Alternative titles: Sora no Method
Anime Original by Studio 3Hz
Streaming on Crunchyroll

Premise

Kaori moves back to a small town where she once lived, but since she’s been gone a massive saucer has appeared in the sky. A mysterious, strangely dressed girl appears in her room and claims to know her from years ago.

Jel’s verdict: Looking Up

While Celestial Method really pushed my tolerance for ultra moe cute little girls, it competently presented its story with a enough intrigue to pull you in while still giving you enough background on Kaori to understand her present state of mind. It’s also rather pretty to look at, with the soft color palette and animations reminiscent of something from P.A. Works, the undisputed masters of drawing pastel washed, sleepy little towns. Having just slogged through some terrible Visual Novel adaptations, it really highlights the advantage of the freedom that an anime original project brings to the table.

Story wise I suspect we’re in store for some “Sad Girls In Snow” drama and heartbreak, as the writer of Celestial Method is best known as the man behind Key visual novel Kanon. There’s already plenty of hints of that as Kaori is still grieving the loss of her mother and to be honest the way she doesn’t remember things makes me wonder if she isn’t dead herself or something. I’m not sure I’m up for a supernatural crying game with super moe girls at this point in my anime watching career, but compared to some of the poorly executed or even downright offensive trash I’ve watched from this season, I’d say Celestial Method has left me with a positive impression.

Marlin’s verdict: Inoffensive

Sora no Method isn’t exactly pushing any boundaries, but that’s not always a bad thing. Staying within a genre can be a good thing as long as you have proper execution. I didn’t know the connection to Kanon going in, so that does give the episode’s events a different light. Obviously her mother’s health was already poor when leaving the town, but she was still alive. I don’t quite get why she lost her memories then, as the truly sad times would have been after they already had gone. It’s also a bit harsh for the characters to resent her for not saying goodbye, it’s not like children ever have much of a voice in the matter when their parents decide to move. It will be interesting to see what exactly is the nature of this weird flying saucer that everyone is totally cool with hanging over their town. No government installations trying to study it. No massively exploitative businesses advertising it. It’s like no one even cares.