340th G-View: Girls’ Last Tour

This anime is an interesting one because for 90% of its 12 episode it is about the two leading ladies driving around a seemingly empty post-apocalyptic city. Question is whether the two could carry a show all by themselves. Let us find out as we take a look at Girls’ Last Tour.

Alternate Title: Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou (Japanese)

Genres: Adventure, Sci-Fi, Drama, Iyashikei

Theme: Post-Apocalyptic

Number of Episodes: 12

G-Rating: 9/10

Plot Summary: Civilization is dead, but Chito and Yuuri are still alive. So they hop aboard their beloved Kettenkrad motorbike and aimlessly wander the ruins of the world they once knew. Day after hopeless day, they look for their next meal and fuel for their ride. But as long as the two are together, even an existence as bleak as theirs has a ray or two of sunshine in it, whether they’re sucking down their fill of soup or hunting for machine parts to tinker with. For two girls in a world full of nothing, the experiences and feelings the two share give them something to live for.

Leading ladies Chito and Yuuri.

So GLT is a show about two girls driving around a seemingly empty city after an apocalyptic war. Let us get right to it. The answer to the above question on whether a show where a majority it follows two characters and nobody else can work is “YES!”. The reason being because to Chito and Yuuri the titular “tour” of the city is an all-new experience for them. The following is a VERY MINOR spoiler but is heavily hinted in the first episode that the two were taken away at a very young age to a bomb shelter for safety. What that means is the girls’ knowledge of what we take for granted nowadays is very limited, leading to, for example, the acquiring of a camera to become something amazing for them as they learn how to use it. The show has the following going for it:

Exploring a new and mysterious world. As the plot summary indicates the girls make the best of their situation. Despite driving through an apparently barren city devoid of any other life but their own there are plenty of secrets and mysteries to uncover in the city. So many questions run through our heroines’ minds like “Why does the city infrastructure look like it does?” “How did the people live?” “What is the meaning behind all these weird looking statues?” “What is up with this facility?” among many others asked throughout their journey. Just because the place is deserted does not mean there is nothing to do there. Far from it.

Profound discussions. Throughout their journey the girls have many deep, profound discussions revolving around topics like existentialism, religion, life and death, historical records, evolution and many more interesting topics. Why? What else was there to do to pass the time.

This was a great scene.

Adventure. The adventure element of the show lies in the fact that, again, the show is set in city ruins, meaning several edifices are not in the best of shape. Expect our heroines to run into some perils like falling debris and even greater hazards.

To enhance the experience the animation and soundtrack are both beautiful with excellent shots of the girls’ surroundings and sound. The soundtrack compliments the aforementioned combination of melancholy and serenity. The OST is a must have for any anime soundtrack collector. It is THAT GOOD! Same goes for the catchy OP and ED.

Chito the calm and collected one and Yuuri the goofball.

Chito and Yuuri’s relationship can be best described as a “comedy duo” with Chito being the “straight man” to Yuuri’s goofball nature. Generally Chito is the more book smart of the two while Yuuri is more of a “go with the flow” who on several occasions can rile up her pal. Think of it as two people who intentionally or otherwise know what buttons to push to upset the other. Something like that. Even so the two make an incredible team with Chito’s intelligence and ability to calm Yuuri down when it may look like she is getting out of hand and Yuuri being the more physically capable melon head than her lollipop head sweetie. As far as yuri goes…no question these two were made for each other. None whatsoever.

Overall Girls’ Last Tour surprised me much, MUCH more than I thought it would. After the premiere that some called “boring” I personally saw it as “interesting”. As the show progressed “interesting” became “amazing”. While an iyashikei show in a post-apocalyptic setting is nothing new, the way it was handled in this show certainly felt fresh and something I will not soon forget. Again it is a great combination of melancholy and serenity with many calm and fun scenes along with some heart-pounding and gloomy ones to balance it out. The animation and soundtrack are beautiful, Chito and Yuuri are great leads who do an excellent job carrying the show by themselves and…of course, are destined to wed…as soon as they figure out what eternal vows are I imagine. Keep in mind that this is still an iyashikei show so it is not recommended for the impatient or thrill seekers despite it having occasionally thrilling scenes. For peeps who are pros at Slice of Life shows starring cool ladies this is a no-brainer.