The Story
A Place Further Than The Universe’s reception has been booming since completion – with a large swath of viewers and critics referring to it as a masterpiece, no contest choice for anime of the season, and even anime of the year.
Okay, a lot of people love it. So what?
Seasonal Prattle loves it too, but when terms like “masterpiece” or variations of that phrasing are being frequently tossed around, it can really overblow expectations for newly interested viewers – thus leading to a greater chance of disappointment. We rather not have that happen if possible.
So…are you saying it’s being overhyped then?
Yes. A Place Further Than The Universe is certainly a good product, there’s plenty of value to be found from a craft sense and in its underlying storytelling. However, there’s a decent amount of narrative material that’s very conventional for its genre space especially in its second half. With that said, we do feel all the praise that paints it as a virtually perfect entry is reasonably misleading.
The Bottom Line
If you’re considering picking up A Place Further Than The Universe then we suggest you give it a shot, but please approach it with level-headed expectations. There’s a lot of high praise for the content that it offers and it would be a shame if this work fell flat for you because it didn’t live up to the hype.
“QUOTE OF THE WEEK”
– A Reddit user on After The Rain’s finale. Sounds about right.
SEASONAL PRATTLE
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March Comes In Like A Lion S2
Mahou Shoujo Ore
After the Rain
Hakata Toketsu Ramens
A Place Further Than The Universe
Death March To The Parallel World Rhapsody
Violet Evergarden
Darling In The FranXX
March Comes In Like A Lion S2 (22)
Intensely consciously framed, March Comes In Like A Lion ends with a polished production outing that has the conceptual strength only found in higher crafted works. This series has always been great at connecting treasured memories with the bittersweet present, effortlessly swapping from evocative layouts with blatant narrative intent to equally important worldly triumphs. The finale is just one last demonstration of that, combining the expressive perspective of Rei’s stepmom with personal, second half reflections on Takahashi using the utmost clarity and grace.
Mahou Shoujo Ore (2)
Mahou Shoujo Ore is a loud reminder that execution is everything, and that slight spurts of novelty on entrenched concepts doesn’t compensate for that. The show‘s first forty minutes of content has been full of nonsensical storytelling, hit and miss comedy and mild plotting. It’s to the extent where this feels like a throw away from Pierrot Plus while it turns ts real talent to Tokyo Ghoul:re.
Worthwhile Prattle:
Mahou Shoujo Ore Ep. 1 & 2: Gimmicky nonsense
After The Rain (12)
Fantastic finish to a firmly constructed work. After The Rain’s storytelling is sharp this final week, balancing character acting and thematic depth with ease, and all of its narrative appeal is supported by excellent direction and sound design. This last episode also has a very distinct aesthetic personality beyond just “good quality” – there’s a high sense of purpose in each of its shots, resulting in a script that consistently nails its illustration of Akira, Kondou and the rest of the cast’s uncertainty, unhappiness, and small victories. I feel almost weirdly proud of how far the show has come.
Worthwhile Prattle:
Rain and Koi wa Ameagari no You ni
Never Give Up – Koi wa Ameagari no You ni Episode 12 Anime Review
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens (12)
Fine closure to what’s been one of the more underrated titles of the Winter season. Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens’ strengths have always fallen on its knack for cast chemistry – demonstrating more than serviceable character writing and dynamics even in the smallest of sequences. So it’s nice to see Lin and Banba illustrate what makes them such a compatible and fun duo to watch one last time.
A Place Further Than The Universe (12)
Fine pacing, efficient character work, and good emotive timing. With a strong reflection of everything applaudable about it, A Place Further Than The Universe’s finale ends up embracing its genre beats to the very end – further securing its spot as one the brighter Winter works to air. The narrative framed here was satisfying and Madhouse’s handling of that brings a good sense of closure. Well done.
Worthwhile Prattle:
Writing an Empathetic Character – Sora yori mo Tooi Basho
Kimari’s Wake Up Call in A Place Further Than The Universe
Death March To The Parallel World Rhapsody (12)
If there was still any lingering doubts that Death March is a poorly conceived work with middling writing for its genre space, then look no further than its final episode. Shin Oonuma’s telling is simplistic and groggy – full of passionless plotting and unimaginative cuts throughout. Its character acting is even worse, settling for a stiff mix of rudimentary expression work and dialogue that desperately fumbles when reaching for the low bar of “passable harem.” This show does not respect your time.
Violet Evergarden (12)
The thing about a narrative like this is it’s either boom or bust. Either the audience will truly buy into the action on the scale it’s being presented, or everything comes across as ridiculous or flat. And in Evergarden’s case things aren’t looking the brightest here. Lacking the pure emotive punch of recent weeks and overall structure that material brings is already going to throw viewers for a curve as is, but a few key questionable sequences in this one only seals the deals of fairly shaky episode.
Darling in the FranXX (12)
Typically, this series struggles when dialing in on its characters – often using too much dramatic elaboration than necessary or weakly sketching out their relationships. However, this week drums up a much better effort now turning its attention to Zero Two. Not only is the writing overall more meaningful, actually providing a nice dose of progression for our narrative, but Zero Two’s sequences feel emotionally earned and highly relevant as opposed to the character pieces in recent entries. Couple that with a great use of design elements both inside of the Kalaxosaur fight / personal confrontations and we have a much-needed solid episode.
Worthwhile Prattle:
My Recent Problem with “Darling in the FranXX”
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