Kujira no kora wa sajô ni utau

This show was buried in Netflix recommendations. I wished I had seen it sooner because this was a pleasant surprise. The world building is top tier and the clash between the main characters' civilization and their oppressive villains is incredibly engaging.

This show is similar to other shows and movies where you have a civilization that knows nothing of the outside world and then are brutally brought down to earth and forced to not only acknowledge the outside world but also combat those who wish to harm them. However, the execution of this story is striking and original; I was never thinking of a similar show during the entire runtime.

Right out of the gate, the civilization is pushed to their emotional limits after experiencing tragedy. Seeing them take a stand was so powerful and emotionally satisfying. The action did not shy away from the psychological brutality of the violence and sense of loss. The civilization acts with their hearts on their sleeve which in turn makes the audience emotionally invested in the characters. No main character stands out, rather the combined social structure of the civilization is what draws the audience's investment. At the same time, there is a long mystery associated with their civilization and their past that comes into play as the story plays out which adds an extra layer of interest.

The animation is unique with backgrounds that look like water colored still images. The facial expressions and outline of the characters is intricate to make them stand out in the crowds of their civilization. The buildings, environment, and magic effects are gorgeous to look at.

Unfortunately, it looks like Netflix did not continue the show. Its a shame since there is 5x more material afterwords in the manga. If you did like this show, I highly recommend continuing with the manga. It's worth your time.

The show treads some well-worn tracks in terms of its themes (friendship, selflessness, love & loss) and a few cliche anime plot devices (Young Adults fighting each other with magical powers) but the setting & story are creative and intriguing - a small community, some of whom are born with mysterious psychokinetic abilities, are sailing aimlessly aboard a drifting island which they call the Mud Whale; after decades of isolation they suddenly discover they're not alone in the world, and the outsiders may know the tragic secret behind their magic... This story, combined with the beautiful art & animation style - the vistas are almost like oil paintings while the magical elements are added in stunning CGI - makes the Mud Whale feel like its own unique world. The main characters are likable and they develop well as the show progresses - in some unexpected ways too, which are equally heartwarming and heartbreaking. Overall, its one of the best anime which Netflix has involved itself in (not that there's a lot of competition) and definitely worth a binge if you want an anime with less bombastic fighting & fanservice, and more understated emotion & quiet beauty.

Although it is a sad story overall, I think one of the main goals of it is to teach young about humanity, unity, hope, war, negotiation, even politics in a simple but magic way!

This anime is actually pretty decent. It starts off pretty easy going and inncocent, but then takes a dark, gruesome turn. The plot is interesting, the powers are unique, and the combat is gripping. The animations look similar to SOA. American voice actors from Bleach, SOA, Blue Exorcist, and Fullmetal Alchemist star in this show.

I'm not all of the way through it yet (two episodes to go!), but I feel compelled to come on here and write something about it.

When I first started watching 'Children of the Whales', I have to admit that I found it pretty dull to begin with but on the hand I was intrigued by its originality and decided to stick with it to see where it was heading, and... Well, I'm really glad that I did! Although it does start off pretty slowly, it takes a very dark turn around half way through the season and actually gets very good indeed. In fact, I found that the contrast between the idyllic beginning and the subsequent violence when Falaina is invaded was actually pretty shocking.

It's always great to discover an anime that isn't all about giant robots and shallow characters, and with CotW it's the characters and writing that really makes it stand out. There's some really great character development throughout the first series and many of the ideas and concepts are brilliantly original and are executed with some of the nicest art and designs I've seen in an anime for quite some time. There's a deep seam of emotion running through the show as well, and it is with some reluctance that I admit that it actually made me well up on more than one occasion.

Much of this emotion is down to the really rather superb music, with both the opening and closing title music (and the incidental music throughout the show) being absolutely amazing - in fact, it's one of the few shows where I actually watch them all the way through to listen to them, which is high praise indeed.

Overall, I'd got as far as saying that this is one of the most stunningly original anime I've seen in ages and I can't wait to see if they're going to make a second series.