First Impression: Touring After the Apocalypse

Sometime in the future, when gas engines are a rare sight, two young women tour across Japan on their Serow motorbikes, hitting all the popular tourist sites and local attractions. What a stunning country it is! As the camera lingers on the landscape, the swelling soundtrack shifts into something more intimate, and the sound of the bikes’ engines changes too, losing the rumble of the carburettor and the retort of the exhaust. The roads are suddenly overgrown, the asphalt cracked and pitted with craters. There’s only one bike now, muddy and running on electricity, and perched atop it are two young girls, Yoko and Airi, recently escaped from the shelter—the shelter where they presumably rode out the apocalypse. The world around them is empty of people, but it is still beautiful, even more so, perhaps. The empire of flora and fauna is a fecund, fruitful one, even amid the radiation that apparently persists, according to the self-driving manoeuvre combat vehicle that gives a weather report over its loudspeaker before turning and firing on the girls. Wait, what?!? Yoko and Airi hop on their Serow in hopes of outrunning the mad vehicle, but will the electric bike have enough oomph to ensure that Hakone isn’t the first and last tourist destination they check off their list?! And what’s with Airi’s arm…is that…a death ray?!?!?!

Yay! I’m in heaven. I’m a huge fan of the manga, and this adaptation is simply divine *chef’s kiss*! First off, the animation and backgrounds are gorgeous. Honestly, I couldn’t hold back from screenshotting all the stunning landscapes and wildlife—not a wonky muzzle or stiff limb in sight, and the colors! Oh, the colors. The camera pans leisurely along these rich sights, as if it wants to explore and reveal as much of this new world as possible, while the strong layouts infuse it with a gentle but persistent dynamism. Meanwhile, the same degree of care has gone into rendering the faithful Serow (and villainous MCV) as with the bikes in Super Cub, which was actually sponsored in part by Honda, iirc. So we’re talking high-level detail here. Second, (also like Super Cub) the sound design and score add so much to the episode, with the first, really clear indication that the world has changed being conveyed sonically—not with an explosion or sirens or the panicked voiceover of newscasters intoning doom and gloom, but with the understated shift from gas to electric engine. What a way to announce the end of the world! This kind of subtlety really establishes the slice-of-life vibe of this series. Brilliant!

Best of all, though, is the multi-layered worldbuilding, which is accomplished almost exclusively through hints and impressions, implications and odd non-sequiturs, not to mention the mysterious figure of Onee-chan. How did the world end? Why are Yoko and Airi alone? How are they able to survive in the radiation? Are they even human? All we get are microscopic clues: the trail of smoke crawling lazily from Mt. Fuji; the aforementioned automated war machine; Airi’s mysterious arm; Yoko’s memories of the pre-apocalyptic world—or are they vivid imaginings? (There are even more Easter eggs for manga readers, but I won’t spoil them here *cough Nessi cough*.) The episode throws us right into the middle of Yoko and Airi’s transformed world, and it’s up to us as viewers to play detective and piece things together. No info dump narration here! But what’s most surprising is the upbeat, celebratory tone of the episode (and indeed, the series), attesting to the persistence of life, happiness, and the capacity of humanity (?) for joy and camaraderie even in the worst of times. This makes Touring After the Apocalypse a refreshing counterpoint within the post-apocalyptic genre, which generally dwells on the selfishness and cruelty of a humanity forced into survival mode. Yoko is the kind of girl who, upon discovering a stash of food, leaves some behind for the next person and even carves a sign pointing it out. All in all, this episode is a thoughtfully and beautifully executed adaptation of a delightful series! Now, stop surfing and go watch it!

Touring After the Apocalypse is streaming on Crunchyroll.

claire
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