The World is Still Beautiful Collection Review

4 star refreshing and uplifting animated series.

The World is Still Beautiful is a 2014 Japanese anime series based on the manga series written and illustrated by Dai Shiina and was adapted for television by Studio Pierrot (Yona of the Dawn, Tokyo Ghoul).

It is available to own now in the UK on Collector’s Edition Blu-ray courtesy of MVM Entertainment.

“For crying out loud…Has this country dried out the people’s hearts too.? A little payback..”

Princess Nike Lemercier (Rena Maeda – Highschool DxD, Jinsei) is the fourth sovereign daughter of the Kingdom of Rain. At the request of the mighty Sun King (Nobunaga Shimazaki – Ben-To, Free! Eternal Summer), a Princess from this Kingdom is to be sent to be his bride, in return for their autonomy. Against her wishes, Nike draws the short straw and is packed off to the Sun Kingdom to meet the tyrannical King who has conquered the world.

Upon arrival, she finds that the people here can be cruel, but she is taken in and helped by a kindly family and eventually makes it to the capital Gintariques, where she finally gets to meet King Livius 1. To her surprise, he is a child, albeit one with a very adult mind. She thinks he is a brat, demanding that she summon the rain for him, and refuses until he can show her the beauty of his country.

As they grow to know each other, an understanding begins to form, but they must present a united front against those who stand against them. Nike must gain the trust of the people and the Ministry of the Priesthood, lead by Rani Aristes (Daisuke Namikawa – Black Lagoon) will stop at nothing to get rid of her. Can the unlikely couple work through the political climate and their own feelings and make this pairing successful?

“I asked them to send me the most beautiful one. I think they’re making fun of me.”

The World is Still Beautiful is a thoroughly enjoyable anime, well written and a really good story. It is heartwarming and funny and the characters are mostly likable. It does touch quite heavily on the subject of discrimination, but it’s dealt with using humanity and humour and doesn’t feel moralistic.

The interactions between Livi and Nike are well thought out and the sequences where Nike summons the rain are beautiful, with some haunting and memorable music and songs. If you can get past the age gap (which they do address head on) then this is an enjoyable romance and well worth adding to your collection.

“You own the world, but you’ve never looked at any of it. What a waste.”