Errinundra's Anime

Review

Alpha is a passive observer of events; never quite having the courage to photograph the beauty she is witnessing, as if doing so might spoil the experience. All the while the ebb and flow of the tides and the vagaries of the weather determine the course of protagonists’ daily lives. Despite the pervasive sense of decay, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou remains thoroughly optimistic. Music plays an important role in setting the mood. The folky, acoustic fare enhances the simplicity of the other elements of the anime. Simple doesn’t mean ordinary. Somehow the gentle flow of the story creates a powerful emotional response.

The fluid artwork gives a sense of the various elements of the landscape flowing together and co-existing naturally. There is also an exquisite play with light. Sometimes a scene is completely static except the lighting changes: a cloud passes overhead; or the sky turns from azure to lavender to navy blue at sunset; or, even in indoor scenes, exterior activity creates a change in light through a window. The best example is in the magnificent final scene. Alpha and an older woman are watching a sunset from a lookout above an abandoned city, which is half flooded, half reclaimed by forest. As the sun goes down, miraculously the lights of the city switch on, whether under water or amongst the trees. I think it is one of most beautiful moments I’ve ever seen animated. To me the sense of melancholy and beauty is irresistibly moving.