Feb 28, 2018
It is the quiet and understated lives of these two characters that Girl's Last Tour drifts after and in its wake it drags me; an exhausted and perpetually busy college student. I'm so glad it did.
GLT was stunning, there's no other way to put it. Hyperbole is unnecessary in describing a work of genius, villains and long running plots are equally irrelevant in creating one apparently. Yes, the plot is barebones, it only follows the two leads as they wander somewhat aimlessly and hopelessly alone through a vast and unexplained world. However, this show makes the viewer care so much about so little. It's not
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just the cuteness factor (although that is there re:potato faces), Chi and Yuu are intensely relatable and endearing. I was invested in a very short time and their day to day life was as compelling as any battle packed action story. That is the crux of what works. Life is a day to day struggle full of unexplained phenomena, constant self doubt and mundanities. GLT recognises this and is so sincere in its depiction that boredom is an afterthought for the viewer. Not to say the episodic storytelling is plain, on the contrary it is colourful and very entertaining.
The setting is key here in evoking this pathos. The awesome and superbly vast nature of the surroundings provides a stark dichotomy to the lifelessness of the world and thus the isolation of the girls. Some truly inspired aesthetic choices, such as slanted city structures and strange magnificent devices, lend an always interesting backdrop and in their dwarfing of the small deuteragonists enhance the evocation of loneliness. I am drawn to the silence of their surroundings, the hints at unexplored depths and grand mysteries. I want so bad to see more of this world, enough that even were I not to give a shit about the pair (which is not the case at all) I'd still watch on like an idiot just to catch a glimpse of more; namely the unknown and what could be. That is storytelling. That is a setting worthy of this show.
Let me not fail to praise this show further. the characters and their philosophy are what truly kept me watching. They aren't just cute, they're individuals. Each stand on their own and the comedy (and passion) sparks from how they work off each other. Yuu's single mindedness and determined philosophy contrasts both comedically and dramatically with Chi's practicality, doubt filled nature and tendency to introspection. GLT constantly asks the question, what gives life meaning? More obviously, what is the point? Well this anime and these characters find meaning or at least enough of it to pursue living in their long odyssey. They take comfort in each other, in simply living. Other philosophical abstractions are considered but I won't get bogged down in all of them, safe to say they aren't ever trite or cliche.
What aids this relationship and their mediations is a beautiful and melancholic OST. It's much like the snow that falls, or the rain that clamours; natural and vagarious. When it's used, it is used in synchronicity with the scenes. Whether to encourage fear, sadness or wonderment, there is no sense of insincerity. In particular, certain ways they incorporate music is ingenious.
There are other technical factors to delve into but I'm no expert and would probably only muddy or poorly relate them. Suffice to say this show is expertly crafted. It is sad at times, elusive and occasionally frightening, yet is also pure and magnanimous. It soothed me and empathised with me. GLT is adorable and relatable and I goddamn adore it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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