I read the synopsis of this show, and I must admit that it got to me straightaway. The thing is when it comes to science-fiction stories, whether they be anime or anything else, I’m far more attracted to ones that are more offbeat; that way they’re much more memorable. Now Celestial Method might have a lot of sci-fi elements to it, but deep down, it is not that central to the story. Instead we get something that is a little more aligned to a wholesome ‘moe girls being moe’ kind of show.
Celestial Method is a show from all the way back in 2014, and is Studio 3Hz’s debut affair; the studio would then go on to make the better known Princess Principal and Flip Flappers, as well as the Sword Art Online spin-off set in the Gun Gale Online game. This also started off as a manga, but was apparently discontinued by the author Naoki Hisaya (who also wrote Kanon) due to some unknown circumstances with the distributor. With this news, and even though the synopsis sounded kind of cool, I started off with some trepidation going in. A strong word to use for what is ultimately a pretty harmless show, I know, but while I like the cutesy science-fiction elements, I couldn’t help but start off comparing it to some other similar shows like Please Teacher! and Waiting in the Summer, both of which have cute aliens that drop into the lives of their main characters. I mention the author’s magnum opus Kanon as well, and even though Celestial Method was never a visual novel, it sure did give off the aura of one.
Returning to her hometown in the countryside with her family after being in Tokyo for so long, Nonoka has trouble settling back in after seemingly forgetting so much. Then as she starts to re-adjust, a mysterious blue-haired girl calling herself Noel arrives almost out of thin air, happy that she’s returned to her hometown after so long. I go back to how I thought this show would make an atypical visual novel, and so as episodes go along, and we meet more of the cast, it’s almost as if both this and the original manga were meant to be one. If perhaps the manga wasn’t discontinued or something…
And like a visual novel, the show shares a lot of similar traits: characters with some form of amnesia, promises that were made in their childhood, miracles wanting to happen, friendships wanting to last forever, and so on. We certainly get all of this and more with Nonoka and Noel, along with other characters Koharu, Yuzuki, Shione and Souta. But while we get the opportunity to get to know these five (and Noel), there isn’t really much in the way of establishment. We know that Nonoka’s mom is gone, but how exactly? We see that the twins Yuzuki and Souta aren’t on good terms with each others, but why? We see straightaway (from the first episode in fact) that Shione acts extremely hateful and horrible towards Nonoka, but what exactly happened for her to be like that?
And of course, no one in town is shocked that a gigantic saucer is in the sky, and is in fact treated like some tourist attraction. It’s just…there, and no one is really up in arms about it or concerned that whoever sent it might be a threat to humanity. This is a simple show, and so I didn’t expect to see any tangents of groups in the town who worship it like some deity, or anything like the spherical ‘Traveller’ in one of my favorite video game franchises Destiny. Ehh, I’m complaining a bit. I mean it certainly is pretty to see, and maybe I’d go to this tourist attraction of a town to take pictures of it.
I think it’s pretty early on in the show that it becomes fairly obvious who Noel is: she is the saucer itself, and she came seven years previous with the plan to grant the wishes of the others. All of this establishment comes eventually, but it feels like it comes too late, or rather we feel that it should have come sooner into the show. With these things like promises kept, miracles happening and etcetera, it’s evident to see that the show is looking for some heartbreaking and hard hitting drama to happen, and for us to feel emotionally connected to all of the characters, but we just aren’t. Noel may be a adorable little muffin, but outside of that we don’t really feel that much in the way of emotional attachment to the others – not even the main lead Nonoka. And it’s a shame because the character designs are okay, despite them being fairly predictable.
As time goes on, the others finally realize that Nonoka was the girl that moved away and broke their ‘eternal promise’ of being friends forever. Some viewers may complain how this is a major hole in the story, and say this was something that was very plain to see. If there is one thing I can say that makes Celestial Method really stand out, it is this desperate plea for us to be emotionally connected to them all. I think that if a show wants us to feel something for its characters, it is something that has to come naturally, or something that happens slowly over time. Here it all feels very rushed; any drama that the show gives us hits hard, but not always in a good way. It wants these characters to feel resentment towards each other, just so they can get their tearful and apologetic reconciliations. There are moments when we feel sorry for Noel the Flying Saucer when certain things happen to the gang-of-five, but when it comes to Nonoka, Koharu, Shione, Yuzuki and Souta, there’s almost nothing.
Looking around online, I have seen a lot of reviews that rate the show very poorly, but I honestly don’t think that it is as bad as they make it out to be. Maybe some frustration got in the way of their judgement; frustration that nothing that memorable happens that makes them want to return to it. Celestial Method is a cute and harmless show to watch, as well as very pretty to look at, but it is also a rather forgettable one. I’ve already said how these characters are cool to watch but are unexciting at the same time, well perhaps the same can be said about the show as a whole. Saying that it isn’t a fun watch would be too harsh; it’s just that there is not much about it that stands out like some other emotional science-fiction shows that mirror visual novels have. If you asked me about things that happened in this show in, say, 5 years from now, I’d struggle to answer. Celestial Method is a show that can be watched in your spare time, and that’s about it.
