Someone was saying the world is ending. But I like this world.*
From the top-left, clockwise: Rio, Filicia, Noël, Kanata and Kureha
"This sound strikes a chord. Whether in Rome or Helvetia, it is the same."
—Kanata Sorami
So Ra No Wo To is an anime that aired in the winter of 2010 and was directed by Mamoru Kanbe. Produced by Aniplex as a part of TV Tokyo's Anime no Chikara project, it is an Anime First, and centres around a young girl named Kanata Sorami, who joins the 1121st platoon of the Helvetican Army in the town of Seize. So Ra No Wo To was streamed on Crunchyroll(except episode 7.5). In 2011, Nozomi Entertainmentreleased it on DVD as Sound of the Sky, the English translation of the series title.At a young age, Kanata was inspired by a trumpeter's rendition of "Amazing Grace", and thereafter, decided to become a bugler. While on her way to the Clocktower Fortress, Kanata loses her way and stumbles into a festival dedicated to the Fire Maidens, who saved the town from a fire-breathing demon in a legend from a forgotten age. As the other platoon members train her to be a bugler, Kanata's own cheerfulness and innocence drives the other members to find their own happiness in a world devastated by conflicts.Over the next year, Kanata adjusts to life at the Clocktower Fortress, learning more about music and the events that shaped the world around her, all the while brightening up her brigade's day. Even as the calm in Seize gives way to the threat of war, Kanata's optimism brings the legend of the Fire Maidens to life once more...
Tropes in So Ra No Wo To include:
After the End: A major war that occurred roughly three hundred years earlier reduced the world's population and regressed technology to early twentieth-century standards.
Amazing Freaking Grace: The central musical theme, which drives Kanata's desire to play the trumpet and ultimately embodies harmony and forgiveness when Kanata plays the song during the confrontation between the Helvetian and Roman forces.
Kyrie Kuon, a character exclusive to the PSP Visual Novel.
And Man Grew Proud: The degree to which Helvetian and Roman mythologies are true is unclear and contested, but share similarities in that both accounts are embellished recollections of the great war they fought and involve supernatural punishment of some kind.
Apocalypse How: Class I: several relics from the past civilization remain, but much of the world is uninhabitable save small regions. However, the consequences of the war might lead to a Class IV; with the ocean receding and the surface succumbing to desertification, despite the war with "Them" having ended centuries ago.
Aside Glance: Kureha does this twice in the first OVA.
A Truce While We Gawk: Both the Helvetican and Roman armies temporarily halt their advances when Kanata plays Amazing Grace in the midst of the battlefield.
Baker's Dozen: There are two bonus DVD-only episodes.
Batman In My Basement: The crew decides to hide Aisha to avoid wrecking the peace talks.
Big Creepy Crawlies: The Takemikazuchi has an unusual gait, moving with a far higher degree of mobility compared to the slow strides of other spider tanks in the era.
Big Damn Heroes: Rio's timely arrival allows her to enforce the peace treaty between the Helvetian and Roman at the end of episode twelve, preventing an all-out war from breaking out.
Bilingual Bonus: Aisha's lines are in German, and the lyrics of Servante de Feu are in French.
Binocular Shot: This is adverted in episode nine, when the point of view is from the scope of Kureha's rifle rather than Kanata's binoculars when the two are out on patrol.
Black Box: The technology that remains from the previous age has become inoperable by humanity, including a Ragnarok-proofed system located near Helvetia's border with No-Man's Land that serves an unknown purpose.
Blatant Lies: When Kureha points out that Yumina shouldn't be in a mock battle with them.
Kureha: "This is not a game!"
Yumina: "I swear to the eight million spirits I'm not doing this just to try on the uniform." *giggles*
Book Ends: Episode one took place during the Maiden of Fire festival (with Rio as the maiden) with the girls standing at the fort entrance waiting for Kanata to report for duty. The last scene in the TV broadcast ends with them at the same spot waiting for Rio's replacement. The bonus episode thirteen, which marks the final episode of the entire series, take place exactly one year later during another Maidens of Flame festival, this time with Kanata as the maiden.
Bottle Episode: The events of episode eight occur within the confines of the Clocktower's dining room and a few nearby corridors.
Bring News Back: Someone has to tell the Roman and Helvetian forces that the peace treaty has been signed since the Epic Hail range is fairly short for people without Super Senses.
Bullet Hole Door: In order to take out their Spider Tank a hole in the wall is required. They went a bit overboard, though.
Call to Agriculture: Klaus has shown an inclination for moving into an agricultural occupation.
Child Soldiers: Most of the main cast are in their teens yet are enlisted servicewomen. Kanata and Kureha in particular are 15 and 14, respectively, while Noël is 15 but has been participating in military activities ever since she was deceived into developing biological weapons as a little girl. Rio is 17, and Filicia is 18, being only slightly older than the other members of the 1121st.
Command Roster: The 1121st Squad is at the minimum size for a tank platoon in the Helvetian army.
Cosy Catastrophe: While the rest of the world has fallen into disrepair, small regions (like Seize) remain habitable, with its residents going about their everyday lives as usual.
Creator Provincialism: A rather unusual subversion is present; initially, the setting is an Expy of Switzerland, with European architecture and minor elements derived from Japanese culture present to give the impression that Japanese customs are more universal. However, the number of instances eventually reaches the extent where they are clearly intentional: in the last episode Rio gets hold of a map that shows that actually they are in Japan, but the sea level has receded to the point where it is now connected to Eurasia.
Credits Running Sequence: The sequence features Kanata running around Seize or against a blue sky backdrop.
Cryptic Background Reference: A large number of references are made to background details about the setting with no attempt to explain them, In the case of facts about the war with Them, no one alive knows what happened anymore.
Crystal Dragon Jesus: The Helvetian Orthodox Church is an exercise in syncretism, integrating elements from Liturgical Christianity and Shinto. This is demonstrated when the church hands out Shinto/Buddhist-style charms written in kanji.
Cue the Sun: The sun is seemingly on Kanata's speed dial whenever she needs a striking background for her trumpet performances.
Helvetia is French-speaking, celebrates Chinese and Japanese festivals, its military dresses like WWII Germany, and its rulers hold Eastern European titles.
The country named Rome is populated by Middle Eastern people who speak German.
Curb-Stomp Battle: The Takemikazuchi disables several tanks from the 9th division and applies the "stomping" element in a literal sense during the finale. When humanity squared off against "Them", Spider Tanks were on the receiving end.
Danger Room Cold Open: Episode five opens with the 1121st platoon engaging in combat with an unseen enemy. When their rounds hit, Rio leaves the cabin of the Takemikazuchi to signal for an advance, but it turns out that they are inside the hanger and participating in a combat exercise.
Drawing Straws: This is how they decided the Maiden of Fire is chosen; Felicia rigs it so Rio is chosen.
Dream Melody: Amazing Freaking Grace is immediately recognizable by Rio, Kanata, and even A’isha. It is part of the Takemikazuchi's OS and carries symbolic importance for all of them.
Drives Like Crazy: Klaus's reckless sidecar driving leaves Kanata in tears in the first episode.
Dysfunction Junction: The girls suffer the gamut of hang-ups from minor confidence issues (Kanata) to really ugly stuff (Filicia's post-traumatic stress disorder, Noël's guilt over her part in the Invisible Reaper plague).
Earth All Along: In episode 13, Rio receives a map of the world and points out to Kanata that Helvetia is not in Europe but in Japan all along.
Earn Your Happy Ending: It may take fighting your own army, but things can work out in the end.
Fake Ultimate Hero: Klaus is not really the Desert Wolf, just a really good lookalike. However, this doesn't stop him from becoming a real hero and saving Kureha in the middle of a typhoon.
Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Seize, an animated copycat of Cuenca, Spain, is in the country of Helvetia, a Switzerland stand-in where Helvetian (French) is the main language. Elements of several other cultures are present, especially those of Japan. Furthermore, in Rome, people are Ambiguously Brown and speak German.
Festival Episode: The festival in the first episode has many distinctly Asian traits despite being set in an Ersatz Switzerland. Episode 7 also features Toro Nagashi/Fiesta des Lumiéres.
First Name Basis: Filicia, the leader of the 1121st, prefers that everyone call each other by name instead of rank to promote friendship.
In the third episode Filicia comments on Rio's lack of manners with: "What would your father say if he could see you?"
A more subtle example in episode four, when Noël asks Kanata if she is frightened by a machine that’s killed many people. After the revelation that Noël is the Witch of Helvetia, she was asking the question with respect to herself as well, rather than the Takemikazuchi alone.
Noël has one near the end of Episode eleven and throughout episode twelve, the latter being induced by a Hannibal Lecture delivered by Hopkins
Filicia in the Episode 7 flashbacks. She loses her faith in a fair world after her ordeal and recovers by following the example of the person who rescued her, Iliya.
General Ripper: Colonel Hopkins will do whatever he can to have a war with Rome.
Gilligan Cut: In the second episode Kanata and Noel think that they saw a ghost in the barracks of their base. Kureha disagrees, suggesting that they're seeing things. Rio agrees with Kureha... cut to Kureha and Kanata standing at the entrance to the barracks, with Rio ordering them to investigate before turning around and running herself (and shouting those orders from a safe distance, no less).
The Gunslinger: Rio has a high degree of proficiency with small arms.
The Glomp: Kanata and Kureha are particularly fond of this maneuver, doing it to Rio in the finale. Kanata also glomps Kureha in Episodes two and five, and Kureha does it to Rio in the ED.
Goal in Life: In the second OVA, Kanata discusses with various characters what their life-long dreams are.
Gory Discretion Shot: In episode seven, that arm wasn't attached to a body anymore.
Gratuitous English: The ending theme throws in English lines, and the Takemikazuchi's OS uses rather weird English in its displays, such as "NOMARL".
Gratuitous French/Gratuitous Japanese: Helvetians write and presumably speak French but many names are in Japanese, despite no-one other than priests being able to read and write the language in any fashion (children are named by the priests and their parents are presented with their name in kanji, or "ideomoji", in order to create their Personal Seals, in Seize at least). Any ancient text they discover is in Kanji, and thus illegible to them.
Gratuitous German: Subverted for the Roman soldier A’isha, who speaks fluent and has a Middle Eastern name.
Great Off Screen War: The War with "Them" is only mentioned in the passing, but otherwise not discussed in any detail.
Group Hug: All the girls but Rio in episode seven.
Heartwarming Orphan: Sister Yumina cares for several orphans, including Seiya and Mishio, both of whom become closer to Kanata.
Hollywood Tactics: While the infantry and armour columns were organized in a seemingly poor manner in the modern era during episode twelve, this is averted because technology has regressed; just as the technology has reached the levels humans had at the start 20th century, the deployment tactics of ground forces is similar to early tank tactics used in World War One.
Homage: The opening sequence puts the main characters within the works of painter Gustav Klimt.
How We Got Here: Episode eight begins with Kanata in a tacky dress sitting, looking quite distressed, and then flashes back to a few hours before.
Humans Are Flawed: The series comes close to upholding Rousseau Was Right, but not quite. Colonel Hopkins finds war the motor of civilization, and someone in Seize ratted out on Aisha's being sheltered in the castle.
Image Song: There are five so far, each featuring various combinations of the cast.
Imagine Spot: In the second episode, Kanata imagines what the world might've looked like if not for the war, with the girls all practicing music while wearing school uniforms.
Improbably Female Cast: Played straight with the 1121 Platoon and Filicia's old team, but averted for the rest of the military, who hit the opposite end of the sex balance.
Last Fertile Region: Helvetia, Rome and the neighbouring countries, apparently.
Locked Out of the Loop: Something is being kept from Kanata by the rest of the platoon, and Naomi is in on it too; episode six reveals it to be the fact that the 1121st illegally distills and sells calvados to the mob to make up for lack of payment from HQ and has been since before our girls were stationed there. Following an epic drunken mock battle, Kanata finds out about it in the first OVA.
The Mafia: The 1121st deal in bootleg liquor alongside various other goods.
Mauve Shirt: Filicia's old crew seen in episode seven.
The ghost that Kanata and Noël saw is ultimately revealed to be a girl who died many years before "They" attacked in the drama CD. Rio helps her with her Unfinished Business and she disappears.
Memento Macguffin: A jingle bell that Rio wears around her neck and belonged to the mysterious trumpeteer seen in the very first sequence of the series.
The Messiah: Princess Iliya is one of The Paragon type, given her lasting influence on people.
Episode eleven ends with the cliffhanger with a gunshot being fired and it's unknown if it's the Roman soldier A’isha or Noël who's been hit. The scene fades to black, and the viewer is treated to more 'AIJOU YUUJOU!!
Mundane Utility: Spider tanks possess rappelling gear that proves to be highly useful for rescuing people.
No Sense of Direction: Kanata does have a tendency to get lost easily, although she enjoys it. This is averted in Noël's case, who manages to find the observation stations despite having lost their compass, although it does take them a little longer than they would otherwise have.
Not So Stoic: Humorously done with Noël in the first OVA, where the garrison (plus Sister Yumina) plays a war game and she goes on a rampage with her modified water Gatling gun. This may have something to do with Filicia spiking the tea with Calvados. Either way, it further reinforces the fact that Noël isn't a Rei clone.
Paintball Episode: The first of the DVD-exclusive episodes centers around the 1121st and Yumina partaking in a mock battle with dye guns.
Personal Seals: Kanata uses her stamp to sign the transfer order in the first episode. It's implied that everyone gets these soon after they are born, with the "ideograms" (Japanese kanji) for their names carved into them.
Posthumous Character: Princess Iliya is only seen in a few flashbacks, the first one opening the series
Potty Emergency: Kanata suffers through this throughout most of Episode eight, except it elevates to Potty Failure.
The Power of Rock: Subverted in that while Amazing Freaking Grace did stall the two armies from fighting for a short time, it takes Rio and her peace treaty to actually stop them.
Reckless Gun Usage: In the finale, the soldiers toss helmets into the air upon learning that they didn’t have to fight. The celebration seems well, or at least until loaded rifles begin appearing up in the air with those helmets.
Retro Universe: Helvetia models their military uniforms and gear after World War II Wermacht, and everything looks like early 20th Century.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: Princess Iliya was evidently an extremely competent tank commander and even went on a tour of the country to raise morale. She even died trying to save a child from drowning. Rio becomes one at the end, averting a war by riding on top of a tank between the two armies and announcing the peace treaty.
Ruins of the Modern Age: This is apparent in No Man's Land and in the flashbacks to Binnenland.
Sacred Language: Japanese has apparently become this in French-speaking Helvetia.
Scenery Gorn: No Man's Land, a vast desert from which ruined skyscrappers jut out..
Scenery Porn: The regions untouched by the war are beautiful landscapes with lush vegetation and blue skies.
Scavenger World: Some of the ancient technologies can be operated, while others serve unknown functions
Schizo Tech: The 1121st are equipped with World War II era equipment but happen to have an inoperational computerized high-tech Spider Tank in the garage. This is clear in episode four: glass-blowers replicating a machine-made laser-sensor lens using traditional manual techniques find that the task is challenging.
Sempai Kohai: Filicia and Rio are seniors to the other three, but it's most notable in how Kanata and Kureha look up to Rio.
Shout Out: Kanata mentions swearing the Oath of Parador when joining the army in Episode four - the series 'creator' is named as "Paradores". In Spain, a parador is one of a chain of luxury resorts located in a picturesque location, often a historical building. The Clocktower Fortress just happens to be modeled mostly upon Cuenca's parador, which was originally a convent.
Sick Episode: Kanata goes down with malaria in episode 3, just as Rio is the only one home to take care of her.
Simultaneous Arcs: Episode six, with the same events seen from the team's and Kanata's perspective respectively.
Snow Means Death: The coming of the winter to the series (episode 10) means things get serious, starting with Madam Jacquotte's death.
Soundtrack Dissonance: An intense tank battle is set to to the slow, melancholic Servante de Feu.
Something about a Rose: A prop used by Filicia during a fake Calvados deal gone bad put on to scare off the more violent central Mafia edging into Seize.
Takemikazuchi, rather than Takemicaduchi, Take-Mikazuchi, Takemikaduchi or any other variant
Iliya, rather than Iria.
Olga, rather than Origa.
Spider Tank: The design allows them to scale buildings, wreckage and sheer cliff walls, which is highly useful given the geography of Helvetia
Square/Cube Law: Subverted, since Takemikazuchi has a system that allows gravity exerted on it to be reduced fivefold, allowing it to become insanely agile for its size. This is played straight for the modern knock-offs: lacking this device, they can only move in slow, lumbering strides.
Staged Shooting: Nöel and Kureha unload their machine guns at two men, causing two members of the mafia to flee in terror. It turns out the guns were loaded with blank rounds, and the two men fired at regularly do business with the Clocktower Maidens.
Surprisingly Good Roman: Aisha's VA, Nami Miyahara, grew up in Austria. German viewers claim Aisha speaks somewhat informal, but otherwise fine, German.
Kanata on phone duty: “I haven't been sleeping! A-Absolutely have not been sleeping!”
Seiya's description of Kanata reads as follows: "She's easily amused, she forgets everything, she's just like a little kid, and she's not sexy at all!"
On the first drama CD, Kureha explains how she's never heard strange noises, felt like someone's watching her, or generally felt the presence of a ghost in any way. Ever!
Title Drop: In the first episode, and several times later, usually referring to Amazing Grace.
Title Only Opening: The final episode begins with the resolution of the previous episode's cliffhanger ending, without the opening theme. There's also no closing theme, with an epilogue taking place as the end credits roll, and the eyecatches are gone.
Translation Convention: Based on the written texts that appear, Helvetian is French. Some text appears to be Japanese kanji, which only the priesthood seem able to read. Strangely, one of the lanterns in episode seven has English writing on it and some signs in Seize are written in Spanish.
Wham Episode: Episode seven reflects on Filicia's post-traumatic stress disorder from wartime.
What Do You Mean, It's Not Awesome?: The battle with water guns. Granted, it was technically a military exercise, but everyone except Kureha behaved quite over the top, with Heroic Sacrifices and dramatic last words, a consequence of being drunk at the time
Sweets and a cup of something hot are the ideal thing to have after committing treason and before a war.
For a less literal example, Rio laments in episode 13 that the nations of the world are wasting their time with wars while the Earth slowly dies, and mentions Holy Rome turning into a desert as an example.
Women Drivers: While most of the females are competent drivers, Kanata's tendency to take her eyes off the road when driving results in chaos.
X Meets Y: Viewers feel that So Ra No Wo To can be described as a combination of several shows, not limited to:
Yodel Land: The entire series take place here, complete with snowy mountains. Despite the location being Japan, the town, buildings and countryside are actually based on the Spanish town of Cuenca, right down to the odd rock pillars and the house on the edge of a cliff.
(except episode 7.5). In 2011, Nozomi Entertainment released it on DVD
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