Sora yori mo Tooi Basho

Filled with an overwhelming sense of wonder for the world around her, Mari Tamaki has always dreamt of what lies beyond the reaches of the universe. However, despite harboring such large aspirations on the inside, her fear of the unknown and anxiety over her own possible limitations have always held her back from chasing them. But now, in her second year of high school, Mari is more determined than ever to not let any more of her youth go to waste. Still, her fear continues to prevent her from taking that ambitious step forward—that is, until she has a chance encounter with a girl who has grand dreams of her own.

Spurred by her mother's disappearance, Shirase Kobuchizawa has been working hard to fund her trip to Antarctica. Despite facing doubt and ridicule from virtually everyone, Shirase is determined to embark on this expedition to search for her mother in a place further than the universe itself. Inspired by Shirase's resolve, Mari jumps at the chance to her. Soon, their efforts attract the attention of the bubbly Hinata Miyake, who is eager to stand out, and Yuzuki Shiraishi, a polite girl from a high class background. Together, the four spirited girls set sail toward the frozen south, all in search of something great.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kobuchizawa, Shirase Main

Hanazawa, Kana Japanese

Miyake, Hinata Main

Iguchi, Yuka Japanese

Tamaki, Mari Main

Minase, Inori Japanese

Shiraishi, Yuzuki Main

Hayami, Saori Japanese

Toudou, Gin ing

Noto, Mamiko Japanese

Samejima, Yumiko ing

Lynn Japanese

Takahashi, Megumi ing

Kanemoto, Hisako Japanese

Maekawa, Kanae ing

Hikasa, Youko Japanese

Zaizen, Toshio ing

Matsuoka, Yoshitsugu Japanese

Himi, Dai ing

Fukushima, Jun Japanese

Kananiwa, Kozue Producer

Tanaka, Shou Producer

Iizuka, Aya Producer

Ogata, Mitsuhiro Producer

Reviews

Mar 18, 2025

StevenLin0626

Recommended

This is not much of a review, rather a thank you letter for this anime.

I have rewatched A Place Further Than The Universe countless times at this point, and not a single time did I succeed to hold my tears. The story of a Place Further Than the Universe is quite simple at first, it is just a story of four girls embarking on their journey to Antarctica, yet it somehow manages to get me emotional every single time. A Place Further than the Universe does not have crazy plot twists or progression, it just holds on to its few core themes of friendships, dreams ... and ambitions, family, and pushes it to absolute perfection. Every tearjerker show needs an emotional music to it, and A Place Further than the Universe somehow manages to have one for every episode, hitting right in my heart every single time. I adore all four of the main characters, perfectly made for each other to make true "friendship".

A Place Further than the Universe is a life-changing experience. It inspires me to continue moving forward, not being afraid of what other people think, and experience life to our fullest. The show manages to make me smile and cry every episode, and makes me think "what if I had the courage to shine brightly like them". And let's be honest, you cannot watch this show and not completely bawl in tears watching episode 12.

Thank you to Madhouse and everyone who participated in bringing this masterpiece to this world.

10/10. The perfect anime does not exi...no it does, and it's right here.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Apr 18, 2025

MelodyOfMemory

Mixed Feelings

Widely regarded as a landmark anime, one that showed that cute girls can do more than just cute things, A Place Further than the Universe feels more like a classic adventure anime than its slice-of-life predecessors, though ostensibly more realistic with its destination being Antarctica and including nods to Japan's history with the continent. Shirase, named after Japan's iconic icebreaker named after a glacier named after historic explorer Nobu Shirase, is a compelling leading lady, with her dogged determination and straight honesty being the main push for this adventure, even though she's still an impulsive teenager and thus ends up being the centre of the ... show's comedy, frequently ending up in situations way over her head. Her primary motivation is to find her lost mother in Antarctica, and chances are good that viewers will have figured out early on what really happened to her (if not, you can look up Shin Fukushima, who she was inspired by). At that point, underneath the comedic hijinks of the high school explorers is a tense game of waiting for the shoe to drop, and when it does in the penultimate episode, it's a powerfully solemn, yet cathartic affair. "You give up a few things, chasing a dream."

That being said, while the cast is a likeable bunch, with charming interactions among the high school quartet and the female-dominated adult crew, Antarctica itself is kind of disappointing. While the story is indeed based on Japanese history, there's little focus on the actual scientific research being done which is the reason people in real life go there in the first place. The continent is known for its ice cores telling the story of the world's climate, icebergs and sheets serving as a canary in the coal mine for looming global warming upheaval, rich and unique ecosystems hidden beneath the ice, and so much more. Here, though, it's treated as a tourist destination with penguins, nice scenery, and auroras. Shirase's companions have interesting character arcs that would be compelling in a typical slice-of-life show, dealing with topics of social isolation and ostracism, but these could have taken place anywhere else in the world. They didn't need to go to Antarctica to resolve these problems in a way resembling the common mythical Orientalist portrayal of Tibet. You could viably replace Antarctica with some other remote destination like the Arctic, the Himalayas, Castle in the Sky, Treasure Planet, and the story wouldn't change much.

In addition, while I don't think people necessarily expect realism in a show like this, the show betrays its realistic veneer multiple times. In the end, for all of their bravado of uncompromising courage and conviction, the girls only go to Antarctica due to, essentially, getting lucky that the the planets of circumstance aligned in their favour. In an early episode, they even try going to Tokyo's red light district and hoping an adult man would pick them up, which is really a dynamic that should not be normalized. There's a scene where they are facing the dangerous, turbulent waters of the Antarctic sea, but they go outside just to ire its majesty, which I shouldn't need to tell you is a bad, unsafe idea. Like many anime and Hollywood movies (think Indiana Jones vs real archaeology), this is a typical romanticized, fantasy adventure series disguised as real world geographical exploration. It's a pretty enjoyable series viewed through that lens, and indeed, it's great to see women taking dominant, leading roles and initiative in this expedition, but in the spirit of Shirase, I do have to be honest about what this show is.

One interesting point of note is that this was written by Love Live veteran Jukki Hanada, and it bears the hallmarks of that series with Shirase coming off as a what if story where Dia Kurosawa from Sunshine was an Antarctic explorer instead. Indeed, while A Place Further than the Universe has trailblazed a path for cute anime girls to be braver and more ambitious in general in shows following it, Love Live Superstar has a direct lineage. It's interesting to watch these two series together because you can see how Love Live itself has changed with the Antarctic experience. I honestly think Superstar is the better show because Hanada and co are more in his element, having direct experience with the music production scene which makes Superstar feel more authentic and true to life compared to Antarctica, which was only a faraway place in the history books. But it's good for writers and producers to go out of their element, and making A Place Further than the Universe undoubtedly had a positive impact on their own experiences and storytelling as well as the many people watching it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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May 26, 2025

Avinash1999

Not Recommended

It has a good rating, over 8/10, and very positive reviews. I don’t understand why that is.

The story itself is really good. It’s about a high school girl (around 15–17 years old) who lost her mother in Antarctica, I think (I forgot the exact place). She wants to go there to find her.

She does everything she can — earning money at such a young age, pushing herself hard — and her determination even causes trouble for others. But she eventually gets the opportunity to a project that allows her to go there. Along the way, she makes some friends and shares meaningful moments with ... them. That’s the plot.

So, why did I hate it? Why did I give it only a 6/10? Why don’t I recommend it?

Because the story progresses very slowly. Many episodes feel emotionless, boring. There's little fun, almost no comedy, and the drama is minimal.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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