[Music]
let's get something clear here there has
been sentiment within the anime
community thankfully small but still
loud segment of the community who
bemoans the existence of anime that they
describe only as boring cute girls doing
cute things type shows they hate them
because to them these shows even when
they have fun twists to them do not give
them any kind of entertainment and in
their mind it's just a waste space so if
you know anyone like that you need to do
me a solid right whether you have been
watching my videos for years or just
came to my channel today I'd like you to
do me the biggest favor take that person
you know who is like me sit them down
and watch this series with you because
in full honesty if they hate this series
if they hate on this series you need to
find better friends they can be neutral
towards this show or politely say that
it is not their thing that's fine but if
they hate this goodness with every fiber
of their being then you need to shut
them out of your life they are not a
good friend and this series is all about
good friends and if you are that person
who thinks that cute girls going on
adventures are not good enough for you I
still challenge you to watch this show
and if you make it through there might
be hope for you yet
ladies gentlemen and others my name is
Arcada
and welcome to today's glass reflection
where we are discussing a place further
than the universe let's jam
[Music]
a place further than the universe not to
be confused with a place promised in our
early days is a 13-episode anime series
by studio madhouse from the start of
2018 in brief it follows the story of
four girls who journey to the far
reaches of the earth in and arctica in
the trials that they face along the way
I was quite skeptical of how I would
feel about the series going into it
well yashka anime is quite literally my
jam and one of my favorite kinds of
series I am NOT one to think that they
will all be perfect or even something I
will enjoy the promotional art looked
really cute with the four main girls
behind this giant boat that'll take them
to their destination plus it's animated
by madhouse and I loved their last major
series about a boat in a far-off distant
location so just cute girls doing keep
things in Antarctica you might say wrong
well not actually wrong but not
technically right either
Antarctica itself is not really the
setting for the series just the
destination we don't even reach the
Arctic until the end of episode 9 most
of the story is about the journey though
the destination is just as important
because this series tries to
realistically answer the question okay
so we want to have four cute girls get
to Antarctica but how and perhaps even
more importantly why Antarctica has a
crap-ton of legal rules and
international treaties surrounding it
you can't just up and charter a boat to
sail there good luck with all the ice
and you can't fly there because good
luck finding a place blend so this show
has to tackle that first the how we
start off with our leader of the four
mati she's a second-year high school
student who just realized that her prime
years of youth are slowly but surely
slipping away from her something she's
really anxious about and wants to get
the most out of her youth but at the
same time she's too scared and timid to
actually take the plunge and do anything
about it
through chance she happens to come
across hace another high school
girl unloving Lee nicknamed Antarctica
because of her seemingly unhealthy
desire to reach the continent she
dossiers mother used to be an tart
scientists who even wrote a book about
the area titled a place further than the
universe
hashtag name-drop but unfortunately
several years prior her mother was part
of japan's first civilian expedition and
during a snowstorm was lost to the winds
never to be recovered she hace then
spent the next several years working as
many part-time jobs as she could to save
money as it might one day help her gain
passage to visit the last-known location
of her mother mati suddenly find a
purpose and an adventure to fulfill her
youth enthusiastically agrees to help
she da say in her quest to get aboard
the soon to launch follow-up civilian
mission to Antarctica they are joined by
you Sookie their meal ticket who is
being brought onto the expedition to
make a fun documentary series and also
Hinata who ok well the easy way to
describe her would be to say that she's
just brought along for the ride but
honestly that does her a disservice and
her own personal story and reasons for
going are some of the best in the series
so I won't spoil that for you when I
said that the series has a heavy focus
on friendship I suppose I should clarify
before the events of this series none of
these girls knew each other they were
not friends from childhood nor were they
all members of some high school club
that just wanted to go to the Antarctic
they each individually have their
reasons for going to this place further
than the universe and the story the show
tells over 13 episodes is a testament to
how easy it is to forge bonds over
shared experiences and we don't just see
the friendship between the four main
girls either we also have the bonds that
were forged by the previous Antarctic
team and how that affects their current
expedition when the daughter of their
dead friend comes along and begging to
go but there are other kinds of
friendships explored as well bad friends
worst friends a whole spectrum of
relationships and how they get affected
by distance desire and determination
I would say that the series is one
feel-good adventure but that wouldn't be
the truth of it there is this underlying
layer of depression in this series the
fate of Shaddaa says mother being a
large part of it and this depression
looms over the entire experience but how
this kind of darkness is dealt with is
just another part of this fantastic
story it's not something I would say
that you could put on in the background
to just lighten the atmosphere of a room
like some other yashka shows this is a
series that is meant to be focused on
and experienced what I like the most
about this adventure to the Arctic is
how it attempts to properly explain how
the events actually occur I'm used to
plenty of hand waving in these sorts of
shows to explain away the legitimate
problems with the setting in how our
characters get to doing the fun and cute
activities that the writers want them to
do but in this case it really does look
like a lot of time was spent in trying
to make the narrative as plausible as
possible there's just so much to the
story and these characters that make
sense from the situations involving
Isis backstory to all of the characters
and their interpersonal problems being
surprisingly relatable to the chemistry
that our cast is able to build with one
another despite only just having met
they don't fit together absolutely
perfectly and I'd like that a lot even
as they arrive in Antarctica there are
still problems within the group of them
that need to be addressed and solved for
their friendship to continue to grow and
grow it does if I had to come up with
some legitimate criticisms of the series
I would start off with something along
the lines of well we didn't get all that
much time in Antarctica itself I feel
like there was plenty about even just
the day-to-day life of living down there
that could have been way more explored
than it was they were supposed to be
stationed there for quite a while and it
feels like there were only there for
maybe a week I know this is a limitation
with how many
so it's the series head and I would
never suggest that the anime should have
instead cut out parts of the journey to
the Antarctic in lieu of more time being
spent there all of the journey was
important and the development it gave is
not something the show could have done
without the only other criticism I might
lay on the series would be mati just her
as a character and her general
motivations well it's cute to say that
at first she just wants an adventure and
how she's wasting her youth on high
school and such I feel like especially
at the start of the show it's a bit
blunt about it thankfully she does
eventually transition into a character
who just really wants to help out her
new friends and between that and the
tertiary plotline involving her own
friend from elementary school she ended
up having quite an interesting plot to
follow I just wish that she had a bit
more to flush out her as a person rather
than mostly being comprised of a
character that just helps others solve
their problems really though this is
another thing that might have been
solved with more time I suppose I could
say that I want another season but it's
hard to request that when I feel like
the story wraps itself up nicely by the
end of it I don't actually want a sequel
to this series what I wanted was just
for this season to be longer perhaps
some additional ova episodes down the
line that take place while they are
still down south would be good but I
won't hold out hope for that I'll just
be thankful for what we already have is
it however the best anime of 2018 well
it's been a contender since the start of
the year even if I didn't see much
traction for it until the series was
near its completion and personally it's
definitely deserving of the title but
considering 2018 s massive slew of
absolutely amazing series the answer to
that particular question if this series
will come out on top will have to be
something saved for another video
entirely but don't let that kind of
non-committal praise turn you away from
this series please don't let it turn you
away a place further than the universe
is far in a way a standout anime that is
absolutely
with your time it's wholesome adventure
to the Antarctic and back was a
literally moving tale about friendship
and determination and the hardiness of
the human spirit this is certainly a
series that I feel is too important for
you to ignore the bright warm light that
this show can bring your heart may be
fleeting but the beauty of these
friendships and this remarkable world of
snow and ice have become a tale that I
won't soon forget
thank you for spending the time to watch
this video on a place further than the
universe I hope you enjoyed it
there will be links down in the
description for you to watch the series
in the locations for which it is
available namely control in this case
for alternate anime recommendations if
you've already watched this show I will
start you off with another series about
impossible odds and characters doing
their best to overcome them space
brothers but in this case instead of
going to Antarctica space brothers is
about going to well space at 99 episodes
it might be a bit harder to swallow than
the quick afternoon adventure that this
13 episode series offers but let me
assure you that those 99 episodes are
worth every second second recommendation
is also from this year and it's actually
from the same season in fact and that is
laid back or you do camp there's not
much of a driving adventure to be had
here at least by comparison but
laid-back camp has that healing aspect
of the oshika genre so ingrained it's
hard not to love it from its very first
moments it really is up there as well in
good shows for this year so hopefully
between those two you can find something
into your life and lastly a very special
thank you to all of my patrons who not
only support my work in general but
allow me to do what I do I love and
appreciate you for specifically though
as I'd like to do I want to give
particular shoutouts to patrons
Callaghan Boy City amico Victor at mark
- bonaparte rune jacobson devin north
and joshua garcia for being especially
awesome you guys are great and until
next time ladies gentlemen and others
watch more anime
and stay frosty