Apocalypse Hotel
a review by varkin
a review by varkin
Apocalypse Hotel, CygamesPictures’s latest hidden gem is an allegory of life. It's cozy, dramatic, hysterical, nonsense, hopeful… It may seem like a lot of adjectives, but it's still insufficient to describe the wide range of emotions and just the sheer power of this show. Embodied by its outstanding and creative production, this is an absolute must-watch, especially for fans of the iyashikei genre.
This review contains some light spoilers to explore and illustrate some of its themes, but nothing that will spoil your experience.
Due to a virus, humanity flew away from Earth in search of shelter. Amidst the chaos, the Gingarou Hotel owner finds himself obligated to entrust the establishment to his trustworthy and hardworking robot employees, promising that he would eventually come back. After all, humans are going to be out only for a while… or so they thought.
As years and decades pass without any visitors, the remaining robots continue their tasks to keep Gingarou functioning, because it doesn't matter how much time goes by; the hotel must always be prepared to receive new guests.
The anime’s main strength lies in its characters and interactions. Out of all of them, I mainly liked the robots, who since the beginning of the first episode have grabbed my attention. Seeing them perform their routine tasks perfectly and precisely, only to witness them lose control and descend into madness when something outside their logical programming happens, such as the lack of a shower cap (unacceptable!), works so well to give them a human touch and help build an emotional connection with them.
Yachiyo, our protagonist, is the hotel manager. She’s in command of the hotel and has an unwavering commitment to work and is extremely meticulous -- just as expected by a robot. Beyond the programming, one of her driving forces is the hope that someday humans will return to Earth: but that hope is constantly threatened as time passes and signs of human life become increasingly scarce.
Even then, amidst this desolate world, she and her companions continue to face their mundane everyday situations, with their heads held high. Someday, humans may (or may not) come back, but as of right now, the best they can do is continue to execute their tasks, living in the moment, in order to fulfill the Gingarou owner's promise.
From a human perspective, the Earth as we know it is gone, but thanks to the characters I never had the impression during my watchthrough that this world was completely dead and hopeless. And personally, I would say that nowadays hope is more important than ever: In a world where the Doomsday Clock is almost set to midnight and everybody’s nerves are on the edge, these characters can help us calm down and show that where there is hope, there is life.
Yachiyo initially has a very stiff and serious personality, but throughout the story we witness several encounters with some special guests from all over the place, which make her question what she really believes in. These encounters awaken (quite literally) new emotions and bring her closer to being human. And yes, I know. You probably have already seen this approach in a million other shows, but I would point out that Apocalypse Hotel works on this topic on a high note: the sudden shift from comedy to drama is made with such mastery that it causes emotional whiplash, amplifying many of the anime's sentimental moments. The epitome of this is undoubtedly episode 9, where the anime presents a marriage AND a funeral ceremony. It's unhinged, crazy, tearful and cheerful as well as inconsolable. It was an emotional roller coaster that played with many of my emotions, and it sure will play with yours too.
As aforementioned in the beginning, the anime also has an astonishing production: from enchanting and breathtaking sceneries to jaw-dropping battles, you can clearly see the amount of passion poured into this project by its team.
Apocalypse Hotel tackles hope, personal growth and much more, making for a delightful and endearing experience through this post-apocalypse world. All things considered, I would highly recommend that you follow Yachiyo’s story. She may be a robot, but her journey can remind us what being a human truly means.
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