and heartwarming stories I've ever seen in an anime. It has wonderful melancholic moments, an ending that's bittersweet when you think about it, and is an all around great and heartfelt message to it.
"Someone was saying the world is ending, but I like this world." - Sorami Kanata
"There can't possibly be any meaning in this world. But isn't that wonderful in its own right? Because if there isn't any, we can make our own." - Filicia Heidman
"We don't have a choice, we're soldiers." - Helvetian Soldier
Savour the Harmony of The Sky
Comments
Post a Comment
Ey watchu think mang?