Heinzes' 2010s Anime Cleanup Series #1

>There's no point in the world. But isn't that wonderful? Because if there isn't one, then you can decide what it is for yourself.

Interestingly, what this show might’ve lacked in tonal consistency is made up for, almost wholly, by the flexibility and depth of its characters. Of course, the show would be a failure if these characters didn’t work well together in both affable slice-of-life and more philosophically-minded, meditative explorations. In its headier moments, Sora no Woto treads ground not dissimilar to other heavy-hitters which have come before, such as Haibane Renmei, or even the stable of early-aughts classics RahXephon and Wolf’s Rain, two shows from Studio BONES that are deeply invested in people, their methods of coping at the end of the world, and whether they can come to accept the outcomes of ruin and unmaking.

In a subversion of expectations, however, Sora no Woto is decidedly less adherent to Eastern philosophies of transience and surrender to impermanence, such as that of mono no aware, as would mostly be seen in Japanese media and anime, including those aforementioned. This series ultimately decides - in its moving final arc - that defiance in the name of preserving life, both for the self and others, is a braver, more humanistic path. The girls of the 1121st Platoon clearly owe more of their own life philosophies to Dylan Thomas than to Motoori Norinaga.

As compelling a project as placing this particular series within a generic lineage and categorization might prove to be, it proves ultimately more difficult in considering that virtually no other show has come along since to directly continue the project which Sora no Woto undertook, in that generic sense. However, the series itself is more invested in playing to emotional truths than developing narrative logic through expositing upon the mechanics and infrastructures of its light sci-fi setting. The influence of Sora no Woto ultimately proves to be more loudly and tangibly felt in the way it has contributed to the shaping of storytelling structures adopted by other episodic drama anime in the decade since, rather than any one specific strain of genre show it might have claim to belong to.
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Final Grade: B+