Director: Various
Maturity Rating: 16+ (Netflix: Violence, nudity)
Studio: J. C. Staff, Bandai Visual
Release: 2017
Runtime: 12 episodes, 20+ minutes each
This is a twelve-episode Japanese anime set in a unique dystopian world where islands float as ships in seas of sand instead of water. The story centres on one such island called the Mud Whale. It is not clear what happened or what caused this and if it is set in the Earth we know or a totally unique universe by itself.
The inhabitants of Mud Whale consist of two castes - one with (Star Wars) Force-like abilities called Thymia and one without. Those able to wield Thymia are called the Marked which will become evident almost immediately because of strange markings that appear on their bodies when they call upon these magical powers. Unfortunately, they have short lifespans. Why? You will have to watch the series to find out. With obvious reasons, the Mud Whale is governed by the Unmarked, the caste without Thymia.
To survive, the people of Mud Whale count on rain, farming, and harvest other islands that they encounter throughout their journey. As strange as the world itself, they have never come across any other islands with people in it. As the story unravels, they will eventually find an island with its first inhabitant. While roaming the island, protagonist Chakuro encounters a girl whom by the label of her clothes she is named Lykos. She appears to be the sole survivor of some battle. She is weak and, as a result, she passes out and is brought to the Mud Whale.
Strange things begin happening and it is revealed later that Lykos’ people label the inhabitants of Mud Whale as criminals and are all out to terminate them. The rest of the story is all about the challenges faced by the Mud Whale and how they try to resolve the conflicts. Each episode is slightly more than twenty minutes. Although short, I did not find it boring. In fact, more often than not, I had to resist from binge-watching the series... and believe it or not, this is my first ever Japanese anime series.
There is not much world-building here but new characters are introduced every now and then. The pace of the story is sometimes uneven and towards the end, it seems a bit hushed - especially the last two episodes. Suddenly, new characters in a new location appear but without much introduction and information.
When I started the series, I expected it will have a clear cut ending (twelve episodes is a good length for a beginner). Although there is a major resolution, the series ended in some sort of an open-ended way. After some sleuthing through the web, it seems the manga which the series is based on still has ways to go. So we can anticipate a second season although, and sadly, as of now, there is no news of one in the near future. For fans of this anime, we will just have to wait.
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