A few years ago, when the Actors Strike was in full force, the local Galaxycon still had actors as part of the festivities. There were rules about what they could and couldn’t do during the weekend. The big no-no was to talk about current, past and future film and TV projects. During the interview segments, the actors skipped over the usual showbiz stories and focused on something they did off the set. Steve Burns who played Steve on Blue’s Clues had an amazing tale about how he lucked into a journey to Antartica. He described the last-minute shopping to make sure he had clothes warm enough. He recounted the boat trip. Finally, we got a description of his arrival at the icy bottom of the world and his first encounter with a penguin. That’s when he let us in on something he and we had never considered: Penguin Fatigue. The little tuxedo wearing birds wore him out and they kept showing up to stare at him. It was an exciting and entertaining talk from Steve Burns, Antarctica Explorer. I bring this up because A Place Further Than The Universe is an anime series about a group of four high school girls who take part in an exploration of Antarctica. Do they also experience Penguin Fatigue?
Mari Tamaki (Inori Minase/Xanthe Huynh) is a high schooler who wants to do something exciting in her rather static life. She’s thinking a simple trip until she encounters her classmate Shirase Kobuchizawa (Kana Hanazawa/Erica Mendez) who has been saving up a small fortune in order to visit Antarctica. Why there? Because Shirase’s mother had left for the Southern destination nearly three years before and was missing. Mari is determined to join her new friend so they can locate her mother. They find two other teenage girls who are also eager head to the land of penguins. This isn’t just a straightforward trip where they buy tickets at the airport as if they were going to San Francisco for a week. They learn quickly that joining an Antarctica expedition is complicated since you have to be part of a crew of a ship visiting the place along with paying a small fortune for airplane tickets to fly South to meet up with the ship. Mari and Shirase are determined to make the journey. Will they get a chance to locate the lost mother between their assigned tasks?
A Place Further Than The Universe is a remarkable 13-episode journey involving Mari, Shirase and their two friends. Having seen a few documentaries and hearing Steve Burns’ tale, there’s nothing easy about a visit to Antarctica. This is not for the kind of tourist that likes to use the word “glamping.” The anime gives a sense of what difficulties are involved in such an endeavor. By using animation, the producers and directors don’t have to worry about things such as their cast catching hypothermia, their cameras freezing up and crew being mugged by penguins. They can capture the shot without braving the icy elements. I doubt anyone creating the artwork had their fingers turning blue – unless some ink spilled on their desk. You can appreciate their beauty of the frozen land in artwork that shines on the screen. The four high schoolers persevere against the harsh nature around them. A Place Further Than The Universe has quite a bit of heartwarming moments for a series about a frozen land.
The Video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The 1080p transfer brings out the visual effects created to give a sense of the ocean and the ice life on Antartica. The Audio is DTS-HD MA 5.1 in English. The Japanese track is LPCM 2.0 stereo. The English subtitles appear on the Japanese version.
Clean Op (1:31) is a music video using clips from the series.
Clean Ed (1:31) is a music video using clips from the series.
Behind the Scenes (8:06) introduces us to the voice actors for the American dub of the series. We see how the director in charge of the dub communicates with the voice cast to get the right tone and timing for their lines. It is interesting to see their expressions and movements to get their voices just right.
Shout! Studios present A Place Further Than The Universe: The Complete Series. Directed by Atsuko Ishizuka. Screenplays by Jukki Hanada. Starring Inori Minase, Xanthe Huynh, Kana Hanazawa, Erica Mendez, Yuka Iguchi, Kayli Mills, Saori Hayami and Amanda Lee. Boxset Contents: 13 episodes on 2 Blu-ray discs. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: April 29, 2025.
