Impression
Sora no Method is… well, I’m actually not sure what it’s about. Sorry. I was too distracted by the cute loli. Or lolis, even, if we count Nonoka. They’re the only reason why I’m even doing this despite an official hiatus.
In all seriousness, Sora no Method spent its pilot episode setting up. It was fairly slow, rumbling along with a leisurely pace. And I’m perfectly okay with that, as long as we do end up with an interesting plot and the answers to any questions we might have – note that this is primarily a concern I’m having because of the catastrophic disaster that was last season’s Glasslip, leaving me oddly cautious to what would otherwise be something I’d welcome with open arms, loli be damned. Thankfully, Sora no Method does already begin to distance itself from that, which is a move that must undoubtedly be for the better – its distinguishing feature is that it’s an original series created and written by Hisaya Naoki, the creator for Kanon. I imagine that this would have been written off by many people otherwise – hey, maybe it has been regardless! But at the very least, we can expect a feels trip, lots of drama and a great soundtrack alongside some nice animation. And there might even be a coherent story! How far my standards have fallen.
The way I see it, new studio 3Hz basically went, “Okay, here are some lolis, and some stuff has happened. Figure the rest out by yourself.” We got some flashbacks, a reunion and a bunch of scenes, with hardly anything explained until next week – as was intended, presumably. We will get the answers, especially as Nonoka herself has to figure it all out with us, but it’s fun guessing, isn’t it?
So from what I’ve gathered, there were these friends who made a heartfelt wish -or wishes- while holding hands at an astronomy tower when they were little. Noel may or may not have been around at that point. At the time, they believe that nothing’s happened, but after Nonoka moves away an unexplained disc appears in the sky, for no apparent reason. Everyone can see it, there’s merchandise of it, and strangely enough, no-one seems to think it’s odd. Even Nonoka, who moves back after seven years just sort of stares at it wistfully. Concurrent to that is this whole deal with the loli named Noel, whom Nonoka knew in the past – they made a reunion promise, but Nonoka doesn’t return for seven years. It almost feels like Noel has literally been waiting the entire time for Nonoka to return, even though that sounds absurd – hell, Noel herself doesn’t seem human, to put it bluntly. There’s an ethereal feeling around her, and I swear she disappeared into thin air when Nonoka demanded that she leave. At the very least, there’s no way she’s not connected with the disc.
It’s primarily around Noel that I’m expecting the feels trip to revolve – a bit of drama already happened with the cracked photo frame Nonoka caught her with. Noel’s really childish, and because of that I’m getting those Menma vibes from her – I wouldn’t be surprised if she was a ghost, or maybe some sort of apparition. The link with Kanon further cements that idea, with Tsukimiya Ayu very much being in the same boat, although Noel unfortunately does not go “uguu”. As for her relation to the disc, here’s what I think – the disc itself is related to her purpose of granting wishes. Presumably this is in response to the collective wishes the group made as kids, with Noel being sent to fulfil them – but nothing happened in seven years, as she spent that time waiting for Nonoka. When the disc shone and started raining down light, that happened to be when a desire was fulfilled – Nonoka’s wish to “apologize to Noel and see her again”. It’s all potentially very interesting, and there’s so much scope for expansion beyond what I thought this show would offer. And we haven’t even touched upon the other characters either!
Alongside Akame ga Kill, I’ll try my best to blog Sora no Method on Sundays – it feels like something worth giving a chance, especially as it does have a solid shot at things. Even so, I won’t be guaranteeing anything, because Glasslip happened – instead I will lay claim to it with a couple of subjective phrases representing my interest.
A pouting Nonoka is best Nonoka.
Possibility of Watching: Very Very High
Possibility of Blogging: Very High