Visionary Nexus Network

It’s been awhile since I’ve found anything interesting to say because Fall 2009 was a low point because few shows managed to catch my interest and draw me in. Plus, it served as a good break given my heavy courseload. So, Fall goes by and I can’t really say I feel any sort of urgency to catch up. Time to turn a new page and start fresh.

And what a better target to pick on than K-ON! After all, K-ON! is pretty much the latest poster child for everything that’s wrong with anime, right? Cute characters with irritating one-dimensional personalities, a general sense of pointlessness about the plot, and nonexistent character growth. Basically, compare Hidamari Sketch to K-ON! and you’re looking at a world of difference in terms of quality and I’d argue that both aim towards the same general target audience.

Enter Sora no Woto with its similar general artistic style and its seemingly nonsensical foundation of a plot and you have a product that would be easy to write off. Unless you actually watched the first episode, that is.

The mythology of the world that they introduce to us creates that sense of expectation that something big is about to happen. Maybe this is experience kicking in, but when you have a sleepy, isolated outpost that has a local legend about 5 women who use their powers to rein in a great evil and when the principal cast is composed of 5 girls, it’s hard not to draw a few conclusions about the show’s direction. Because of this foreshadowing, Sora no Woto seemingly has a sense of purpose to it and this alone makes it a good reason to at least dive into the show and see where the director takes us.

Furthermore, the characters also show flashes of promise as well. Kanata could easily be written off as a Yui Hirasawa clone, except her thoughts and feelings seem more genuine somehow. There’s nothing superficial about her motivations to join this bugle squad and the way she approaches her tasks have an earnestness to it that is positively charming.

That’s not to say that I endorse this show wholly. There are still other characters that need to be introduced and I do feel the need to attune myself to this show’s rhythm (1 episode is hardly a good basis for making that call whether to keep up with it or not), but so far, Sora no Woto’s start has me cautiously optimistic. And that’s only a good thing.

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