First impression: Sora yori mo Tooi Basho

Synopsis
Mira Tamaki is a high school girl who one day finds an old diary and realizes that she has done none of the things that she had aimed to do upon reaching high school including going on a journey without a plan. When she attempted to fulfil one of those goals she had failed, but a chance encounter with a girl involving dropped money leads her to things changing for her as she learns of Shirose and her goal of travelling to Antarctica.

The Good
Every good adventure has to have a good start to it and the episode gives a pretty solid foot forward. Not only does it give the episode give an interesting foundation for the plot but what really made it shine was the portrayal of the characters. When first introduced to Mari, personally, this writer thought that she would be a typical airhead type of protagonist, but no, there are some pretty relatable points to her. Everybody at one point gets scared at trying something different or new, or are afraid to fail, and that what makes Mari so interesting as a character.
And she’s not the only one, Shirase also makes for an interesting and also relatable character as well. We all have our own dreams and goals, and sometimes there will be people who will put us down, maybe even ourselves. It’s pretty cliche sure, but for the characters to be portrayed with pretty good and relatable points in the first episode is rather interesting and makes for a huge potential for the rest of the series.

Another point of interest is on how the concept of the characters wanting to travel to Antarctica is not something out of interest and impulse but rather something involving a mystery with Shirase and her mother. It was an honest surprise as with most series like these, it’s just cute girls doing want they want, so this is different. On the note of the cute girls, the design is also something to enjoy with how soft it is and the thought placed into background.

The Bad
The first thing to note is that is that there are certain points of the episode where it was trying just a little too hard. It started off with the beginning of the episode with Mari flashbacking to her childhood and dishing out what seems to be deep lines. Then there is the scene of her skipping school for the first time and travelling to Tokyo. As she heads for the train there’s this rising and hopeful music going on as she monologues her excitement of doing something different only to end with her changing her mind and heading to school.
Comedy wise it was great, but the way that the music worked itself and the way that the camera panned, it sounded like something meant to start an epic adventure only to flop at the last moment. Other than this, there are some moments where the comedy is hit or miss, one or two generic moments, but for the most part, the episode had a number of solid points and as a first episode, even with the issues it has, a first episode/chapter of a series which is usually up for a later judgement like 5 episodes.

Conclusion
Sweet art, an interesting concept and relatable characters, these are the strengths to look for when watching the series for the first time. On the surface the start of the episode seems like something out of a story meant to be something of an epic adventure. One of the main things that broke the deal for this writer into checking out the rest of the episodes is when they are heading to the docks by train. There is no dialogue, but the way that the song moves things along and the are interacting with one another throughout leaves a last minute warm touch to the episode.

Rating: 7.5/10