Jama no susume - Next Summit

When the first season came out in 2013, I didn't give it a chance at all. I wasn't a fan of short anime series with five-minute episodes back then. I was also under the impression, not sure why, that this series was going to be about climbing (as in rocks, ropes, and crampons). I logically didn't watch the other seasons either. This year, while going through the new releases of this anime season, I was intrigued by the trailer for the latest season, so much so that I wondered if I wasn’t missing out on something exceptional. What got me interested was the score and the animation, especially all the breathtaking panoramas and scenery. I also finally found out that Yama no Susume is not about rock climbing, but rather about hiking, which is very close to my heart. Hiking in the hills and walking around the countryside has always been one of my favorite pastimes. I also read that the first four episodes were a recap of the previous three seasons, so it was okay to jump straight in. After the first episode and quickly going through the first season, I figured that the recap episodes would probably be enough for me, and I didn’t need to catch up on the rest of the seasons. Well, it was only half true. I was able to get into the story and get a decent introduction to the main characters and even get to like some of them. On the other hand, I was obviously missing some bits and pieces of the story (like the storyline about Aoi being afraid of heights at the beginning), so when the first new episode came out (Episode 5), I was quite surprised and had no idea who half of the characters were. Fortunately, it wasn’t difficult to understand what was going on, so I was able to enjoy this season quite a bit in the end. I have to give credit to the series for selling me on what is beautiful and challenging about hiking in the mountains, just as it got me rooting for the main character each time she hiked up another mountain. Then again, I can’t help feeling that if Yama no Susume had been handled as 2-3 standard seasons with a runtime of 25 minutes per episode, I would have enjoyed it much more and wouldn't have had to wonder if it was worth catching up on the past seasons (I would have definitely watched them). On further reflection, while most of the characters were likable, they weren't distinctive enough. I'm sure I'll think of someone other than Aoi in a month. But enough already, I don't want to spoil the enjoyable experience which was certainly worth at least a very strong 3*. 6.4/10 (20.12.2022)