>>282019495
It was one of the most earned emotional payoffs I've ever seen in a show.
So many shows try to do cheap cries, especially early on, by pulling lol dead parent lmao orphan cards out of their butts and it usually never works and just makes me laugh instead. The thing with Sora yori, is that you get the answer at the beginning. You know that the mom is dead, you can see the shrine, you understand that one doesn't just survive on their own in Antarctica, but that doesn't keep you from holding onto hope that maybe, MAYBE she's alive somehow. Just like Shirase, you know the answer but refuse to accept it. And it's not ever in your face or overbearing. The rest of the show takes place just fine with only the vague reminder of her mom every episode with the emails being sent, which sometimes we see and sometimes we don't. We get endeared to each character and their relationships form very naturally as they go on their journey, but there is always the idea in the back of your head that there is a purpose beyond just reaching the place, especially for Shirase. The first climax comes when she finally says what's been inside her for a long time, during the introductions to the crew, she didn't say that she was there to find her mom, she said, "my mother wrote about the treasure of Antarctica, I want to open it with my own two hands!" This is the first step of her accepting that her mom is gone but her purpose remains. Very powerful scene.
