Girls' Last Tour

The series follows two girls, Chito and Yuuri, as they navigate the ruins of civilization after a major conflict leaves the world in a desolate post-apocalyptic winter. They travel in their halftrack motorcycle and seek food and supplies while surviving day-to-day. They conduct a variety of simple activities such as washing clothes and bathing. Chito regularly writes in a journal, collects books, and drives the Kettenkrad. Yuuri takes on a protection role and wields a rifle. During their journey, they encounter a man named Kanazawa, who is mapping out one of the levels of a large city. He gives the girls his camera in return for the girls giving him food, before he leaves after having helped them reach the next level of the city. They next encounter a woman named Ishii after their Kettenkrad breaks down. The girls help Ishii complete the plane that she was building, and she helps them fix the Kettenkrad in return. Ishii subsequently attempts to leave in the plane, heading to the city across the water, though the plane breaks down shortly after its liftoff. Ishii leaves them information on a facility that grows potatoes and creates rations before they leave, and the two girls capitalize on this opportunity. They pass by a series of black slabs filled with drawers, which Chito deduces are graves, before ascending to the next level of the city. They destroy a construction robot in an aquarium to save a fish after having a discussion with the caretaker robot. The two girls find a cat-like creature they name Nuko after exploring a drinking hole; Nuko can communicate with the girls via radio signals. They decide to follow such signals which eventually leads them to a submarine. The camera's images are synchronized to a computer that displays pictures and videos of various past events. Yuuri is eaten by a larger version of Nuko; she is released shortly after and the adult Nuko informs the girls that Nuko is part of a species that consumes and stabilizes unstable energy. Before the creatures ascend into the sky with Nuko, they inform Chito and Yuuri that they are the only two humans left on this level. Chito and Yuuri continue on despite this. They encounter an art museum as well as a research facility, discovering rockets that people attempted to leave in during the war. Their Kettenkrad finally breaks down and cannot be repaired. Chito is forced to burn her books in order to have warm water. They finally reach the top of the city and discover it to be desolate. There, they go to sleep, resting against the wall of the stairwell. == Characters ==

; : :One of the two main protagonists, nicknamed "Chi-chan". She has a wide knowledge of machines and drives the Kettenkrad. She is literate and an avid reader. Though generally calm and composed, she can be riled by Yuuri on occasion. She often dwells on the past and worries about the future. ; : :The second main protagonist, nicknamed "Yuu" by Chito. She is more easy-going than Chito, and cannot read, but is proficient with rifles and an accurate shooter who takes on a role of protector. She rides in the back of the Kettenkrad. Yuuri has little fear of the unknown and is quite adventurous, often acting on instinct and emotion. ; : :A traveler that Chito and Yuuri meet while trying to find a path to the upper levels of the city. He is a cartographer who wants to map the entire city. He gifts his camera to Yuuri and Chito when he leaves them to continue his mapping project. ; : :A scientist who lives in an abandoned airbase, building an airplane based on old records. She wants to fly to a city that is on the opposite shore. She helps fix Chito and Yuuri's Kettenkrad and enlists their help to finish the airplane. She gives Yuuri and Chito potatoes and tells them where to find more. ; : :Named Ket in the English manga translation. A mysterious, cat-like creature that is long and white, which Chito and Yuuri pick up on their journey. It communicates with the girls via radio signals. Nuko can shape-shift to activate mechanisms and likes eating bullets. It is later discovered to be part of a species which consumes weapons and power sources to stabilize them. After being reunited its own kind on the submarine, it leaves with them. Minor characters ; : :The adult form of Nuko's species. They consume high-energy weapons, machinery, and substances in order to stabilize them. They use radio waves as its language and travels between cities by expanding its umbrella-like top. ; : :The robot in charge of section management at the aquarium. It is equipped with "empathy capability" to communicate with humans. ; :The robot responsible for maintenance in the area around the aquarium. It was responsible for maintaining infrastructure but began dismantling the aquarium due to a bug. ; : : Three female high school students. They give a research report on a small machine they operated in one of the videos on Kanazawa's camera when it is synced to the submarine's computer. ; : :An old man who raised Chito and Yuuri. He sent the two girls with the Kettenkrad to ascend to the city's upper levels. He owned many of the books that Chito has. ; :An unnamed woman who appears in a photo with Kanazawa. She previously traveled with him, but her whereabouts are unknown. == Production ==

Manga Girls' Last Tour was Tsukumizu's first original work. The manga Blame! influenced their worldview, while ''Girls' Last Tour'''s message was inspired by the works of Haruki Murakami and Kaori Ekuni, especially Haruki's "Norwegian Wood" and "Dance Dance Dance" along with Kaori's "Twinkle Twinkle Hikaru". The series initially began as a short story, which would later become Chapter 3 of Volume 1. The story was written by Tsukumizu in college; they initially studied art with the goal of becoming an art teacher but began drawing manga "on a whim." Yuuri also carries a Japanese Type 38 rifle. Tsukumizu said that Chito and Yuuri were "born from expressing the questions" that they had, Direction Takaharu said that the whole work should feel like a spiral; where one thing ends, another begins. He felt that in terms of emotional portrayals, Chito and Yuuri had to feel that being by one another's side was the most important thing. and consisted of about 400 pencil drawings. However, Takaharu requested that the music be performed in a sung style with unplugged instruments. Three pieces were completed by Suehiro, who then used them as a basis for the remainder of the soundtrack. He used a harp to emphasize the atmosphere between Chito and Yuuri, and also incorporated Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2 by Frédéric Chopin. During the voice acting process, they were permitted to speak freely and be unrestricted, which was appreciated by Tsukumizu since he believed it expressed some of the work's more ambiguous aspects. The English dub cast of ''Girls' Last Tour'' was announced on November 16, 2018, at that year's Anime NYC. == Media ==

Manga ''Girls' Last Tour'' was written and illustrated by Tsukumizu. It was serialized in Shinchosha's Kurage Bunch online magazine between February 21, 2014, and January 12, 2018, and collected in six volumes. Yen Press released the series in North America, Chingwin Publishing Group released the series in Taiwan, released the series in China, Tsuruyama Culture Publishing House released the series in South Korea, and AST released the series in European Russia. A limited edition of volume 1 was released by Shosen Grande and Shosen Book Tower in 2014. It included an explanatory page about the workings of the Kettenkrad by Takaaki Suzuki, who had previously done research and worked on the scripts for the animes Girls und Panzer and Strike Witches. A limited edition released by Melon Books included a booklet by Tsukumizu titled "Girls' Weekend Trip" (少女週末旅行). Comic Toranoana and Sanyodo distributed illustration cards and Kikuya Bookstore and Bunch Comics distributed papers as purchase bonuses. Two manga anthologies illustrated by various artists such as , , and were released in 2017. Volumes Anime An anime television series adaptation by White Fox was announced by Kadokawa at Anime Expo 2017 alongside the release of a teaser visual, with Takaharu Ozaki directing, Kazuyuki Fudeyasu in charge of series composition, and Mai Toda adapting the character designs for animation. The series aired in Japan between October 6 and December 22, 2017, on AT-X and other stations. MVM Films licensed the series in the United Kingdom and Muse Communication licensed the series in South and Southeast Asia. Episodes Each episode consists of two to three short, interconnecting stories. ''Girls' Last Class'' A twelve-episode series titled ''Girls' Last Class (少女逬末授業) was released as a short spinoff OVA. Girls' Last Class'' was also temporarily released as a bonus for those who had purchased the anime. Each episode was a minute and a half long. The first volume was released in 2020, and the last volume was released in 2024. == Reception ==

Accolades Manga In 2019, ''Girls' Last Tour'' won the 50th Seiun Award in the Best Comic category. The English release of the first two volumes were included on the American Library Association's list of 2018 Great Graphic Novels for Teens. Anime The series won the "Best Slice of Life" category at the 2nd Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2018. IGN listed ''Girls' Last Tour'' as one of the best anime of the 2010s, describing it as a "morose anime" which is "made brighter through [Chito and Yuuri's] perspective on a barren world". It was named the best anime of Fall 2017 by Anime News Network. Critical reception Manga The manga's post-apocalyptic premise was generally well-received. Similarly, Beatrix Urkowitz of The Comics Journal considered it to be the best long-form narrative comic of the 2010s, writing that it "shows an apocalypse which has opportunities for joy". James Nicoll of Reactor highlighted the manga's nature as an iyashikei story, a genre with a "soothing effect", and found it to be "done well" despite the unusual choice of setting. The overall plot was more divisive. Anime The anime received positive reviews from several critics. Gabriella Ekens of Anime News Network considered the series a "minor masterpiece", concluding that it was "one of those special shows that makes you feel less alone in the world." Michael Goldstein of Otaku USA called it "poetry in motion" through its focus on the main characters' journey, rather than their difficult situation, and described it as an iyashikei ("healing") story. Dee of Anime Feminist named it as "one of the finest atmospheric stories of the year". Regarding the series' more serious themes, Onosume of Anime UK News opined that beyond the "slow pace and slice-of-life style", it carried an "engaging deeper narrative" with its characters and message. Nicole Maclean of THEM Anime Reviews deemed the show's emotional range as one of its "strongest" points, calling the story "often funny, sometimes cute, ultimately profoundly sad" as well as "beautifully made". Analyzing the story's overall themes, Onosume argued that the "core message" was ultimately one of being anti-war, which was conveyed through imagery of weaponry in the post-apocalyptic landscape. Similarly, Jones contended that it was "frank about mankind's destructive tendencies", but also opined that it was "warm and life-affirming". Dee opined that the story used its setting and characters to "ask questions about life, death, and what it means to be human" with "elegance that was rare to find". == Notes ==