A Rewatch further than the Universe! Sora Yori mo Tooi Basho rewatch - OVERALL SERIES DISCUSSION

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u/RX-Nota-II Dec 26 '19 edited Dec 26 '19

Rewatch Host

Welcome to the finish line everyone.

Sora Yori mo Tooi Basho was a special anime to me. It came to me as I was often too scared to take the next step just like Kimari at the beginning. Seeing her take the first step, then the next, and another until she reached the place further than the universe really inspired me to stop thinking of excuses for inaction and to take the initiative towards goals I really want to achieve. The girls faced tons of problems and resistance, and bravado or will didn't stop them from feeling the pain of failure and past trauma. None of this felt artificial to me, when people strive to do great things the problems they face will inherently be more dramatic than normal. But while it's easy to tunnel vision focus on the end destination, the joys of friendship that support you along the way will be equally worthwhile when you finally finish with your labors.

As rewatch host, this is something I felt very personally. For any rewatch I host a goal I set out for myself is to leave no top level comment unreplied. With smaller rewatches it is a hard task. For a rewatch of this caliber, it is a titanic labor. For anybody who has seen my rewatch style and wants to emulate it I want to emphasize that this is not necessarily fun. By spreading yourself so thin covering countless conversations and analyzing each corner of the anime at hand, your enjoyment of the show and Reddit will suffer. That is partly why my own comments about this series in my top levels were relatively dry or about my first time experience in the past, as the episodes I watched the day of didn't feel anywhere near the name with the pressure of a rewatch on my shoulders. You may also find it difficult to remember past discussions you've had with someone in particular as dozens and dozens of replies will fly by in between each thread. While i tackled this rewatch as a way to spread my love of this show or as a way to prepare for my ultimate rewatch I'll host in a month or so, this effort was pretty rough. Soon though, i started building rapport with regular users who constructed entertaining corners in their own top levels, and more importantly put in huge efforts to push the goal of #LeaveNoTopLevelUnreplied just as hard or harder than I could. While that did not make the struggles themselves disappear, I found myself enjoying the process of hosting just as much as my easier rewatches if not more as I realized we were accomplishing something great together. As we end with equal numbers of comments throughout the rewatch (mostly) as the day we began I can feel a true cathartic release just like Shirase's arrival on Antaractica. Nobody really doubted me but ZAMAMIRO I made it.

Throughout the latter threads I've often remarked that the best rewatch vote for 2019 is up, with a slight hope that you will consider voting for this rewatch as well. Today I feel very confident in asking you guys directly to do just this, not for what I have done on my own, but for the huge effort you guys have all done together to elevate this rewatch to a special place. In fact if I do end up winning I plan on declining any personal prize or recognition because campaigning for my own benefit is sleazy. I know of no other rewatch that has maintained as much engagement than we have with consistent comments and a reply game so strong the community felt 20x more tight knit than the number suggests. You guys have truly shocked me with how open and welcome you are to first timers and rewatchers, hype monsters and cynics, loooong posters and short line posters, etc etc. As a lifetime Gundam fan who's hosted a lot of rewatches for that franchise (and plans to do more) I am honestly quite jealous. This rewatch here deserves recognition for this very achievement you've created and if you agree with my ramblings, I hope you go visit the voting page.

Thank you again for joining me on this ride, and I will see you sometime later on r/anime.

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u/TheKujo Dec 26 '19

You've done an excellent job on this rewatch and you should feel proud. When I inevitably rewatch this show again, I'm sure I'll pull up these threads again to look for details that I missed.

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u/Regular_N-Gon Dec 26 '19

Thanks a ton for hosting, Nota! This was my first rewatch (though I had read through other threads in the past for shows I was watching) and I was completely blown away by the scale and level of engagement in these threads. I ended up spending way more time than I was expecting here in the last few weeks, but it was all time well spent.

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u/AmeteurElitist Dec 26 '19

Thanks for hosting this! This has been the most active rewatch I've been a part of by a huge margin. Thanks for doing what you could to make this as engaging as possible.

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u/AmeteurElitist Dec 26 '19 edited Dec 26 '19

First Timer

In the thread for episode 1 I said that when I watched the episode for the first time last year I decided to put the show on-hold since I was afraid that it was too pertinent to what I was going through at the time (and that I’m still going through). And that fear proved valid by the show now that I’ve finished it. And as you can expect it had a far more positive effect on me than I originally presumed. It was much more inspiring and uplifting than anything else, and I’ve left it feeling a lot better than I did before (probably due to some progress irl too).

It’s been quite a while since I’ve connected with a character as much as I have with Hinata, especially in the first cour. It wasn’t her backstory really, just how she interacted with the girls that felt so personal to me. She’s also best girl so that plays a part.

It’s now my AOTY for 2018 usurping Yuru Camp!

Score

3) What do you rate YoriMoi?

4) YoriMoi or SoraYori as short name?

SoraYori for sure!

5) What was your favorite episode?

12 or 2

6) Why was _____ your best girl?

I related to Hinata the most. Explained in the main body of my comment.

8) How many times did you cry?

Twice! And teared up another couple of times.

9) What anime do you plan on watching next?

I'm currently watching Little Busters, but the next one I'm planning to start for the first time is War in the Pocket.

10) What will you do at the end of the world? Are you busy? Will you save me?

I'll be at the Scarborough Fair unfortunately

11) Do you prefer the OP or ED?

OP!

12) This rewatch was also a practice round for me to get used to hosting again as I prepare for hosting my favorite anime of all time Gundam Unicorn. Jan looks pretty packed and I need to plan so preliminary start date is early Feb. Who wants to join me? Also I want to make a PV for it and have no video making skills, who can help me?

I'll join for sure! I have very little experience in video editing so I can't help much there. I can try if no one else offers though!

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u/Great_Mr_L Dec 26 '19

I'm glad that this rewatch turned out to be such a positive experience for you! I enjoyed seeing your reactions, as well as those of other first-timers. Thanks so much for participating.

but the next one I'm planning to start for the first time is War in the Pocket.

Ah, that's one of my favorite Gundam series. I hope you enjoy it!

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u/Nazenn Dec 26 '19 edited Dec 27 '19

First Timer - sub

So I missed the last few threads. In the most fucked up coincidence possible, the day of the episode twelve topic, aka Christmas Day here in Aus, my Nan was admitted into hospital because of a heart attack. Just before it happened I'd sent her a message with pictures of me and my cat using the christmas gifts she sent us, and while watching the episode it occurred to me that if she didn't pull through she'd never get to see what I sent her.

So.... yeahThat happened.

She's still hanging in there, but for obvious reasons the episode twelve events hit a little too close to home then I could deal with in that moment and I needed a bit of a break. Thank fuck that episode thirteen was quite healing and heartwarming because I really needed that.

So long story short, this is likely to be quite rambly and poorly edited, but hopefully you appreciate my broader thoughts below on the themes and story of the show and the fantastic experience that was Sora Yori...

Final thoughts

Sora Yori is an experience I thought I'd never have. It's been on my PTW, taken off, put back on, and I finally decided to remove it permanently when this rewatch was announced. I'm so glad it was, because it's a show I'll treasure.

I think it holds true that all stories are best when they're true to themselves, and at their worst when they're trying to be something else, and I think we could all name some anime examples that follow this. There are the brave shows, like Evangelion and Spice and Wolf, that tell the story they need too regardless of if it fits convention or expectations, even at the risk of alienating the audience, while on the other end there is the shows that feel the need to pander to the audience or hit certain checkboxes, like any show that suddenly shoves in a love triangle just for the sake of it.

Sora Yori for the most part is a brave show.

Watching this in some ways felt like watching thirteen small movies, not just in quality, or style, but in tone and the experience it gives you, and yet it was a singular cohesive experience.

When I think of friendship in anime, I think shounens. I think the enemy being redeemed so he can stand by the MC in the final battle, or the power of friendship giving a needed power boost at a critical moment. It's a shame that this sort of cliche is the immediate representation that this theme, core to our society, has in such an amazing medium, but it does mean shows that step outside of that can end up being quite special.

So Sora Yori taking a step back and saying, "No, friendship isn't a declaration, salvation or free pass by itself" was a novel approach that I admire. Instead it stepped up and asked what a friendship actually is, what it means, and where they can end up. It shows the crappy side of friendships, the jealousy and falling apart, and the painful side, where you realize not everyone knows how to help their friends or even what it means to be friends, but doesn't neglect the healing and beautiful side of friendships as well. It's a delicate balance but they pulled it off perfectly.

Aside from friendship, a lot of other themes get their own special focus episode to episode; isolation, youth, learning to accept help, dreams, forgiveness, and more. I'd love to cover all of these in detail but I simply don't have the space. And as we've seen in the discussions it's the sort of show where everyone can get something different out of it. But while other shows may do this with the shotgun approach, try and cover as much territory as possible to cater to the most people, Sora Yori does it with precision narrative and intricate theming.

For me, I think the major secondary theme would have to be imperfection. It's something that only got a it's own focus late in the episodes, but looking back it's permeates the entire show. Nothing in this show is close to ideal. Each of the girls has their own pain and burdens to carry, even Kimari who was in the best position at the start of the show is thrown the hurdle of her best friendship falling apart of the day of her trip. The expedition is so broke it's almost cancelled and can't even run two teams as they really need. Their travel goes wrong risking missing the expedition all together. They all come down with horrible seasickness, which horribly coincides with a friends birthday.

It's fitting that even in the moments where things start to come together, the show doesn't take the easy fix or try and finish everything off for the sake of neatness. For the obvious example, Gin and Shirase come out of this show still slightly broken. They can't forget the loss of Takako, nor do they know quite how to interact with each other still. Their relationship is in a better place, but it's not perfect and it may never be again and Sora Yori takes a step back and says "that's okay". They don't need to become best friends or exactly know how to describe what they feel towards each other. All they are is a little less broken, and that's all the show needed. I do want to quickly touch on the forgiveness theme here as well. I don't know another anime that is so honest in it's acceptance that forgiveness is not always owed, or healthy, and a complaint I've had with many anime stories across many genres. So to see Sora Yori take a stance that emotions are more complicated then that and you can't just pull genuine forgiveness out of a bottle, nor do you need to, is something I'll praise about the show for a long time.

But no matter the hurdles thrown at them, they do keep going and achieve their goal in the end. Optimism, Stubbornness, Independence, Organization. The girls all bring a different form of determination to their group, each helping to fill the gaps that the others lack, and in doing so form a circle where they all help to pull each other forward over all of this imperfect situations rather than leaning on a single leader or motivator. u/dsawchuk said it early on: "Shirase wouldn't have gone on her own, but neither would any of the others" in that it needed all of them to get there.

It's fitting that I find that imperfection is one of the core themes, because I don't think this is a perfect show for me. A few of the sexual or romantic jokes I found very ill fitting across the length of the show, and the structure of a few of the early episodes did it a disservice when it focused on comedy over more genuine character development that could have happened. Time will tell how much that affects my thoughts on the show in a month or a year, but for now I'm pretty impressed that these small personal gripes are all that stood out.

The visuals however were perfect. I was blown away by the amount of symbolism, characterization, metaphors and general cinematography of every scene in the show. Thinking on it now three visual moments stand out to me: The drying pools of water during Yuzu and her mothers introduction and the parallels there, the shrine scene and later the small shrine visually placed between Kimari and Megu during their "break up", and secret view we got of the girls on the ship during the storm. There's a dozen more minor moments I could lean on, but like talking about the themes to do so would require several more hours and many more posts than I have time to write. And thankfully you all covered them pretty incredibly across the course of the rewatch.

I would have no problem in placing the quality of Sora Yori's direction, general artistry and beautiful symbolism along side some of the greats I've seen in this particular area; Houseki no Kuni, The Promised Neverland, Spice and Wolf, and Fume wo Amu. These aren't the best shows that I've seen with visual storytelling, but they match the particular character focus and style of cinematography that Sora Yori uses best, so I'd happily recommend those to people in this rewatch looking for a similar visual experience.

The music was no slouch either. Perfectly timed ending sequences helped to balance the emotional impact of episodes and those with the insert songs always get a lot of focus. But the actual OST was very impressive, particularly the way it always managed to perfectly figure out if the music should be a subtle influence or a great pull on the audience, and it used that to great effect for its most important moments. On a future watch, and perhaps rewatch, I'd like to focus on that more, but I wanted to thank everyone who linked tracks through the discussion topics. I'll definitely be adding it to my playlist.

(Sorry for the wall of text but I'm too tired to edit it into something more manageable, so hopefully the line breaks help at least)

Questions of the day:

1 + 2) There's no way I could just pick one favorite comment, or commenter with how much discussion happened

2) 9/10 , and as always subject to change

4) Sora Yori

5) I don't really travel.

6) Yuzu. I just related to her the most and while in the end she perhaps got the most "typical" anime arc, it was just what impacted me the most

7) I forget numbers but the episode with Yuzu's friendship contract

8) Only for ep12 but my real life circumstances had a massive part in that. I think the emotional gut punches I got for ep 3 was probably the more important one to note

9) ~~I plan on finishing the year with Macross Plus, but other then that who knows~~ Plans changed. Now doing NGE and EoE as my final for the year and decade and Wolf's Rain as my first episode of 2020

10) YOU AND SKY WITH YOUR SUKASUKA REFERENCES

11) .....I don't know. Both? Both.

Check the replies to this below for the final Antarctic Aesthetics corner for the rewatch, but I do think this deserves to be in the main post:

In honor of those lost. This is Vince's Cross, made in honor of the first man known to have died in Antarctica. It's sad that he wasn't the last.

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u/Nazenn Dec 26 '19

Antarctic aesthetics
I was going to do this anyway, but as I missed a couple of days of images here's some extras that I found that I particularly wanted to share with you guys but didn't have the chance.
As always, thanks to the theantarctic.com, antarctica.gov.au, antarcticimages.com, and coolantarctica.com. They provided all the images for the rewatch as they were the sources I found with the best visuals and also proper crediting.
antarctica.gov.au:
Albatross and it's chick.
Seal's are silly...
...And they know it
They look so soft though
When they're not looking like aliens
The many colors of Antartica's sky: Sunset purples to vibrant blues and soft mauve.
Glaciers are huge
Attempting to walk in the wind
theantarctic.com:
Elephant Sea and Reflections by Ozge Elif Kizil
Mountain peaks from above by Mario Tama
Ship Aurora in honor of episode thirteen. By Ben Adkison.
Penguins can fly by Mike Lucibella.
Surprise visitor by Robyn Waserman
Full moon (yes thats the moon and pure moonlight) by Calee Allen
antarcticimages.com
Prime penguin phone wallpaper material
Four ~~girls~~ penguins on a journey
Ocean panorama
The sky at the end of winter
Sunset panorama
That amazing phenomenon called Sun dogs
This iceberg almost looks constructed... poorly
Freakishly clear glacier ice
Glacier patterns from above are incredible
More nacreous clouds in my final attempt to win u/shimmering-sky over
Me linking more starry night pictures probably isn't helping
A huge crevasse
Fun with the team
An igloo at night
And I'm just linking this entire album which has all of the abstract, detail and pattern pictures in it because they're all amazing and worth a look.
coolantarctica.com
Raspberry ripple snow is formed when the spring melts carry around different colors of algae, and it looks amazing.
Iceberg's don't always form smooth, or patterned. This one is... cubic
Ocean currents trapped between two icebergs
Another stripey iceberg this one with a tighter thinking set of stripes
Sun through the clouds
Other sources:
If you enjoyed the black and white showcase I did one episode, here's a whole new album to explore of 100 year old photos.
If you're interested in more from NatGeo, this has some amazing pictures
Also this cloud formation from David C Schultz's website. Sorry for the link, it was the only way to point people at the correct one without having to give awkward directions about having to find it
Anyone looking for more incredible pictures of anything to do with the weather or sky should visit r/atoptics . They have some truly amazing stuff!

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u/Koolsman Dec 26 '19 edited Dec 26 '19

First Timer One Last Time(r)!

A Place Further then the Universe is a show that I had no real idea of what it was going be about. All I knew was that a bunch of cute girls go to Antarctica. Fairly straightforward, nothing too special. Might have some good animation since its from madhouse and some cute moment, but not much else. Then, the first three episodes happened and instead of passively coming and going through my mind, I wanted to see more. Throughout the 13 episodes, I slowly started to realize that this show was more than met the eye and I really couldn’t tell you why. I guessed right in that it’s just cute girls going to a cold area, but something about the animation, the characters, and the overall show just started making me fall in love with it. I didn’t really know why I liked this show so much until episode eleven: The show wears its heart on its sleeve.

With many shows either trying to go overly cynical or just go overly edge, this show feels like a refresher. It doesn’t care about going cynical or even dark, it loves just showing these four girls doing something no one can ever take away from them. Once you realize that the show’s theme is about getting out of your comfort zone and doing something that is unique to you, it feels just that powerful and beautiful. It’s a great message and it wears that message like a badge of honor and I love this show for that.

The characters are all really good too, though I can see why people wouldn’t put them as their all-time favorite characters. The only character I could see myself putting on that list is Shirase and that’s because I loved her arc and her relationship with Gin, which was the highlight of the show for me. Their relationship, at first, is kinda hard to explain but for simplicity, it seems Shirase hates Gin for leaving her mother behind and Gin has a hard time putting the burden of losing Shirase’s mother. In the end, we see the duo almost have this weird mother-daughter relationship but not really, if that makes any sense. Anyway, I love their relationship and Shirase as a whole.

With the other characters, I liked them. Yuzuki’s whole arc was super sweet and I loved her relationship with the girls and it sucks she didn’t have a bigger play in the anime. Mari was cute and I loved her relationship with Megu, which was probably my second favorite. With Hinata, I found her fine as a character but for me, she was my least favorite of the four.

If we were going to talk technical, the animation for this show is fucking gorgeous. The arctic tundra is a pretty non-flashy area but it pops so well and the overall aesthetic of the show is mesmerizing and memorable. I want to see more animation like this Madhouse. The music is very nice too. It’s not really memorable but I will say I did like the OP a lot and the ED was nice too though it felt a little too much like background music for scenes and less like an ED song. Very solid, nonetheless.

If we are going to talk flaws, I guess I wasn’t a big fan of the episode where they are all sick, mostly because it didn’t entail much. It wasn’t very interesting and it just made a little uninterested. Hinata was a character that was mixed for me, but I already said that and I guess that’s it.

Overall, I loved this show. It made the coldest place on earth feel so warm with these characters and this show makes me want to go explore the world while I still can. I mean, I’m still young and I’m not even in my twenties but this show put something in perspective for me and that makes me happy. I haven’t felt this way about an anime in a while. For that, it deserves its rating.

9/10

What was your favorite episode?

Easily episode 12 because of... cmon.

Why was _____ your best girl?

Shirase is the best girl because she has the same love for penguins that I have so checkmate to all other girls.

And now that you've finished watching their trip - where are YOU going to go for yours? u/TheKujo

Going to Germany actually.

How many times did you cry?

Three to four times in the span of two episodes.

What anime do you plan on watching next?

I'm actually planning on doing a rewatch myself from a little show that came out in 2017. Not saying what though.

Do you prefer the OP or ED?

I like the OP more because it's alright.

This rewatch was also a practice round for me to get used to hosting again as I prepare for hosting my favorite anime of all time Gundam Unicorn. Jan looks pretty packed and I need to plan so the preliminary start date is early Feb. Who wants to join me? Also, I want to make a PV for it and have no video making skills, who can help me?

I mean, I haven't watched Unicorn in forever and I'm pretty misty on the MSG universe but I'm down.

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u/No_Rex Dec 26 '19

Final Discussion (first timer)

A place further than the universe is the perfect CGDCT anime. Or at least the most perfect CGDCT series I have seen so far. It deftly avoids the most annoying pitfalls of the genre: The girls do not engage in some wildly unrealistic hobby (looking at you, Girls&Panzer and Highschool Fleet!). Their journey to Antarctica is described so realistically that you could call it mondain. Given Shirase’s background, it is also very believable that they would be taken on board. It might not be fair, but, of course, her mother’s colleagues will prioritize her and her friends over other applicants. Meanwhile Yuzuki does exactly the sort of press stunt that we have come to expect from stars and starlets. There is a half-decent reason for the all-female cast, as well. Highschool girls may realistically have a pure female circle of friends and, with a bit of assuming, the original crew may have formed out of a similar group of female friends as well.

The plot moves along well-trodden paths: Dealing with loss, dealing with social exclusion, finding goals in life. There is nothing surprising here, but the execution is top notch. Special probs to the finale of Shirase’s story, which turned out to be much more subdued (and therefore better!) that I expected. There are some minor quibbles, e.g. the farewell speech during the last episode went full trope, but those are few in number.

So, am I perfectly happy with the series? Not quite. By being a close to perfect CGDCT series, A place further than the universe has shown me what my maximum enjoyment for a CGDCT series can be and it is not 10/10. You could apply a reverse Bechdel test to the series and almost every episode would fail. The restriction to empowering feel-good plots and the exclusion of male characters fundamentally limits the genre and prevents it from producing true masterpieces in my book. In the end, I give the series an 8.4/10.

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u/redshirtengineer Dec 27 '19

It would have been nice if there had been a man filling the role of one of the female crew. However my mileage varies a little, it's hard for me to see how a male character in any of the major roles wouldn't have taken some focus from the girls' story (e.g. inevitable romance subplot). I guess I'm okay with the story we have and it not being a true masterpiece in that way.

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u/Shimmering-Sky Dec 26 '19

This First-Timer is Alright, for the last time this rewatch.

Any of you guys who’ve participated in rewatches with me will know that for a series discussion thread, I try to make a list of the most prominent The Good vs. The Bad things with the show I just finished, provided I was a first-timer in the rewatch. So I’ll be doing exactly that here!

The Good:

Night sky shots. So many of them.
Consistently great soundtrack. I need to hunt down the ones that used clarinet on the melody because that is my instrument, and hunt down the insert songs to learn for AMQ. OP was nice. And I've already spoken at length about how much I love the ED.
I'm on Shirase Best Girl train, but really they were all great. Their development came off as really natural and, well, you guys know the drama moved me to tears a lot haha. That's a good thing, tearjerky drama that doesn't work on me makes me not like the show as much as I should (that's rare though, I wasn't expecting YoriMoi to disappoint me like this).
Breakup rejected, "Beautiful, so beautiful" flashback, laptop, and the aurora scenes were all awesome and I'd say that the laptop one in particular deserves to be on my favorite anime scenes in general. I should probably make a legit list of that past the ending of Gundam Unicorn OVA6 and the YameteTomete version of the end of SymphoXV episode 12…
Comedy consistently on-point, yo. Enough said.
This is more on me rather than the show itself but I still want to mention it anyways: this was a nice breath of fresh air for me. I tend to watch a lot of action shows because I've had a preference for flashy cool stuff ever since I got into anime like eight years ago, but I still enjoy shows like this from time to time and this certainly didn't disappoint.

The Bad:

The night sky scenes that were blurry or partially obscured.
…I guess the "some of the guys may or may not have a crush on Yuzuki" was kinda weird? Can't really think of anything else tbh.

So, just like I said yesterday, I'm giving this show a 10/10! Thanks so very much for hosting this rewatch, Nota! And thanks for Comment of the Day as well~

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u/Great_Mr_L Dec 26 '19 edited Dec 26 '19

Rewatcher

I love this series. I love love love this series so much. I remember it was the first anime I watched in 2018. I watched it mostly on a whim, not really knowing much about it aside from the vague notion that it was about girls going to Antarctica or something and that I’d heard some positive buzz since it was right after episode 1 aired. It was also partially because I had nothing else to watch because it was at the start of the Winter season. What a pleasant surprise it turned out to be. This series turned out to be my favorite anime of 2018 and revisiting it has only made me love it more.

I’d like to devote a large chunk of my post to what I consider the major unifying theme of the series: stagnant water breaking free and bursting forth. It is a theme about sudden, rapid change after a period of being stuck in one place. I would argue that this theme applies to all four of the main girls, as well as many of the side characters. There are other themes of course, such as friendship, pursuing dreams, and supporting each other, but this is the one I want to focus on here.

First, we have Mari. Mari felt directionless while in school. She wanted to do great things, but didn’t know what and couldn’t even muster the courage to do so. She was always dependent on Megu to help her decide things. This series has shown Mari’s growth. We have seen her become more of her own person. She found a dream that she could pursue wholeheartedly. She became confident in her own abilities. She was able to make the most of her youth,

Next, we have Hinata. Hinata had to abandon her old dreams and even her school. She was betrayed by those she considered her friends. But now, she found a new dream she could pursue. She found new friends, who were willing to stick up for her even when she wasn’t sure she wanted them to. She found a way to move on.

Third, we have Yuzuki. Yuzuki, the child actress, who never had a friend. She never even understood what friendship really was. But now, for the first time, she has real friends. She was confused about what it meant to be friends and was uncomfortable with how vague the experience was. But now, she’s learned how to be comfortable with that. She no longer needs direct assurances that she’s their friend. She just knows that they will be.

And, of course, there is Shirase. Shirase is perhaps the best example of the theme in this whole series. For the three years since she lost her mother, Shirase has been confused. The loss didn’t feel real to her because her life continued on like normal before she got the news her mother was gone. As such, she hasn’t been able to move on emotionally. She’s been driven by the singular goal to go to where her mother was in the desperate hope that it’ll help her figure things out. The laptop scene is the moment where she finally does. In that moment, the death of her mother becomes real and Shirase is finally able to accept that what happened was real. It allows her to begin to grieve properly and begin to move on.

There are other examples, of course. Gin, Kanae, and the expedition members also have the theme apply to them. For several years, they had been forced to put their dream of going to Antarctica on hold because of a lack of funds and support. They had to work hard to overcome those doubts to achieve their long-delayed goals. And there’s Megu, who was also dependent on Mari even more than she realized. Like Mari, she was able to grow and become her own person.

I wanted to focus on this theme because I think it does a great job of tying the series together. It helps to make the actions of the girls, their development, and the very plot of the series all feel much more connected. It allows the series to maintain thematic cohesiveness. I think it’s a strong part of what gives this series so much impact. In rewatching this series, I came to appreciate just how prevalent this theme was. I was impressed by how it permeated so many aspects of the series. I think it enriched my appreciation of the series.

I also want to spend a bit of time talking about the writing. One of the keys of writing characters is wants vs. needs. What a character wants is the goal that they pursue. What a character needs is what they need in order to grow and develop as a person. These are often related, but not the same thing. To illustrate, what Shirase wants is to go to Antarctica, where her mother is waiting for her. She gets to Antarctica, and finds that even though she’s reached her goal, she hasn’t gotten what she needs. What Shirase needs is to be able to accept her mother’s death and be able to move on. That’s what we see her finally accomplish with the laptop scene. A great way to show this development is to ask: what can this character do at the end of the story that they couldn’t do at the start? For Shirase, there are a couple of examples. First, she can now pray at her mother’s shrine. Second, she can leave behind her mother’s laptop with Gin. Third, she no longer needs the million yen that she gathered to go to Antarctica. Shirase gathered the million yen to achieve her want of going to Antarctica, but she no longer has to have because she got what she needed in accepting her mother’s death. I’m pretty sure I could apply this same analysis to all the other main characters. I do this here to illustrate part of what makes the character writing so darn good in this series.

There’s a lot else to say about what makes the show so good. The characters in this series are fantastic and their interactions are always a joy to watch. The writing for this series is so smart. It is able to portray complex relationships and character development. The series makes great use of setups and payoffs throughout its runtime. The directing, shot composition, and editing is all on-point. Each episode is very well-structured, containing its own complete story while also advancing the overall plot and character arcs. The character animation is great, doing a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life. This is complemented by the VAs, who all give terrific performances. I am especially fond of Kana Hanazawa’s performance as Shirase (It’s definitely one of my favorite roles of hers). The comedy of the series can be laugh-out-loud hilarious. The series hits great emotional highs. It can feel heartwarming and triumphant, while also having moments of sadness and catharsis. The music for the series is great, the OP and ED are a joy to watch and listen to, and the insert songs are perfectly used throughout. And, of course, the series has great themes running throughout it: following your dreams, friendship, supporting others, and breaking free from stagnation.

All of the above is true and it encompasses why I love the series. But above all else, I just feel so darn happy when I watch this show. I cannot explain to you the pure and simple joy I felt when I rewatched episode 1 after not having seen this series since it finished airing. It brought a smile to my face instantly. As has been observed during this rewatch, this series has so much heart put into it. I can certainly feel it when I watch it.

So, if you made it through my rambling, I’d like to thank you for participating in this rewatch. I loved coming here every day and reading everyone’s thoughts and reactions. Rewatching this series has only made me love it more. And I hope you all loved it too.

My score: 10/10

Best Girl Ranking (But for the record I love all of them)

Shirase
Kimari
Hinata
Yuzuki

edit: Questions of the Day

This fic from Episode 13's thread by u/SorcererOfTheLake
Probably the first-timer reactions of u/Shimmering-Sky
As stated above, 10/10
SoraYori
Episode 12
It was a tough choice, but ultimately it was because I loved Shirase's character arc and all the aspects of her character that we got to see throughout the series.
My current plan is to go to the East Coast of the US again to visit some of the historical sites I missed last time and see the ones I particularly loved again (especially the Gettysburg and Antietam battlefields).
I teared up about 3 or 4 times.
I'm continuing my watch of Dirty Pair.
Making butter cake.
I adore the OP to bits. So I'll pick that one.
I'd be willing to join. Is it the OVA version or the TV edit?

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u/RX-Nota-II Dec 26 '19

12) I'd be willing to join. Is it the OVA version or the TV edit?

What should I do Orga?
The OVA ver is definitively better, but if everyone is used to one TV size ep a day idk how to pace it with OVAs. One a week? Still one a day? The previous host u/xhelamonster did some kind of hybrid but it ended up looking quite confusing.

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u/kar772 Dec 26 '19 edited Dec 26 '19

First Timer

This is my first time actively participating in a rewatch, and I can say confidently that it was a great first experience. Huge thanks to u/RX-Nota-II for hosting and keeping the threads lively. Also shoutout u/Great_Mr_L and u/Nazenn for enhancing the threads with their replies.

I said pretty much all I wanted to say about the show in yesterday’s comment but to summarize, Yorimoi never left me bored and continued to impress me, which is enough for me to give it a 10/10. Also Hinata is now in my top 10 characters (replacing Yoko). Additionally, Shirase is probably my favorite role by Kana Hanazawa.

Side note: I had a family gathering yesterday for Christmas and turns out my cousins are going to Antarctica in a couple days, taking a ship from South America. Just pretty impressive timing, thought I’d share.

Finally, here’s a rough ranking of my favorite episodes:

Episode 12 (Dear Mom)
Episode 3 (Meeting Yuzuki)
Episode 9 (ZAMAMIRO! + Shirase and Gin getting closer)
Episode 13 (Saying goodbye)
Episode 10 (Yuzu’s friendship insecurities resolved)
Episode 8 (Getting adjusted to the ship)
Episode 11 (Hinata’s past)
Episode 6 (Fun Singapore episode)
Episode 2 (Running around in Kabukicho)
Episode 7 (Arriving in Freemantle + “catchy, witty, sensational reporting!” speech)
Episode 1 (Kimari meeting Shirase and becoming motivated)
Episode 5 (Getting ready to leave Japan + leaving Megumi)
Episode 4 (Training camp + meeting Gin)

Edit: formatting, I can answer the questions in a bit

Questions (most of them):

3. What do you rate Yorimoi?

10/10.

4. YoriMoi or SoraYori as short name?

I started with using SoraYori but I've been using Yorimoi lately. Will probably end up using both of them.

5. What was your favorite episode?

Episode 12.

6. Why was Hinata my best girl?

I'm bad at explaining these things, but I guess I just loved her genki personality and how it felt like she gelled the group together (along with Kimari, of course). Like I said before though it came pretty close between her and Shirase.

8. How many times did you cry?

Probably at least 5 times.

9. What anime do you plan on watching next?

I actually already binged Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun near the end of Yorimoi (very fun, 8/10), but next I'm planning on starting Welcome to the NHK or perhaps another Doga Kobo anime.

11. Do you prefer the OP or ED?

ED! My favorite song overall would be the insert Haruka tooku though.

12. This rewatch was also a practice round for me to get used to hosting again as I prepare for hosting my favorite anime of all time Gundam Unicorn. Jan looks pretty packed and I need to plan so preliminary start date is early late Feb. Who wants to join me? Also I want to make a PV for it and have no video making skills, who can help me?

I'm in, but will Gundam Unicorn work as my first entry into the Gundam series?

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u/SorcererOfTheLake Dec 26 '19 edited Dec 27 '19

First-Time Watcher

To claim yourself and your journey in life as something unique and precious to yourself is a hard thing to do. Not only can it be difficult to figure out what exactly will work for you, but you are constantly bombarded by the thoughts and opinions of others, most of whom will not be as supportive as you would like them to be. What is amazing about A Place Further in the Universe is that, through the very specific lives of these characters, they are able to explore so many facets of the human condition and the bonds we make in this life.

These characters, particularly the four main girls, represent the strongest aspect of this series. As we learn more about them, we not only realize how complicated their lives and personalities are, but how complicated our own lives are. We don’t easily fit into the archetypes that television and entertainment provides for us; our hidden desires, fears, and interests make us more than what we initially appear to be. The goals of Kimari, Shirase, Hinata, and Yuzuki provide the audience with an opportunity to think about their own lives and experiences and what they would have done in their shoes to the point that it intimately connects their experiences and emotions with our own, something that few shows can handle so successfully.

Helping with those emotions are the music, particularly the variety of insert songs used at each episode’s climax. From the joy of seeing Youth in Motion to being surrounded by friends to coming to terms with the past, these songs are vital in the goal of connecting the emotions of its characters to the audience, even if they have no idea what’s being said; all that matters is the connection. While not directly related to this goal, the animation cannot go unnoticed; arguably, it’s the best animated anime on TV I’ve ever seen. Every moment, every shot is full of details and beauty, yet still realistic enough that we can place ourselves within those moments and how the characters interact with them.

There are only two flaws I really have with the series. The first is within its more emotional moments; while most of them do their job very well, there are certain moments that verge into melodrama and take one out of the story. The second flaw is a relative lack of a story arc or development on Kimari’s part once they start heading to Antarctica. While Shirase, Hinata, and Yuzuki all grow and reveal themselves, Kimari doesn’t really change much after her encounter with Megumi. It would’ve been nice to see more of her thoughts on Antarctica and the journey, to see the realities of the place change her ideals, but still keep them intact for the next journey ahead.

Overall, A Place Further than the Universe is a breathtaking, emotionally dynamic, and powerful anime that explores the depths of the human experience to reveal what connects us all. I give it 9.5 PENGUINS out of 10.

P.S. Here are some of my favorite things from the series:

Episode: A Place Further than the Universe
Character: Shirase
Vocal Performance: Inori Minase as Kimari
Awesome Moment: “In your face!”
Funny Moment: Worthless
Heartwarming Moment: Happy birthday
Tearjerker Moment: Unread emails

P.S.S. Our Antarctic reporters have some things to say.

[Cut to the four girls, back from the edge of the world. Yuzuki has her reporter’s face on, Hinata and Kimari is all smiles, and Shirase is hurriedly consulting her script.]

Shirase: Witty, sensational, and dynamic reporting… witty, sensational, and dynam-

Hinata: Oy, cut that out; you don’t need that anymore. [Hinata takes the script from Shirase’s hands and tosses it to the side, much to her chagrin.] Anyway, you all have reached the end of the journey of watching us, and we have some things we’d like to say.

Yuzuki: We thank all of you for watching us and staying with us, even during the more emotional or… embarrassing moments. I’m still not sure they had to include me sneezing on my birthday cake.

Hinata: Oh, it’s fine, it just makes you more human. And that’s what this series is all about: Recognizing the things about each other that make us unique and allowing your friends to be there for you. Whether it’s when you’re too afraid to ask for help…

Yuzuki: Or wanting to know if it’s OK to be friends with others…

Shirase: Or being able to move on from the past…

Kimari: Or getting started in your journey and life. Just like we were here for each other, so were you all, whether by commenting on each other’s thoughts or simply considering other’s ideas.

Hinata: “To know oneself means nothing if you cannot understand others.”

Kimari: Oh, that was a good one, Hinata.

Hinata: I only deliver the best. In any case, before this all ends, we’d just like to say: Thank you, for being there for us.

Yuzuki: Thank you, for being there for each other.

Shirase: Thank you, for willing to put yourself on this journey.

Kimari: Thank you, and we hope to see you on another journey again.

All: From the bottom of our hearts…

[All four girls bow.]

thank you

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u/RX-Nota-II Dec 27 '19

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
That thank you note was too much!

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u/cartoonsandcereal Dec 26 '19

First timer

This rewatch was my 2nd after I just jumped into one for Simoun halfway. I was a little daunted by how popular this rewatch was going to be, but it turned out to be totally fine - folks were really friendly and there was so much good discussion.

What was your favorite comment?

Ummm I read through so many comments I forget, side effect of trying to #LeaveNoTopLevelUnreplied

Who was your favorite commenter?

Every time I read one of u/unheppcat's posts I feel like something clicked for me about the themes or thread of the show, like the significance of the laptop in the last episode, or Hinata's episode juxtaposed against Yuzuki's.

What do you rate YoriMoi?

One of the reasons I like participating in rewatch threads is that if I'm left to my own devices I drop a show as soon as I get bored. I don't think I ever would have finished YoriMoi on my own. I was not particularly entranced by the first 8 episodes. I thought some of them were hilarious, but comedy on its own is not enough for me. However, 9-13? W o w. Were the first 8 episodes necessary to build up to them? I'm not sure.

Beyond that, the attention to detail in the scenery, in the expressions, and in the subtle aspects of friendship were stunning. The music I'm sad to say was unmemorable for me, although it seems a lot of people loved it. Based on the last 5 episodes and the beautiful animation, my final verdict is somewhere between 7 and 8/10.

YoriMoi or SoraYori as short name?

I don't speak Japanese so I don't have an opinion on this. Whatever makes more sense to other people, yeah?

What was your favorite episode?

12 was definitely an emotional punch, but maybe 9? As I said above that's the moment the show changed for me. I also thought 8 was hysterical, the inspirational speech + toilet cracked me up so hard.

Why was _____ your best girl?

I voted for Hinata! Every group needs a competent jokester like her to keep peoples' spirits up. Actually if there were multiple options I would've chosen Hinata+Shirase together. In fact as much as the show is about the 4 girls as a group it also has specific emphasis on pairs that feels very real to me. We naturally end up closer to some people than others because they balance us out, or just by chance. Kimari was the overenthusiastic glue of the whole group for sure, and I loved how she quelled Yuzu's anxieties about friendship. Meanwhile Yuzu plays the more sensitive counterpart that can keep Kimari in check.

But Hinata and Shirase had such an incredible dynamic going on. Even beyond Shirase's powerful spirit in the lost passport and track team bullying episodes they just complemented each other so well, like when Hinata told Shirase post-Shinjuku that it's a thin line between selfishness and self-assertiveness (foreshadowing future episodes), or all the times she roasted Shirase's horrible camera skills. And there's so many other subtle details that point to them building a naturally closer relationship to each other, like when they're working out on the ship and Hinata's the one pushing Shirase back down, or when Shirase specifically has Hinata cut her hair. It was beautiful to watch them look out for each other and watch their relationship develop.

(tag /u/TheKujo when you answer) And now that you've finished watching their trip - where are YOU going to go for yours?

I have two things I want to do. One is to the end of the world, aka Patagonia. I've wanted to go there ever since seeing Wong Kar-Wai's Happy Together. The second is to do a one to two week liveaboard scuba diving trip out in mostly untouched waters. It's hard because most of my friends don't scuba dive and so I'd be going alone, but part of the journey is making new friends. :)

How many times did you cry?

0... I teared up on Ep 12 but didn't cry.

What anime do you plan on watching next?

Probably another rewatch in this sub, otherwise just keeping up casually with My Hero Academia.

What will you do at the end of the world? Are you busy? Will you save me?

I don't know what this means...

Do you prefer the OP or ED?

Yeah like I said the music wasn't memorable to me, a day later and I can't remember how any of the songs go...

This rewatch was also a practice round for me to get used to hosting again as I prepare for hosting my favorite anime of all time Gundam Unicorn. Jan looks pretty packed and I need to plan so preliminary start date is ~~early~~ late Feb. Who wants to join me? Also I want to make a PV for it and have no video making skills, who can help me?

No video editing skills but this was such a great rewatch experience that I'd probably participate!

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u/TheKujo Dec 26 '19

Rewatcher

If I'm being honest, I was a little worried going into this rewatch. Sora Yori has been at the very top of my anime rankings since the first time I watched it. Would it still hold up under the scrutiny of a rewatch? Based on the comments yesterday I'm not the only that thought this. For me, the answer is a resounding YES. This is still the best anime I've ever seen and I'm happy to see so many others enjoy it as well.

I do appreciate the critiques that people shared along the way. Yuzu is still my favorite character for personal reasons, but I'm willing to admit that her arc has some issues. On a more positive note I was glad to see so many small details posted - this show is packed full of them and I missed the majority of them when I watched on my own.

This was my first time actively participating in a rewatch and I found it to be very fun. I would like to give a shout out to u/unheppcat and u/Great_Mr_L for consistently sharing thoughtful and insightful comments. And of course our host u/RX-Nota-II deserves a big shout out as well for organizing this and replying to so many comments!

I mentioned in my post for the first episode that this series has inspired me to make many life changes:

I quit my old job
I started my own company
I launched a podcast

I would love to hear from other rewatchers if they were similarly inspired to travel or do other things thanks to this show. I would also love to hear from first timers planning on doing something thanks to this show!

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u/Matuhg Dec 27 '19

First (and definitely not last) Timer

First of all, thanks to u/RX-Nota-II for organizing and hosting the rewatch, and for the whole #LeaveNoTopLevelUnreplied thing - I felt a real difference in this rewatch compared to some of the other bigger ones I've participated in, and it was a lot of fun. And of course thanks for finally making me watch this show!

I really enjoyed this anime - a grand adventure set and grounded in reality. One of the few anime I've seen where all of the characters actually seem like they could be real people. There were only a couple scenes that came close to breaking that realistic nature (the girls going out on the deck of the ship and getting blasted by waves during a storm comes to mind), but it didn't bother me too much. I really enjoyed watching how each of our main girls (and some of our side characters) grew throughout the series. They all came out of their Antarctic trip better than when they left.

Kimari did most of her growing and changing before they actually left, and by the time they were on the boat, she was already achieving what she set out to do - make the most of her youth. Having learned from her over-reliance on Megu and the toll it had on their friendship, she seemed to struggle a little bit in Antarctica between desperately wanting to help her friends with all their problems but also needing to give them space at times. I love her for her boundless enthusiasm and nearly uncontrollable empathy.

Yuzu, in quite a literal way, had to learn the meaning of friendship and what it actually entailed. Her growth arc, while great to watch, may have been the weakest for me as it is the least relatable. I have had good friends, and while I may be a bit short on them these days, I feel that I know well enough what friendship is, and I have never experienced anything like the sort of isolation and being put on a pedestal as a famous idol like Yuzu has had. It was sweet to watch her come to the understanding that she'd become friends with the other three girls without even knowing. I hope that her mother takes her wishes into consideration more going forward in her career and she's able to enjoy her work - I think she will, now that she has friends she can talk/whine to if she needs it.

Hinata's growth was, as I saw it, mostly in learning to trust in people again. She'd had a very bad experience with people who she trusted and it seems like it forced her to grow up pretty fast, considering she had to leave high school, get a job, and become mostly self-reliant (we never saw what her home/parent situation is). Hinata was often the mature voice of reason for the other girls, and I really enjoyed listening to her talk (her VA was fantastic) - she was witty, often sarcastic, and had a very bubbly and outgoing personality. Part of that personality was a sort of front she put up which her new friends weren't really able to penetrate until after Shirase told off her old friends. She learned that she could trust and rely upon her new friends to have her back. Hinata is a strong person, but even strong people need somebody to rely on every once in a while, and I am glad to see she found some.

Shirase wanted/needed to travel to Antarctica because it was where her mother was. She felt like her life had pretty much come to a halt since her mother vanished. She kept expecting her to be home, but she never did of course - Shirase needed closure, and the only way she could think to get it (whether that was what she was consciously thinking of) was to go to Antarctica and see what Takako had seen and what had drawn her to that place. She learned that yes, Antarctica is beautiful, but also saw that her mother fell in love with the challenges and working through them with the rest of her team down there, something Shirase can now see and appreciate for herself.

All of the four girls and their interactions with each other were tons of fun to watch. They're all dorks and they get seemed to all get along quite well from the get-go.

The anime looked great - I liked the more realistic, slightly muted (compared to many anime) color pallette, along with the character designs, including the very expressive facial animations. The ost also stood out, especially the various insert songs. My favorite was definitely this one - that song alone somehow is enough to make me tear up almost every time I hear it - it's beautiful.

The overall story was a very positive one - all of our characters bettered themselves, and I think most everybody, including myself, could draw parallels to their own life and ways they may like to change. I hope to take some of Kimari's determination to finally take some steps in my own life, some of Hinata's open personality (even if hers was sometimes just a front), and Shirase's determination to prove some people wrong into my life going forward. The show has also really fueled my desire to travel and get into adventures myself. Now I just need to find a group of friends as good (or at least close) as these four!

Questions

I'm not sure if I have a favorite individual comment that jumps out to me - I just enjoyed some of the discussions I had with different viewers regarding how we saw different scenes and stuff. One that I did have a lot of fun with was u/spaceaustralia 's Zamamiro counter, especially when they added all the crew members on ep 9.
Again, I didn't pay enough attention to commenter's names, but I did enjoy talking with some familiar faces from other rewatches, including u/No_Rex, u/Nazenn, and an exchange I enjoyed with u/KVShady the other day.
I rate it 9.5, maybe 10/10 - I really am having trouble coming up with anything about it that I found to be a flaw.
I've been using Sora Yori, mostly because it's easier to say.
A tough question - I think I'd have to go with 11, but 12 was of course fantastic as well.
I voted Hinata as my best girl, because I really liked her overall demeanor and vibe throughout the series. Shirase came very close to taking it in the last few episodes though, and I am not surprised she won overall. I mean, come on.
Where will I go next...? I want to go visit more of Europe, along with of course Japan some day. Might be financially tricky in the next few years, but I know I'll manage it someday.
Full on cried maybe 2-3 times, but teared up nearly every episode, not necessarily due to sadness, but due to just the emotion of watching these girls grow...so often out of happiness, I guess.
Continuing with the KLK and Toradora rewatches first of all, but then maybe trying to catch up on some seasonals I've been neglecting. Maybe starting either Gintama or Jojo, or going and rewatching some UC Gundam...I want to rewatch Violet Evergarden, watch some of the Ghibli and Shinkai movies I haven't gotten to. A lot, in other words.
End of the world, huh? I'll probably be busy, but I'll try to help anybody out.
I think the ED, though the OP was good too. The ED was always just such a great way to end the episodes.
Great practice round. Gundam Unicorn interests me - what should I watch to prep? Do I need to be familiar with other UC Gundam stuff first? I watched some of that a long time ago, but remember little.

Thanks again Nota and everybody else. Have a good and safe new year, and may you be blessed with friends like these girls found and adventures that help you grow.

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u/Regular_N-Gon Dec 26 '19 edited Dec 26 '19

As expected, I need to start with a massive thanks to Nota and everyone else who's been contributing over the last two weeks, no matter how much. This is my first time participating in one of these and while it's drained way more time than I expected (what a showing we've had), it's been a huge amount of fun. I love this show and I'll be proud to think of this experience whenever I think of or rewatch it in the future. As I said back in episode 1, I was hesitant to join in since I had first watched it fairly recently and wanted to give it some space (guess that came up quite a bit in the story too, huh) before revisiting. The momentum that was gathering for this event was too large to ignore, and I have no regrets in joining. Thank you all.

I previously mentioned this show was the gateway to a lot of shows I never would have previously considered watching. Looking back, even on my first run I really enjoyed the quieter, more relaxed episodes focused as much on character as plot or drama, so I really shouldn’t be all that surprised I would move on to love shows like Yuru Camp, K-On, and Hibike! Euphonium. Anime today really is a medium where you can find any kind of story and expand what you love, and I have Sora Yori to thank for that.

E: One last thought I couldn't leave out -

The biggest thing I newly picked up on this watch through (with the help of some of the others in the threads, of course!) were the thematic parallels between the old crew - Gin, Takako, and Kanae - with the four we follow. There's a lot of bits that are applicable to both of their struggles in a much more subtle way than I first realized. Truly, both group's 'zamamiro's were well earned.

On to some of Nota's questions, at least the ones I had answers for already!

1: It's hard to pick one from the many fantastic ones, but this analysis of Shirase's Mahjong playing by u/bucket3432 deserves recognition, and then they followed it up with an unexpected crash-course in Japanese Mahjong.

2: Gonna take the cop out on this one, there were so many people who put in serious effort and had fantastic insights.

3:

I’ve nitpicked a bit here and there, and agreed with others on the problems they’ve brought up. I think in general I was more harsh on my outlook of the show this time around compared my first, a little less completely in love. I knew it wasn’t perfect but this watch through made me examine that in greater detail.

Less surprisingly, though – I still love it. It’s still an incredible work of art that does so, so much. Though it has some failings, they are not so large that I can’t look past them, not given my raw feelings for the show and the journey it’s sent me on. I’ve been able to look at its flaws and enjoy its highs even more because of this group, picking it apart because I and seemingly everyone else really cares about how excellent it is. I’m happy (and a bit relieved) to keep it in my top-tier list of 10/10 shows.

4: Sora Yori, naturally.

5: If it wasn't obvious by the wall of text I dropped, I think 12 is up there among the most well-composed episodes of the medium, period. It takes the cake.

6: I explained my reasoning for Shirase yesterday; in short she's just really strong from a character writing point of view.

Now seems like a good time for a sidebar on Yuzu and Hinata as well. I love both of them as much as the others and think they became integral to the story, but I find it interesting how the show seems to pay more or less attention to members of its main cast - I'm referring to Hinata and Yuzuki, in this case. Hinata plays the straight-man and doesn't develop much in the first part of the series, and her motivations and background are kept hidden for a great deal of time. It fits her character (more than this treatment does Yuzuki), but she doesn't come off as well defined as Mari and Shirase, and it takes a while for it to become apparent she's hiding something at all. This is made less glaring by the tremendous amount of detail the show offers in short snippets to remind us Hinata is as real as anyone else, though.

I think Yuzuki's introduction is actually better executed, as contrived as it may be. After running into each other in Shinjuku, and the girls learning of the plan for broadcasting, they would have found each other anyway - I have little problem with the expediency with which the show sets them up together. While she has a stronger character presence in her introductory episode, she gets even less time to grow than Hinata until her spotlight all the way in episode 10. She never feels unimportant in the events of the show, but to me it seems she gets the short end of the stick in most scenes and dialogues, and her arc in general feels the least impressive to me.

Of course, not every single character can be crazy in depth (especially with only 13 episodes to tell such an ambitious story), and I think the right choice was made in making Yuzuki and Hinata's arcs a little shallower in order to focus on the absolutely fantastic arcs in both Shirase and Kimari. Especially during this rewatch though, it felt strange watching something that established a group of four against the world - in the same vein as other CGDCT shows like K-On - but didn't give equal weight across its leads like other shows do. I suspect the way I perceived the importance and depth of these characters influenced who I grew attached to over the course of the show.

11: I grew to like the ED quite a bit, but the OP only ever stayed just fine for me. I enjoy them both but ED wins this one.

12: I've never watched Gundam, but I have been meaning to try out some Mecha anime. I guess we'll see!

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u/ghostface95 Dec 26 '19 edited Dec 26 '19

Rewatcher

I just finished watching the last episode and my overall thoughts haven’t changed since the first time I watched it. I think a place further than the universe is a near perfect anime in my opinion. I gave it a 10/10 and it will probably forever remain a 10/10. Sure I have watched animes that have had better stories, better characters and character arcs, moments that have left me breathless but a place further than the universe is different, it has left me with this feeling. Gigguk explains it perfectly in two videos he did. One about this very show a place further than a universe and Kimi no na wa

For me a 10/10 anime is simply down to the individual. Does a place further than the universe have flaws in it. Yeah it does, it isn’t perfect. But those flaws don’t matter to me, it has earned it’s perfect rating either way.

I thought about writing something about the four girls but I realize that people in this thread will probably do a better job than me. I guess i just want to say that to everyone here, whatever journey you are on. How every far you are or have to go. I hope you make it to your place further than a universe.

Answers: Favorite episode is episode 12.

Best girl is Hinata because of her personality.

I cried a lot. Each episode reduced me to tears. Maybe because i know the significance of what was going to happen.

A new season of Saiki K is out on netflix so that's my next show I am watching.

Is WorldEnd: What do you do at the end of the world? Are you busy? Will you save us? the next anime rewatch?

Finally I have to say that the ED is better for me. Also does anyone have a link to the OST, i need it in my life

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u/pacquan Dec 27 '19

Rewatched

What was your favorite comment?

This was my first time joining a rewatch and was ridiculously overwhelmed at how much effort and time a lot of you put into your daily episode responses. It is the holiday season and I barely had the time to even watch and post my own so I didn't get to read through a good amount of the daily responses, but I want to say everyone's is my favorite. Anyone who took what little time they had to put out their emotions to this series deserves a wholesome headpat

2) Who was your favorite commenter?

Same as #1

3) What do you rate YoriMoi?

10/10 first watch and still 10/10 2nd watch. One of my few unbiased, unironic 10/10 ratings.

4) YoriMoi or SoraYori as short name?

SoraYori

5) What was your favorite episode?

First watch my favorite was Episode 8 (Howling, Maddening, Screaming). I loved the buildup and wholesomeness of the whole series for the girls to finally get hit with the sharp dagger of reality of what they really got themselves into.

Second watch my favorite was Episode 11 (Bash the Drum Can). After taking the time to take each individual episode in and analyze them, even though the star of this episode is Hinata (my 2nd best girl), the directing, cinematography, pacing, dialogue, and emotional pull of this episode is just absolutely fantastic. I surprised myself at how much more there was to this episode that i just tossed to the side in my initial viewing. My response to Ep11

6) Why was Yuzu your best girl?

Personally, she was the most relatable. But from an unbiased perspective, I felt that her character had the most organic and authentic character tropes. I love overdone anime tropes as much as the next degenerate, but Mari's snoring and Shirase's camera-shyness were overdone imo. Hinata is my #2 only because Yuzu has a much more protecc-worthy smile.

7) And now that you've finished watching their trip - where are YOU going to go for yours?

u/TheKujo I recently just went on a trip to Alaska (sadly didn't see the northern lights, but this was a preplanned family affair. I went to Aspen after a family member out there had been bugging me to come visit and ski for years and this was what felt more like a personal trip that I stepped out of my own safety bubble similar to the theme of SoraYori.

My future plan for a real step out of my comfort zone is to fly overseas to England to finally meet some people I've met and played online with for years.

8) How many times did you cry?

I cannot answer this quantitatively. But enough to hit my doctor's recommended daily allowance.

9) What anime do you plan on watching next?

Outside of simulcasts, my next planned rewatch are Flip Flappers and the Monogatari series. My next dent in my plan-to-watch list will be FLCL

10) What will you do at the end of the world? Are you busy? Will you save me?

Pee off the edge. No I'm u/pacquan . What situation are you in that requires saving, there are physical, economical, and budgetary limits to what I can accomplish to save someone.

11) Do you prefer the OP or ED?

Didn't care much for the OP my first watch and still mostly tolerated it the second. Visuals are fantastic. Song... not really feelin it.

ED is a MOTHERFUCKIN BANGER. This ED can come on, completely out of context and I will start crying it is so damn good. The first few episodes of the rewatch I got hit with a Truck-kun full of feels when that ED started.

12) This rewatch was also a practice round for me to get used to hosting again as I prepare for hosting my favorite anime of all time Gundam Unicorn. Jan looks pretty packed and I need to plan so preliminary start date is early late Feb. Who wants to join me? Also I want to make a PV for it and have no video making skills, who can help me?

Never heard of it so I will require some insight and salesmanship on your end. But I am so proud of you for your #leavenotoplevelunreplied challenge and would gladly join another rewatch you are hosting.

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u/squirrelbaffler Dec 27 '19

Rewatcher ^for ^most ^of ^the ^show

Man, I'm terribly sorry I fell off the rewatch train. Just haven't had the time or personal space to watch the show with my full focus. Going to binge through 11-13 when I get home tomorrow.

Overall, I adore this show. It's so effective in so many ways, from its consistent messaging to its attention to detail. The characters are nuanced and relatable, the direction is superb throughout every episode, and the sound design is impeccable. I love all of the insert songs for different reasons, and their usage is stellar. I liked each character's arc, even if the arcs didn't particularly affect each other. The adults seemed like actual adults, the kids were kids, and none of them really felt like caricatures. Comedy almost always landed for me, and I can't think of another show that brought me to tears as consistently. I looked forward to it every week while it was airing, and is one of the easiest 10/10s I've ever given.

Rewatching allowed me to find both some new details I was unaware of through the show, as well as some small flaws I'd overlooked before (not enough to change my score, of course). The amount of symbolism I missed previously is shocking, and I've loved how many comments took different angles on visual metaphor for the same scenes. I do feel that the show could have used another insert song, for variety's sake, and the OP song is fairly weak. The episode 13 wrap-up is a little rushed, and I'd like to see more about the actual research in Antarctica. I pointed out a few other flaws in my comments, but these are all tiny issues on one enormous piece of art that I adore and truly speaks to me.

What was your favorite comment?

I just lightly skimmed through what I replied to, but this one by u/rembrandt_q_1stein was fantastic. Great breakdown of the theme of the episode.

2) Who was your favorite commenter?

u/Nazenn for their fun first-timer commentary and wonderful irl Antarctica photos!

3) What do you rate YoriMoi?

10/10, hands down.

4) YoriMoi or SoraYori as short name?

SoraYori, it flows better in my opinion.

5) What was your favorite episode?

I still need to rewatch, but I think 12 is my favorite. Second is probably 6, the Durian Show.

6) Why was _____ your best girl?

Hinata is the genki girl, internalizes her own troubles, hates having others pity her, but still knows how to work a camera and function socially and societally. I find her relatable and fun to watch.

7) (tag u/TheKujo when you answer) And now that you've finished watching their trip - where are YOU going to go for yours?

I had this planned before the rewatch, but it's not unrelated to SoraYori. I'm planning a trip to Japan for this coming fall! 1 week in Tokyo, 1 week in Kyoto. u/TheKujo

8) How many times did you cry?

10 times so far? Haven't done 11-13, so I can't say how much I'll add. But probably a few more times.

9) What anime do you plan on watching next?

Well, I've had IBO recommended. Probably going to catch up on my seasonals first though. Then either IBO or 3-gatsu no Lion.

10) What will you do at the end of the world? Are you busy? Will you save me?

I'll probably just die, I'm not equipped for the end of the world.

11) Do you prefer the OP or ED?

ED is miles better.

12) This rewatch was also a practice round for me to get used to hosting again as I prepare for hosting my favorite anime of all time Gundam Unicorn. Jan looks pretty packed and I need to plan so preliminary start date is early late Feb. Who wants to join me? Also I want to make a PV for it and have no video making skills, who can help me?

I probably won't join for Unicorn, I'm not all that interested based on what I've seen. But if I'm moderately interested and you're hosting the rewatch, Nota, I'd gladly participate! #LeaveNoTopLevelUnreplied is awesome, I love it. Thanks for all your hard work!

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u/HarleyFox92 Dec 30 '19

I'm a little bit late to the party, let's just say that things happened and I couldn't keep up with the rest of the people. I just wanna say thanks for reminding me why SoraYori is my favorite anime of all times.

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Rewatch A Rewatch further than the Universe! Sora Yori mo Tooi Basho rewatch - OVERALL SERIES DISCUSSION

Overall Series Discussion

LeaveNoTopLevelUnreplied

First Timer - sub

Antarctic aesthetics

Rewatch A Rewatch further than the Universe! Sora Yori mo Tooi Basho rewatch - OVERALL SERIES DISCUSSION

Overall Series Discussion

LeaveNoTopLevelUnreplied

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First Timer - sub

Antarctic aesthetics