A picture of the world inspired by Eastern religious and mythological plots The conclusions that can be drawn after reading the description are deceptive. In my opinion, this is not the usual “story” anime, not a narrative, but a deeply mythological picture, which reveals the worldview, perception and perception of the Universe as seen by its ancestors.
At first glance, unrelated storylines, statements merge together at the end, but this connection must be felt, intuitively felt, abandoning the usual patterns, matrices of modernity.
For those who have already watched the anime:
In my opinion, the author echoes the motifs of Indian religiosity, repeating the myth of gradual death and annual rebirth, after which the universe “starts again”, just as it happened in Luke’s life and in the lives of each of the characters. People became more and more confused, moved away from themselves, their essence and spiritually “died”, and here is the universal “renewal” after the “Feast of the Birth of the Universe”: the parents of the main character again together, Luke begins a new relationship with “Number 13”, the data collected experimentally for selfish purposes disappear, and Umi and Sora as Heaven and Earth dissolve into being, and are born again in other guises, again fulfilling their duty. The meteorite that Sora transmitted through an intermediary is like a seed of new life that fell from space into the water.
The author echoes the Vedic myth of the birth of life from the pra-man, which is figuratively reflected at the end, when the new universe takes the shape of the Umi. This is clearly stated throughout the story.
Here, too, is the idea of man as a microcosm, of the identity of everything and everything and the rejection of the “I,” of one’s self, of life with all habits, connections and values, of complete dissolution in the universe, of obediently following the call of Being in order to become the whole World. Luke came to this by following the voices of Heaven and the Sea, finding love for them and feeling an intuitive connection with them.
You can continue for a long time: the anime is imbued with symbolism, which is revealed in each character. This is not a superficial art house, not a psychedelic, but a deep philosophical message that everyone will see from his own angle, being open to knowledge.
As for the visual – it is aesthetically beautiful, there is nothing more to say.
Conclusion: unbanal, beautiful and deep.
10 out of 10
For lovers of something beautiful and philosophical. 8/10 for a sophisticated viewer who will find flaws regarding the anime genre itself.