Civilization is dead, but Chito and Yuuri are still alive. So they hop aboard their beloved Kettenkrad
motorbike and aimlessly wander the ruins of the world they once knew. Day after hopeless day, they
look for their next meal and fuel for their ride. But as long as the two are together, even an
existence as bleak as theirs has a ray or two of sunshine in it, whether they're sucking down their
fill of soup or hunting for machine parts to tinker with. For two girls in a world full of nothing,
the experiences and feelings the two share give them something to live for…
(Source: Yen Press)
Spoilers Below. ---- Anime that deal with the decline of humanity are rather rare, and when they exist, the human race usually goes out in spectacular fashion. A go-down-swinging approach, if you will. *Girls' Last Tour* though, is an iyashikei, which puts it in rare company indeed, alongside just a handful of other properties, most of which never made it outside of the manga format. Were it interesting *only* on the basis of its genre rarity GLT would be merely vaguely interesting, but it combines its subject matter with its genre in some thought-provoking and at times genuinely surprising ways. While the older *Record of Yokohama Shopping Trip*--one of GLT's few peers in its peculiar genre/subject matter intersection--often emphasized a world of technology being slowly reclaimed by nature *Girls' Last Tour* takes the opposite tack, a technological megalopolis that seems to have subsumed all nature entirely (in the third episode when the girls encounter a dead fish, Yuu has no idea what it is, and Chi is only passingly familiar), yet fallen into ruin regardless. Another example of this is the fourth episode. The temple the two stumble upon that lights up the city is filled with artificial plants, namely lilypads, which rest on a glass floor filled with metal fish sculptures, all meant to resemble a giant koi pond, but actual organic life is nowhere to be found. When the girls finally *do* come across a living organic being (another fish) much later in the series, there is only one, quite possibly the literal last fish on earth, and it is attended to by a squarish robot, and a strange mammalian creature they encounter later turns out to be biomechanical. There's a fair bit of *BLAME!* (a much more violent post-apoc anime) in its set design. Yawning chasms, broken and sometimes colossal machines, and weird architecture give GLT's world a touch of disconnectedness from our own reality, and really they're just damn impressive to look at. Around episode 6 is when the show genuinely comes into its own. Iyashikei as a genre has always been hard to define but the episode (called "Takeoff") is a masterclass on what sets the genre apart from similar but more conventionally narrative types of media. Chi and Yuu become lost in a sort of desert-like area where metal poles protrude from the ground, and the Kettenkrad breaks down, leaving Chi unable to repair it. Here, they meet Ishii, a woman who lives in an abandoned airbase and seeks to build a plane to leave their massive city. They help her and in turn she fixes the Kettenkrad. Much of the episode is spent on the interaction between Yuu and Chi, and when the time finally comes for the plane to take off, a long, genuinely goosebump-inducing flight sequence (with a beautiful soundtrack that almost reminds one of Enya's "Orinoco Flow") is dashed when the plane begins to crumble in mid-air, not a minute after taking off. Ishii survives--our protagonists watch her parachute safely to the first level of the city below--but crucially all of this, the Kettenkrad being fixed and Ishii being removed from the narrative altogether, resets the status quo to zero. This is certainly deliberate (Yuu's sing-songing the word "hopeless" only nails the point home) and is part of the point of this sort of art. Something failing to succeed does not mean there was no point in trying, *simply doing*, GLT tells us, is an end in of itself. Really this is a central theme of the show on the whole, and many other examples--big and small--crop up throughout the series. The "Spiral" segment of Episode 8 is another case in point, our protagonists make their way up a massive spiral ramp (not unlike the inside of a multilayer parking garage, scaled up a thousandfold), and are at one point forced to detour over a rickety bridge that collapses as they cross it. Really, the two brush with death surprisingly often and it's here that GLT takes an interesting, and slightly different, approach from most other iyashikei. The concept of the "endless everyday" comes up a lot when discussing this genre (and the broader slice of life umbrella in general), but GLT actually tackles the subject head on both with the girls' encounters with near-demise, and repeated in-series acknowledgement that the lackadaisical lifestyle they lead is unsustainable. During the aforementioned "Spiral" segment, Chi compares their lives to the spiral ramp, an endless corkscrew that will eventually terminate somehow and somewhere, but it's hard to know where and when, and until then, each iteration of the loop is remarkably similar. Not only is this a nod to the series' opening (which features the kettenkrad driving around a spiral pattern), it's an acknowledgement that every day of the girls' lives is essentially the same while also presenting that spiral's eventual end as a sort of guillotine that looms over the whole series. At the same time, this combined with the earlier themes of episode 6, as well as Yuu--now long established as the wise fool of the duo--proclaiming that you can't live if you're afraid to die, a notion Chi initially rejects as "stupid" but rather quickly comes around to, seems to advocate pushing forward and living in the moment even in the face of certain eventual demise. It's a theme that's actually pretty powerful and (perhaps unintentionally) surprisingly relevant to the 21st century. It's legitimately hard to not lapse into episode-by-episode breakdown, because these themes are iterated on and reemphasized so many times that it's compelling to just list example after example, but the main thesis of the series is unchanging. *Girls' Last Tour*, then, is a story about the twilight years of Earth itself. This comes to a head in the final episode. The girls, having stumbled upon a grounded ship somehow still rigged with functioning electricity (a nuclear reactor is implied to be responsible), accidentally find a way to open the contents of their camera on a multimedia player (a thing they are of course not familiar with). We see pictures first--of the man who gave the girls their camera, as well as an unnamed woman he was traveling with, departed, through some fashion, by the time he showed up in the series. Then something extraordinary happens, Yuu plays every video file on the device at once, and a hypercondensed flurry of human history via media flashes by. First, we see the meeting of a girls' robotics club, its three uniformed members and their lazy conversation being a loving riff on more conventional, contemporarily-set slice of life anime. Then, there are home recordings of a newborn baby, a classical concert, declarations of war, nature documentaries, school festivals, panicked news reports, we see none of these in full but the swelling frission they create really is something. Media is as a rule of thumb rather bad at talking about itself, but this scene is a tribute to the astonishing power of shared experience in general, and a sort of premature eulogy for all mankind, something that the series itself in a way, also is. I will not spoil the series' final (and really, *very* strange) twist, but it ties in with that idea as well as anything in the series. Chito and Yuuri, the last girls on earth, go on living for the sake of each other and themselves even in the face of certain eventual demise. There is something really quite admirable about that, and something quite admirable about *Girls' Last Tour*, the idea that we are all we have, that life as we know it on this strange blue marble has come and will one day go, but that we must push on for ourselves and each other is a strangely compelling one. For exploring it in such detail, GLT deserves commendation.
Girls dabbing? Loli version of Fallout? You bet ‘ya! But sadly, it ain’t all ‘bout that. __Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou__ or Girls’ Last Tour is somewhat a big difference between first impressions on plain paper and the actual reality. Recall the simplest words you would’ve ever think of, maybe Home (自宅), Rain (降雨), Cooking (料理) or even… Friends (友達). What do these words mean to you? You could say the definitive terms from the dictionary. The question is, do you know these words very well and I mean __WELL__? Don’t stare it at, make it a value from just plain curves and line that make meaning and how do you perceive these in real life. Both of these girls tell the simplest words humankind had since the start, even the arise of humans from the simplest chores. Girls’ Last Tour gives meaning to even the simplest natural habits/things we’re doing that we’re not even aware of, or even just don’t care about it and tries to tell us through the stroll of these last two precarious girls. Now, why the apocalyptic setting? The apocalyptic setting recalls the battle that technology is hindering us from valuing the natural habits/things we do everyday. You know what’s arising? Alienation and Isolationism. Technology is just simply getting rid of our simple natural way of living. I just really thought they were here to make work easy but all of us may have probably thought way far ahead. Example? People staring at their phones for 3 hours straight without knowing what’s happening around them. Going to beaches but in the end your family just ended up staring in their phones in the tables unbathed. It’s simply an embedded message from the far future trying to tell us just this one issue we’re having and to be honest, I want this eliminated. Let humanity be open-hearted, joyful and breathtaking again is all I want. Even just for 20-40 minutes (1-2 episodes) of this, you’ll revisit these simple yet important valuable things we had that we’re just simply getting far away of it. I’ll try to promise you you’re not going to regret even just the first few seconds of it. (unless if you’re someone who doesn’t care about anything, anyone.) We’re here to live, not to dissipate one of the importance of our philosophies and the sight of Mother Nature.
The world has ended. It's not "ending", It's pretty much done for and beyond saving. In it, there's still two girls driving an old Kettenkrad through an empty, towering concrete jungle. They travel almost aimlessly, with only the vague, curiosity-fueled goal of reaching the top of the city. In that context, one that seems to take part after the credits of most movies/games have started rolling, Tsukumizu (mangaka) and the team behind the adaptation try to present a tale that's different from the usual. _____________ ~~~img220(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dh69iWKWsAAs80o.jpg) img220(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dh697JjWAAIxX5_.jpg) img220(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dh_ByQDW0AEC6aO.jpg) ~~~ _____________ Girls' Last Tour is one of those shows that focus most of their assets in building atmosphere and mood. With only two recurring characters, there's a lot of time left for the enviroment, and that's where director Takaharu Ozaki (with a long history as director of photography and painter) gets to shine the most. The backgrounds, mostly depicting giant gray contraptions of steel and concrete, feel surprisingly varied thanks to the way lighting is handled and the creativity behind some of the structures. The show jumps from oppressive factories to ethereal dreamscapes like it’s not a big deal, and manages to keep its tone flowing without any awkward shift thanks to the sense of place the shot composition creates. The characters help as well, with most of their movements being related to the environment they find themselves in at the moment. When they’re not traversing the city, Chito and Yuuri are always playing around with the stuff around them. If they need to sleep and there’s something emitting heat, they’ll sleep close to it, and if there’s any object new to them, chances are Yuuri will be looking at it or, much to Chito’s grief, poking it. When you combine all of that with the soothing, surprisingly “traditional” soundtrack, what you get is a series that feels grounded in its setting and tonally consistent, with an atmosphere that grabs you immediately and lets the show tell you whatever it wants. __________________ ~~~img220(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dh_CFG9WkAA41QQ.jpg) img220(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Di8TgoYXoAAEVu6.jpg) img220(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Di8T4kwXsAAT7fZ.jpg)~~~ ___________________________________________ That’s why I haven’t really talked about the narrative part of it all just yet: It would be impossible to pull off without the stellar presentation. Not having much of an overarching plot, Girls Last Tour plays out like a collection of vignettes, each with its own name and theme, that would feel extremely disconnected If not for everything I’ve mentioned so far (giving off a feeling comparable only to Nakamura’s take on Kino). Each of the stories revolves around an idea we, as humans living in the current world, take for granted. With Chito and Yuuri being mostly outsiders to our semiotics and ideas, each one is a small exercise in abstraction, in looking back on ourselves and our civilization and examining those concepts that seem so mundane to us. In a world almost devoid of people, war (for example) is just another world for conflict, lacking the weight we've come to give it, and everything else gets the same treatment. God, humanity, and ideas like historical value and culture aren’t universally taught anymore, so they lose most of their value. Our biggest moral dilemmas are more often than not solved in anticlimactic ways and, eventually, everything is proven meaningless. Kinda. ____________________________________________ ~~~img300(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dh_CpHVWAAAUMRI.jpg) img300(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dh_CrFiX4AEf0Rb.jpg) img300(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dh_CuRQXUAAmlgk.jpg) img300(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dh_CxNbWkAA_DDC.jpg)~~~ ___________________________________________ Girls’ Last Tour isn’t just about a shallow form of nihilism. The show doesn’t really devalue all of our thoughts and dreams, it just rejects the idea that we should place all of our worth in them and invites us to reexamine them. A life-long dream may -wil probably- fail, symbols will change their meanings over time and a construct is just that, a construct. In the most basic way, being tied to them is a limitation. But it’s a fine limitation to choose. Lack of meaning is meaningless in and of itself, and the very human characters do choose to believe and desire sometimes. In reality, you can enjoy the sound of the rain or a talk with someone. You can be comfortable in other's company, and it’s good to have something you want to dedicate yourself to. Just don’t reduce yourself to *just* that and, first, learn to get along with the feeling of hopelessness.
Strolling through a grey and barren wasteland, two girls are on a journey. Rations are their only food, each other's company their only comfort and a Kettenkrad motorbike and a protect rifle their only partners. This is a story about a post-apocalyptic future, cultures lost in war and appreciating the little things in life. --- Few future settings display the thoughtfulness present in Girl’s Last Tour: war has, multiple times, left its mark on Earth and humanity. The numerous layers of the forsaken and metallic city tell tales of many civilizations long gone; their technology gradually grows more sophisticated and the cityscape more complex by the layer. Their different religious beliefs, or lack thereof, as well as their different perceptions of beauty are ingrained in them: some show idealistic symmetry spread evenly throughout, others are dominated by religious symbols resembling a progressed Christianity. However, their god seems more like an alien creature possibly playing a central role in mankind’s long history of war… The themes and background of the show allow for contemplation and its war-ridden lands give ground for cynical criticism of war, but Girl’s Last Tour is not at all about nihilism, the cruelty of war or the dangers of technological advancement. With overpowering optimism and gratitude for life, it avoids dwelling on many of its philosophically potent and open-ended questions through the sheer simplicity of its appreciation for the here and now; there is solace in solitude and beauty in company.
In summary i think this whole show is about hopelessness and how your attitude to it should be. So out of the 4 human characters in this show, 2 have a passion that we witness them being at their peak in their "career" and the almost immediate downfall thereafter. Kanazawa is a cartographer and he had just finished mapping out the entire first level to the city they are all in. His next mission is to simply move to the next level and then keep mapping, but as he gets on the elevator to the next level he loses his lifes work in just an instant and almost kills himself trying to save it and when he is caught by yuu and chii he tells them to just let go and let him die. They obviously dont and they all move on to the next level, where Kanazawa comes to terms with his lifes work being lost and simply sets out to do what he came to the second level to do, Create a map of it. Even though he had just lost everything that gave his life meaning he decided to keep trudging on. Ishii also has an incident similar to this in that her lifes work is building a working plane and flying to the next city over. when chi and yuu finally see her off she soars in the air and is flying for a brief moment before her plane breaks mid air and she is seen in a parachute heading down to the first level. she says something along the lines of "so there was no hope afterall... all those years... toiling away alone.. gone in an instant... but now that ive failed... i feel so relaxed" like kanazawa she comes to terms with her lifes work being destroyed and she even feels better that a weight has been lifted off her shoulders. After all they have ever worked for becomes destroyed they both come to terms with hopelessness and just stop caring. While we see this transformation mid show i feel that yuu had come to terms with this long ago hence her personality. When chii and yuu are stuck in the middle of nowhere because the kettenkrad was broke down chii is trying to fix it while yuu is just lying on a slab of concrete chewing on a piece of metal telling chii that "its hopeless chii just come to terms with hopelessness already." telling chii that there is no reason for her to worry about fixing the mini tank because there is nothing they CAN do to fix it. Why burden yourself with worry if you dont even have the ability to lift that burden? I believe that this is the reason why throughout the show yuu is always care free and happy. In a literal wasteland there isnt as much to worry about as there is in a society. You need the basics, and if the couple needs them, then well the best they can do is look for them. If they still cant find the things they need after trying then thats just how things were meant to be, no reason to get yourself in a fluster over something you cant control. I also think this is why while she show is in a dark and dreary setting, with death surrounding them at almost all times, it dosent have too much of a sad tone to it. The intro and outro are both upbeat and happy, and the general mood of the show is melancholic at worst. I think this show teaches a great lesson, and that is to just relax, stop worrying, and if something bad happens to you, which it will, you need to realize that bad things happen all the time and you dwelling on the past will only hurt you. in the end you decide your mood and if you want to be happy then you can be happy. *footnote* i also wanted to talk about how in a world where food and water are running out very fast all of the characters are simply riding out the last of the remains of civilization, doing what they want to do in the mean time. But i forgot what my whole shpeil was going to be about that so yea. Also if you cant understand a point that i was trying to get across in that wall of text that is because i have a hard time putting the word sewage that comes from my brain into comprehensive words.
Genre: Slice of life, survival, cute girls doing cute things, adventure, post-apocalyptic Rating: 12+ Studio: White Fox Episodes: 12 Available on: HIDIVE __Overview:__ Girls Last Tour is set in an dystopian future where two friends named Chito (Chi) and Yuuri (Yuu) seem to be the only humans left of civilisation. In the baron wasteland in which the girls call home they ride from place to place in their trusty Kettenkrad motorcycle hunting for food and fun. As the girls explore the world around them they gain knowledge and new experience whilst making the best of what they have got. __Review__ Girls Last Tour has always been an anime which peaked my curiosity ever since I first heard about it. Mixing an extremely sweet moe character design with the harsh coldness of military gear seems wrong. It shouldn't fit together. It shouldn't work. It shouldn't be a joy to watch a cute girls doing cute things style anime in the harsh reality of a war torn world. But somehow Girls Last Tour manages to pull it off beautifully creating wonderfully bittersweet moments throughout its twelve episodes. The character design of Yuu and Chi has a soft roundness to them which is very reminiscent of other CGDCT and slice of life series such as Nichijou and Azumanga Daioh. Not only do they both look extremely adorable but they somehow look, almost comical when compared to their surroundings. The concept of the anime makes viewers feel as if they should be sad but the softness of the character designs makes things more lighthearted and fun to watch. Also, seeing two moe girls dab in military uniforms tells the viewer that this isn't an anime which will cause deep sadness or depression. The lack of characters used within Girls Last Tour also adds to the charm of the series. Both Chi and Yuu do the majority of the talking throughout the anime and their polar opposite characters make for a good dynamic which is fun to follow along with in their situation. Chi is the levelheaded, more mature one of the two whilst Yuu is more of a carefree and immature character and the two balance each other out. They also both have an innocence and curiosity which is what makes the anime bright and fun. The two take their nomad lives with stride and they seek out fun, food or new knowledge wherever they can find it. They are unfazed about the world they are living in which from a viewers perspective may seem crazy but this is the only life the two seem to know of. Therefore, they don't feel saddened by their surroundings because it is normal to them to live this way. This take on a post-apocalyptic world is a breath of fresh air when compared to the copious amounts of dystopian future media out there. Instead of the series giving the message of 'this is bad and sad and we should all be depressed at this', the anime takes a more optimistic tone with the whole situation and instead makes it about loving the little things and making the best out of what is available. Whilst I found the sparse meetings of other characters interesting within the anime, I found the side characters pretty forgettable. There were a couple of episodes which featured other characters which help to drive the plot a bit but I found myself happier seeing Chi and Yuu explore the world on their own and having fun in their own small ways. Episodes such as the one where Chi and Yuu make music using rain drops and objects such as pots and pans was just unique and beautiful. Music is something we take for granted on the daily but for these two girls it is a special moment for them as they learn what music actually is. The series make you appreciate the little things in life through Yuu and Chi's discoveries. The world surrounding Yuu and Chi also really peaked my interest as a viewer as Girls Last Tour is just filled with mysteries which I doubt will ever truly be answered. Throughout the entire anime I kept wondering what really happened to the world to get it to such a state. Everywhere within Yuu and Chi's barren world is filled with military weapons, vehicles and buildings. Yuu and Chi wear military uniforms and carry around guns even going as far as to point guns at each other like it is no big deal. Even though the two question things a little, both them and the viewer will never truly know what happened. But, that somehow adds to its charm and beauty. Girls Last Tour is a unique and special series amongst the plethora of slice of life, cute girls doing cute things and post-apocalyptic series. It is a beautifully bittersweet adventure which I recommend checking out if you want something a bit different!
Girl's Last Tour is an impeccable anime that I feel is the very definition of what makes something unique. Everything in this anime has never really been done before in the industry with this level of care for quality, and is the epitome of a new and fresh experience for viewers. The style is distinct and highly memorable. The story is original, even in the highly saturated apocalyptic genre. The cutesy cartoonish characters manage to feel very human, with their own passions and motives for surviving in a world that guarantees them nothing in life. The enjoyment of watching such a masterpiece is unique to Girls' Last Tour and Girls' Last Tour alone. This one of the very few anime I've enjoyed enough to want to read the manga it originated from (and it didn't disappoint! The anime was very faithfully reproduced, though the manga's story extends to have a more concrete, albeit depressing ending). The story of Girls' Last Tour is a unique take on the concept of post-apocalyptic media. The original author of the manga is a wonderfully talented, likely depressed, individual who has an affinity for surreal designs and stories. In Girls' Last Tour there's no zombies, there's no disease, and there's no real action. It's just a completely unique and captivating story for reasons other than solely focusing on the post-society aspects. The anime finished prior to the ending of the manga releases, so if you liked the anime, the manga is a must-read in my opinion. Afterwards, "Shimeji Simulation" by the same author, is yet another amazing story that appears to somehow tie into the story of Girls' Last Tour. The art style is unique to Tsukumizu, though it was slightly altered to fit the medium of anime better. The characters are cutesy and simplified, cartoonishly exaggerated at times, but are very expressive, unique, and simply lovable. The scenery is gritty, eerie, and realistic, feeling just as important as the characters themselves, in an industry where background scenery and setting is often a secondhand thought. Overall, this results in an extremely unique experience that can be found nowhere else. The art is honestly one of my favorite aspects of Girls' Last Tour, and I find myself consistently wanting more art in this style. Sound is yet another category deserving of a perfect score. It's one of the few series' OSTs I found myself consistently listening to on a casual basis, even using the full ambient OST as driving music on long trips to more remote locations, especially in the rain. It's a wonderful mix of cheerful, depressing, eerie, and atmospheric music. A very original tone that I've yet to see another series match its level. I urge you to listen to the music as you watch the series, and come back to the OST after you finish the anime to enjoy in its isolated form. Characters? You got two lovable sweet potatoes. Baked with extra sugar and love. These girls are some of the cutest motherfuckers you'll ever meet. Fantastically written, impeccable dialogue, incredibly both fitting with and contrasting against the story at the same time. There's a lot to be said here about the deeper aspects of their design, but I hate it when reviewers just simply spoil character traits within a review, as if it's something I come to read the review for. Just believe me when I say these characters are some of the best in anime. Tsukumizu is as much of a fantastically gifted writer as they are an artist. Girls' Last Tour is just such a fantastic anime in general. It's a completely fresh experience you won't even find mimicked elsewhere. Everything about it is distinct, purposeful, and entertaining. I was growing up right around the time that everything and everything had to be set in a post-apocalyptic world, so believe me, I'm just as burnt out on the genre as anyone else. Despite that, Girls' Last Tour is the freshest breath of air you'll find in the genre, anime or otherwise, and this genuine masterpiece has rightfully landed a place in my #1 favorite anime of all time.
Girls’ Last Tour follows Chito and Yuuri, our two main leads and absolutely adorable moe blobs, as they try to survive in a desolate, war-torn wasteland. If that premise does not intrigue you, I don’t know what will. Surprisingly, this premise, coupled with masterful execution, is the best thing about the whole anime. Each episode follows the same formula. They ride on their Kettenkrad, go about the routines of their lives, all while talking about what little they know about the old world. The highlight of this show is when it stops to show us these two girls find enjoyment in the form of a little, insignificant thing that we take for granted in the real world. In spite of the apocalypse, our ingenuity and creativity survives for somebody to appreciate, and Girls’ Last Tour makes that clear. It doesn’t matter if it’s the simple act of taking a picture or making music, Chito and Yuuri tells us, in all their moe glory, that life goes on, and so does what it means to live it. Yet, that message has another truth behind it. _It doesn’t have to be this way._ Sure, life goes on, and these two girls may continue enjoying life, but look around them. Destroyed buildings, freezing weather, and a barren, grey environment. Evidence of our shortcomings as a species. No amount of cheers and laughter changes the fact that these two struggle to survive everyday at such a young age, forced to make a World War 2 German utility vehicle their home, all because of humanity’s obsession with war. Perhaps the most disturbing thing is that these girls are almost okay with it. It is mainly this juxtaposition between two messages that makes Girls’ Last Tour so heartwarming yet emotionally devastating. It’s admirable that they made it so that there were no zombies or raiders in this post-apocalypse. Rather, the setting speaks for itself in getting the message forward. There's never really a constant sense of danger. It’s less _Fallout_ than it is _This War of Mine_. Simply showing what it is like to live in this world and the struggles that come with survival are enough to get the viewer to empathize with the characters. Anything more would have seemed over-the-top and distracting from the overall point. Every episode has this foreboding sense of melancholy hiding beneath. Girls’ Last Tour is genius in the sense that it can evoke happiness and sadness at the same time, but either way, it’s rich in wisdom and meaning.
[Amid desolate remains of a once-thriving city](https://anilist.co/search/anime?genres=Post-Apocalyptic), only the [tank's](https://anilist.co/search/anime?genres=Tanks) thunder breaks the frigid winter hush. Its drivers, [Chito](https://anilist.co/character/120889/Chito) and [Yuuri](https://anilist.co/character/120890/Yuuri), the [survivors](https://anilist.co/search/anime?genres=Survival) of the devastated [city](https://anilist.co/search/anime?genres=Urban). [Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou](https://anilist.co/anime/99420/Shoujo-Shuumatsu-Ryokou/) (Girls Last Tour) is a [slice of life](https://anilist.co/search/anime/Slice%20of%20Life) anime adaptation, following two girls, Chito and Yuuri, navigating the remains of [civilization](https://anilist.co/search/anime?genres=Lost%20Civilization) after an unknown apocalypse. Traveling in their Kettenkrad, seeking food and supplies, and [surviving day-to-day](https://anilist.co/search/anime?genres=Episodic). Chito and Yuuri, fighting with the looming silence, but having each other, sharing the weight of being two of the last humans, becomes a little more bearable. [The leading duo](https://anilist.co/search/anime?genres=Primarily%20Female%20Cast), Chito and Yuuri contrast, Chito being adamant realism and Yurri being unrestricted optimism, bouncing off each other ideally. [There's plentiful back and forth between them](https://anilist.co/search/anime?genres=Iyashikei), revealing the best and worst inside. Chito's knowledge derives from her limited array of scavenged, threadbare books, [often lacking context and real-world information to grasp their meaning or origins](https://anilist.co/search/anime?genres=Denpa). Yuuri likes food and is rather adaptable, clearly differentiating from Chito's dependency on history. Chito and Yuuri embody two distinct sides of humanity, one striving to learn, the other being silly. Devoid of life, the city, bearing the aftermath of wars, manifold. The absence of background or clarity, the unfoldings causing their tour remain untold. [Rays of truth surface](https://anilist.co/search/anime?genres=Environmental), the date on a camera screen, or the sparse dialogue with those clinging on to life, [human or not](https://anilist.co/search/anime?genres=Artificial%20Intelligence). Like the girls, you don't grasp what befell, barring a brief flashback. The flashback felt unneeded, ventured to answer mysteries, rightly left unexplored. Simplistic and fluid animation heightened by artistic quality, revealing exquisite detail with each scene. The chibi art style contrasts amid the setting, an industrial, war-torn city. You'll feel the decadent world with the intelligent application of lighting. While ingenious camera angles, keep eyes on the crucial parts of the narrative. The utilization of [CGI](https://anilist.co/search/anime?genres=CGI) holds noticeable, (particularly on the Kettenkrad). The CGI appears disarranged, to a degree. The soundtrack of Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou, empty yet full, desolate yet promising. Unhurried, lingering strings returned by the calm of the flute and tin whistle, scoring a sense of unease. The soothing piano and female chorus accompaniments delicately balance beauty and wonderment of the mundane things inside their forsaken world. Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou excels through simplicity and [indulgence in thought](https://anilist.co/search/anime?genres=Philosophy). Rich storytelling, each scene holds purpose and meaning, scenes bringing both delight and melancholy. Characters feel intricate with distinct personalities. Whether it's enjoying the slice of life genre or the philosophy of one mere fish, Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou is for you.
[ENG] What is the reason that we are alive? Why do we exist? Are we really born with a great purpose in our lives? Certainly you’ve already asked yourself about that at some point in your life, we all went through some more reflective moments where we tried to validate our attitudes and values to be able to move on...however, if I say that everything you have built and conquered, where even your own existence, will be forgotten in time? That's exactly what Girls' Last Tour, or Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou, Tsukumizu's original work, tries to answer us in his Anime as a whole The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where civilization and humanity have been completely destroyed, leaving only our main characters Chito, or Chii, and Yuuri, or Yuu. Chii is the brain and "leader" of the team, being responsible for thinking about alternatives and reading any messages they encounter along the way. Yuu is the “muscle” of the pair, being taller and well dispersed, she is responsible for the menial tasks and for protecting Chii from any problems. Chii and Yuu were younger when they fled the war that decimated that universe, and now with years of experience in this scenario, find themselves alone in the desert immensity that they once called a planet. They no longer have a family, home, belief, values...nothing, they are as empty as the world around. Both know very well that their days are numbered, considering that they need to hunt for food and supplies daily to stay alive and, like the rest of humanity, their existence will be forgotten over time. The big difference is that, thanks to this void that permeates their souls, they were able to observe and appreciate what is really important in their lives, and that idea is what we call a Nihilist thought. The Nihilist idea was explored and studied by countless philosophers during our existence, in particular the German Nietzsche, when he proposed this “meaninglessness” in our lives. When analyzing this subject and the human behavior, Nietzsche suggests that it is necessary to get rid of all the norms, beliefs, dogmas and traditions in our lives, making us completely empty inside. When we reach that state, the human being is finally free to follow any path he wishes, thus becoming a kind of "Superman" in real life. I really recommend that you give an opportunity to watch this Anime, maybe seeing the life of these girls will make you reflect on what is really important in your life, and so, during your walk, you will also be able to recognize the true beauty in this small moments, whether it be chatting with a friend, doing what you love, or even, who knows, admiring the beauty of a simple rain. Bellow there is a video link, entitled “Beauty of the Void”, which better analyzes the Anime and its premise as a whole, making this review even more accurate (Please turn on the English Sub for it). [PT-BR] Qual é a razão de estarmos vivos? Por que nós existimos? Será que realmente nascemos com um grande propósito em nossas vidas? Certamente você já se questionou sobre esse assunto em algum momento de sua vida, todos nós passamos por momentos mais reflexivos onde tentamos validar as nossas atitudes e valores para conseguir seguir em frente...porém, se eu falar que tudo o que você construiu e conquistou, onde até mesmo a sua própria existência, será tudo esquecido com o tempo...e é justamente o que que Girls’ Last Tour, ou Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou, obra original de Tsukumizu tenta nos responder em sua obra como um todo. A história se passa em um mundo pós-apocalíptico onde a civilização e a humanidade foram completamente destruídas, sobrando apenas as nossas personagens principais Chito, ou Chii, e Yuuri, ou Yuu. Chii funciona como o cérebro e “líder” da equipe, ficando responsável por pensar em alternativas e ler as eventuais mensagens que encontram no caminho. Já Yuu é o músculo da dupla, sendo mais alta e bem dispersa, ela é responsável pelas tarefas braçais e por proteger a Chii de eventuais problemas. Chii e Yuu eram mais novas quando fugiram da guerra que dizimou aquele universo e, agora com anos de experiência nesse cenário, se encontram sozinhas na imensidão desértica que um dia chamaram de planeta. Elas não possuem mais família, casa, crença, valores....nada, estão tão vazias como o mundo ao redor. As duas sabem muito bem que seus dias estão contados, considerado que precisam caçar diariamente comida e suprimentos para continuarem vivas e, assim como o resto da humanidade, a existência delas será esquecida com o tempo. A grande diferença é que, graças a esse vazio que permeia suas almas, elas conseguiram observar e valorizar o que é de fato importante na vida delas, e essa ideia é o que chamamos de Pensamento Niilista. A ideia Niilista foi explorada e estudada por inúmeros filósofos durante a nossa existência, em particular o Alemão Nietzsche, quando propôs essa “ausência de sentido” em nossas vidas. Ao analisar sobre o assunto e o comportamento humano, Nietzsche sugere que é necessário se desfazer de todas as normas, crenças, dogmas e tradições em nossas vidas, nos tornando completamente vazios por dentro. Quando atingirmos esse estado, enfim o ser humano está livre para seguir qualquer caminho que deseja, se tornando assim uma espécie de “Super-Homem” da vida real. Eu realmente recomendo que você dê uma oportunidade para assistir esse Anime, talvez ao ver a vida dessas meninas o faça refletir sobre o que de fato é importante em sua vida, e que, durante a sua caminhada, você também consiga reconhecer a verdadeira beleza nos pequenos momentos, seja jogar conversa fora com um amigo, fazer o que ama, ou até, quem sabe, admirar a beleza, de uma simples chuva. Segue o link do vídeo, intitulado de “A Beleza do Vazio”, que analisa melhor a obra e sua premissa como um todo, tornando essa review ainda mais precisa. [Link of the Video](https://youtu.be/QjSCIP6bdmk)
__Note__: The following review does __not__ contain any major spoilers. Still, be wary of reading this, as it may contain the synopsis if you do not wish to see it and jump anew and fresh into the story (as I did). ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ This is a completely honest review, after dissecting every bit of this anime and analyzing it's many parts, and coming to a conclusion on my opinions about this anime once again. ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ This anime is one of those anime you either never knew about, or barely heard of, but is to many people a wonderful relish and a gem. At first, the concept and story seemed simple to me after being exposed to it a bit from the anime community. After completing an episode or two, I felt as though it lacked a clear hook for the audience, but even as bland as some aspects may seem, it eventually hooks you and ends each episode gloriously. This is one of the things I noticed it does best, hooking you just by letting you know that the show has enormous merit after each surprisingly meaningful episode it displays to you. Another interesting aspect of this show is the well crafted atmosphere and world created by both the art and execution. It has some of the most glorious landscapes and scenery. __This is what I mean__: img220(https://i.imgur.com/yRJNITC.png) img220(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DvE2KQeU0AEOa9i.jpg) img220(https://external-preview.redd.it/UvNvOyehaBSStgV5Dt62o6oBaKFTZIE6LJJUDHXyC2s.png?auto=webp&s=8b04456e62a78bbf6226ecd4d01ae0dd74e1a8f3) img220(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DQzww9wX4AAF8tG.jpg) The vastness of the areas that are explored in the show is nothing but superlative, and complements both the story and relaxed, open feelings that are within each scene. If I had to state a singular complaint, it would of course be the seemingly intentional dab in the opening song, but it's something I can easily forgive due to it's 2017 culture. And even so, the catchy song makes up for it. Personally, this has become one of my very favorite anime of all time, and that's saying something. Now, I'm not _objectively_ correct and my taste isn't everyone's taste, but there is some level of a somewhat unanimous agreement that this anime isn't bad whatsoever. Unless, that is, that some people may find this anime to be boring and lacking in interest, as well as slow paced, and to them that may make it bad. This isn't the case at all for how I view this show, as it is both interesting and fun. I can say it isn't the most fast paced anime of all time, though. ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ __Animation__: I can't say for sure that the animation is amazing, but the art style is pretty good, and it's a step up from most standard slice of life media. More on the artstyle side, this anime boasts great scenery and cute character design, which are both extremely important, considering there are very few main characters and there are very vast areas in the show. __Story/Plot__: It's hard to elaborate on this, considering it is one of those anime where telling you why it's good would conceivably spoil the anime, but have no fear, as I will not go into major spoiler territory. The story/plot in Girls' Last Tour isn't lacking, and just the concept itself may initially seem hard to elaborate on, but the show does a great job of executing what it has to execute in the story, so there's very little problem with this. Overall, great story. __Execution__: Easily a wonderful execution, I could never have doubted this anime due to it's majestic execution. It's execution basically carries this anime, as it being a slice of life can make it hard to be interesting. Even so, it holds up well and overall was a great experience with such great execution. __Voice Acting__: Not much to say here, the voice acting was pretty great, it's hard to say much about the VAs, but all around, the voices are done quite well. __Characters__: Both the main characters have unique and vivid personalities and this adds a lot of interest and spice to the anime. Nothing but lovely characters with lovely personalities. __Entertainment__: Although it still holds up as a somewhat entertaining anime, and a good one at that, it's entertainment is probably it's least apparent aspect. Don't get me wrong, it's not totally boring, but it's a little slow paced and as a slice of life, can seem a bit bland for an anime. Sometimes a very entertaining anime due to it's lively and fun characters and a journey of a story, but not the most amazing entertainment. ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ Now onto a relatively accurate rating for this anime (Also, __TL;DR__): - Animation: 7/10 - Story/Plot: 9/10 - Execution: 9/10 - Voice Acting: 7.5/10 - Characters: 8.5/10 - Entertainment: 7/10 _Please note that other minor factors may influence the final overall score_ ~~~~~~ __Overall Score: 8.8/10__ To summarize, this anime is seriously worth a watch. It has a lot of merit and is a literal journey from episode 1, superbly executed and just wonderful! Watch if you have the time, as this has easily become one of my favorite anime of all time.
NOTE: This review can also be found on my MAL profile. Just in case anyone comes across it on that site and thinks that this one is plagiarising it. (Link: https://myanimelist.net/reviews.php?id=333924). Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou is a seamless blend of a slice of life and a post-apocalyptic story and as a result, it represents the absolute best of both worlds. ~~~img260(https://apieceofanime.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/girls-last-tour.jpg)~~~ The story follows an episodic narrative as our two protagonists, Chito and Yuuri make their way through the ruins of the world. Each and every single one of the episodes brings something different and unique to the table. Some of them focus on the duo doing something relatively mundane, like attempting to make rations. These episodes are made good by the well written comedic dialogue and good slapstick, as well as the very enjoyable personalities and believable chemistry of the two leads. Chito is down to Earth and non-nonsense, while Yuuri is goofy, weird and slightly sociopathic. They play off of each other very well, in addition to having a very natural feeling bond. For as much as Yuuri annoys Chito, it is clear that they care about each other deeply (even if they themselves may not entirely realise that). It’s an endearing relationship that is a joy to watch over the course of the show. Another things that definitely adds to the less serious episodes is the setting itself. It provides a very unique spin on the cute-girls-doing-cute-things aspect of the series. Even in the less serious episodes, there is this slight sense of sadness, as all the hijinks play out against the backdrop of a devastated world, focusing on the characters, who are just trying to survive and live in it. It’s not enough to make the episodes any less fun, but it does provide an interesting take on the slice of life genre. Because these two’s everyday lives are very different from those of, say, the K-On! girls. Then there are the more serious episodes. Those hit all of the emotions that they are meant to hit, as well as touching upon some fascinating and surprisingly deep concepts that one wouldn’t normally expect a slice of life show to touch upon. Questioning the worth of religious faith in a world where there is no-one left to worship any gods, and asking what it truly means to be alive are only some of this show’s fascinating subject matters. ~~~img260(https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/325/780/536.jpg_large)~~~ It is through these themes that Chito and Yuuri grow, as they learn and think about all these new things and concepts that they are being exposed to. Sometimes they react differently based on their personalities and worldviews, which just makes it all the more interesting. The last episode brings their shared character arc to a touching and highly satisfying conclusion, but again, you’ll have to watch the show to know the specifics because seriously, I am not giving it away here. There are a few supporting characters and they are all very memorable and with a good level of depth, in addition to bringing more interesting concepts to the show. ~~~img260(https://i.imgur.com/M7jL95i.png)~~~ On the technical side, Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou is an absolutely gorgeous series. One would think that with a colour palette largely consisting of black, grey and white, it would get boring to look at fairly quickly. But the series uses it to its advantage as it only helps to create this overwhelming and wonderfully bleak atmosphere. Especially with the brilliant use of wide shots that go on for just long enough to allow the viewer to become truly immersed in the environments. Another thing that keeps the series from looking dull is the moe aesthetic of the characters. It provides a good contrast to the backgrounds without looking out of place. They do still look like they are a part of the world, due to the very well-done character designs as well as the fact that the environments themselves don’t actually look overly realistic. It’s all-around great art direction. But of course, it’s not all black/white/grey. The show does occasionally have scenes featuring a dark blue-ish night sky, a red sunset, bright yellow sunshine etc. And whenever such scenes do happen, the only word to describe them with that comes to mind is “stunning”. Case in point... ~~~img260(https://i.imgur.com/SQmk2ya.jpg)~~~ The sound is just as good. It represents the show itself perfectly, featuring tracks that do a great job adding to the fun goofiness and ones that bring tears to the viewer’s eyes. Nowhere is this any more noticeable than in the OP and ED. Both are simply impossible to skip due to how catchy and fun to listen to they are, but once one starts paying attention to the lyrics, they are actually quite bittersweet (especially once you listen to them after having seen the entire series and having all the context). The show is also great at using silence. When it wants to just let the atmosphere speak for itself, it can do that with only the visuals and a few small background noises. As for the voice acting, Inori Minase perfectly portrays Chito’s reserved, yet irritable nature perfectly, bringing a somewhat similar energy here that she did to her performance as Chino Kafuu (Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka?). And Yurika Kubo as Yuuri is just incredibly entertaining, delivering an energetic performance that’s just a joy to listen to. The supporting cast are also all very good in their roles, nailing their characters’ personalities and doing a great job bringing them to life. Any problems that I have with this show are nit-picks so outweighed by the positives that they are barely even worth bringing up. Like how the show occasionally uses CG and it does not look all that great. But it does not use it often enough for me to really care. There is also that one moment in Episode 3 that had me questioning a certain character’s logic. I’d have to go into spoilers in order to properly explain it, so I’ll keep it vague and if you’ve seen the show, you’ll probably know what I mean (if you don’t want to read even a very vague implication at a spoiler, skip this next sentence). In that moment I just kind of thought to myself “couldn’t he have just taken photos of those maps?” But again, it doesn’t really matter. The moment still hit. ~~~img260(https://otakuusamagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/girls-last-tour-box-set2.png)~~~ At the time of writing this review, Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou is my favourite slice of life series. It is a wonderfully weird idea, with a stunning execution that I whole-heartedly recommend to everyone, regardless of their general stance on moe.
#Contains Spoilers --- FAHHH what a journey. Although it was short we were given opportunity to feel for Chii and Yuu. Even in the ep of the two others they met. #__Short thoughts on Characters:__ __Kanazawa__ - rlly was a shame he couldn’t retrieve his maps, nice that he gave camera, would’ve been nice to know about his travels w girl. __Ishii__ - expected plane to break down but still saddening to watch + her acceptance of failure, falling to lowest layer, she was probs last pilot and most knowledgeable about technology w the blueprints. __Nuko__ the weird ass cat creation - cute as hell, useful and dangerous, would’ve been nice if he stayed w them and joined the others when the two died. Those shroom cat ‘gods’ (__Eringi__) - consume thermally unstable materials to neutralise and will stop once non left which also means deterioration of the world and they’ll be put to sleep. Communicate through sound waves, like the receiver found in one of the graves. Maybe items w “energy” were stored in graves so they won’t be eaten by those things and therefore won’t be lost forever - it’ll be forgotten w no life left but at least it remains there on the land where their value was made and not decomposed to just be an energy source for the cats. __AI__ - the mediator between humans + machines, considers self as the god of failed work, cogitates eternity without oblivion, would stay alive until the city’s final reserve of reserve powers are used up, sad her only appearance was to function the elevator to the highest level since she could’ve taught them so much more before self-destructing. #__Final Thoughts:__ How much storage did that camera have though lmao but it contained so much info - kanazawa’s adventures w partner, school girls making robot prototypes, war. That camera lasted generations only to be consumed by Eringi in that way :( The library scene was kinda sad also, if only they had the time and enough resources they could’ve stayed there and learned so much, they would’ve had proper shelter as well. Burning the books for heat was kinda sad especially the journal. I would’ve spared the journal cuz that’s the proof of their journey and lives (same for the camera) but would they have been able to survive w/o burning it? If they left it would anyone even come across it anymore? Eringi said they’re the only 2 humans left from their knowledge but maybe they just weren’t aware of the other 2 or maybe they’d died shortly after due to lack of resources and will. Perhaps their grandpa sent them on the journey to the highest layer as a far goal to aim for, to provide a purpose in their lives since they were gonna be killed. Maybe they’d find their own purpose along the way and at least get to live their lives and find enjoyment in the little things they had left. The scene of kettenkrad’s end was expected, they should’ve parked it inside igloo to preserve its life even just a bit longer. The bonus chapter was sad foreshadowing their death w the epilogue through the poem. Would’ve liked to know more about the world's history and how it became like that but the images and videos provide quite intriguing insights. Would’ve also been nice to see the end of the other two's lives and Eringis, nuko’s eternal slumber and world's deterioration montaged as the final scene. Rest of thoughts here resonate w me: [link ](https://www.reddit.com/r/GirlsLastTour/comments/7q5t6u/girls_last_tour_world_building_discussion/?utm_source=amp&utm_medium=&utm_content=post_body)
Modern society does not necessarily reward quality over quantity. The current atmosphere for pop culture, by and large, seems to incentivize pushing out content that is enjoyable while it’s being consumed but has no real staying power. Oftentimes when something is complete it gets shoved to the back of the audience’s brain and forgotten about; as the guys at RedLetterMedia satirically put it, “Don’t ask questions. Just consume product and then get excited for next product.” That is not the case with Girls’ Last Tour. This is one of the most introspective, beautiful and creative anime series that I have watched, and, in my opinion, there is no higher endorsement I could give than “I can't stop thinking about this”. Girls’ Last Tour is the story of two girls, Chito and Yuuri, and their journey across a post-apocalyptic, barren wasteland almost entirely devoid of life. Traveling in their kettenkrad (essentially a small, World War Two era halftrack motorcycle), the two girls struggle against the elements, scrounge for food and gasoline, and occasionally come across other people and living creatures. This is a slice of life with cute, moe blob girls that has been dumped into an environment that is the opposite of normal for the genre. But rather than becoming some bleak, nihilistic tale of innocence being lost, the journey of Chito and Yuuri becomes a refutation of nihilism, full of hope, adventure and discovery. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/82VR2us.png)~~~ There are over seven billion people on the planet, hundreds of billions of stars in the Milky Way, and over a hundred billion (observable) galaxies in the universe. For one individual, that knowledge is often enough to make them feel completely insignificant and like their life can’t possibly have significant meaning, which is the feeling that nihilism as a philosophy attempts to capture. If, in the grand scheme of things, we are all insignificant, nothing we do matters and we’re going to die, why bother caring about anything? Girls’ Last Tour counters by asking very basic questions: why can’t individuals ascribe their own meaning to life? There may not be an intrinsic, universal meaning, but what if individuals find their own purpose? Isn’t that meaningful, and doesn’t that make life worth living? One of the characters the girls run into, Kanazawa, is a map maker. In the grand scheme of things, making maps of a dead world that nobody will ever see or use could easily be called meaningless. But it gives him a purpose and keeps driving him forward. To Kanazawa the fact that nobody will see his maps doesn't bother him, and he doesn't really care when the maps do end up being useful. He just wants to map the world and preserve knowledge. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/z7W2J4A.png)~~~ ~~~_It's fruit flavored_~~~ Another character, Ishii, is driven by her desire to build a plane so she can fly. She’s building this plane in the ruins of a dying world where planes used to be commonplace, but her desire to fly isn’t erased by some looming sense of universal insignificance or futility; Ishii’s purpose is to build a plane and fly, and that gives her life meaning. The philosophy of Girls’ Last Tour is beautiful, not bleak; regardless of the state of the world or the significance of what you want, finding something to drive you forward is enough to make life worth living. Yes, as individuals we may not have much impact and yes, we’re going to die one day – but those two things only emphasize the importance of the time we have. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/b7kKMBF.jpeg)~~~ ~~~_The long lost sister of Orville and Wilbur Wright_~~~ That “something” that keeps driving people forward can also be a relationship. Although both Chito and Yuuri have other interests – such as Chito’s love for history and Yuuri’s love for fun and food – it becomes clear by the end of the show that the bond these two share is what keeps them looking forward to the next day, no matter how low on food they may be running or how cold it may be. They may be nothing alike (despite each having moments where they come to understand the other’s point of view), but they want to experience the world and new things together. Chito and Yuuri also contribute to the brilliance of the setting being post-apocalyptic; things the viewer may find quotidian or unexciting, such as a shirt button or radio, are treasures to the girls who have never seen these things before. A fish, something I could go to the grocery store and buy in less than five minutes, is something the two have no prior knowledge of, sparking mundane, almost childlike, babble about living in water and living creatures that aren’t human that’s utterly brilliant. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/QNDWqRQ.jpeg)~~~ ~~~_Chito and Yuuri discover the wonders of alcohol - together_~~~ Girls’ Last Tour touches on many other themes besides purpose and meaning. Religion, art, death, war, literature, culture, and really what it means to be “human” are all examined to some degree. As someone who is deeply interested in science-fiction, however, the most interesting topic to me, and the one I want to use as an example for what the show does, was the attempt to define “life” using artificial constructs. Two of the few characters I haven’t yet discussed to some extent are two robots, one made to maintain buildings and the other made help at an aquarium and maintain fish. To the people who made them, they were tools, created with the intention of making the lives of humans easier. They would never have been considered “alive”. To Chito and Yuuri, however, they’re much more than just tools. The conclusion they reach isn’t that life is determined by biology, or what physically keeps one’s body moving, but is instead determined by whether or not a something has a purpose, can adapt or change, and has the potential to die. This definition seems ludicrous and runs contrary to basically everything someone who has taken even a high school level biology course will tell you – but after watching what happens, it’s hard to say Chito and Yuuri are strictly wrong. This exploration of a few core themes is what makes the writing of Girls’ Last Tour so great; Chito and Yuuri stumble across things that we, the audience, feel we understand but they are clueless about. They then proceed to draw conclusions that are radically out of line with our preconceptions, but at the same time make total sense and can cause the audience to question whether or not the way we think is “correct”. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/la8yGE0.jpeg)~~~ Girls’ Last Tour threw characters that belong in a slice of life into the apocalypse to examine deeper themes, and visually the show plays with that dichotomy as well. Whether the setting is a dank factory littered with boilers and pipes, a haunting cityscape that’s long past the brink of collapse, or an eerie open area with a fresh cover of snow, Chito, Yuuri and their kettenkrad stick out like a sore thumb. The background art is amazing, but regardless of how detailed and how vast it seems the spotlight is placed on the two girls, and they are always impossible to miss; this is their story and their journey through the world, and we just have the privilege of watching from afar. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/skn2smr.png)~~~ I also just love the character designs themselves, which are surprisingly complex. The eyes are the most notable feature of the girls, with Chito’s large, round pitch black irises and Yuuri’s oblong, sky-blue retinas telling the audience everything they need to know about the two girls – Chito is inquisitive, constantly taking in her surroundings and potential meaning, whereas Yuuri couldn’t care less about anything other than exploring, eating and having fun. I want to also touch on the sound design, because it’s amazing in its own right. The actual sound effects of the show are spot on – the grinding of gears, hissing of steam, everything just sounds perfect and contributes so much to the atmosphere. But shows have had good sound design before and future shows will have it again. I can count on one hand, however, the number of shows with OSTs that even compare to that of Girls’ Last Tour. First of all, the OP, ED and several insert songs are sung by the actors for Chito and Yuuri (Inori Minase and Yurika Kubo respectively), both of whom do a fantastic job not only in their roles but also with the music. Every single song is perfect. The opening, “Ugoku, Ugoku” (which features cute anime girls dabbing), and ending, “More One Night” (which was literally drawn and animated by the mangaka and is amazing), are both up-tempo and poppy, relying heavily on electric instruments and clean sounds. ~~~webm(https://i.imgur.com/2BgQft3.mp4)~~~ ~~~_Yuuri must have eaten an extra ration bar again_~~~ However, it was “The Song of Raindrops”, an insert/one episode ending, that totally blew me away. To people today, raindrops plinking outside can be perceived as a hindrance. It means sports games get cancelled, that the volume on the TV needs to be a little louder, that it might be a little harder to get to sleep. To Chito and Yurri, however, the sound of raindrops plinking against different metal objects is the some of the only music they’ve ever heard. There are no traditional instruments, it’s just the plinking of metal and singing. Even without the singing though, it’s once again hard to say Chito and Yuuri were wrong to call the falling rain music – The Song of Raindrops stands out to me because, in addition to being a genuinely touching song, it represents one of the fundamental ideas of the show, finding beauty in the benign. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/flIiyEQ.jpeg)~~~ ~~~_The conductors and their orchestra_~~~ If you asked me “what movies have you seen in theatres over the last five years”, I’d be hard pressed to answer. I remember going to the theatre dozens of times, but what I remember is the experience of being at a theatre, not the actual film. A lot of media today is just in one ear and out the other – you watch it, think “oh that was nice”, and then forget about it until the inevitable sequel. After I finished the final episode of Girls’ Last Tour the show was still stuck in my head (and its music on my Youtube playlist). So a few weeks later I went and read the manga. And then a few weeks after that I read Shimeji Simulation, the other work of the mangaka tsukumizu (side note: worth checking out). And then a few weeks after that I rewatched the show. I loved basically every second of Girls’ Last Tour. I wouldn’t call it the best show of all time, or even my favorite, but I will call it unique, brilliant, uplifting, unforgettable and a masterpiece.
~~~__Cualquier obra artística o audiovisual es un reflejo de la propia experiencia de su autor o autora, los autores ya sea en mayor o menor medida dejan pequeños trazos de su propia realidad en aquellas ficciones en las que nos sentimos reflejados marcan sus huellas a ser historias cuyo objetivo es comprenderse mejor a ellos mismos buscar comprensión y empatía en personas que no siempre logran comprender sus sentimientos o simplemente luchar por agrandar su propio ego, porque al fin y al cabo son estos detalles los que hacen que un artista sea siempre recordado por aquellas personas que terminan consumiendo sus pensamientos__.~~~ ~~~webm(https://i.gyazo.com/e5198a9ebedf54358fd05c63ab4f811a.mp4)~~~ __Girls' Last Tour__ por muy simple que pueda parecer en una primera instancia, me parece una declaración de intenciones en toda regla cuyo peso narrativo se centra por completo en lo audiovisual, aún no sabemos nada de la serie y lo primero que se muestra es como una fábrica silenciosa de un tamaño descomunal está a punto de venirse abajo por la sola presencia de dos niñas pequeñas y un Kettenkrad diminuto. tenemos una atmósfera cuyo diseño sonoro potencia ese sentimiento de desolación y abandono un edificio que se está cayendo a trozos y que podría derrumbarse por cualquier tontería y un vehículo cuya existencia está claramente ligada a una temática Bélica esta es la forma con la que Girls' Last Tour presenta su contexto post apocalíptico y que gracias a la presencia de la música y la conversación de preocupada de sus img(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-725-0184-22%2C_Russland%2C_Soldaten_auf_Kettenkrad.jpg) protagonistas consigue desligarse rápidamente del género de acción cuya presencia es algo habitual en los animes de este tipo, esto es un Slice of Life y más completamente un subgénero de este conocido como __ Iyashikei__ en donde el objetivo principal es el de transmitir una tranquilidad absoluta al espectador hasta el punto de ser considerado como algo curativo. el placer de subir a la montaña y disfrutar de las vistas y una buena comida el aire limpia del entorno rural y la tranquilidad de cada uno de sus rincones y si hay un factor común que engloba este género es al optar por un disfrute en donde lo importante es el aquí y el ahora y es por ello que este tipo de animes siempre intentan evitar cualquier tipo de trama compleja que haga que el espectador tenga que pensar más de la cuenta o que simplemente lo desconecte de la serie. ~~~img(https://apieceofanime.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/girls-last-tour.jpg)~~~ El Núcleo Girls' Last Tour se basa por completo en los pilares de este género pero hay un pequeño factor que hace que toda esta premisa se venga abajo y es que por mucho que pueda parecer que su objetivo es hacernos sentir bien ver y así que hay de Girls' Last Tour no termina de encajar por el simple hecho de intentar ir más allá dado que Girls' Last Tour trata sobre un viaje que pretende hacernos pensar. la autora de la obra original __Tsukumizu__ una persona que no comenzó a dibujar manga hasta su segundo año de universidad, su objetivo por aquel entonces era convertirse en profesora de arte mientras que lo dibujar manga fue simplemente algo que se puso en su camino es por ello que sus influencias a diferencia otros muchos mangakas no sólo se reducen al mundo del manga y anime, sino que también tiene muy en cuenta a otros tipos de expresiones artísticas un __viaje da la respuesta sea ya que la propia travesía y no en el destino__ puede sonar algo retorcido pero en sus ilustraciones deja bien claro que le gusta el cine de __Tarkovsk__i y la película de __Stalker__, el diseño de la ciudad vertical desolada cuya estructura se divide en estratos es una influencia directa de __Blame__ el Manga de __Tsutomu Nihei__, ese cementerio del episodio 8 es literalmente una escultura de __Richard Serra__ img(https://ep00.epimg.net/elpais/imagenes/2016/05/21/eps/1463781640_146378_1463781640_noticia_normal.jpg) mientras que el __Kettenkrad__ que acompaña a las protagonistas durante toda la obra es cosa de Salvar al Soldado Ryan, incluso me atrevería a decir que su papel es similar al de __Agro en Shadow of Colossus__. el anime moderno se ofrece muchas carencias y una de ellas es haber perdido por completo la variedad o frescura de sus propias influencias, en la actualidad o son autorreferenciales dentro de la misma industria a modo de guiño o cómico, o simplemente se limitan a copiarlas hasta la saciedades. Si __Girls' Last Tour__ se mantiene fresco y novedoso es precisamente por no imitar esta tendencia estúpida que no hace más que reflejar la falta de creatividad actual de la industria japonesa, y es que la primera obra de Tsukumizu además de ser un lugar donde poder relajarse y gozar de todas estas influencias a nivel artístico y narrativo es un lugar donde poder __"Filosofar"__. En el siglo antes de Cristo los temas relativos a la filosofía o el conocimiento en general no tenian el mismo tratamiento del que gozan hoy en día, __Los Sofistas o Maestros de la Sabiduría__ eran las personas que se encargaban de transmitir dichos conocimientos, sin embargo eran astutos por lo que iban a comisión y es por ello que sólo las personas más pudientes de la __Antigua Grecia__ podían acceder a sus enseñanzas siempre y cuando hubiese dinero de por medio, es en este contexto en el que aparece __Sócrates__ un filósofo que no sólo decidió centrar su Filosofía en el propio ser humano y la Verdad de todo aquello que le rodea, sino que también daba de lado a esa comercialización del conocimiento tan propia de los Sofistas a esta dispuesto a conversar con cualquier persona que estuviese interesada para él. img(https://elvuelodelalechuza.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/1u_olhttnqsou2ajrq6bjiw.jpg?w=643&h=499) El conocimiento se adquiría a través de la conversación con los demás haciendo que la participación activa de ambas personas y el planteamiento de distintas preguntas fuesen el único método para alcanzar la Sabiduría Sócrates, hizo que la concepción que se tiene sobre la filosofía cambiase por completo haciendo que cualquier persona fuese partícipe de ésta y que todo lo relativo al ser humano fuese materia digna de estudio como dijo __Pierre Hadot:__ ~~~__ "Fue el primero en mostrar que en todo tiempo y en todo lugar en todo lo que nos sucede en todo lo que hacemos, la vida cotidiana da la posibilidad de filosofar." __~~~ Porque Girls' Last Tour es un ejemplo del pensamiento Socrático cada uno de los episodios del anime o capítulo del manga encierran una serie de conversaciones en donde distintas cuestiones, sobre el mundo que rodea a las protagonistas da lugar a una conclusión sobre un tema relativo al ser humano, el hambre, el concepto de hogar, la seguridad que nos ofrece la rutina, del placer de la música para los sentidos, e incluso la propia muerte son algunos de los temas que aparecen durante toda la serie y el hecho de que funcionen tan bien es gracias a las bases en las que se sostiene esta obra. img(https://animepsy.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/5a03df61cc2ea.jpg) __Chii y Yuu__ son dos personajes que han sido creados con el tema de filosofar en mente, son dos niñas pequeñas que apenas saben nada del mundo y las experiencias que van viviendo en este que están completamente libres de todo tipo de prejuicios, y qué gran parte de la obra se la pasan sin compañía o simplemente no han vivido lo suficiente como para tener una opinión sobre ciertas cosas. La actitud lógica cauta y curiosa de Chii se complementa la perfección con la personalidad más instintiva de Yuu haciendo que siempre se crea una discrepancia entre el punto de vista de ambos personajes y que por consecuente se genere una pregunta esa pregunta es lo que Sócrates planteaba como forma de alcanzar el verdadero conocimiento. y si Girls' Last Tour es capaz de montar de la base de la religión en apenas 10 minutos es gracias a que __Tsukumizu__ es muy consciente de todo lo que está haciendo, plantar a dos personajes cuyas actitudes son opuestas y a su vez complementarias en un mundo en el que cualquier experiencia es todo un descubrimiento es el escenario perfecto para filosofar sobre temas que forman parte de nuestro día a día. Es un elemento común cuya presencia destaca a lo largo de toda la obra es la postura de los personajes a la hora de afrontar el objetivo que define sus vidas todo el mundo en __Girls' Last Tour__ algo a lo que agarrarse una meta final que da sentido a su existencia y que les permite seguir viviendo en un mundo desolado donde claramente no queda rastro de esperanza. __Chii y Yuu__ deben llegar al estrato más alto de la ciudad, __Kanazawa__ baso la cartografía su vida y viaja elaborando mapas e __Ishii__ no sería nadie sin su sueño de surcar los cielos y lo mismo ocurre con el __Pequeño Robot__ que trata de mantener vivo al pez o lo mismo ocurre con la __Inteligencia Artificial__ que trabaja como guía. todos ellos tienen un objetivo a largo plazo que les ayuda seguir adelante, sin embargo __la distinción entre los personajes protagonistas y el resto de secundaria recae en cómo ambos grupos afrontan el camino hasta llegar a su destino__. Tsukumizu ofrece una serie de opciones bajo el pretexto de querer hacernos reflexionar porque ser un Iyashikei y basarse en el pensamiento socrático es algo más que respetable pero el verdadero objetivo de Girls' Last Tour es hacer filosofar sobre una simple pregunta, # ~~~__ Cómo quieres vivir tu propia vida?__~~~ img(https://s.rfi.fr/media/display/8bfaba7a-1052-11ea-a543-005056a99247/w:1280/p:1x1/albert_camus.jpg) En una de sus reflexiones sobre el sentido de la vida __Albert Camus__ afirmaba que la única pregunta importante de cara a la filosofía guardaba relación con el suicidio, cómo es posible que una persona no acabe suicidándose si tiene que vivir en un mundo lleno de sufrimiento que carece por completo de significado, __para ilustrar todo esto Camus se apoyó en la mitología griega y dio luz a lo que se conoce como el mito de Sísifo.__ img(https://marcosyanez.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/S%C3%ADsifo-Tiziano.jpg) Sísifo vera una persona que hizo enfadar a los Dioses y como castigo además de quedarse completamente ciego fue condenado empujar una enorme piedra hasta la cima de una montaña, sin embargo una vez alcanzado su objetivo la roca volvería a descender haciendo que Sísifo, entrase en un bucle eterno en donde una vida absurda carente de cualquier significado llena de sufrimiento lo acompañaría hasta el fin de sus días , de esta forma Camus planteaba la filosofía del absurdo y afirmaba que el único motivo por el que Sísifo no se suicidaba era porque a pesar de estar completamente ciego, conseguía imaginarse el bonito paisaje que tenía a su alrededor una vez alcanzada a la cima, este pequeño momento de felicidad hizo que Sísifo evadiese el suicidio y que a pesar de tener que repetir su tarea hasta los últimos días de su existencia merece la pena seguir viviendo. img(https://64.media.tumblr.com/5a2ac01f40d578bfa3d1ad69b9e2f145/tumblr_ozya8mmkSP1sxkjwwo1_540.gifv) El mundo de Girls' Last Tour es un paisaje completamente desolado donde la vida en vistas de la poca esperanza que queda ha pasado a ser algo completamente absurdo y falto de significado al igual que Sísifo, Chii y Yuu logran salir adelante gracias al disfrute de esos pequeños momentos que les depara su viaje haciendo que el sentido de sus vidas no se centre en llegar a la planta más alta de la ciudad para encontrar un significado sino disfrutar de los pequeños placeres hasta cumplir dicho objetivo, llegar a la planta superior al igual que Sísifo fue transportando la piedra hasta la cima es algo que carece de significado puesto que la verdadera esperanza que hace que las niñas puedan seguir adelante al igual que el Griego condenado son los placeres hedonistas, con los que consiguen evadir el suicidio sin embargo esto es algo que sólo se puede aplicar a las dos protagonistas dado que como ya hemos dicho antes la distinción entre los personajes protagonistas y el resto de secundarios recae en cómo ambos grupos afrontan el camino hasta llegar a su destino. __Tsukumizu__ hace especial hincapié en el __Hedonismo__ como principal forma de entender la vida donde la búsqueda de placeres a corto plazo a través de pequeños estímulos son más que suficientes para poder seguir adelante y ser feliz. Cocinar tu propia comida para después disfrutarla, gozar de una buena conversación en compañía, incluso tomarse un baño relajante entra dentro de lo que serían los placeres __Hedonistas__ sin embargo si echamos la vista al resto de personajes de la serie veremos que su forma de entender la vida es completamente distinta __la vida de Kanazawa, Ishii y el Pequeño Robot y la Inteligencia Artificial está completamente definida por la tarea u objetivo que desarrollan a largo plazo y si ésta llega a desaparecer en algún momento su existencia dejará de tener sentido__ en términos de Psicología sería algo parecido a la __Eudaimonia__ donde la felicidad de una persona se consigue a largo plazo y el desarrollo personal juega un papel esencial en el sentido de nuestras vidas tanto __el Hedonismo como la Eudaimonia__ son de forma distinta de entender la vida y ambas se hacen un hueco en esta obra tan particular. para hacernos reflexionar sobre nosotros mismos, pero el peso que acarrea en estos conceptos psicológicos no sólo pretende hacer pensar al espectador dado que todos esos personajes situaciones y preguntas que buscan desesperadamente una respuesta existen también para poner un poco de orden en la mente de su autora. img(https://marshmellowpastel.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/kanazawa-1.png?w=1024) img(https://i0.wp.com/anotheranimereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/ishii11.jpg?w=640&ssl=1) En una entrevista que le hicieron tras publicar el primer tomo de __Girls' Last Tour Tsukumizu__ dijo que la serialización de su manga le roba demasiado tiempo como para poder hacer todo aquello que quería, pero que aun así era capaz de disfrutar de pequeños momentos divertidos cómo dar un paseo con su perro o tomar un baño sin embargo meses antes de que comenzase a emitirse su adaptación al anime tiene lugar a cierta polémica. img(https://images5.alphacoders.com/108/thumb-1920-1083488.jpg) Como consecuencia de un Tuit en el que daba a conocer unas supuestas tendencias suicidas el cual evidentemente no tardó en borrar, para no causar problemas a la producción de la serie no siempre es sencilla encontrar una vía de escape que nos facilite el camino hasta la cima y sobre todo cuando la roca que nos toca levantar es una tan pesada como la serialización de un manga en Japón. son muchos los artistas que han terminado enfermando por pura sobreexplotación y cuyas quejas en torno horarios y pobres condiciones laborales muestran cómo está Profesión puede llegar a entenderse como algo parecido a la __Esclavitud Voluntaria__ la importancia tan especial de una obra como Girls' Last Tour no sólo reside en la variedad de temas que presentaba el atrevimiento de hacernos cuestionar nuestro mundo sino que al mismo Girls' Last Tour supuso una catarsis para su propia autora, su personaje de ficción ya no sólo forman parte de una historia sino que también son el espejo que desnude el mundo interior de su creadora y lo expone al juicio de un público en busca de comprensión. img(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/33/40/f9/3340f912928e92ce6f3fe51c492ba73c.gif) __Tsukumizu__ encontró en los placeres Hedonistas una forma de sobrevivir a esa enorme y pesada roca que supuso el dedicarse a la publicación de un manga a través de su obra crítica los riesgos de centrar tu vida en el destino dejando a un lado lo gratificante que puede llegar a ser el propio viaje, gran parte de su personaje secundario se acaba fracasando, sí pero su visión nunca llega a condenarse de forma absoluta dado que en cierto modo todos nosotros vamos a ocupar su lugar en algún momento de nuestra vida. __El instituto o la universidad o el trabajo en la vida adulta pueden convertirse en la roca que tengamos que transportar, pero es muy importante saber alzar la mirada una vez alcanzada la cima para así poder disfrutar del paisaje.__
Un jour, sans raison particulière, l'humanité s'est effondrée. Ne reste alors que d'immenses cités d'acier et de rouages, chuintants faiblement par moments, comme pour nous rappeler qu'elles ont encore des sursauts de vie. Au milieu de ce chaos sans haut ni bas, ou les cités sont empilées les unes sur les autres, deux jeunes filles déambulent et tentent de survivre. Ces deux êtres adorables, au cours de leur voyage, découvrent et redécouvrent ce qui faisait le quotidien de nombres d'entre nous. La froideur et le ton grisâtre des couloirs qu'elles empruntent font ressortir leur bouilles rieuses, et le gigantisme des mégastructures post-industriel qu'elles traversent rappellent leur petitesse. Des différentes thématiques que traite l'œuvre, beaucoup font figure de redondance, de vue et revu, mais certaines arrivent à sortir du lot. En observant sagement Yuri et Chi débattrent sur le pourquoi du comment l'humain s'est retrouvé dans cette situation, l'importance des souvenirs que l'on laisse derrière soi, il émane surtout une question que je trouve ici très intéressante et trop peu exploitée dans le genre du post apo: Ou va t'on et que fait on, quand il n'y a absolument plus trace d'humanité nulle part ? Généralement, il y a toujours une raison qui pousse le protagoniste à aller d'un point A à un point B: cela va de la solution pour sauver l'humanité, à simplement trouver le dernier bastion encore debout. Bref, comme si il était presque évident qu'il fallait une raison, un point de fuite, une solution finale, pour motiver nos protagonistes à avancer quelque part. Mais ici, il n'en est rien. Nos deux jeunes filles ne font tout simplement que errer à la recherche de nourriture et d'un coin chaud, rien de plus. Conscientes de leur finitude et de celle de la société qui les a vu naître, elles effectuent un voyage sans réel objectif défini, si ce n'est leur mort. Oui, vous l'avez bien compris et le ton est donné d'emblée : Seule la mort peut illustrer une conclusion au voyage de Yuri et Chi. Si ce ton lugubre peut déplaire, il offre cependant un certain souffle de nouveauté dans un genre bien souvent simplifié à aller d'un point A à un point B. Ici, pas de destination, seul importe le voyage. En ce qui concerne le manga, que j'ai lu dans la foulée, le trait d'abord étrange et brouillon m'a un peu dérouté, mais j'ai fini par grandement l'apprécier, pour finalement lui trouver un air enfantin. (Dans le bon sens du terme) N'hésitez pas à me faire des retours sur mes critiques, ça fait toujours plaisir. Vu que je dois atteindre le quotat des 2100 lettres, je partage ici une anecdote hors sujet sur ma vie trépidante: Un de mes premiers jeux d'horreur a été Dead Space sur Xbox 360, j'ai jamais eu aussi peur de toute ma vie.
This Review contains spoilers so read at your own caution, I will try my best to not give out major spoilers.
Post-apocalyse fiction is a surprisingly versatile genre. From zombie survival to natural disasters, from tales of humanity at war with itself to tales of humanity rising from the ashes, there’s a lot you can explore after the fall of civilization. As time goes on, though, I’ve found that my favorite sub-genre of post-apocalypse fiction involves stories that explore the very very end. Not just a world where society has collapsed, but a world that is, itself, staring down the barrel of its own demise. Maybe that’s just the sick, twisted freak in me, but I find something deeply compelling about stories that ask us to bear witness to the dying days of existence as we know it. When life itself is almost over, what purpose is left to pursue? What goal is left to fight over? How does one find meaning at the end of all things? These are heavy, heady questions, but when a story has the guts to ask them and the skill to answer them, the impact it leaves on me is second to none. And few stories in recent memory have pulled that off as spectacularly as Girls’ Last Tour. To be honest, though, calling Girls’ Last Tour “spectacular” feels like doing it a disservice. Not because it’s inaccurate- it’s fucking great- but because it misrepresents what makes this show so powerful. To me, calling something “spectacular” suggests a high-impact, high-octane thrill ride that will have you cheering and crying at the intensity of the, well, spectacle unfolding before you. And Girls’ Last Tour is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. It doesn’t seek to shock and awe, but to envelop you in its tone and themes, slowly marinating you in them until they permeate every fiber of your being. It’s the kind of show that creeps into your subconscious and unlocks emotions in you so raw and primal you struggle to put them into words. This anime _affected_ me, on a deep, intimate level few anime ever reach. And it did so not with shocking plot twists or epic battles, but with two girls traveling a dying earth, contemplating their place in life as they explore the bones of a world long since faded into the past. That sentence basically sums up the entire plot. Chi and Yuu are two girls set adrift in a world where life as we know it has all but ended. All that remains are a series of giant super-structure cities, stacked on top of each other in massive plains of metal, and a near-perpetual snowfall that blankets the wasteland outside in a cold, desolate white (Between this, Wolf’s Rain, and Vampire in the Garden, I’m starting to realize that post-apocalyptic steampunk ice worlds are one of my all-time favorite aesthetics). There are no signs of life, no pockets of civilization, no way to fix what’s been so thoroughly broken. The world ended long ago; all that’s left now are the last few fading embers struggling to stay alight. But Chi and Yuu carry on all the same, rolling through the endless supercity in their miniscule tank, searching for a path to the highest level for some unknown reason. Along the way, they contemplate the ruins of the world that was, stumbling across relics of what used to be in abundance- a fish, a temple, a house, a camera, the concept of music, the rare encounter with another living thing- and wonder what all this must have meant to the humans who lived here so long ago. It wouldn’t be _wrong_ to describe Girls’ Last Tour as a cute-girls slice-of-life show. Chi and Yuu are both adorable moeblobs with character designs that wouldn’t look out of place in Hidamari Sketch, and the show is all about them having episodic encounters with new and interesting situations. It’s just that the cute thing these girls are doing is pondering the meaning of life itself in a world where life is all but at its end. Or at least, Chi ponders it; Yuu’s content to just go with the flow and live for her next mealtime. And that push and pull between them lies at the heart of this show’s thematic power. Through Chi and Yuu’s intimate, bickering chemistry and the different ways they approach the world, Girls’ Last Tour asks us to consider: which is more important, the past or the present? Should be contemplate and record what used to be, even if no one will eventually be left to see it? Should we forget the past entirely and enjoy our too-brief time alive before its over? In a world where everything is about to end, is it still worth it to find meaning in what’s come before, or should we cherish what little time we have in the here and now before it slips through our fingers? These questions are rarely stated aloud, but they hang over every transient episode in these girls’ lives. Every new object they find, every new person they talk to, every new concept they try to wrap their heads around, all of it bears the question of _why._ Why do these things matter? Why did people care so much about them? Why do we continue to care about them when their initial purpose is rendered meaningless? Why, in the end, do we live? And now that life itself is coming to a close and no one will be around to remember it, why was it worth living at all? The answers aren’t always painful; one of the greatest things about this show is how much joy there is to be found amidst the quiet, existential despair of a fading world. Simple actions like listening to the rain as it makes music by bouncing off various metal objects, or getting drunk and dancing under the moonlight, or Yuu drawing in Chi’s journal as a way of recording her own version of history, are able to rock you to your core with their understated sense of whimsy. Even when facing the end of all things, the human spirit remains as it ever was: curious, hopeful, forever reaching for the understanding that lies just beyond its grasp. And perhaps that’s the best way to describe what makes Girls’ Last Tour so goddamn affecting. It’s a story that finds peace in the end of all things, not because it’s a release from a painful existence, but because it knows that we will continue to find a reason to live right up until it’s all over. It knows that everything will end someday, but it trusts us to make the most of the time we have left, whatever detours we end up taking along the way. It’s the ultimate artistic expression of that one Dr. Seuss quote: don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened. Nothing is eternal, not people, not planets, not even existence itself. But right now, we’re still here. So let’s live and love and wonder and wander and find peace in the meaning we make ourselves. And when it’s finally over, let’s go out with a smile on our face, content in the knowledge that it was worth being alive after all. That is the message of Girls’ Last Tour, in all its moments of joy and sorrow alike. And it’s a message that will linger with me every time I think back to these two girls far in the future, searching for meaning in the long-forgotten ruins of my current existence. If there’s anything to criticize about this show, it’s that it’s sadly incomplete. The anime only adapts the first two thirds of the manga, and while it comes to about as perfect an ending as it could under the circumstances, the realities of cours-based anime production make it unlikely we’ll ever see the manga’s final two volumes animated. And that is a fucking crime, because without spoiling anything, the final third of the Girls’ Last Tour manga solidifies it as my favorite manga of all time. Don’t get me wrong, the stuff this adaptation covers is plenty fantastic, and the anime does an incredible job bringing the manga’s melancholy aesthetic to life (it honestly feels like an early 2000s Kino’s Journey-alike in its animation and direction, though with much better CG integration and digital compositing). But the way the manga develops and resolves in that final stretch laid me out on the floor like almost nothing else. It is a masterpiece like none other, and it’s deeply sad we’ll likely never see it adapted to completion. Though maybe that’s for the best, honestly; seeing those final chapters brought to life with the anime’s incredible presentation might just actually kill me. Still, if the worst I can say about an anime is that it doesn’t reach the absolute best part of its source material, I can’t really complain that much. Girls’ Last Tour the Manga may be the most complete version of this story, but Girls’ Last Tour the Anime stands on its own just fine. It’s a beautiful, breathtaking, achingly earnest rumination on our place in the world, from a scale as large as the sweep of human history to a scale as small as two girls finding happiness in a weird square potato. This may be, as the title says, these girls’ last tour, but I can’t think of any better journey to say goodbye with.
What makes a good post-apocalyptic story? The atmosphere. A dense and foreboding feeling that life was at one time much greater than it is today, but now all that's left is a hollow shell of a former civilization that you'll never be a part of. What makes the story of Girls' Last Tour (AKA Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou) great is not just the slice of lifestyle plot. It's the storytelling that makes it extraordinary. As Chito and Yuri explore the desolate city, they learn more about the setting, giving the audience helpful information to piece together the lore. The world they live in is implied to be Earth in the distant future after a war has wreaked havoc and left the world barren. Chi and Yuu spend each episode exploring, looking for supplies, and finding new aspects of their world that they had never known before. The show implies that they were born after the war because of the director's impressive ability to tell us about the characters in subtle ways. Whether it be how they react to finding something that would seem normal to people like us. For example, They find a fish at one point and can only identify it based on distant memories. From that simple interaction, we have enough information to infer that they have never seen live fish and most likely a body of water. Little details like this are all over the show. You'll constantly be learning about the world of Girl's Last Tour without a single line of exposition. I was impressed from beginning to end because of the well-executed story. Girl's Last Tour understands that simplicity is beautiful, and it shows us its understanding at any chance. The overarching plot is relatively simple and could be categorized as a slice of life by some standards. In every episode, the girls go somewhere new. They're constantly driving, after all. They make pit stops at a place each episode to refuel or investigate a new location. We gain insight into what Chi and Yuu know and comprehend about the world through their various pit stops. The show's foundation is the two main characters, Chi and Yu. If you don't like their chibi designs or childish personalities, chances are you won't enjoy Girl's Last Tour. For me, their childish look and goofy banter made the show incredibly pleasant despite taking place in a desolate post-apocalyptic world. Throughout their journey, they meet several enigmatic inhabitants of the city, all of which have interesting information to provide to the girls and the audience. Frequently CGI is used for the car that they drive, but the world has an undeniably arresting aesthetic. It's a bleak world with a color palette of primarily black, white, brown, and grey, but there is beauty in the lighting and great use of shadows. While the visuals may not inspire as much imagination as a show like Made in Abyss, they still tell a story. One of the best ways the director tells a story through visuals is his obsession with stairs. And I mean that in the best way possible. Every time the characters are shot climbing up in their little car, the scene has a double meaning. The further they rise, the more they learn about their world. In the show's very first scene, the lead characters are introduced to a dark cavern driving along as they always do. By simply shooting the characters in a visually compelling factory, the artists do a fantastic job of establishing that the story is about these childish characters and their journey to becoming adults. To complement the sprawling world and the mystical atmosphere is a mellow soundtrack. I do love the music, but it's really underused. Many scenes have no music at all, only very effective use of ambient sounds. A myriad of background noises adds to the atmosphere and believability of the show's world. While you're watching it, you feel like you're there. The whirr of the car engine, the clinking of metal, and the well-performed voices of Chi and Yuu make up much of the show's ambient sounds. Thanks to the great voice actresses of the lead characters, their personalities come across really well without the show ever needing to tell us explicitly about who the characters are. The show is effortlessly enjoyable, thanks to the voices. Slight inflections in their voices are enough to figure out what they're thinking without requiring unnecessary dialogue to explain things. I can't complain too much that the soundtrack was underused because the best songs were saved for the best scenes. During these critical moments, the melancholy soundtrack rises in volume until it becomes the only thing you can hear. It does a great job of hammering home the impact of some crucial scenes. The show lives and breathes the phrase, "The journey is more important than the destination." Even though it is a slice-of-life show, you're constantly being given details about the setting through Chito and Yuu as they learn more about the world on their journey. Some of the shenanigans they get into are funny. However, don't expect a comedy because it's mostly just a cute and uplifting tone that keeps it enjoyable. There are very few jokes. This is fine because it would probably drain all the tension from the moody atmosphere. An exciting setting and fantastic visual storytelling immediately make Girl's Last tour worth watching. Whether or not you will be immersed in the Girl's Last Tour world depends on how interested you are in the world and the journey the lead characters undergo. It's so content with simply being happy and heartwarming that I didn't feel like it was missing much. I like my slice-of-life shows with meaningful subtext, and Girl's Last Tour has that. The atmosphere is dense, the visuals are breathtaking, the audio engages you, and the mysterious setting offers something more substantial for you to chew on.
Girl's Last Tour is a story about the daily life of Yuuri and Chito, who struggle on the daily trying to survive their dire situation. However, they _always_ find something to be happy about, and i think this combination of melancholy and hope is what makes this a masterpiece. Honestly, when i first found this i had only heard that "it was good". I started one episode 1 at night before sleeping, cause i like to watch a couple episodes of whatever before bed, and ended up watching half of the show. The setting and atmosphere was really good, and i really liked the bond these two girls had. Next day i binged the rest first thing in the morning and going straight to finish the manga after finishing the anime. i won't lie, it made me cry. I'm not really good with words, so I'll just say what i think of it all. AMAZING show, underrated, i love the characters, their weird sci-fi world, their struggles, their moments of happiness. I really like how hopelessness and hope can coexists so perfectly, you see their world, broken and decaying, and yet they always find something to be hopeful about, for them, having each other is all the support they need to keep going forward to an uncertain future that from our angle just looks so hopeless and sad. Also, the soundtrack is amazing, the really went all out on selling us this world, which is also cool, by the way. From what i could gather, civilization was built on the ruins of another much more advanced one, it thrived, they learned to use the ancient technology, and killed themselves in the process. Nothing much is said about how the world got to that state, other than what was shown to us in the last episode of the anime, and i also think that's great: By showing us a world we can't fully understand, it's harder for us, as viewers, to think of a "better" outcome for our protagonists. How can we help them if we don't even know the full extent of their situation? The art direction is also gorgeous, and by that i not only mean the visuals, but the way the episodes are storyboarded, portrayed and laid out. I love how the amazing soundtrack perfectly complements each scene, and how it can captivate the viewer without any kind of dialogue from the characters. Honestly, i still have hope for a movie to finish the last 6 episodes of this anime, since the last 2 volumes of the manga could probably be told in that amount of time. so to close this out, i can just say: WATCH THIS, and then READ IT. honestly, incredibly underrated, needs more attention, or don't, i also get how this could be boring for some people, considering its slow paced, too depressing, or too "moe" due to their designs, but whatever personal problem with it you may find, i still implore you to give it a chance!
A series about two of the last humans trying to survive day by day in the decaying corpse of a world isn’t what I would typically associate with feelings of relaxed calmness, yet this is the odd blend that Girls’ Last Tour attempts to find. The series uses its seemingly juxtaposed elements to create a series that instills the viewer with a melancholic but soul-calming reflection over humanities history, culture, and life, then eventual death. I found that the series excelled at creating an excellent atmosphere for an iyashikei through solid design choices but felt shallow with characters, narrative elements, and most importantly, the show's attempts at profoundness. This overall made it difficult for me to connect with the series beyond a surface level. __Creating an engaging atmosphere__ Girls’ Last Tour’s best feature is in how an engaging atmosphere is created through competent design choices. The art excels at expressing the series themes with haunting sceneries of an empty, endlessly sprawling series that constantly remind you that death is imminent and constantly highlights the struggle to survive and press forward in the journey and muted colour palettes to add emphasis to the bleakness of the world. Most of the series audio elements were exceptionally crafted and absorbed the viewer into the scene. For instance, from my chair, I could really feel whenever a frigid gale was blowing in the show. Or when you could hear soft echoes of machinery at work, either as a hollow reminder of what was or meaninglessly working for a purpose long lost. It really added a fine touch to the atmospheric intent of the show. The only audio decisions I’m a bit torn on are the ‘cosy’ tracks, which occasionally play over scenes that are somewhat intense. It’s that juxtaposition the show is trying to go for, but in some regards it also removes tension, which could be gripping. You could argue either way for those tracks, but I’m not sure what would be better. With that said, these combined design choices make an interesting world that draws the viewer in, and if the series narrative, characteriszation, and philosophical elements were as strong, combined would have made a very memorable title. __Notable flaws__ The few side characters met in the world are fairly empty and devoid of all personality due to the limited time spent with them, but also as they are designed to serve as a representation of a theme rather than an actual human or character. Their concepts don’t lack intrigue, but once again the series chooses a shallow path of exploration, making them lacking in execution. But more importantly, the two central characters, despite being with them for 12 episodes, felt zero connection to them. They have fairly defined characters from the start, which is a good decision so the audience can understand who the characters are from the beginning and distinguish them from one another based on their values, fears, etc., but over the duration of the series, there is little to no meaningful expansion or growth of these personalities, which would make me attached to them as people and their struggles on screen. They feel more like a vehicle for the viewer to look through their eyes into an unfamiliar world than actual human characters that develop. A common expression is often exploited in the show, which is either “I heard this” or “read this in a book,” which is used by characters to supplement otherwise lacking knowledge, which, in a post-war torn world, would be hard for children to obtain. While there are in-universe reasons to explain this, it often feels like the series is cheapening out at what could be a more interesting series of events where the characters have to discover more for themselves. This is even done in certain episodes, like when the characters are learning what a camera is and how it works, and this I found to lead to more interesting discoveries for the characters, consequently creating more entertaining sequences for the audience. As I mentioned earlier, I felt that the various philosophical discussions the show presented were fairly shallow, offering little insight into the topic of the episode or scene. There are a couple reasons as to why I feel this is, and I find the series Kino’s Journey to be a perfect comparison to Girls’ Last Tour as their themes and premise are very similar, but Kino’s Journey is able to discuss philosophy, morality, ethics, etc. to a more meaningful level. The first comparison being the pacing of episodes. Some episodes focused on three ideas, items, or concepts, leading to their simply not being enough time to go into depth, as additionally the show's overall pacing is towards the slower end, meaning things including exploration and discussion take time before getting anywhere. This is fine for an iyashikei to do; it's part of the genre to take things slower, but Girls’ Last Tour feels a bit greedy in trying to balance both precisely. Whereas Kino’s Journey typically has a whole episode around one concept, allowing plenty of time to communicate to the audience the meaning of what they have watched. What is explored is another distinguishing feature, where in Girls’ Last Tour part of the shows charm could be considered in its discovery of the simplistic ideas and items, such as alcohol, a camera, a temple or a graveyard, etc., and then seeing Chito and Yuuri’s response to these; however, they are already concepts that the viewer would already be familiar with, whereas Kino’s Journey chooses to explore more niche complex ideas and perspectives that the viewer may not have considered before, keeping the viewer more interested as Kino’s Journey is an exploration not just for Kino and Hermes but for the viewer as well. The final main difference is setting. Whilst I have highlighted that Girls’ Last Tour’s setting is the best feature of the series, it does lack variety, which can limit the perspective provided to some of the themes and concepts, whereas Kino’s Journey has free reign over where certain discussions are had. Hopefully this comparison provides context as to why I feel that Girls’ Last Tour is sufficiently limited in its exploration of humanity, which I believe to be a core focus of the series. Perhaps more of a nitpick than the other points, it still bothered me nonetheless. The use of 3D in scenes with the main vehicle unfortunately stood out too much, with cuts between characters in 3D and 2D being relatively awkward, and the placement of the vehicle and character models in the 2D environment felt cheap. I understand that the series likely did this due to funding reasons, but regardless, as a viewer, it did remove me from the atmosphere of the scene at times. __Conclusion__ I didn’t hate this series, but I didn’t love it either. Which leaves me with some lingering feelings of mild disappointment, as it is a series I wish I enjoyed more. Additionally, I find this series to be a difficult sell to most anime watchers, as many will check out early due to the slow pacing and overarching lack of plot direction, and those looking for a profound series will likely find it lacking in depth, which I find myself aligning with the latter. However, for those interested in the niche atmosphere that this series can immerse the viewer in at its finest, this can certainly be an enjoyable experience that inserts itself as a memorable addition to the Iyashikei genre.