If I were to describe a place further than the universe in one word, I would probably use the word "wholesome". All it took was 4 girls from different backgrounds and story wanting to something amazing in their life. Nothing extraordinary, just cute girls doing amazing things and that is what attracted me.
I first came across this anime when I was watching one of Gigguk's video and he highly recommend this anime to every viewer. At first, I thought that is this anime that special? All I see was an ordinary anime and it turns out I was wrong. From the moment I started watching, I was deeply immersed within the storyline. The character development of every character was extraordinary, bringing out the characteristics of each individual while hinting the obstacles that were preventing them from moving forward. Challenges such as avoiding challenges, seeking the true meaning of friendship and trust were all well developed throughout the series while maintaining the "moe" element of the characters.
Throughout the series, I admired the staff that worked on the sceneries and the places that were involved in the anime. Small things such as Merlion, durian and details that we did not know about the Antarctica were well described in the series, which shows the viewers that the research team behind the scene did their research.
The seiyuu for the series was also spot on as the voice actors that were chosen for each role were able to bring the characters to life, adding their personality into it as well. The songs for the opening and closing also carries meaningful meanings and the song that impressed me the most was the filler song "one step" that describes the girls marching towards their goal one step at a time.
Last but not least, I have learned a lot throughout this anime in terms of determination, never give up and courage. The determination that the characters showed in the anime proved to me that nothing is impossible as long as you are determined to do it. Who cares if we are strangers, who cares if everyone in the world rejects us, as long as we are here, in the end we will always reach the destination that we always desired, even reaching out to a place further than the universe, hence the title for the anime "a place further than the universe" gave a different vibe to the series itself.
I totally recommend this anime if you are into slice of life anime and trust me, you will never regret every second of the show. 10/10 is the score I am giving to this masterpiece!
Let's go on another journey someday and hope for more shows like this to come out in the future!
Reviews
8 Reviews
Liz and the Blue Bird
(2018)
A friendship that lasts forever through sacrifices
12 August 2020
Liz and the blue bird let's you explore the world of "Sound! Euphonium" from the perspective of 2 supporting characters, Mizore the oboe player and Nozomi the flute player. The movie emphasizes on the 2 main protagonist, who became friends during middle school were afraid of losing each other after high school graduation. The piece that they were playing for the upcoming nationals resonated with their current situation which was derived from a fairy tale made up for the movie. The slow pacing of the movie allows audience to focus on every single action and expression that the 2 main protagonist which led up to the upcoming conflict, carrying audiences throughout the whole process while enjoying the animation masterpiece. The music, plot and character development were all top class, which should be expected from the franchise. Everything was all in sync, making it one of the most underrated "slice of life" animated movie in 2018.
A Whisker Away
(2020)
A movie that translates feelings
23 June 2020
In the modern society, everyone has their own difficulties and challenges that were hard for them to speak up in their everyday life, the movie translates the hard-to-say emotions by allowing the female protagonist to dive into another reality where she can be her true-self, which is something that most of us desire. The graphics and music were also on point, the whole story progressed smoothly and the way they interact with each other it is just fun to watch. Will be looking forward to another Junichi Sato movie as the way he directs a movie has his own taste and has his own sense of "slice of life".
Weathering with You
(2019)
A heartfelt story with amazing BGM and graphics
22 May 2020
By implementing a heartfelt teenage love story into a natural disaster related topic is something that you won't think of for creating a plot, but Shinkai Makoto used it to perfection. The message delivered was strong, which in the end inspired the likes of teenagers to do what they think is right. The songs for this movie were all on point and the artwork of Shinkai senpai is as stunning as ever. The characters in this movie were all played to perfection, with some easter eggs from previous movies as well, remember to go search for them! Will be looking forward for the next masterpiece from him!!
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
(2019–2023)
Brings back memories in its own way
14 February 2020
High school was a big hit during my childhood and it had made a huge impact on everyone in that era. This series does not only brings back memories, but also brings out the enthusiasm of young bloods and veterans wanting to revive this iconic scene. Love, Hate, Jealousy, Fame, Dignity were all attributes that were challenged by teenagers and veterans in the movie. Although the season is only 10 episodes, but it is definitely worth to watch. Cheers!
Ip Man 4: The Finale
(2019)
A great way to end a legend's story
22 December 2019
IP MAN has already won the hearts of everyone since the first movie came out. The phrase "i want to beat 10 people!" has been in the heads of all viewers. The stories were well connected with the 3rd installment, indicating the life after his wife was gone due to cancer. The characters in the movie all played a very significant role in portraying the unfairness of the Americans towards immigrants, with every punch, every hate speech brings out the the worse side of a world full of racism. In the sequel, IP MAN took quite some blows while comfronting Americans that were bullying the Chinese there, which lead to a series of events that eventually lead to the final fight with the American marines. In the 4th sequel, the director also did a very good job in displaying an old IP MAN in the making, gasping for air every time he is knocked down, swinging away the pain from the injuries he has taken. It truly tells us that IP MAN is aging along with all the sequels, and this would be his final stand. Overall, the movie was very touching and thrilling at the same time, so I am giving it a 8/10. Well done!
Frozen II
(2019)
Disney never fails to surprise me
23 November 2019
After a 6 year wait, Frozen has finally made a comeback, and it is as good as the first sequel. The story line was fantastic as it was very connected to the first movie, connecting lots of characters that were not included in the first movie but still made it look so flawless. Each character was played to perfection, especially Olaf and Kristoff, who was outstanding in the second sequel, bringing laughs in every scene that they're in. Most importantly, they still managed to showcase the power of their sisterhood in managing conflicts, and it touches me every moment of the movie. All i can say is, this movie is going to be a huge hit once again, with new songs and story line in the arsenal, they will reach top of the table in no time.
By the way, Anna is gorgeous!
Spider-Man: Far from Home
(2019)
The transition of an era
21 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
"For the next Tony Stark, I trust you". Spiderman Far From Home basically created the whole sequel by this quote from the only Ironman who has sacrificed himself for the greater good of mankind. This sequel is also the end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe 10 year era, marking the end of the remarkable story and hinting of the beginning of another chapter. Spiderman at first was just a freshman from high school until one day he was bitten by a spider then gained superhuman powers. He was then recruited by Tony Stark to aid him during the civil war with Team Captain America and that is how he gained his reputation as a superhero and joined the Avengers during the events of Infinity War.
Spiderman Far From Home is the next Marvel movie established after the events of Avengers Endgame. The whole movie is talking about the life after the heroic sacrifice of Tony Stark, also known as Ironman in bringing back all the lives that has been taken by the snap of the cold-blooded Thanos. With the absence of Ironman, Captain America and Natasha Romanoff in the current world, everyone is asking who will be the leader for the Avengers team, and the spotlight all went to Tony Stark's disciple, Peter Parker also known as Spiderman. The mountain was too high for him to climb and he did all his best to run away from his responsibilities. Instead of saving the world, Peter Parker went on a summer vacation with all his classmates. During his vacation, danger strikes again in the form of the water element and has endangered the safety of his classmates. While dealing with the first enemy, an unknown ally came to help and fortunately no casualties were caused. The unknown hero flew away after defeating the water elemental and has left everyone at the scene thinking who is that guy? The attack worried Peter but he tried not to think about it, but everything changed when Nick Fury showed up in his apartment after darting Ned to sleep. Fury brought Peter to the his hideout, along the way, he gave Peter a pair of glasses named EDITH (Even Dead, I'm The Hero), which was given by Tony Stark. Edith was an augmented reality security, defence and artificial tactical intelligence system. At first, it was meant to be a parting gift from Tony Stark himself, but this gift turns out to be the start of all catastrophe.
In this movie, there are a few scenes that are worth mentioning. The first scene that I want to talk about is the scene where Spiderman is getting swarmed by interviewers during a welcome party for all those who went into the "Blip". The scene was shot through the shoulders of Spiderman, representing his point of view during the moment of chaos. It also expresses the emotions of Spiderman during that moment. Feeling of unworthiness, avoidance, fear and stress all came to him and in the end he flew up to the roof, facing a portrait of Tony Stark. At that moment, he just wants to be a regular high school kid, with no pressure of saving the world, no monsters to beat, no cities to save.
Second scene that is worth mentioning is the scene where Quentin Beck also known as Mysterio, the villain of the sequel request to buy Peter a drink after their victory against the fearsome Fire Elemental. Quentin Beck was a former worker for the Stark Industries, but inventions of abusing the augmented reality was claimed useless by Tony Stark, therefore he seeks revenge by getting his hands onto EDITH to show the world that you can be the hero that everyone wanted in the augmented reality world. The scene was shot with the 2 characters present at the hologram bar, which was disguised by augmented reality. Quentin know that Peter has the glasses, therefore he created a series of psychological strategies to bait Peter in giving him the glasses without hesitation. Firstly, Quentin starts off his strategy by asking what he really want, Peter avoids the question at first but in the end stresses that he wants to confess to the girl that he liked for a long time, making Peter lower down his self-defence towards him. Secondly, Peter didn't know that he lost his glasses, but Quentin could not gain access due to encrypted code of the user itself, the transfer of users must be confirmed by the user itself in order to complete the transition. Quentin arranged a helper to pick up the lost glasses and gave it to Peter as it was really found lost outside the city during their fight. After that, Quentin asks Peter to put on the glasses, but then jokingly say that he looks ugly on the glasses. The reason that Quentin uses this strategy is to let Peter feel that he is unworthy of that multi-billion technology that Tony passed on to him. He made Peter think off the quote that Tony gave him, but he misunderstood the underlying meaning of it. In the end, Peter gave Quentin the access of the technology then ran off to fulfil his plan in getting the girl that he loved. The scene shows us that Quentin is a master of phycology, he manipulated the emotions and thoughts of Peter and made him look like a clown. On the other hand, we can also say that teenagers nowadays feel very insecure of themselves, they are easily broken down by harsh words and stress, making them easy to manipulate, easy to put their trust on others.
In a nutshell, this sequel is demonstrating how a teenager manages himself when all the stress and responsibility are thrown towards him. They chose to run, hide, avoid everything that they possibly can, but things come eventually and they will go into a mental breakdown state. However, people always adapt, they will eventually know that the best way to embrace your responsibilities is to conquer them. Secondly, this film also showcases the transition of an era, with all the old faces disappearing from the big screen, it is indicating that Marvel wants a change of new blood into the upcoming Marvel era, introducing more superheroes into the squad. Thirdly, the film also showed us that teenagers are easily deceived and manipulated, therefore the film also serve a purpose to remind teenagers about how cruel the outside world is, everyone will risk everything to get what they want.
This will be the end of my movie review. Thank you.
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