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 Celestial Method
Anime Review
A flying saucer hovers above a city ominously. It never moves, never changes — it just sits there, sparkling and glowing. That sounds like the start of a sci-fi action or horror film, right? What if we told you instead it was the opening of a slice-of-life show featuring middle-school girls and their daily lives? Yup: that's Celestial Method. Let's jump into this unique little show!
Celestial Method is based off of a premise by Naoki Hisaya (who also came up with Kanon), so it has the privilege of being one of the few original shows this season. It's produced by a new studio called Studio 3Hz. All of that combined could mean a lot of things (and greatly increases the risk of failure), but they've done a solid job on the first few episodes.
We're first introduced to Nonoka, a young girl moving back into the small town she left seven years ago. Yes, this town has a flying saucer perpetually hovering over it. Rather than being a terror or a threat, it simply hovers there. The town has gotten used to it, and we're never told what the townsfolk or the government have done aside from little snippets overhead here and there (such as a newscaster talking about the "saucer budget" expanding).
 Nonoka moves in easily enough, but wakes up to find a blue-haired girl named Noel in her bedroom, claiming to be a childhood friend. Nonoka can barely remember her, though, along with many of her other young friends who're now seven years older. Thankfully, this little bit of forgetfulness doesn't last too long. Instead, we dive headlong into the daily life of a town living under a flying saucer — which is more normal than you might think.
The story generally flows at a leisurely pace, establishing a soft, comforting environment. Rich green forests and mountains surround the town, giving it a sense of isolation from the rest of the world. Dust piled up on old telescopes and cloths draped over everything almost makes it feel like things have been frozen in time over the past seven years. It gives the show a melancholic feel.
The art is fairly standard for the genre. Cute girls doing cute things has been a winning method for a while, and it works here too. The animation also holds up well, even after the first episode. The ending theme in particular has some unique artistic moments and humanizing animation that helps the characters look natural and feel real.
 The music is fairly standard, although several songs featuring an echoing piano help enhance the melancholic atmosphere. The rest, during comedy or daily life scenes, is average fare. The script doesn't pick up too much slack, instead relying on the unique premise to keep viewers engaged. A few scenes rely on the "friends have a misunderstanding" trope, which feels a bit lazy — however, anything dealing with the flying saucer instantly becomes more compelling.
Perhaps the best thing you can say about Celestial Method is that it succeeds at what it aims to do. It's not an attention-grabbing sci-fi tale or a heart-wrenching story of friendship — instead it sits happily in-between, taking life one step at a time in the shadow of a flying saucer. If you're looking for a friendly, simple anime to cuddle with that has just a touch of mystery, Celestial Method will fit into that spot perfectly.
Anime Review by Ben Huber, December 2014
Below: Scenes from Celestial Method.
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Below:Posters and scenes from Celestial Method.
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