Originally, I had planned to do a larger post reviewing several alternate/fantastic historial anime that have come out recently. That post is still in the works, but I’ve been so smitten with Sparks of Tomorrow that I knew I had to give it a little feature before it finishes airing!
The Japanese title (Nijuuseiki Denki Mokuroku – 二十世紀電氣目録-ユーレカ・エヴリカ-) actually translates to 20th Century Electricity Catalog Eureka Evrika but oof, what a mouthful! Sparks of Tomorrow feels much catchier to my ear and is far easier to type, so that’s how I will be referring to it from here on out.
The official website has a great summary, so I will be helpfully borrowing from it.
──A little while ago.
Kyoto in the early 20th century, having evolved differently from the history we know today. In a world where only steam engines had advanced, the city was shrouded in smoke.
With challenging art backgrounds reminiscent of Impressionist paintings and intricate animation, it depicts the dreams of boys and girls shining in an era of upheaval and innovation.
In a nutshell, it’s the story of Sakamoto Kihachi and his attempts to bring his older brother Seiroku’s vision of a modern electrical world to Japan. There’s the mystery of what’s happened to his brother, but I don’t want to delve to deeply into that and spoil anything. There might potentially be a budding romance between Kihachi and Inako, but right now there’s more focus on friendship, discovery, and some general slice-of-life situations. But everything comes back to electricity and the promise of the future.
I shared the primary character designs on Instagram and Facebook a while back, but they’re absolutely worth sharing again because they’re so cool. I love how distinctly Meiji-era they feel, but with enough funky steampunk vibes — especially on the male characters — to remind us that this is definitely an alternate history and not accurate. I’m quite inspired to try reproducing some of these outfits, honestly.
I really appreciate all the little bits of Meiji-era life in Kyoto and the details that are included in not only the main characters, but also the backgrounds. Whether it be the sake brewery Inako’s family owns, bolts of yuzen-dyed fabric drying high above the shopping street, or the girls sharing anpan at lunch, these little glimpses add so much richness for any fan of (recent) historical Japan. Addo in the fact that Inako has multiple kimono that we see throughout the show’s progression so far and it all comes together to make me very happy. I hope we’ll get to see more variety on the other girls too, aside from their school uniforms!
Another neat feature I’m really enjoying is the use of alternate art styles to help evoke eras or feelings. When Kihachi is imagining the hopeful future that electricity will bring, everything looks like Taisho or early Showa advertising paintings, and when we’re getting a bit of backstory about some characters, the style shifts to looking like nearly woodblock prints. I have my fingers crossed we’ll see more stylistic choices like this as the series evolves.
If you’re a fan of steampunk, mystery, science, Meiji-era fashion, alternate history, friendship, and adventure all rolled up together I can’t recommend Sparks of Tomorrow enough! I can only hope it keeps being as engaging as the first few episodes were!
Bebe Taian
CHOKO Blog
Gion Kobu