Somali and the Forest Spirit - Reviews

First time writing a review on the site, yet I feel like I must write this in the hopes that more people can stumble upon this gem of an anime. I'll begin by saying that calling this a masterpiece is an understatement, this is perhaps one of the best anime to come out in recent years, and one of the best I've ever watched.

Without being too spoilery, the story follows the journey of a human girl with a Golem, a creature from the forest who
wants to help her find other humans; in a world inhabited by monsters where humans have been brought to the edge of extinction.

Despite dealing with some strong issues from time to time, the story itself is one of love and self realization, where both Somali and her Golem companion learn to care for each other and grow as individuals, bonding throughout their journey in a way that I can only describe as wholesome, adorable and entertaining; a wonderful Father-daughter dynamic I've seldom seen before.

Most of the characters they encounter are relatable in some way, they all have something special and nice about them which makes you able to grow to love and care deeply for them from the first time they appear on screen (with a few exceptions of course, no spoilers...)

The animation is beautiful and the world they travel through is outstandingly gorgeous, the great variety of creatures and the stories of those they encounter along the way paints a rather harsh yet powerful sense of how the world they are in operates, leading you to root even further for Somali and her monster Dad to succeed in their quest.

Overall, it's a wonderful story which I think everyone should experience at least once; it made me cry, laugh, scream, it created such a wide array of emotions which few works of fiction have ever managed to accomplish.

Perhaps the only down side is that it felt a bit too short, I would have loved to accompany Somali and her Dad through a couple more episodes...

Anyway, I loved every moment of it and I can't recommend it enough, the closest to a perfect anime I've seen in a long time. 10/10

This is my first review for an anime, however  I feel this really deseves one. I usually prefer action or ecchi comedy and so it was with no small trepidition that I started this show. However I was supried to find a griping yet heartwarming story that was in my opinion enhanced by a realistic perception and treatment of humans and also the portrayal of how any sentient species is capable of monsterous acts when they have power over another. I say heartwarming because there are several characters  who look past the differnces in race and befrind the main character. also this show has a lot of character development for the golem, espicially considering the anime is only 12 episdoes long. In conclusion I started this show expecting to be bored and uninspired but was left feeling awed by how much feeling and depth was packed into a measly 12 episdoes

I was an amazing anime to watch, sometimes we should take a break from all the tiring and exciting anime, we should appreciate and try to watch this kind of anime with beautiful scenery and a great story. I loved their relationship and how at first he thought he doesn't have any emotions yet he loved her as his daughter.

I will say this.....Somali is such a darling little girl of 2020 like seriously lads...she'll melt your heart into pieces that you just cannot control yourself!

Honestly I've seen father-daughter anime shows like "Sweetness & Lightning" or "If It's for My Daughter, I'd Even Defeat a Demon Lord" , I personally felt both series weren't as good as this one! This had such mixture of emotions because there were times where I felt nearly teary and by god man, the last episode made me near to tears!

Somali and the Golems relationship were just truly real like you can't mess with him if you try to hurt his Somali!

This anime was absolutely colourful, the main characters including the ones they met in their journey were interesting, the sub actors (Ono Daisuke and Minase Inori) were excellent with their performances and the story unfolded beautifully.

I'm giving this a 8 since the story isn't finished but its such a very good anime series that you'll laugh and cry with!

*no spoilers* this could've been incredible! I'd rate it 3 & a half stars but it deserves an extra half star for the backgrounds alone!! they were so stunning & immersive, sometimes I had to skip back a bit cuz I missed sum dialogue just dwelling in them~ such detail & softness & v pleasing colour palettes!!! esp the blues & purples & pinks~ & so much luv is put into the character designs & world-building~

it's a sweet slice-of-life father-daughter fantasy drama with a few dark themes. it's simplicity is somehow both its strength & it's weakness~ I feel some of the commentary on forgiveness & prejudice would've benefited frum a deeper more nuanced approach. I'm curious to check out the manga to see how they differ~ it did make me cry a few times, & it's overall v sappy & adorable~

if u watch it & wanna support the mangaka, Yako Gureishi, he is currently destitute & has recently asked for support so he can hopefully start up the manga again after a few years dealing with poor health. he has a pixiv fanbox or u can buy the manga