(CR) Sora Yori mo Tooi Basho: A Story That Leads to Antarctica

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Tenzen12

They can't became proper members if they don't pull own weight financially.

They already made it clear they won't take her money. That's why the story has Yuzuki as a plot device to resolve this situation.

Proper members means they would have to be beneficial to team.

Unless they have the daughter of whoever is paying for the expedition on their side. If Yuzuki convinces her mother to let them in, the other members will have to accept her decision.

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by nojay

My guess is that there is going to be some kind of Junior Adventurer thing based on a competition or similar, funded by the Japanese government to promote the Shirase's working trip to Antarctica and offering places on board to a few high-school students.

That was my guess as well though it sounded like the government wasn't going to pony up. Maybe the private entity will run the competition and use it to promote the expedition and maybe even raise money through contributions to support the girls' participation.

[Mistyclear]

Originally Posted by nojay

My guess is that there is going to be some kind of Junior Adventurer thing based on a competition or similar, funded by the Japanese government to promote the Shirase's working trip to Antarctica and offering places on board to a few high-school students. The three/four girls spend a number of episodes attempting to win those places and maybe some get on board but not all, drama, surprises, "all for one!", "go without me" etc.

Unlikely, this is a dangerous adventure to Antarctica with a chance of never coming back. No way would a government support the adventure of high school girls to such a dangerous place (not publicly anyway), the public would not take it well.
Like myself and some others are saying— the next girl is probably the one who manages to get them in.

[Gan_HOPE326]

Originally Posted by Mistyclear

Unlikely, this is a dangerous adventure to Antarctica with a chance of never coming back. No way would a government support the adventure of high school girls to such a dangerous place (not publicly anyway), the public would not take it well.
Like myself and some others are saying— the next girl is probably the one who manages to get them in.

Actually, turns out, there are civilian cruises to Antarctica. All you have to do is pay and do what you're told, and you can go and be relatively safe.

Of course you'll mostly stay very near the coast and the ship. Going into the inland, now that's a different matter...

[nojay]

Originally Posted by Gan_HOPE326

Actually, turns out, there are civilian cruises to Antarctica. All you have to do is pay and do what you're told, and you can go and be relatively safe.

I recently happened across someone's blog posts from just such a cruise. Most of the posts are about the cruise-ship experience, dining and entertainment and such but the limited shore visits to Antarctica were mentioned too. There were details like clothing, boots etc. have to be scrupulously clean before landing to avoid importing foreign bugs, plant spores and the like. It's maybe a bit late given that explorers, whalers and seal hunters have been landing there for a century and more without taking such precautions but it's now a requirement for the cruise ship operators to take those steps.

There are other odd things that make sense in retrospect -- the ship is kept "dark" to prevent seabirds being attracted by the lights during the long dark periods of the southern winter (March through August) so the cabins have blackout curtains.

[Gan_HOPE326]

Originally Posted by nojay

I recently happened across someone's blog posts from just such a cruise. Most of the posts are about the cruise-ship experience, dining and entertainment and such but the limited shore visits to Antarctica were mentioned too. There were details like clothing, boots etc. have to be scrupulously clean before landing to avoid importing foreign bugs, plant spores and the like. It's maybe a bit late given that explorers, whalers and seal hunters have been landing there for a century and more without taking such precautions but it's now a requirement for the cruise ship operators to take those steps.

There are other odd things that make sense in retrospect -- the ship is kept "dark" to prevent seabirds being attracted by the lights during the long dark periods of the southern winter (March through August) so the cabins have blackout curtains.

Who the fuck goes to Antarctica in winter though ? At least the girls are doing the sensible thing and going in December.

[nojay]

Originally Posted by Gan_HOPE326

Who the fuck goes to Antarctica in winter though ?

Astronomers. There are a number of observatories set up in Antarctica, usually well away from the coasts. Central Antarctica near the pole gets very little snow and doesn't even get much cloud cover -- it's actually classed as a desert since it gets less than four inches of rain-equivalent snow each year. That plus no urban lighting on the horizon makes it a good place for ground-based observing especially through the long dark winter.

Time was the ozone hole over the pole allowed observations deep into the ultra-violet from Antarctic observatories but thanks to greenie do-gooders the hole is closing and the UV observations are being curtailed.

[Gan_HOPE326]

Originally Posted by nojay

Astronomers. There are a number of observatories set up in Antarctica, usually well away from the coasts. Central Antarctica near the pole gets very little snow and doesn't even get much cloud cover -- it's actually classed as a desert since it gets less than four inches of rain-equivalent snow each year. That plus no urban lighting on the horizon makes it a good place for ground-based observing especially through the long dark winter.

Time was the ozone hole over the pole allowed observations deep into the ultra-violet from Antarctic observatories but thanks to greenie do-gooders the hole is closing and the UV observations are being curtailed.

Oh, wow. Never thought of it but yeah, it makes sense.

[Cloudedmind]

Originally Posted by Gan_HOPE326

Actually, turns out, there are civilian cruises to Antarctica. All you have to do is pay and do what you're told, and you can go and be relatively safe.

Of course you'll mostly stay very near the coast and the ship. Going into the inland, now that's a different matter...

It's funny how just this morning after watching the first two episodes last night I got an email from my local paper on 18 travel destinations to check out in 2018. Antarctica was on the top of the list. It had direct links to two companies that do expedition cruises. National Geographic, and Silversea. A one person trip is going to run you at least 10K USD. So yeah, while pricey it's still possible for civilians/tourist to go.

But for the type of trip Shirase wants to do, like you mentioned that's another matter.

[Haak]

I really want to like this show but I can't help but feel like it's really missing something fundamental. I can't quite put my finger on it but if I were to guess, I'd say the lack of decent comedy is really preventing this show from being a fun watch. It develops a bit of a dissonance when you see the characters running and laughing at their own situation but you're just not feeling it. I also get this weird feeling that the characters aren't all that distinct from one another and feel a bit one dimensional. The newest character was introduced to us by her giving an info dump on her background.

[Tenzen12]

Originally Posted by Cloudedmind

It's funny how just this morning after watching the first two episodes last night I got an email from my local paper on 18 travel destinations to check out in 2018. Antarctica was on the top of the list. It had direct links to two companies that do expedition cruises. National Geographic, and Silversea. A one person trip is going to run you at least 10K USD. So yeah, while pricey it's still possible for civilians/tourist to go.

But for the type of trip Shirase wants to do, like you mentioned that's another matter.

Expedition they aim for is more lax then regular ones, them being minor is biggest obstacle, but even than it doesn't seem to be against written rules. That said even if they can get permission, question will be how much they will have to pay...

[Kazu-kun]

They probably are gonna make the kids do some light work during the expedition so they're not totally dead weight. I doubt they'll have to pay anything though.

[Tenzen12]

Charity the anime

Getting in by pity or connection alone would be both kill be disrespectful to girls effort and would kill show. That's not gonna happen. They will need connection to be even allowed in as sponsors and of course they will not be exempted from work either. Anything less would be naive and unrealistic.

[Mistyclear]

Have any high schoolers been allowed on the civilian trips to Antarctica though? As well as been funded specially by the government? Those were actually my two points, but if they have then I’m wrong, that’s cool if I am though.

[Tenzen12]

Well Jade Hameister skied both poles and she is 16 so answer is apparently yes. (She was 14 when she made it to Northern one)

Well she wasn't funded by government, but she probably got some sponsors on her own

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Tenzen12

Charity the anime

Well, they don't need their money. They already got Shiraishi to pay for everything. Besides, they were really particular about not taking money from the kids anyway. So that's not gonna happen.

Maybe they'll need more than connections to get in. Maybe not. Either way, I'm pretty sure money won't be a factor.

[Tenzen12]

And that's where are you wrong again. If they will be allowed in it means they will not be treated as kids, but as members of expedition with equal conditions with everyone else. That include money and workload.

Expedition is not kiddy game.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Tenzen12

And that's where are you wrong again.

Because you can see the future, I see.

Originally Posted by Tenzen12

members of expedition with equal conditions. That include money and workload.

The members aren't paying for the expedition. Shiraishi is funding the project. I do agree they're probably gonna made the kids do some work though. I said as much in my previous post.

[Random Wanderer]

...How about we stop making absolute statements about things the show hasn't established yet, and just wait to see what happens? This argument has become circular.

[BBOvenGuy]

For what it's worth, Madeleine L'Engle's 1994 novel Troubling a Star is about a teenage girl going to Antarctica.

Many of my stories are about kids doing math and science, and I've done a lot of thinking about how to justify putting kids into scientific projects that are supposed to be adults-only. I like that this show is taking the question seriously, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they do it.