A Place Further Than the Universe (2024)

A Place Further Than the Universe (宇宙よりも遠い場所, Sora yori mo Tōi Basho) is an anime television series directed by Atsuko Ischizuka and produced by Madhouse. It originally aired in Japan from January 2, 2018 to March 27, 2018 and distributed internationally by Crunchyroll. A manga version by Meme Yoimachi (宵町めめ), was published in 2018.

A stage production of the story was presented in Tokyo in 2023, directed by Hideo Tsuchida and written by Hideo Tsuchida and Tomoharu Suzuki.^[1]

An English-edition Blu Ray box set was released in April 2024. It includes an English dub produced by Studio Nano^[2] There has been no word whether the English dub will be offered for streaming.

Summary[]

The story centers around four high school girls, that all become friends due to their shared goal of taking their youth by the wheel and going on a journey to Antarctica together. Spearheaded by Shirase Kobuchizawa who desires to follow her mother's footsteps, they spend a large quantity of their time planning for the trip, and overcoming challenges that come in their way with stride. All the while getting to learn about each-other and strengthening their friendship, and experiencing the true value of their youth.

Upon reaching Antarctica they all work to adapt to the harsh climate and share new experiences and memories, along with meeting new people and learning of their reasons for going to Antarctica.

Characters[]

Main article: List of Characters

Main characters

Mari Tamaki (nickname 'Kimari') portrayed by Inori Minase^{Seiyuu Wiki}
Shirase Kobuchizawa portrayed by Kana Hanazawa^{Seiyuu Wiki}
Hinata Miyake portrayed by Yuka Iguchi^{Seiyuu Wiki}
Yuzuki Shiraishi portrayed by Saori Hayami^{Seiyuu Wiki}

Supporting characters

Megumi Takahashi (Kimari's best friend and classmate) portrayed by Hisako Kanemoto^{Seiyuu Wiki}
Mari's mother portrayed by Takako Honda^{Seiyuu Wiki}
Mari's father portrayed by Shinobu Matsumoto
Rin Tamaki (Kimari's younger middle school sister) portrayed by Kaede Hondo^{Seiyuu Wiki}
Tamiko Shiraishi (Yuzuki's mother and manager) portrayed by Sayaka Ohara^{Seiyuu Wiki}
Takako Kobuchizawa (Shirase's mother who disappeared on an expedition) portrayed by Ai Kayano^{Seiyuu Wiki}
Gin Tōdō (co-founder of the Antarctic Challenge Foundation and leader of current expedition) portrayed by Mamiko Noto^{Seiyuu Wiki}
Kanae Maekawa (co-founder of the Antarctic Challenge Foundation and vice-captain of current expedition) portrayed by Yōko Hikasa^{Seiyuu Wiki}
Yumiko Samejima (caterer for the Antarctic expeditions) portrayed by Lynn^{Seiyuu Wiki}
Chiaki Mukai (captain of the Penguin Manju Go) portrayed by Masaki Terasoma^{Seiyuu Wiki}
Toshio Zaizen (Communications Officer of the Antarctic Challenge Foundation's observation team) portrayed by Yosh*tsugu Matsuoka^{Seiyuu Wiki}
Dai Himi (leader of the Antarctic Challenge Foundation's construction group) portrayed by Jun f*ckushima^{Seiyuu Wiki}
Nobue Todoroki (Geologist of the Antarctic Challenge Foundation's observation team) portrayed by Kana Asumi^{Seiyuu Wiki}
Yume Sasaki (Astronomer of the Antarctic Challenge Foundation's observation team) portrayed by Aya Endō^{Seiyuu Wiki}
Honami Yasumoto (Microbiologist of the Antarctic Challenge Foundation's observation team) portrayed by Mikako Komatsu^{Seiyuu Wiki}

Episodes[]

Main article: List of Episodes

One Million Yen For Youth
Kabukicho Fremantle
The Follow Backs Don't Stop!
Four Caterpillars
Dear My Friend
Welcome to the Durian Show
The Ship That Sees the Universe
Howling, Maddening, Screaming
Antarctic Love Story (Blizzard Arc)
Partial Friendship
Bash That Drum Can!
A Place Further Than the Universe
We'll Go On Another Journey Someday

Music[]

Opening theme: The Girls Are Alright! written by mito (Clammbon) and sung by saya.
Closing theme: Koko kara, Koko kara written by Hige Driver and sung by the main characters.
Original Soundtrack: The Original Soundtrack was composed by Yoshiaki Fujisawa.
Insert songs: Fujisawa also wrote three insert songs for the series which are sung by saya.
- "Mata ne"
- "Sora wo Miagete"
- "Haru ka Tooku"
An additional insert song was written by Yuyoyuppe and sung by the main characters.
- "One Step"
Yuzuki's pop song was written by baker & emon, and sung by Yuziki's voice actor Saori Hayami.
- "The Follow Backs Don't Stop (song)"

Production[]

The series was produced by many of the creators of No Game No Life. The show is peppered with references to that show through posters and similar images in the background.

Script and series composition are by Jukki Hanada whose previous series composition credits include such shows as Sound! Euphonium, Nichijou, Love Chunibyo & Other Delusions, Bloom Into You, Love Live!, and Steins;Gate.

British distributer Anime Limited^[3] produced an English-edition Blu Ray of the show including an English dub by Studio Nano.^[4]^[2] The box set was released in April of 2024. The dub cast features such notables as Amanda Lee (Marin in My Dress-Up Darling) doing the voice of Yuzuki, Erica Mendez (Akko in Little Witch Academia) as Shirase, and Xanthe Huyn (Takina in Lycoris Recoil) as Kimari. The release included a 2-CD set of the soundtrack. There's a 92-page booklet with interviews of the creators, an 11x17" poster, and four postcards which are the cover art from the Japanese 4-part special-edition release of the series.

Website for North American orders (Region A Blu Ray): Shout Factory.
Website for UK, Europe, & Australia orders (Region B Blu Ray): All the Anime. Any material from this website is region locked to Europe/Australia^[5].

Note that DVD regions are different from Blu Ray regions. Japan is included in Blu Ray region A, so Japanese Blu Rays work in a North American player (but not in Australia). For DVDs, Japan is in a separate region from North America and discs don't play across the regions.

Related events[]

Crossover event announced October 19, 2021 with anime movie Goodbye, DonGlees! (『グッバイ、ドン・グリーズ！』).^[6]
Re-broadcast starting October 6, 2021 on Tokyo MX.^[7]
Announced in July 2021, perfumes by Fairy Tale Co., Ltd. (Minato-ku, Tokyo) based on 4 main characters on sale on the company's Amazon online store.^[8]