ProfessorGinkgo

It’s very rare to find a great show among animated shorts. Many of them produce situational one-shots with the same characters in the same setting. While some of them do have a serial timeline, shorts often lack the details of storytelling. The short series Encouragement of Climb (Yama no Susume) counters these claims by creating situations chronologically with wonderful progression and development for its protagonists. Encouragement of Climb follows two high school girls and their adventures in hiking to mountain summits across Japan. Aoi, the scared and unsure of the two, learns to overcome her anxieties while being accompanied by Hinata, the tomboyish enthusiastic one whoappears to have some experience in hiking. With each episode, audiences learn a little tidbit on activities and ethics in camping and hiking as they watch the girls learn to hike together. The visuals for this anime consist of more simple drawings with “watercolor” effects, faded coloring that’s not nearly as bright or vivid as most anime. I personally like this style because it does not distract the audience from appearances and fan service and forces them to focus mainly on the situation the characters are in. Visuals for animations and films like this one accompany the story rather than make it the main reason people watch it. I certainly love the characters this way for who they are, rather than how they look. One thing I did enjoy about this series is the reality displayed when one goes on a hike in the mountains. Being somewhat of a hiker myself, I have learned that not all mountain trails are steep, scary, or even arduous, as Aoi originally thinks when it comes to climbing mountains or hills. In fact, their first trail blaze was on a neighboring hill that took them less than a day to reach the summit! The trials Aoi and Hinata face are not only literal in climbing mountains, but figurative in climbing our lives’ scariest moments. All progress in life is a hurdle that many of us face with fear and anxiety, as Aoi had done; but with the help of good friends and a little encouragement from within, we can climb our way to the top. Encouragement of Climb is a beautiful short series, not only for its story and characters, but it also showed me that I can climb the “mountains” in my life.

renfire

Childish show? Yes. About cute girl doing cute things? Yes. At first, I thought this anime will just gonna waste my time. It is short, only 3 minutes per episode. That's why I think this anime can't be very good. How could it be good if it is only 3 minutes? Moreover the story is just about little girl playing around? But, seriously this anime is not like what I thought at first. Yama no Susume. A story of courage and friendship. As its title -Encouragement of Climb- say, this story is about a little kid (Aoi) who build up her courage in trying something newwith the help of her friends. This anime has strong nostalgic feeling, reminding me of my childhood. The moment when we still dream high and try to achieve it, even if it seems impossible. A nice anime that everyone can watch. Watching it together with someone else is also fine. Story (7/10) Simple, funny, and heartwarming. The story is about climbing mountain and trying something new mixed with some comedy. It shows daily activities with a lot of everyday conversation. The story bring up many kind of feeling (happy, worry, sad, embarrassed etc) mixed together. I like it when the characters is smiling. It bring happy feeling to the viewer. The story just flows with nothing big or special happened. Art (10/10) The way character drawn is cute. I love the design. Not only the characters, but also the view like mountain, sun, and sea is well drawn. I like the art in the ending song of each episode. Sound (10/10) ED song (Staccato Days) is pleasant to be heard. I have repeated it so many times and still not bored of it until I write this review. The background music is also nice and the voice actress fits the characters too. Character (9/10) Aoi's reserved, like to do things alone, and thinking too much personality and Hinata's cheerful and mature for her age personality make them a cute pair. There is a nice character development on Aoi despite the anime short duration. There is difference between Aoi in the beginning of the story and Aoi in the end. I did not really like the other two girl characters. I'll mention three things I like about Yama no Susume - Beautiful little girls - A lot of outdoor activities with nice view - Courage to trying something new PS : Feedback for the review is welcomed