bend_over

A cute girl? You got that here. A depressed story? You'd be crying twice. Interesting characters? Without any doubt. A good father figure? Better than mine (kidding). Thoughtful moments? It's deeper than you think. This anime is everything you could wish for. From the character gimmicks to the grandiose story. You wouldn't immediately think about any of this at first as it has a slow start but when it starts for real it goes at 360 in 6 seconds and you can not go back. Oh no you can't, and that's a good thing. Why go back when you can experience such a thing in the first place? Its somethingthat happens twice in 400 years and the time has finally come for this masterpiece to be seen. Yes, "Somali to Mori no Kamisama" is a masterpiece of an anime and not simply one of them, it's THE masterpiece I was looking for. An anime it could make me laugh, think, cry and more importantly care about characters, each of them and all in a span of 12 episodes. "Somali" is extraordinarily in every field but the best thing about this are clearly the two main characters, Somali and Golem that share a great daughter-father relationship. They're not releated by blood but that's the great thing since it shows that it is not necessary to be related by blood to show the effect to someone. They are so fantastic together and what makes it better is the fact that Golem has no emotions, so you at no point of its runtime you'll hearing him scream because Somali did something she shouldn't have. He comprehend many emotions, but since it cannot manifest them, it is difficult to fully understand them. Which is completely natural and makes the relationship between the two even realistic. The story is incredibly beautiful. While sometimes predictable, It got me invested that I never thought it would have. This has mainly to do with the characters that make it interesting. Throughout the journey (yes, this is not an anime, its a journey and I'll be observing until it ends) we meet a lot of charaters that in the surface may seem not that great but if you go deep into them you'd find so much regarding them that i'm sure you'd be pleased. They, when doing something have always a reason. Now, the reason may be "good" or "bad" in the way you view it. I viewed as good and will always be because I can feel them and their hatred or love for anything seems reasonable. I really can, which it makes me love the anime even more. It proceeds with the right narrative rhythm, without slowing down too much, taking the time necessary to create characters with a certain thickness and it does quite well. As for animation, I think it's fantastic, even in action scenes. It is not a series that you would see too many fights, but for what we got the animation was really competent. It's not the best, I admit it but then again this is not an action anime when fights have the priority so therefore it doesn't matter. As for the the sound deparment, it's great too. I expected The opening and ending be more catchy but unfortunately that wasn't the case. Not saying they're bad, it's just I wasn't too much interested in them as much I wanted to be. They're good on their own way, though. OSTs instead are literary masterpiece. Especially the ones that are used for sad moments. "Somali to Mori no Kamisama" is both underrated and underwatched. It's not getting the attention as much I'd like to. If you're reading this review and you're in search of an anime that has a genuine good story, awesomely characters and more importantly, daughter-father interaction - this is the one you've been looking for. There may be stuff that potentially could turn you off but overrall I think it deserves a try. Golem is such a good father.

RPWPA

Somali to Mori no Kamisama is a masterpiece of storytelling. It is a great adventure that displays the different ideologies of creatures, their lives and how going through life changes you as a person. From the start, the anime tells you that you are about to embark on a journey and to get ready for the different ideas you will find. I think the 2 biggest reasons that affect how much I rate an anime are how much I enjoy the anime and how great the characters are. Of course an anime about going into the unknown and exploring what the world has to offeris more than enough for me to enjoy the anime but I’m glad to say that it wasn’t the only reason I watched it. The characters in Somali and the forest spirit are great. We have the main cast: Somali and the Golem. Somali is one of the best representation of a child in anime. You have the innocent girl that has the sense of exploring that all children have, the adorable cute nature of hers is so entertaining to watch and how pure and kind she is becomes more apparent once you watch more of the anime. You become invested in her character and that is (imo) one of the best compliments you can give to a creator. The Golem on the other hand is the complete opposite of her, he is a spirit made to simply observe how the forest is and he doesn’t know how to feel anything let alone display it. As you go on the journey with them, you start noticing changes in him. He stars growing more attached to Somali and little by little he starts experiencing emotions. He becomes more protective of Somali and he starts becoming more and more like an actual father figure for her. His growth throughout the series is amazing to see and how much he develops from the start to the great finale. The side characters of the anime are great. Every episode presents a new set of characters that are unique with different ideologies that makes them interesting. Their interactions with each other and with Somali give out so much enjoyment and proves more the great effect an amazing character can have on a well-written cast. One of the things I really liked was the representation of humans in different perspectives. You start the anime with Somali and your perspective is hers so you see humans as the cute and kind type of characters but as you go on, you start seeing how horrible they have been to every other character they meet. The fear that made them become a natural enemy to almost every species you see throughout the series. That change of perspective gives the idea that we humans are not all the same and that is presented in front of you. You see Somali, the kind human that accepts everyone, You most of the other humans that have no reason and just kill everyone and you see a child understand that not everything is how it looks and she changes from the bad to the good. This idea made me rate the anime higher than I already had. The sound, art, animation and overall atmosphere of the anime is fantastic and an incredible job done by the voice actors made this anime shine. Overall I would give the anime a 10/10. A fantastic journey that I hope to see more of and more like. Would recommend it to anyone wanting to watch a great journey with greater characters.