Folks, I’d say it’s about time we watch some more Girls’ Last Tour. This post-apocalyptic slice of life adventure’s first two episodes were an altogether lovely time; the show hasn’t really been making any grand philosophical statements or anything, but it’s done an excellent job of conveying the felt, sensory experience of Chi and Yuu’s journey. I’ve been particularly impressed by how well the lighting and sound design convey the sensation of traveling through heavy snowfall, from the muffled crunch of footsteps through snow, to the way snow can either steal your voice away or filter it through an alienating echo, as if there’s always someone just out of sight, shadowing your path and your voice.

Atmosphere-centric strengths like that have given Girls’ Last Tour an alternating sense of solemnity and quiet menace, which in turn serves to counterbalance the girls’ seemingly carefree adventures. Whether this show will continue to excel as a muted, contemplative tone piece or embrace more narrative structure remains to be seen, but I was happy to see the quest for high ground give us at least a general goal last episode. I mean, you kinda need something to hope for in a world like this, right? Regardless, wherever their journeys take them, I’m happy to spend some more time traveling with these blobby companions. On to episode three!

Episode 3

“I want to find the many happy things far away. Hope sparkling with light, moving, moving.” The show’s OP frames their continuous travel itself as their symbol of hope – they’re always moving, seeking a happier future, never even considering giving in to despair. They’re young enough to see this journey as an adventure that will hopefully result in a happy ending, and not just a process of scavenging daily living supplies from a dead civilization

Planetarian is basically a show about an actual adult in this exact situation. Planetarian is good and short, you should watch it

“I want to forget today and tomorrow and yesterday. I’m sure that’s the answer.” The OP seems to end on “don’t think about the big picture, just keep putting one foot in front of the other”

The city they’re traveling through now is much more traditionally condensed squat buildings; it seems they’ve moved from industrial to commercial territory

“Hey, Yuu. Why do people live? We go around looking for food, right? We find it, save it, and then go on the move again, always thinking there might be something waiting for us at our destination… ugh, she fell asleep, didn’t she?” Even when Chi actually does start to grapple with the potential futility of their situation, Yuu is there to recenter her on immediate, primal concerns like eating and sleeping. Yuu’s silly personality, her embodiment of an archetype similar to someone like Yui from K-On!, actually helps keep her friend grounded. If Chi constantly has to fret over Yuu’s needs, she has less time to fall into despair – she needs Yuu, but in a different way from how Yuu needs her

They’re separated from the tower to the next level up by a massive concrete ravine right in the middle of the city. Even before the fall, this city seems like it’d be an unhappy, alienating place – the scale of everything is too large, the city is full of antagonistic physical features like this, and everything is the same dull grey

Granted, that could be less pointed worldbuilding and more just tone-setting. Lots of colorful little boutiques and whatnot would undercut the sense of loneliness here, and the sharp contrast of a grey, uncaring world against the relationship of the leads

“A cigarette. It’s still burning.” “Does stuff start burning on its own?” I really like how Yuu often asks these seemingly obvious questions that simultaneously demonstrate her fundamental curiosity and lack of conventional education

A building collapses across the ravine, and a man in a cloak emerges from the dust

They use his detonation visor very well – it makes him seem faceless and imposing as he approaches, only for him to reveal very mild-mannered glasses and eyes beneath them. This show is good about using visual design to convey personality

The man is Kanazawa, and he’s making a map

Chi knocking the dust off Yuu’s shoulders is really adorable. Chi really does benefit from having someone to fret over – if she’s taking care of someone else, she has no time to panic

That said, no one here seems particularly surprised to see another person. I guess these ruins are still at least semi-populated

Yuu’s suspicion is also pretty adorable. She’s like a guard dog who’s been told this guy is cool, but still doesn’t really trust him

He wins her trust through harnessing the power of Rock (and making a ramp for their little car)

There are so many windows and they’re all so tiny in all of these buildings. The architecture gives the sense of a society which did not value its people

They stop at a refueling station. These girls’ practiced, almost wordless routines emphasize how long they’ve been on the road

“The area around a connection tower to a higher level is always densely populated.” This show’s fallen civilization is so intriguing. The unique features of this society make exploring it feel less tragic than exciting, as we learn more about the world that was

“I think the people who made the levels of the city were humans from much longer ago. I think our ancestors just came to live in the infrastructure those ancient peoples created.” As if the city were a coral reef, with new generations establishing themselves and creating worlds on the bones of the old. It’s a sort of hopeful though, implying all these ruins are just the natural process of one age replacing another. It also explains this city’s fascinating architectural diversity – there’s a clear aesthetic divide between the vast, rounded structures of the truly ancient society, and the squat, quasi-modern designs of the buildings around them

Kanazawa has mapped out most of this city level. It seems like a hopeless task – but I suppose part of this show’s point is that any task which keeps you walking, and gives you a sense of purpose, can’t possibly be hopeless

“It’s what I live for! If I lost this, I’d probably die”

“You’ve got something important to you too, right?” The girls offer objects like Chi’s journal or food, but it’s clear the answer is “each other”

“The real elevator’s supposed to be inside the tower, but nobody knew how to make it work. So instead, they made this thing. This one was supposedly made over a hundred years ago, as well.” The original city was too alien to tame, so they just built another city on top of it

I really like this long shot aimed straight at the pillar as they enter the elevator. The giant numbers painted into the wall give a sense of the pillar’s scale, and help emphasize how totally dwarfed they are by the first civilization

“She’s so optimistic, she’s gotta have a screw loose.” Yuu always takes Chi’s insults as praise. It’s pretty great

Oh man, this shot panning out from the pillar across the city is beautiful

Kanazawa speculates that the upper levels might have more remaining resources, while Chi demonstrates she’s afraid of heights. I don’t blame her – this rickety elevator is terrifying, and they’re going up maybe half a mile

Jesus christ. The elevator tilts, and Kanazawa’s satchel slides down. He actually leaps off to save his map, and is rescued by the girls… but his map falls into the distance. He really was willing to sacrifice his life for that map

Such a sad grace to the papers fluttering out on the breeze. All our works ultimately scattered, lost to time and neglect

They reach the top, but Kanazawa’s eyes are faded. He’s lost his reason for living

Darkness falls, but in turn, the streetlights blink on and illuminate a bright building far in the distance. A natural metaphor for how despair can foster new hope in turn, as we reassess what is truly important to us. Kanazawa has lost his treasure, but he can still appreciate the beauty of these glimmering lights

“You don’t need a reason. There are nice things sometimes.” Yuu articulates a theme I’ve discussed at length, and which stands at the heart of many of my favorite works. Searching for a clean purpose in life will often leave you despairing, but still, keep living. Something good will happen

And Kanazawa resolves to make another map. The meaning isn’t held in the result, in the actual, physical product. There is enough meaning simply in working on something he loves, something he cares about. We don’t need an endpoint, we just need a road to follow

And Done

Well, DAMN. That episode was on a whole other level from the first two, supplementing the show’s usual charm and atmospheric pleasures with a fully-formed and poignant meditation on why we live in the first place. Chi’s idle question from the start was actually explored with sensitivity and at times even ruthlessness; the loss of Kanazawa’s map served as a perfect stress test of the show’s philosophy, as he was forced to find fresh meaning in his life from a point of total despair.

The show’s resolution of this debate combined an acknowledgment of the necessity of hope with a more grounded, almost zen perspective courtesy of Yuu. Characters like Yuu tend to embody the philosophy of shows like this – they are living representations of how even in times of tragedy, we can still live in the moment, secure in the knowledge that both good and bad things will happen. This episode was a beautiful, self-contained little essay on the nature of human striving set against the inevitable impermanence of all things, and easily the strongest episode of Girls’ Last Tour so far. I really hope we can look forward to more terrific episodes like this one!

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