A Place Further Than the Universe

Episode 4

Now that Mari and company have secured a place on the expedition team, they need to make sure they're actually ready to go to one of the most inhospitable places on Earth. With that new priority comes a slight shift in tone for A Place Further Than the Universe. Some of the adolescent restlessness of the opening episodes has been traded for a more focused work ethic as the girls' training begins. This episode's first half still makes time for some shenanigans with Mari trying to get her mother to sign off on the trip, but the latter half has a steadier, “one step at a time” vibe to it. While this isn't an inherently good or bad thing, it does mark a transition for the series.

Before we get too far into that shift in tone, it's worth noting that this episode's standout scene happens pretty early on. Mari's conversation about the expedition with her mother may just be the show's funniest moment to date, thanks in large part to some clever direction. On paper, it's a simple interaction; Mari learns that her mom already knows about her Antarctic trip, and she gets chewed out for trying to arrange it without her parents' permission. What makes it such a riot is the way the dialogue and visuals lend the whole scene a menacing, almost murderous vibe as if it had been pulled straight from a horror movie. From the slow, deliberate chopping of carrots to the eventual “I know everything” reveal, this interaction captures the teenage fear of getting caught red-handed by one's parents with just enough creative exaggeration to make it funny. I love it.

Once the setting moves to the mountain training camp, A Place Further Than the Universe slides into Antarctica Trivia Mode. The initial lecture is delivered without much style or flair, with an emphasis on information over entertainment. It's quite a departure from the earlier scenes, and that more workmanlike approach continues as the girls begin training outdoors. This isn't to say that this sequence is dull or humorless, but it uses a matter-of-fact tone that slice-of-life shows often take while they're indulging in their subject of choice. In a way, it's actually appropriate for where the story is at the moment, and this style matches up reasonably well with the somewhat blunt personality of the expedition's captain. I suppose you can only goof around so much if you're trying to go to Antarctica.

Some of the show's earlier sentimentality does come back in Mari's assertion of her own motivations at the end of the episode, and this is a big moment in her development as a character. Instead of being a bored teenager who's tagging along on someone else's adventure, she's asserting herself as a legitimate protagonist in her own story. As much as she may care about Shirase, Hinata, and Yuzuki, Mari is now officially in this for her own reasons. As she puts it, the vague “somewhere” she was looking for is now specifically Antarctica. Combine that with a very pretty sunrise, and you've got a strong note on which to end the episode.

The strange thing about this final scene is that it didn't hit me with the big wave of emotion I'd expect from such a moment. I mentioned in last week's review that A Place Further Than the Universe hadn't yet delivered any big dramatic high points, and that still hasn't changed. I'm starting to think that the issue stems from the obstacles Mari and friends are struggling against, as well as the stakes of the situation. The central challenge of going to Antarctica is still too big and abstract, and it's not something that the characters can struggle against on a personal level like they would with a more tangible antagonist. In a similar way, the price of failure feels relatively low; the series hasn't done enough to paint this expedition as the girls' only chance to achieve their goals. They may have said that it's now or never, but they haven't made me feel it yet. I almost want them to face some kind of crisis or setback next week, just to bring these key parts of the story into sharper focus. If the show could give us the sting of defeat, if only for a moment, I suspect that each little victory would carry more emotional weight.

Rating: B

A Place Further Than the Universe is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.