This fourth season of Encouragement of Climb is a satisfying resolution to Aoi Yukimura's story, but it does get off to a bit of an odd start. The first four episodes are compilations from the first three seasons, with a couple of short original segments thrown in. They're meant to help ease new viewers into the series, but they also serve another purpose for returning fans: re-centering the story of Encouragement of Climb around Aoi's efforts to climb Mount Fuji.

By the end of this season, it makes sense why the story is structured this way. Aoi's first attempt at climbing Mount Fuji was one of the key moments of season 2, but a lot of time has passed since then, both in the story and the real world. While the series overall has shifted more in a slice of life direction over time, the recaps mainly highlight the mountain climbing scenes, setting the tone for what's to come with this season specifically. Even after the recaps are over, this season feels compressed in a way that seasons 2 and 3 didn't. This is the most mountain-focused the series has been since its first season, with a new hike depicted every episode. Even the most low-key outings with friends build up to Aoi's second try at scaling Japan's tallest mountain.

Putting recaps aside entirely, this season almost feels rushed given how quickly it skips through time. Each installment until now has taken place throughout a single season of the year, but Next Summit zips from winter up until the middle of summer break the next year. Months will pass between episodes with very little acknowledgment of what the characters were doing in the time between. Most of the vignettes themselves serve to establish Aoi's progress as both a person and a hiker as believably as possible within a short span of episodes. The most obvious way it achieves this is by making the characters revisit older locations from previous seasons, but with Aoi taking on more of the leader role for her widening circle of acquaintances. It's effective storytelling because the contrasts are not so blatant that you can't see how she got from A to B; right to the very end, Aoi's self-confidence is easily shaken.

The mellow slice-of-life appeal is still out in force, thankfully. Encouragement of Climb is never subtle about its themes, with the dialogue reiterating many of the same notes throughout the series, but the real pleasure is in watching how climbing mountains enriches the characters' everyday lives and vice versa. The consistently realistic character animation and lush background art reinforce the poetic beauties of mundane life in ways that stand out even among other animated classics going for a relaxing feel.

Much like the previous seasons, Next Summit is filled with animation highlights featuring some of the most talented names in the business. The most notable are the original ED sequences every episode by Kou Yoshinari, the older brother of Little Witch Academia director Yoh Yoshinari and a strikingly unique animator in his own right. The first two episode EDs are fully animated by Yoshinari alone, but even the later episode EDs show off his immense skill at framing and creating entire scenes out of a selective use of images. Another notable segment featured storyboarding and direction by Keiichirō Saitō, who recently made waves as the series director on Bocchi the Rock!. While not as visually eclectic as Bocchi, Encouragement of Climb is full of similarly creative layouts and animated flourishes. Anyone interested in the animation craft owes it to themselves to watch Encouragement of Climb.

Despite the rough start and the misleading advertising about being a full-length series, the series comes together beautifully. It has one of those rare perfect endings that doesn't overstate the triumph with trumpet fanfares; instead, it faithfully captures the quiet satisfaction of achieving a personal goal. Next Summit is the culmination of Aoi's journey and Encouragement of Climb as a whole, and it is genuinely one of the best slice-of-life anime of all time. Even if you don't think you're into this genre, give this series a try. The way it grows and expands from its humble roots as a comedic anime short is honestly magnificent to behold.