Train to the End of the World – Episode 01

Episode Synopsis:

The world as we know it ends when high school girl Yota, at the urging of amazingly-named corporate leader Poison Pontaro, presses the button to start the 7G network.  Instantly, terrain, buildings, and people are twisted and changed.  Two years later, the friends she left back in rural Agano village (where all residents have turned into random animals but retain their human mind) see her in a newspaper clipping.  They begin a journey to find her aboard a still-functional train powered by the 7G energy that flows along the rails.

Episode Review:

In case the synopsis above didn’t make it clear, there’s a lot going on in Train to the End of the World, and I’m really interested in seeing where it goes.  It feels like there are a lot of distinct pieces to the setup, and seeing how they interact could make for something very unique.

First, there’s the unusual post-apocalypse setting, where every place in Japan now seems to have its own rules.

This lends itself to a kind of Kino’s Journey of different stops along the train’s route.

Then there are our main characters, a group of four girls that seem to have acclimated well to the strange new realities of life.

If anything, they seem weirdly unconcerned about anything beyond finding their friend.  There’s a scene where one of the villagers, now a bear, loses control and reverts to full bear mode.

Luckily for the terrified girl about to be attacked (Reimi), her friend Shizuru appears and with one mighty punch knocks the sense back into him.

Literally a second later, Reimi turns to Shizuru and asks:

Just, completely unfazed.  Now, in a normal show, I would say “OK, it’s a comedy with the focus being on the girls, nothing truly dangerous will come their way.”

That brings me to the next feature of this strange world – the incredible danger that apparently lurks between towns.  There is a convoy of delivery trucks that show up once a month to gather supplies and bring goods from one isolated town to another.  Amusingly, these are apparently the post-apocalypse leftovers of those moving company trucks you see in most anime set in cities.  The convoy that shows up this episode is the only one left, because the others have all been wiped out by the dangers between towns.

The show really goes out of its way to make it clear that things are deadly out there, which is going to stand in direct opposition to the happy-go-lucky attitude of our main characters.

With those elements in play, I am fascinated to see where this show is going. A little Kino’s Journey, a little Heavenly Delusion, and a little School Live?  Sign me up!

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