Somali and the Forest Spirit

Please note this review is intended to be read by those that have watching Somali To Mori Na Kamisama and while care has been taken to minimise story related spoilers there may still be spoilers within character analysis. You have been warned. Based off a popular web manga of the same name Somali To Mori No Kamisama otherwise better known by its English title of Somali and the forest spirit is an adventure, drama and fantasy genre anime, that gives us the unique opportunity to see what will happen if one day a human child were to one day encounter and adapt the firstbeing that they encountered as their father. What will happen if one day this unlikely pair were forced by circumstance to embark on a continent-spanning journey that will see them journey across vast lands to make contact with the remnants of the human race and in doing so bring the child back to its race before the end claims the brave watchmen of the forest. Within the anime world, Adventure and drama genre anime that takes place in a fantasy setting can be said to be one of the more popular combinations due to both its popularity among both fans and creators and the sheer amount of freedom that a fantasy setting can give to the creation of not just races but also lore and relationship dynamics as well. In my case what served to draw me to this series was both the fantasy and adventure genre combinations which are ones that I always liked to see but also the unique element of the unique bond and relationship that exists between the two main characters of Somali and golem. The fact that both are beings of different races and ages only served to intrigue me even more. The first ep of the series I felt was an interesting one that while doing well in setting the series main setting and circumstance that led to humanity’s fall from grace also did well to showcase the unique relationship that existed between Somali and golem a fact that convinced me to watch the series to the end to see how this will end a decision that I never regretted. Taking place within a fantasy-themed world where humans are but one of many races that inhabit the world and a world where most races seem to exist in perfect harmony with each other the overall story follows the life and journeys of a most unlikely due who met by chance within the sacred forests that Golem was tending as part of his duties. As if destiny had intervened Golem’s encounter with the human girl Somali not just awakened within him a desire to not just understand the curious manifestation of the feelings and emotions that have arisen inside him but also create a new spark inside him that will motivate him for the first time in his century-old life to not only step foot outside of the forests that had been both his home and his area of responsibility but also embark on a perilous journey across the world to find the remnants of humanity that had withdrawn from the world in response to the hatred their actions had generated in the past and deliver Somali to them. But as Somali and Golem embark on their quest and step foot into the world they soon realize that while on the surface the world outside is indeed beautiful and peaceful and one where the various races work in harmony together to live their lives free of conflict that beneath this is a dangerous undercurrent of hostility that’s directed at not just strangers but also at the remains of humanity whose past crimes and actions had not been forgotten by the races of the world. In the face of this threat, Golem must exercise not just every bit of caution that he has but also for the first time in his life seek to understand and make use off the unique advantages that’s one bond can bring in their quest to ensure that both will reach their destination before the end comes. Somali Somali portrayed by veteran seiyuu singer Inori Minase of 5 Toubun no Hanayome and Daimachi fame is one of the main characters of the series and is the main female lead of the series. A young human child that was encountered by golem deep within his assigned forest Somali on initial appearances was shown to be a positive, cheerful and innocent person by nature that like most children her age was energetic and possessed an infinite amount of curiosity at everything that she encountered in life an aspect that I felt added significant charm to her character. As a result of being the first adult that she met after waking up, Somali was shown to view golem as her father despite the obvious differences in race something that is seen to be the defining trait within their relationship. While their initial relationship, in the beginning, was shown to be rather rocky and somewhat lacking in resemblance to actual parent-child relationships that were apparent in other societies it can be seen that despite this Somali believed wholeheartedly that she and Golem were a family as seen in not just her physical imitations of the actions that she seen other families partake in as well as in her strong belief that she and golem remain together never to separate. At the beginning of the series, Somali due to her young age was shown to be someone that took life rather care freely and only saw each day as a new adventure that was to be used to the fullest. As a result of this mentality, Somali was shown to prioritise fun over-caution which more often than not often caused her to be put into precarious situations that required intervention from others. However, as the series went on and Somali began to see the amount of effort that Golem put in to protect her and take care of her this gradually began to change both physically and mentally. While remaining energetic and positive in attitude Somali gradually began to rein in her often infinitely desire to explore new locations and meet new people becoming much more cautious of not just her own actions but also of the many new areas and people that they meet in their journey. While knowing that her small size means that she will be unable to do many of the more difficult tasks that are necessary Somali nonetheless readily steps up to take up new tasks that arise during their journey showing a determination to not just improve herself as a person but also attempt to lessen the burden that Golem has in taking care of her. While changing substantially in terms of attitude Somali’s view of Golem as the series progresses gradually starts to change as a result of the ever-increasing bond that is forged between the two within the series. As noted previously due to the circumstances of the first encounter between Somali and Golem Somali from the onset viewed Golem as her parent and as a result was shown to respect him immensely. However while certainly thankful of both the guidance and safety that was provided by him Somali was also seen to view their bond with some element of sadness due to both the lack of genuine family warmth within their relationship compared to what she see’s other families exhibit as well as the fact that due to his nature Golem can neither express strong emotions or eat and taste which ensured that despite her longing that the family bonds between them were only a pseudo one that was created out of necessity. This somewhat negative view on their bond however gradually began to change due to both Golem’s evolution as an individual as well as Somali’s realization that family does not necessarily mean ones borne of the same bloodline but can also mean bonds between individuals that love and care about each other strongly as well a revelation that served to be the final key that will banish the last of Somali’s doubts and fears and allow her to be more upfront with her attempts to forge a stronger bond with Golem a fact that is shown well in ep11 when she hand created a gift for him to show her love for him as a father. In terms of overall character development, I felt that as a character Somali was one that was both well designed and developed both physically and mentally with her gradual evolution from a child that only saw each day as a new adventure to one that not only tried to alleviate some of that adventure’s burden by helping when she can but also in the process try to change others nature by leveraging the bonds between them to make them better individuals being especially so. While certainly still a child and one whose knowledge of the world is still lacking I felt that Somali’s innate positivity and determination to trust in the best of others allowed her to not just make many discoveries about life and in the process adapt her own to incorporate said lessons but also allow her to use her views to effectively deescalate any situations that she and Golem encounters along the way in a way that’s always to the best interests of the parties involved with the best example within the series being the resolution of Uzoi and Haitora’s issues that within the series was one of the darker and more serious events that they encountered. While allowing them to resolve issues peacefully and in the process also enabling her to make many new friends within the series this aspect of Somali I felt also represented well that despite the injustice present in this otherwise perfect world that there is nothing else more important in life than friendships and bonds between family and friends that will allow you to overcome any trial that you encounter along the way. Golem Golem portrayed by veteran voice actor Daisuke Ono of Attack on Titan and Durarara fame is one of the main characters of the series and is the main male lead of the series. A member of the golem race a nigh mythical race that was given the sacred role of being the guardians of the world’s forests long ago. On initial appearances, golem was shown to be a calm, composed and intelligent person by nature that despite the unchanging nature of his role was one that seemed content with the sense of calm and responsibility that the role had given his life. As a result of this Golem, in the beginning, was seen to be wary of outsiders due to both his dictates that prohibit interaction with beings that are not of the forest as well as his own reluctance to become involved in anything that will upset the unending nature of his life as shown in his initial interactions with Somali. However while certainly reluctant to step out of the protective bubble that his role as a guardian of the forest had given him Golem despite his solitude within the forest was shown to be someone that was both surprisingly well learned of the world’s history given his knowledge of the rise and fall of humanity but also surprisingly understanding and considerate of the feelings of others as well as shown in not just the first encounters that he had with Somali but also in his decision to leave the forest that had until now served as his home and embark on a journey to reunite Somali with her people due to his desire to protect her from the dangers of this world. As the series progresses and Golem and Somali’s relationship improves over the course of their journey Golem’s personality too gradually begins to change as a result of the experiences that both encounter and overcome in their journey. In the beginning of the series Golem as a result of his life within the forest was shown to be someone that was quiet and was someone that approached situations in life with logic that while allowing him to overcome much of the challenges that were encountered in their journey also had the unfortunate effect of creating distance between Golem and Somali due to the almost robotic-like persona that Golem made use off. A distance that while creating both a physical and psychological distance between the two also had the unfortunate effect of creating an image that was far from the idea of a family among the minds of the beings that they encountered in their journey. However, as their journey continued and Golem began to realize not just the amount of physical care but also the mental consideration that was needed to both care for and raise young living beings this aspect of Golem began to change. While still preferring to approach the situations that he encounters with logic Golem also realised that while effective in terms of decision making that this approach will not work with the raising and care of Somali whose unpredictable temperament and unique body structure rendered such logic unworkable. As a result of this Golem was forced to not only reevaluate not just his approach in handling relations with others but also in how he should interact with Somali as well and in the case of the latter opting to for the first time in his life to explore the concept of emotion by showing kindness, care and consideration towards Somali’s nature and unique needs. While certainly a rocky path and one that was not without hardships such as Golem’s inability to sense Somali’s pain that led to her to falling ill this embrace of emotions, in the long run, proved to be a valuable lesson for Golem as it allowed him to not only take better care of Somali both physically and emotionally but also in the process give him the rather unique opportunity to not only improve himself as both a golem and as a father of sorts but also give him the rare opportunity to be able to raise a child that will serve to turn back the negative image that people have of the human race as a result of that races past actions. In terms of overall development as a character, I felt that Golem was one that was well designed and developed with his gradual evolution from a quiet being that relied solely on logic to accomplish his duties in life to one that was forced to not only rebuild himself from the ground up by embracing the very concept that he was so adamant in opposing the use off to both raise and guild the new child that he found himself in charge of being especially well done. While lacking any concept as well as a means to express strong emotions like joy and happiness I felt that even without this ability it was still heartwarming to see Golem’s reactions to Somali’s actions whether they were positive ones such as being awkward in receiving a gift from her or negative ones such as his determination to save her from danger as these proved that strong bonds between family transcend even races and is one that’s universal across every race regardless of age or time. AMV In terms of animation, I felt that the character designs for the series were pretty well designed and took excellent advantage of the lore of the world to create some unique races. Notable races that I found to be the more curious ones were the wooly Shurigara that Kikila belonged too, the harpy’s that Uzoi belonged too and the witches of the forest that Hazel and her sister Praline belonged too. While each of these races with the exception of Kikila was standard fantasy races I felt that in each case the individual representatives of each race served well to exemplify them and show that even in this world there are many individuals that will treat others not with caution but with kindness and care. In terms of locations, I felt that the series managed to feature quite the impressive collection of locations that were visited by Somali and Golem that were both unique and beautiful which was further aided by the bright and soft colours that were used in animating them. Music-wise the series made use of one opening and ending theme which was Arigatou Wa Kocchi no Kotoba that was performed by Naotarou Moriyama while the ending theme was performed by veteran seiyuu singer Inori Minase who also portrayed the character of Somali within the series. Both of these songs I felt were excellent ones that conveyed a very different sense of feeling with the former being a slower-paced song that gives the impression of the beginning of a brand new adventure that will allow its participants to not only explore new land but also forge lasting bonds between each other as they travel together while the latter’s equally slow-paced but yet calming tone gave the impression of the fun times that the duo’s many adventures have rewarded them and how their overcoming of the many challenges that had barred their way has enabled them to improve their bonds as father and daughter. Voice acting-wise I felt that the series main voice cast all did an excellent job at portraying their assigned characters whether they were main or support ones. However, among the cast, I felt that Inori Minase, Daisuke Ono, Hiroki Nanami, Tatsuhisa Suzuki, Saori Hayami and Yuuki Ono deserve special praise as I felt that they all did an excellent job at portraying their assigned characters of Somali, Golem, Shizuno, Yabashira, Uzoi and Haitora respectively. Overall conclusion In overall Somali and the Forest spirit, I felt was an excellent anime and was one of this seasons best ones on account of its unique take on a familiar premise, an intriguing story, excellent cast of characters both in terms of main and guest characters, excellent voice acting and its skilful blending of both hope, despair and a determination to be the spark that will change the nature of the world in which they live in. The overall premise and story of the series was without a doubt one of the main highlights of the series due largely to the fusion of well designed and developed characters, emotional attachment, and the encountering and subsequent overcoming of the various trials that barred their way trials that were as much physical ones as they were psychological ones. While an anime that features relationships between characters of two different races encountering and bonding with another as they interact isn’t itself rare within the anime medium in the case of this series this aspect I felt was used to great success due to two different factors that served to complement each other. The first of these was the fact that the human race to which Somali belonged too had not only fallen from grace due to their past actions but had also been all but exterminated by the other races and leaving Somali as the only other human her age within the areas in which she and Golem operated in. The second factor was the unique origin and role of Golem who until the coming of Somali served his role as watchmen of the forest with due reverence living a life that was unchanging as time was and having little opportunity to interact with either events or individuals from outside his domain. The combination of both characters being both strangers to each other and relative outcasts to the world itself I felt served to complement each other remarkably well as it allowed both to not just forge an entirely new bond and relationship that while shaky at first gradually become much stronger as both characters learned from each other and in the process developed their personalities to complement and support each other in their journey. While certainly cute and heartwarming to look at I felt that this aspect of having both characters learn from each other and develop their own personalities in response to these lessons was an interesting concept that served to make their relationship that much more believable. In terms of overall story while the underlying bonds between Somali and Golem served effectively as the underlying foundation for the series I felt that it's pairing with the series primary world setting of a fantasy world that’s seemingly at peace and its cast of well designed and developed characters that have their unique worries and struggles proved to be the perfect recipe that allowed it to showcase not just the extent of the damage that the human race had done to not just the world but to its people as well both in terms of physical relations between the individual races as well as the deeper scars that lay in one’s heart an aspect that within the series was shown perfectly within Uzoi’s story arc. While certainly a daunting environment for both Somali and Golem to operate in I felt that this also provided an excellent source of challenges that not only served to test the bond between the two of them but also in the process allow them to also directly change the world’s perceptions of humans as a whole while simultaneously improving their own. As an overall score, I would say that Somali and the forest spirit easily deserves a final score of 10/10 on account of its unique take on a familiar premise, excellent story that combined both excellent lore and emotional investment, well designed and developed characters, excellent voice acting and some surprisingly thought-provoking trials that Golem and Somali were forced to confront within the series.

Somali to Mori no Kamisama has a love to exercise its genres by perfecting storytelling through its world of beauty. This is the type of show you get when a creator not only wants you to experience their fantasy world but also be part of it. Somali to Mori no Kamisama (Somali and the Forest Spirit) is the anime adaptation of the same name that made me believe Fantasy-Drama shows in this decade can still work wonderfully with the right set of tools. Once you’re thrown into the Forest Spirit world, it’s easy to get lost in its spellbinding aura. The mystifying backgrounds will suck youin as every picture frame looks like it’s carved with painted art. You ever been to one of those science exploratoriums before where everything around you look surreal? That’s the sort of impression I got the first time my eyes saw that forest. It’s one of the charms of a fantasy show where the creator can inject all sorts of their creative ideas and craft its setting as imaginative as it can be. However, an anime like this must also have the ability to balance its world fiction with its character cast. Given its small roster, it needed to go extra miles to make us, the viewers, feel invested. In the end, it needs to capture the essence of a character relationship and doesn’t make us forget them. Thankfully, Somali to Mori no Kamisama achieves that. Meet Somali and Golem. They are the heart and soul of the show. Like gadgets of a machine, this anime cannot operate without an important relationship. The story binds these two characters together and as contrasting as they are, Somali and Golem portrays the type of relationship that truly works. It isn’t easy at first because the show has to balance out a tricky way of showing the characters’ personalities. From the start, Somali is the innocent human girl we meet in a world dominated by monsters. In this human racial era, a vulnerable small girl like her is exceptionally easy to fall prey to any element. Then, she meets Golem, an entity swore to protect the forest he lives in. As a Golem, he lacks real emotions and serves more as a guardian of the forest. However, it doesn’t take long for Somali to declare him as her father and thus begins their complex relationship and a fantasy-drama adventure in this monster-ridden world. To elaborate, this show isn’t about the pair having any sort of specific goal in their adventure. They’re not trying to reach a certain designation or defeat some ancient demon king. No, Somali to Mori no Kamisama works as both a drama and slice of life. Every day brings out a new challenge for the main characters whether it’s dealing with human prejudice or surviving in the untamed wilderness. The key to unlocking this show’s enjoyment is to embrace the relationship of Somali and Golem. As you follow their adventure, there will be many questions that may not have the right answers. The show wants you to decide the true purpose of their adventure. And during their adventure, Somali and Golem encounter new allies, foes, and challenges. The show preaches to fantasy genres where pretty much every character they encounter is a non-human. Some of these characters have their own personal problems that gets the pair entangled into their own stories. Meanwhile, you can bet the show wanted us to see how much Golem can change and while it doesn’t explicitly happen, there’s windows of character personality evolution we can see when he interacts with Somali. In essence, Golem shows more human emotions towards Somali than to any other character. While he may not truly be Somali’s father, he adopts a guardianship role to protect her in their adventures. Somali’s friendly and innocent personality allows her easy to make friends with although she must always hide her human nature. In one particular compilation, her life is put into danger when a harpy tried to kill her for a specific purpose. It reinforces the idea that the world they’re in is no safe haven for a child. However, Somali’s way of resolving conflicts using words rather than power shows that humans are not what they are assumed to be. In fact, given the state of their world, humans are a misunderstood race and others such as the witch Hazel wants to understand them. Meanwhile, Somali continues to adapt in living with courage and attachment to his new guardian. She makes friends such as Shizuno and his assistant, Yabashira. And the more characters she meets, the more courage she finds in herself to live. Because if one thing this show taught us, it’s that the hardest thing in their world is to live in it. But as unorthodox as the show may seem, it still follows traditional fantasy elements such as exploring and adventuring. An anime like this takes advantages of its world fiction concepts by expanding its settings such as the Anthole City and Witch Crest Library. Many of the locals in these places takes on human-like roles such as innkeepers or researchers. It feels like exploring an open world game but with only one life and no pause menu. But with Somali to Mori no Mamisama, it prioritizes more character relationships and daily life challenges than completing quests or conquest. Somali and Golem has voice actors that are perfectly suited for their roles. Their vastly different voice mannerisms remains true to their character personalities from start to finish. The emotive expressions draws the line between human and monster, a unique trait I’m sure fans shouldn’t easily overlook. When I first watched Somali to Mori no Kamisama, it felt like being in a Xenoblade-like world where the photography and everything around you looked like it came from a high fantasy video game. Once I got attached to our main characters, it became so much more than exploring the monster world. Somali and Golem together managed to show that such an unorthodox pair can co-exist together. As someone who has read parts of the manga, this show also has a simple pacing woven into a precise 12-episode adaptation. It works so well that it doesn’t truly need to be one of those long-running franchises that never seemingly has an end. So should you recommend this anime to your friend, family, neighbor, co-worker, stranger, or your dog? Absolutely.

Somali and the Forest Spirit is a show that takes a familiar premise and executes it in a familiar (and slightly uninspired) way. The formula of an emotionally distant person being thrust into the role of father-figure and learning to adapt along the way can be an emotionally gripping one, if it’s told with care. Somali and the Forest Spirit adds a ticking-clock element and fantastical world to create a nice inoffensive story about parenthood. To begin with positives, the art style of this show is beautiful. Each environment has a sort of watercolor aesthetic to it, making for rich backgrounds that compliment the wonderful characterdesigns. While the animation is rarely impressive, it gets the job done without common mistakes—like characters being off-model. On all technical fronts, this show is solid. The problems lie with the structure of the story. We’re introduced to our two main characters, and immediately there is an inseparable, unbreakable bond between Somali and the forest golem. Any real child would be immediately terrified of this scary skull-faced monster, but not Somali. The forest golem at least realistically takes some time to warm up to Somali, but the growth of the relationship is presented in one flashback in one episode towards the end of the show. In a well-told version of this story, Somali and the golem would get off to a rocky start, but over time grow to love each other, and we as the audience would be shown this progression. Our two main characters are also fairly flat. Somali has one personality trait: she’s a genki kid. The forest golem has one personality trait: he’s a stoic automaton—even his face is deliberately designed to be expressionless. It’s very difficult to buy into the depth of their relationship when the characters themselves are so simple. Maybe in future installations of this series their relationship and personalities will be explored, but since the first season of this show is all that’s complete, we have to judge it as a standalone work. Overall, your enjoyment of this show will depend on how much you’re able to buy into Somali and the golem’s father-daughter relationship. If the show manages to grab your heartstrings in the first few episodes, it’ll be a win for you. Otherwise, consider it safe to skip.

Somali to Mori no Kamisama - Somali and The Forest Spirit. THERE WILL BE SPOILERS IN THE CHARACTER SECTION. If, by any means you're reading this and haven't seen the anime yet, here's my conclusion: it is cute, it is beautiful, definitely, so if that's what you like, serve yourself, is shows plenty of cute and a cute father-daughter relationship, but you shouldn't expect much more than that. This is a review from someone who didn't enjoy nor like much of this show, therefore, expect a grain of salt. Story (6) In a fantasy world, we follow the story of a child and a father, well, that might be agood dynamic, right? And it is. If only it could be backed up by good writing. Somali is a human girl on a world full of humanoid animals/beasts called the Grotesque, who happen to eat humans. Somali escapes them and comes across a Golem, a guardian of the forest, that decides to help her. They depart on a journey to reunite Somali, properly disguised, with her own species. Art (9) The art is one of the selling points of this series, it is unique and feels good. It works well to the world building, every new place is different, carries it's beauty and it's danger, which makes you look forward to the journey. Oh, if only this could be backed up by good writing. Sound (7) Believe me I am not the person who can talk about sound, but I can discern between extremelly good or extremelly bad. This show's sound was neither, hence the 7, it did it's work. Character (9) The two main characters are the best we get, and they're pretty good at first glance. -The father- The Golem is by far the most interesting one, being basically a force of nature with the mission to guard a forest, who acts as logically as possible and seems to have no emotion nor the ability to understand it. He's the one who grows. He is the force that keeps this anime going till the last episode, you'll love him. -The daughter- Somali is also interesting, a human child who somehow escaped the Grotesque and came across a Golem that decided he would help her. At first, Somali does the job of a child pretty well, being cute and not being annoying, and, more importantly, she loves her (new) father, the Golem. All is fine until the second half of the series, Somali never grows as a character, "but she's a child", well, children do learn, Somali doesn't. Somali faces a lot of challenges throughout the story, at times, showing of her childish behavior at it's best, other times, after facing a bad time, she seems like a grown up and fully developed character, which isn't the case. -The sidecharacters- As the main characters travel, they make friends along the way, face some danger and depart. The supporting cast is not bad, but they feel a lot like they're disposable and too bland. Enjoyment (6) And here's the problem, FOR ME. The father and daughter's journey can be enough for many people, it wasn't for me. Every other episode seems almost pointless, to the point of boredon since it's either an episode just for the cute scenes or for a danger as unpaupable, bland and cheap as possible. Overall (6) One of the big points of this shows should be, and it is for most people, the world building. I disagree. All we know at the start is that this is a fantasy world where human beings have been eaten by the Grotesque, so Somali is in constant danger. Nothing wrong with that. What is wrong, however, is that we continue to see beautiful places and the daily life of the Grotesque and the main characters... repeatedly, with little to no change, and for me that doesn't make for a good world building. The show focuses on the relationship of both main characters, from episode one Somali shows to be attached enough to her new father, there isn't much room for growth (the Golem is the only one that grows). That's going to be all, I won't tackle all of it, and I doubt I would be capable of doing so. My opinion was stated at the begging of this review. I had high expectations for this show, my overall is 6/10.