Winter Finales: Munto TV

Sora wo Miageru Shoujo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai (aka Munto TV) had a lot of things going for it.  A stellar soundtrack, some of the best visuals I’ve seen from a TV series, and a reputable studio behind it.  Unfortunately everything else sorta fell apart.  There was a potential for this anime to have a great emotional story, but it probably was impossible to execute due to the show length.  A part of me wants to believe that this show got axed halfway through production, because then I could understand what went wrong.  But for now, the story was nonsensical and tended to contradict itself.

But again, as I mentioned before, there really was a lot going for this show.  The soundtrack really gave this grand, epic feel to this anime and I almost felt like I was watching a movie to be honest.  The visuals and high production quality seemed to back this up.  I mentioned this back in episode 8, watching Munto really made me feel like I was watching a Disney movie.  In fact, the only other anime I watched that had such memorable music and visuals was Eureka Seven, and I honestly feel that Munto was really similar in that sense, just lacking the story and characters to back up the visuals.

In the end, Sora wo Miageru Shoujo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai is an anime that didn’t end up embracing its full potential.

FINAL RATING: 7/10

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Munto TV – Episode 09 [END]

It’s funny, the show was doing really well in Episode 7, yet in two episodes it managed to fall soo far.  The final episode of a series that was built with epic music and amazing animation was, unfortunately, very anticlimatic.  It can summarized up into 4 words: “Magic saves the world”.

I have to ask the question, what was the point of bringing Ichiko and Suzume back.  I mean, all they did in this episode was get captured by Gntarl and in turn stop Yumemi from getting to Munto.  Gntarl, too, for a primary antagonist, he seemed rather weak in this episode.  One little hit from Yumemi and he backs out.

And then the end… It made almost no sense.  Yumemi somehow manages to recreate the pillar after it disappeared, reconnects the two world, and magically emerges back in the real world.  Okay so I can’t deny the visuals in this scene, they were gorgeous.  But they felt empty.

RATING: 6.5/10

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Munto TV – Episode 08

To be honest, that episode felt like a HUGE step backwards.  Doesn’t this completely get rid of any impact that episode 6 had?  I mean, the entire point of episode 6 was that Yumemi was leaving Ichiko and Suzume to face her destiny and that they were willing to let her do that.  The scene was pretty good and impactful

However, when this episode starts, Ichiko and Suzume change their minds and decide to chase after Yumemi. When this happened I honestly went “…the hell?!” in my head.  It was a complete contradiction.  But that wasn’t all.  Later on in the episode, Yumemi realizes that she needs her friends after all, and brings them up to the magical world somehow.  It honestly felt like the writers for these 3 episodes didn’t agree with the writers of the 2nd OVA, but instead of working with it and making a straightforward plot, they went “screw it” and did whatever the hell they wanted…

Okay so that was my biggest complaint about this episode.  Other then that, it was more standard Munto stuff.  There were some really nice visuals this week.  Some of them reminded me of ef.  In a way, I almost feel like Munto is like a Disney animated movie, more specifically, the Disney movies that no one remember: very pretty, but that’s about it.  There is a lot of talk about dreams, destiny, and strength.  Actually it REALLY reminds of something else I’ve seen, that I can’t remember the name of (If you get this feeling too, speak up!).

Next episode is the finale, and I’m kinda conflicted as to how I feel about this show on the whole…

RATING: 6.5/10 (detracted from the impact of previous episodes)

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Munto TV – Episode 07

Now THIS is what I’ve been waiting for: the explanation episode. After a little bit of Yumemi dilly-dallying in the Magical Kingdom, she is given a proper history lesson about The Heavens. It was one of those “now EVERTHING makse SENSE!” moments. Of all the revelations made this episode, probably the most important was the explanation of what Akuto actually is. I found that part very interesting. Anyone notice the hints leading up to this? (Akuto = the dreams of the humans in the lower world, Yumemi’s name literally means “dream”)

My main concern left for this show is “now what?”. With only two episodes left, it looks very likely that Gntarl will do something to mess everything up, end on a cliffhanger, and then the last episode will end everything. I guess for this kind of series, it’s fitting. As far as I can tell, there are gonna be a LOT of plot holes and unanswered questions, so just because of that, I highly doubt I’m gonna rate the series any higher then an 8. Hopefully the visuals and the soundtrack will keep this being an enjoyable ride

RATING: 8.5/10 (key, important episode)

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Munto TV – Episode 06

 So the 2^nd OVA didn’t end at the end of this episode, it finished at the middle. As such there was a drastic change of animation quality in the middle, to the more current KyoAni style. Video quality also jumped, previously, the episodes looked upscaled (even in 480p), now it actually looks like HD.

But I’m not here ot talk about aesthetics. As I said above the second OVA finished about half way through the epiode. In addition to the animation jump, there was also a setting change. The first half was set on Earth and dealt with Yumemi leaving her friends to go with Munto and face her destiny. I definetly wasn’t expecting the level the of destruction that Gntarl caused. Other then that, this part was fairly straightforward. Again, the ending of this OVA would’ve pissed me off. I mean if you think about it, the ending was Munto and Yumemi going up to the Heavens… the end.

Thankfully, this isn’t the OVA, and the 2^nd half continues the story left off in the heavens. This 2^nd half was primarily an extended fight scene that just about reached it’s conclusion. There wasn’t really anything of Yumemi getting used to the Heavens. I guess that’s for next week.

On another note, I admit… I’ve been forced to change my expecations of the show. After watching this episode I heard that this series is only going to be 9 episodes long. This basically means that the story won’t be the main concentration of the anime. Instead, it’s more like the story is there fo the visuals and the music. As such, I’m not going to expect major plot developments after this episode.

RATING: 8/10 (Story moved forward quite a bit this week)

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Munto TV – Episode 05

 This episode felt like a complete opposite to the last one. This one was based on character relations, and major decisions/events occurred. On the other hand, there was almost no action. Yumemi can sense what is going on in the Heavens and realizes that she is somewhat responsible. Ichiko also notices that Yumemi is losing site of the surrondings and is getting obsessed with the world in the sky. Ichiko tries to delay the inevitable, but she delays it for too long…

I actually like this story more then the first OVA’s one. It feels more personal, and I kinda can sence the turmoil in Yumemi’s mind. I also did not expect the final moments of this episode, but in a way, I’m glad that it happened. Munto TV achieved another level of dark because of it.

I can’t say much more. Next week brings the end of the 2^nd OVA, and we might get a chance to see new material/animation… Can’t wait ^^

RATING: 7.5/10 (Slow episode, but important)

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Munto TV – Episode 04

Second OVA GO!!!!! After a very conclusive 3rd episode, the story continues (o_O?). Okay so it’s in a different direction; this time, the story is more political. As expected with a weak nation suddenly given a lot of power, chaos ensued in the Heavens after the events of the last episode. The escalating war in the Heavens has finally reached a level in which people on the “human world” are starting to notice something wrong.

Well, if I think about it, besides the introduction of the some new characters, and the new conflict, nothing big happened this episode… even so, it sure was spectacular. The extended battle scene was rather epic, and something I woud’ve expected from a movie, instead of a TV. Okay, so it’s an OVA rebroadcast, but still: pretty is pretty =D.

Munto’s past is also shown, but it wasn’t exactly clear, nor did it feel that important except for making Yumemi symphathize with him.

Let’s see, what else. Artwork is updatated, character designs are more detailed and soft. Yumemi looks like Misuzu from Air, while Ichiko looks like a boy.

RATING: 7.5/10 (pretty episode, nothing much happened)

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Munto TV – Episode 03

(The issue with a show only having 1 subber is that if they end up having problems, everyone has to wait…)

I cannot believe that soo few people are actually watching this show.   It’s Kyoto Animation for christ sake, and it may be one of the their best works yet. [/rant]  Fanboy aside, this was a good episode.  A climactic conclusion to the first story (and presumably the 1st OVA).

The first half continued with the Suzume’s “marriage” to Kazuto.  Needless to say, this was probably the weakest part of the episode.  It did have some good background info on Yumemi’s relationship with her two friends.  Now THOSE are childhood friends.  (It makes me kinda sad cause I don’t have any lasting friends from before 3rd grade =/)

Even though that part was the weakest, I liked the direction decision with having the shots switches between Munto, the destruction of the Magical Kingdom, and Suzume.  I also really liked how Suzume’s story paralleled Yumemi’s decision to help Munto.

The actual “helping” scene was very exciting to watch.  However, I sorta expected that after Munto grabbed Yumemi’s hand, the episode would end and the next few episodes would deal w/ Yumemi actually helping Munto.  I was a little bit surprised that just grabbing Munto’s hand was enough to save the world.  But I’ll accept it for now, under the assumption that her powers will be explained in a later episode.

RATING: 8.5/10

Admittedly if I had watched the OVA, I’d be annoyed with this ending.

Munto TV – Episode 02

One of the things I really enjoyed about this episode was watching Yumemi’s internal struggle play out.  On one hand, she has a fairly human problem with one of the best friends eloping with a delinquent.  But at the same time she’s got her own personal/supernatural problem w/ Munto appearing from time to time.  The extended dialogue between Yumemi and Munto does a great job of show how Yumemi’s mind works.

In fact, on the whole, I tended the enjoy the dialogue scenes in this episode a whole lot more then the physical scenes.  They felt very genuine, not at all forced, and really made me appreciate the character.  I mean I don’t think I’ve ever liked a character (Yumemi) this much after only two episodes.

That being said, I feel that when she agreed to help Munto, it was just so that he would go away, rather then in general interest.  However, when she saw Munto being attacked, I think she was generally concerned about him, but didn’t have the time to worry.

Looks like next week will be the climax to Suzume’s part of the story.  We still haven’t gotten to the new material and higher animation quality.  Oh well, good things come to the people who wait.

RATING: 8/10 (solid buildup)