nerding out

I think it might be the anime with the most ambitious artistic vision that I've seen in a while.

It has an aesthetic that I'd describe as East Asian industrial whimsy, since it combines traditional Japanese architecture and Japanese clothing from the early 20th century with steam powered industry and more fantastical elements like a glider that would result in a brutal crash were it realistic. I adore the character designs of both our protagonists, antagonists and side characters. The animation is detailed and fluid. The colours are beautifully vibrant, even the earthy tones are rich and paint a beautiful picture of the scenery and general environment, the backgrounds are truly stunning. The animators blend various art styles together masterfully so that you never get too comfortable with one but instead eagerly await the next time a new one sweeps you off your feet.

There's mystery and intrigue, we don't know the motives of many characters yet nor have many questions been answered, there hasn't been much exposition but there are many hints in what is shown to the viewer to figure out just what kind of world it is that these characters live in. The more we'll get to see of this alternate timeline the more it will unfold because these creators are really good at show don't tell.

The pacing is great, not too slow nor too hectic, a lot has already happened, yet it also feels like I know nothing but I can already tell that many things have been set up and that it's all going to be relevant so I'll have to be patient. But who am I kidding, I can barely wait for next week!

Despite only about 40 minutes of runtime so far, I can already see where the character arcs of the two protagonists are headed, I think the boy will learn to be more brave and to have faith in something and the girl will learn to find worth within herself and come into her own and over the course of these arcs they'll support each other and fall in love and I'm here for it.