One of the main reasons I prefer novel adaptations to manga or light novels is that, usually, it’s harder for a novel to get picked up for one. To get that kind of attention, to get noticed, it’s hard. They don’t have the same mainstream reach. Why I’m not sure, maybe people just don’t like reading. Whatever the case, the point is that novels don’t seem get anime as often, and when they do they tend to be rather well written. Think The Great Passage, Run With the Wind, or Tatami Galaxy. So when I saw that one such novel was getting adapted this season, I was pretty excited! Everything about it seemed interesting, from the musical aesthetic to the named swords, it seemed fun! Little did I know what I was in for with Bye Bye Earth, originally written by Ton Ubukata, directed by Yasuto Nishikata and animated at LIDENFILMS.
Be warned, this review contains minor unmarked spoilers for Bye Bye, Earth. It also contains major spoilers in some sections however these will be heavily marked to avoid accidents.
Narrative
Let’s start with both the most important, and most confusing, part of Bye Bye, Earth, the narrative. To say this story was contentious would be an understatement. Not because of any concerning content or questionable depictions, though for those concerned there was one attempted rape scene near the end so be warned, but because it was confusing as all hell. From music effectively being magic and all of the terms that come along with that like Composer or Soloist taking on new meanings, to swords embodying the dreams and ideals of individuals and being able to grow along with them, Bye Bye, Earth can be very dense. Think Through the Looking-Glass. On it’s own this isn’t an issue, if you buy into the world and story early you’ll probably have a decent time. The problem will be those who don’t.
Simply put, Bye Bye, Earth puts zero effort into explaining itself, it’s setting, or anything that’s going on. At no point do you get any sort of explanation, it doesn’t try to walk you through anything or help you connect the dots. It simply throws everything at you, and whether or not you get it is up to you. To some, this is great! It makes Bye Bye, Earth like a puzzle to be solved, there’s a lot of discussion you can have as you try to figure things out and piece together the symbolism. And make no mistake, there’s definitely something here to figure out! Bye Bye, Earth isn’t just a shotgun of random bullcrap, there’s clear purpose and meaning behind all of it. The way swords can become corrupted, taking their owner along with it, or their connection to Yggdrasil and the two-faced God. It all means something, my interpretation of which I’ll talk about later.
So to find out if Bye Bye, Earth is for you, ask yourself this: How much are you willing to work for it? Do you want to be told what Belle being the “Girl of Reason” means, or figure it out yourself? What about why Belle is the only human, the reason behind the sword names, or what the special salts are made out of? All of these questions have answers if you look for them, or at least hints and promises leading into season two. For me, that made Bye Bye, Earth pretty satisfying, if a tad nonsensical and frustrating at times admittedly. If you can get past that initial frustration, stick with it and enjoy the process, enjoy what’s happening in the moment and try to piece it together as you go, you’ll have a good time. Just… It definitely requires some work.
Cast
All that said, there is one thing that makes Bye Bye, Earth’s narrative a bit more digestible, and that’s the cast. While rather large, there are a lot of named characters, there are only a select few you actually need to remember and pay attention to. From our lead, Belle Lablac, and her compatriots like Benedictine and Adonis the Question, to antagonists like Tiziano and a few others, the core cast of Bye Bye, Earth is actually pretty close-knit and solid. In the 10 episodes the series has, most of them get some kind of development as well. It’s not always positive, while Belle may become more self-actualized and sure of her goals others may fall deeper and deeper into their own head and issues. What’s important though is that the cast does change, they do grow and react to the events around them, and those reactions are just as important to figuring out the narrative.
In fact, much of the cast is just as in the dark as we, the audience, are. At least insofar as major plot mysteries, the wider setting not so much. They are asking the same questions, seeking the same answers, and piecing together the clues along with us. Much like the narrative at large, this may be annoying to some, as it means a fair amount of time spent working things out in-universe. Personally though, I liked the way these questions and themes were connected to each of the characters, giving the audience more clues as to what is going on and what Bye Bye, Earth is trying to say. Again, it can be very obtuse, you will have to work to figure out what it is trying to say or do with these characters, and you may not like the answer you get. That’s totally valid. But it’s undeniable that there is a purpose to them.
Production
With that we come to the production. Overall, I wouldn’t say Bye Bye, Earth looks particularly great. Fine, maybe. Character designs are clean, with strong silhouettes and interesting quirks setting them apart. Scenes are also directed and composed nicely enough, the camera rarely sits there doing nothing, there’s always something for you to focus on and look at. Backgrounds also tend to be well made and unique. I also like the colors, Bye Bye, Earth is often bright, though it can appear a bit desaturated at times. The biggest thing you’ll notice though are the effects, the show has a lot of magical glows, diffused light and special effects. Not all of them are good, but they are there. By most metrics, the show looks just as I said, fine most of the time. The only issue is that it doesn’t actually move very well at all.
Characters in Bye Bye, Earth don’t do much outside of fights, and the fights themselves vary wildly in quality. Most shots are nothing more than panning stills and awkward closeups where they don’t need to show much of the body or their movements. This results in characters feeling like they are swinging around each other rather than at each other, and aren’t very fulfilling because of it. The previously mentioned effects work tries to cover for this a bit, sprucing them up with shiny glows and pretty lights. But that still doesn’t make them very fun or interesting to watch. There are some expectations to this, set piece fights that are given a bit more oomph so to speak, but even at its best Bye Bye, Earth isn’t an action show. If you enjoy the fights, it will be because of the narrative meaning of them, not the animation.
OST
Finally we come to the OST, composed by a name I’m certain you’ve all heard before, Kevin Penkin. Penkin is well known for his fantastical, ethereal, and occasionally alien sounding music from anime like Made in Abyss with tracks like The Rumble of Scientific Triumph, and Tower of God with tracks like Irregular God. As you can tell, he’s a big fan of large, grand sounds and faux-latin-esque vocals meant to sell the fantasy nature of the world. Those tendencies carry over to Bye Bye, Earth as well, but here everything has a bit more of a classical style to it due to the series aesthetic, with some exceptions of course. And while I think that causes some loss of Penkin’s personality and style, resulting in a few boring or outright disappointing tracks, by and large Bye Bye, Earth sounds… Fitting, is I think the best word.
“Belle’s Past” is a great example of what I mean. It still feels very Penkin-esque, with the grand scale and operatic backing vocals in the second half, while still feeling unique with this initial washed out sound of a half-remembered memory. “Kitty” is another quintessential Penkin track, both ethereal and mysterious just like Bye Bye, Earth’s world. Even something like “Eyes of Belle*, which starts to separate a bit with its soft piano and string accompaniment rather than any big orchestral backing, still contains things like strong, proud vocals Penkin likes to use. It’s only when we get into tracks like “Forrest of Quartz” and “Forrest of Moon“, which sound like generic background music I could find anywhere, that it feels like Penkin starts to lose his voice a bit. And don’t get me started on “Nowhere“, which is just… It’s not good.
Over all, despite tracks like “Nowhere” that make you want to shut it off or “Drambuie” and “Belle’s Room” which are kind of just forgetful, I think Penkin does a good job. There’s a reason he’s become so present in the anime industry in the past few years, the man is good at what he does and has developed a sound of his own. It’s not always present in Bye Bye, Earth, and that’s occasionally disappointing, but when it is it’s memorable and accentuates the scene well. If you like Penkins sound, have enjoyed it before, then you’ll have a fine time here. Just don’t expect it to be quite as good as his work on Made in Abyss.
The Numbers Mason! What Do They Mean?
With all that done, we come to the personal section of the review. This is mostly where I ramble about my personal experience with a show, not really trying to review it in any way, just communicate how watching Bye Bye, Earth felt. This of course is no-holds-barred spoiler territory, I’m going to talk about the ending, some of my interpretations of the show, and everything that entails. If you haven’t watched the show and want to figure it out yourself, or don’t want to know the ending, then feel free to skip. Otherwise, read on!
So, Bye Bye, Earth, it’s kinda weird. Really weird, in fact. At first glance a lot of it just seems like nonsense thrown at a dart board with not singular purpose behind it all. But for me, the more I think about it, the more sense it sort of makes. Belle wants to become a Nomad, someone allowed to leave this realm and travel to others, to try and discover where she belongs, as she’s the only actual human in the land. To do this though she first has to become a Soloist, a warrior of the realm for whom fighting and the clashing of steel is the equivalent of playing music and who occasionally fight/play as part of a larger Orchestra. Then she has to complete three tasks for the ruler of this realm, King Lowhide, before she can be granted permission to leave.
It’s through completing these tasks, serving the current order, that the Soloists sword grows into its own. And since the sword represents the individual, their dreams and ideals, that growth translates to personal growth as well. So it makes sense that when a sword breaks, when a persons dreams are shattered and cut short, that repairing it with the ground up ashes of Yggdrasil might screw something up. Like say, turn them into a Nidhogg, a beast gnawing at the roots of the Yggdrasil, should they be unable to withstand it. Now how does the Girl of Reason, the Law of Theme, the Prince Fatal, the Two-Headed King, and so many other things? I have no idea, that’s where season 2 comes in and part of why I’m so hard pressed to recommend it. But there’s enough there, enough tangible thematic connections, that I’m confident it’s not just random bullcrap.
Conclusion
So yeah, all in all Bye Bye, Earth is interesting, engaging, but woefully incomplete. A large portion of my enjoyment of the show came not from the show itself, but from conversations with friends around what was happening and what it could all mean. Without that, and without some assurance that it all goes somewhere and there are answers to the questions, it becomes difficult to recommend. A season 2 is on the way at the time of writing this, which is a good sign. But until it comes out, unless you enjoy the process of solving puzzles and putting the pieces together like you would say a mystery show, or don’t mind feeling confused as everything unfolds, I don’t think Bye Bye, Earth will be a good fit for you. It was fine enough for me, but I’m also weird like that.
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