Girls' Last Tour

Episodes 1-2

I'll admit that I'm not usually much into Cute Girls Doing Cute Things shows, so it's pretty strange to me that I'm digging Girls' Last Tour so much. There's not much to the show beyond that so far – although its premise might be more gruesome than most CGDCT fare.

The premise is that there's been some sort of world-ending apocalypse war, and now our heroines wander the wasteland as the only combatants left in each other's company. While “child soldiers wandering the ruins of civilization” doesn't sound like the most uplifting of topics, their adventures – which include attempts to survive a deadly blizzard, washing clothes in the first spring thaw, and navigating the innards of towering deserted factories – primarily trade in an atmosphere of coziness. The whole thing evokes the sensation of finally having arrived home late at night after a long day spent outside in the cold. It's remarkable just how effectively this show conveys the feeling of warmth seeping into your cold bones, the sensory qualities of hot cocoa, a cozy blanket, or a hot evening bath.

Our heroines, Chito and Yuuri, have a simple dynamic. Thoughtful Chito makes most of the team's decisions regarding survival, while ditzy Yuuri does the heavy lifting to carry out those decisions. However, this duo is effective less due to their personalities than to the sense of palpable companionship that they provide for one another on their lonely travels. The whole thing evokes the relationship of intimate dependence that you imagine you might form if there were only one other person in your life. Their existence may be sparse, but it's filled with simple joys, as the girls bear witness to intense natural beauty and make efforts to entertain one another. Their bond seems to transcend words, and there's something comfortable about that.

The production is really what makes this show work. This is 100% an atmosphere piece, and Studio White Fox has clearly put a lot of effort into these environments. Its depictions of mechanical sprawl and decay resemble the manga Blame!, if its imagery were punctuated by vast empty vistas rather than perpetual claustrophobia. The show is quite well animated – an impressive feat considering that the material didn't strictly require that – and it enhances the show's atmospheric qualities significantly. Seeing the girls shiver with cold and quiver with hunger does a lot to make me sympathize with their precise physical sensations, something that's crucial for these vignettes. Speaking of the girls, I'm not usually one for moeblobs, but the details of how they move and emote – their squishy blob faces in particular – are intensely adorable. It reminds me of last season's Made in Abyss but even more dynamic, and without that show's occasional uncomfortable sexualization. Their rounded, abstract character designs contrast nicely with the world, which is heavily detailed and angular. This all ties into the show's overarching sensory aims, which seem to be the evocation of comfort in a harsh environment.

The worldbuilding has been light so far, but I do think that we'll eventually get more details about the world these girls live in and what exactly happened in the past. In the first episode, they examine relics of the war and ponder why exactly their ancestors put so many resources into this stuff over the materials of life. In the second episode, we get some hints as to how the majority of humans may live nowadays. Enormous pillars are seen dotting the landscape, which are implied to be holding up a civilization that lives above the world that we see. The girls refer to a “grandfather” who, judging by Chito's dream sequence, was separated from them violently.

While I look forward to watching Girls' Last Tour week to week, I'm a little intimidated by the prospect of writing about it. I've never covered a show where the main point was atmosphere to this extent. At least in the last slice of life show I covered, A Centaur's Life, exceptional things were constantly happening. This one seems to be about Chito and Yuuri doing fairly normal things – eating, sleeping, bathing, etc. – in extraordinary circumstances. Meanwhile, we may get to slowly piece together whatever happened. Either way, I look forward to experiencing the show with you.

I will say that Girls' Last Tour has already accomplished something that I didn't think was possible – get me excited for winter. It just makes the experiencing of nearly catching hypothermia in a roaring snowstorm look so pleasant. Now I'm almost looking forward to risking death in the cold outside, if only to enjoy the sensation of recovering in my warm bed that night.

Grade: A

Girls' Last Tour is currently streaming on Amazon's Anime Strike.

Gabriella Ekens studies film and literature at a US university. Follow her on twitter.