I’m in a deeply melancholy mood today, due to some real-world tragedies that aren’t related to Girls’ Last Tour in any way. I normally try to remain an upbeat and energetic traveling companion for these watch-alongs, but it’s a truly awful day for the anime community at large, and I’m guessing you’d all realize pretty quickly if I was faking positivity. Sometimes the world can be so senseless in its cruelty that you begin to question the point of trying at all – if all good things can be so easily undone by random hatefulness, what hope is there to even strive to build good things? It sometimes seems like the most powerful force in human nature is how some people can act with complete, even gleeful disregard for the suffering they inflict on others. And with devils like that roaming around, what hope do any of the rest of us have?

I’m watching Girls’ Last Tour now because Girls’ Last Tour doesn’t try to deny any of that. It’s not a beacon of untarnished positivity – it essentially starts from the assumption that all striving is hopeless and all dreams will fail, and attempts to make sense of living in the face of that. Its world is a crumbling testament to the fact that in spite of our grand ambitions, our selfishness and capacity for violence will ultimately undo all we have accomplished. In Girls’ Last Tour, all we can truly believe in is that one day will follow another, and that some people are genuinely decent. It posits that that’s enough, and I hope it’s right; in today’s world, it feels like we’ll be testing the show’s philosophy soon enough regardless. Keep moving. Keep striving. Be kind. If we don’t have each other we have nothing, so please try to bring some good to the world.

Episode 7

We open with Chi wobbling on a giant pipe. Bless these idiots

We don’t actually learn Chi’s on a pipe until a few shots in, as we simply watch her wobble in some unknown situation, before admitting “I can’t do this.” Every episode of Girls’ Last Tour tends to open with a visually illustrated mini-mystery, making us question what exactly is going on. Creating little mysteries through visual storytelling is a good way for this methodical, slow-paced show to offer hooks and present questions the audience wants answered; larger narrative hooks are far less necessary if your story can keep raising small, aesthetically-driven mysteries that hit your audience on an immediate emotional level

The creaking of the pipes below emphasize the uncertainty of Chi’s position. Strong, purposeful sound design, as always

“You sure are a scaredy-cat.” Chi is more frightened than Yuu, because Chi is always aware of the situation they’re in. Chi’s rationality gives her very good reasons to be scared, but that rationality can lead to paralysis without a courageous idiot like Yuu

“I wish we could stay alive without having to eat at all.” “That wouldn’t really be living.” Another light echo of this show’s general “to live is to keep moving” philosophy

Yuu’s being very considerate of Chi’s feelings. These two are so good

Two girls holding hands to cross a pipe over infinite darkness is kinda this show in a nutshell

Chi ties a rope between them, which probably feels like “taking action to solve a problem” and thus is comforting in its own right – but as Yuu points out, this will probably just ensure one of them falling takes both of them down

Chi explains being scared in this situation in terms of being hungrier than you usually are. She knows Yuu very well

I love this beat of Yuu chipperly setting their marching song while Chi just groans in response. Yuu can be a very considerate friend at times like these – she seems to know that being kind of annoying actually gives Chi something to preoccupy herself with, instead of thinking about the drop

Lost in a labyrinth of pipes suspended over a vast abyss as night approaches. Very smart of me to watch this show to try and feel better

“Chi’s… shining.” This show’s deadpan comedy is so good. It knows exactly how long to hold a beat, and both the leads’ personalities and their facial designs are perfect for these kind of long, gawking moments

Chi just kinda hanging helplessly in the air is a good image

It turns out the inside of the pipe had a path lit with lights and festooned with helpful arrows. Great work, team

This is really a wonderful episode for Yuu, as Chi’s fear of heights is forcing her to demonstrate that she actually can take the leadership role, and be considerate of her friend’s limitations. She actively enjoys playing the fool when there’s no danger, but she can step up to support her friend

“Life would be so easy if we had arrows like this all the time.” “Aw, that’d be boring!” I dunno Yuu, I think I’d be okay with the arrows, given the anxiety of the alternative. But then again, I am a far more Chi-style person

“What kind of person would ignore signs that will help them get to their destination?” “This one.” What answer did you expect, Chi

The overwhelming focus on the natural sounds of the pipe recedes as the girls banter, replaced by perky, rambling horns and something close to a xylophone, friendly noises that naturally emphasize how their conversations keep both of them distracted and energized

The girls discover exactly one potato in the growing area

Once again, the interior setting of this episode doesn’t really allow Girls’ Last Tour to show off its full visual appeal. The show is certainly good at conveying the distinct atmosphere of this underground bunker, but hopefully the next episode returns us to the surface – the otherworldly geometry and beautiful solemnity of the city itself is one of Girls’ Last Tour’s most compelling features

Yuu turns on a conveyor belt and almost turns Chi into ground beef

They discover a huge stockload of what looks to be dehydrated potato powder, which Yuu confirms by eating it. She knew being an eating specialist would come in handy one of these days

Time for the girls to invent baking

Lovely colors for the flames in this furnace, which once again makes me a little sad this whole episode takes place in a dark chamber

I really like the chalk outline thought balloons for all their hypotheses. Like in Chi’s dream from two episodes ago, all of this show’s experiments in alternate art styles are creative and charming

Chi brings up how their grandfather used to make bread for them, offering a welcome breadcrumb of information regarding their past which simultaneously serves as a natural justification for how they’re actually able to succeed in baking something

This show conveys the silly, incidental experience of a close friendship so well. Friendship is often moments like Chi and Yuu kneading this bread, with Chi’s instruction to “knead” naturally turning into a goofy chant they trade back and forth

And once again, this sequence emphasizes one of Girls’ Last Tour’s most fundamental themes, and one of its bulwarks against the inherent hopelessness of this situation – the idea that productive labor can be its own reward regardless of the outcome, because simply working with purpose naturally enriches your life

The girls have created a blob child. Time to bake it

“Sweetness is happiness, huh?” As usual, Yuu arrives at the perfect zen lesson to take from this experience. Happiness doesn’t have to be anything monumental, life-changing, or permanent; happiness can be biting into the potato brick you just baked, and realizing it’s sweeter than you expected. All we can really hope for are scattered moments of joy and good people to share them with, but maybe that can be enough

And Done

Well, that was as charming as ever. It couldn’t really fix anything, but a lot of the time, things simply can’t be fixed. It was lovely to see Yuu demonstrating how much she cares about her friend, and also that when circumstances demand it, she can step up and be the strong leader who makes sure they both make it through. Their friendship cannot save this world, but they’re still saving each other, each day that they spend making sure they both have hope, joy, and a sense of purpose. It’s a harsh world out there, and no one is going to change that – the only happiness we can count on is the happiness we build ourselves, and the happiness we share with the people we love. Please try to take care of each other.

This article was made possible by reader support. Thank you all for all that you do.