Yama no Susume ~Next Summit~ (Encouragement to Climb pt 4)

[BBOvenGuy]

Once again, I'm amazed by how freakin' civilized Japanese mountains are. I've hiked all through the mountains around Los Angeles, and the only place that comes anywhere close is the Cosmic Café at the Mount Wilson Observatory. Most mountaintops, all you get is the little USGS marker, and maybe a log book that someone has left there.

Kokona may get a wimpy introduction, but sometimes I think she's the toughest one in the group. She made it all the way up Fuji, and lots of times she goes hiking in a frilly dress.

[Ghostfriendly]

Great to see these beloved characters again with their charming personal struggles, as well as beautiful, meticulously researched background animation. Over half a full series of new content is certainly good news.

Originally Posted by BBOvenGuy

Kokona may get a wimpy introduction, but sometimes I think she's the toughest one in the group. She made it all the way up Fuji, and lots of times she goes hiking in a frilly dress.

Kokona's introduction as a scatterbrain is far from her later characterisation as a prodigy of intelligence and competence. She's very cute, either way. Aoi's inner snark, calling her a pain, very much establishes this as more than a generic CGDCT. The character work is somewhat better than Laid Back Camp, though that was a very good show as well

[Infinite Zenith]

Originally Posted by BBOvenGuy

Once again, I'm amazed by how freakin' civilized Japanese mountains are. I've hiked all through the mountains around Los Angeles, and the only place that comes anywhere close is the Cosmic Café at the Mount Wilson Observatory. Most mountaintops, all you get is the little USGS marker, and maybe a log book that someone has left there..

These are the earlier mountains, the ones that are meant to be beginner-friendly and remind Aoi that she's got a welcoming place to start. Having said this, even the easy hikes in our area consist of a dirt path, and sometimes, there are no indicators of where the trail itself is. Half the fun is trying to keep up with the trail, of course.

[Ghostfriendly]

Since someone thumbsdowned my last post, they might have disagreed with it. Unexpected character points in Encouragement of Climb, like Aoi's social anxiety hiding a sharp tongue, her slap-kiss relationship with carefree Hinata, who actually works as a tutor, and mature-underwear girl being a ditz with mountains on the brain, puts it above similar series. The camper girls are adorable and have many cute experiences, the odd superficial surprising trait, but all fairly one-note.

[Infinite Zenith]

Originally Posted by Ghostfriendly

Since someone thumbsdowned my last post, they might have disagreed with it.

The post icon is something you're in control of: you can always edit the post and change it back to "no icon". Other users don't have the ability to up or down-vote posts here.

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[Ghostfriendly]

Originally Posted by Infinite Zenith

The post icon is something you're in control of: you can always edit the post and change it back to "no icon". Other users don't have the ability to up or down-vote posts here.

Images

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Okay, thanks.

[Master_Yoma]

One more time to get to see Aoi fail at climbing Fuji but at less get to see how supportive Kaede really is

[BBOvenGuy]

The two mountains in this episode make up my favorite story arc of the entire series. I put the original episodes on my laptop and rewatched them out on Catalina Island last spring, when I went there on a writing/hiking retreat.

It's so realistic to me for Aoi to struggle and suffer and say, "I'm never doing this again," only to go right back out there once she's recovered. That's how you know that it's something you were meant to do.

The episode reminded me again that I'd love to write my own Southern California version of this series, including all my favorite mountains around here. Maybe I will someday.

And next week, Honoka arrives!

[Kanon]

I didn't remember the sports festival. It was pretty sweet. Hinata grabbing Aoi was the highlight, but I loved that Kaede stopped and took the time to savor the bread she was supposed to grab during the competition

Speaking of Kaede, man, that ending is super yuri.

[BBOvenGuy]

The sports festival was original content for this season. Did you spot the new girl Koharu among Kaede's red teammates?

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by BBOvenGuy

The sports festival was original content for this season. Did you spot the new girl Koharu among Kaede's red teammates?

That certainly explains why I didn't remember it. And no, I didn't see her.

[Ghostfriendly]

So much youthful friendship and tsun-tsun in the sports festival. Mt Fuji climb very well done again; I don't remember seeing the noisy Americans so much, but beautiful art contrasts well with Aoi's discouragement, and the focus on relationships is strong.

[BBOvenGuy]

Originally Posted by Kanon

That certainly explains why I didn't remember it. And no, I didn't see her.

Oops, she's actually on Team Yellow. But she's standing next to Kaede (who is much taller, as you can see), so I mis-remembered.

[Infinite Zenith]

Originally Posted by BBOvenGuy

The two mountains in this episode make up my favorite story arc of the entire series. I put the original episodes on my laptop and rewatched them out on Catalina Island last spring, when I went there on a writing/hiking retreat.

It's so realistic to me for Aoi to struggle and suffer and say, "I'm never doing this again," only to go right back out there once she's recovered. That's how you know that it's something you were meant to do.

The episode reminded me again that I'd love to write my own Southern California version of this series, including all my favorite mountains around here. Maybe I will someday.

And next week, Honoka arrives!

There's certainly no shortage of possibility; Aoi's experiences are universal and would work anywhere in the world. I completed a smaller mountain last weekend (666 metres over 3.3 km) ahead of the second episode's airing so I could experience what Aoi experienced, and mountain climbing is no joke. Even a comparatively easier hike left me gassed halfway up, and it takes a certain grit to put one foot in front of the other, knowing that one's still got another hour to go before hitting the summit.

[Master_Yoma]

Well Honoka is finely here and Kokona having such a weird dream

So Aoi and Hinata are in Tokyo

[Infinite Zenith]

They definitely did their research: everything Hinata says about Atago Shrine is true. There's only one more recap now, and then we'll get to Next Summit's main content

[BBOvenGuy]

Honoka is my favorite mountain girl. Just like her, I like to go out and hike solo, just me and my camera. And now that I know she's voiced by the same seiyuu that does YuruCamp's Shima Rin, I can really hear it.

I've never hiked in a rainstorm - because Southern California - but I've gone through the cloud deck a few times. Topatopa Bluff, in the Los Padres Forest near Ojai, has a "cloud forest" about halfway up. That is to say, there's a region full of tall trees and lush vegetation, thanks to the clouds that bump up against the mountain at that altitude. I hiked through it in the fog last May, and it was one of the most fun hikes I've ever had, even if I did get pretty wet. Around the 4000-foot level, there's a small primitive campground - no "mountain huts" for us. I stopped there last time, and sat eating my lunch in the spooky fog. You could have filmed a really good horror movie that day.

I like that these compilations are focusing on the mountains and the hiking instead of the various extra-curricular activities, which I've always thought were a bit silly. I hope they keep that up when they get into the new material.

[Kanon]

Aoi has trouble climbing stairs. She was a hundred years too early to challenge Mt. Fuji!

[SeijiSensei]

I like Aoi much better than her counterpart in Do It Yourself!, clumsy Serufu with all the band-aids. Aoi feels more like a real girl while Serufu is a meme.

[Ghostfriendly]

Originally Posted by BBOvenGuy

I like that these compilations are focusing on the mountains and the hiking instead of the various extra-curricular activities, which I've always thought were a bit silly. I hope they keep that up when they get into the new material.

I liked all the non-mountaineering skits, especially Aoi and Hinata's cute arguments, the fireflies, the couple spot and the mountains of homework episode. There's some lovely scenic art, especially the sun coming through a sea of clouds this ep, but the characters are the series and all their different situations show their characters. As well as some lovely food, and street-by-street shots of Hanno city. The 'a bunch of stuff happened' cut was disappointing, and acknowledging the cut material only broke my immersion in the story. A frame-by-frame full-length remake of the previous series would be something I'd entirely enjoy. We've barely seen Yuka, Aoi's mum, or Kaede's underwear.

The Mt Atago this episode bit this episode (not the one in Kyoto) did tie in well to an episode theme of the need for goals, as well as looking beyond them. Although this was pondered somewhat more in the original series' extended runup to Mt Tanigawa