Encouragement of Climb

About Encouragement of Climb

Encouragement of Climb (ヤマノススメ) arrives as an adventure anime by 8-bit (2013), and the premise is easy to summarize. In short: Aoi prefers indoor hobbies and is afraid of heights, but her childhood companion Hinata loves to show off her passion for mountain climbing. As young children they once watched the sunrise from the top of a mountain, and now they've decided to take up mountain climbing in hopes of seeing that sunrise again.

Along the way, they have cooking clashes with mountaineering gear, climb small hills in their neighborhood, and meet new mountaineering friends as they learn the ropes of the hobby. When will they finally see that sunrise again?

As an adventure title, exploration, new locations and a steady sense of momentum drive the story. Voice work is led by Yuka Iguchi as Aoi Yukimura and Youko Hikasa as Kaede Saitou. If you count yourself among anyone who enjoys travel-the-world storytelling, put it on your list. The run is 12 episodes in total, so you know what you are signing up for.

Production & Appeal

8-bit is the studio behind Encouragement of Climb, and its direction shapes everything from character design to motion. Because it leans on adventure, exploration, new locations and a steady sense of momentum drive the story. With a 6.7/10 score, it is more of a niche pick than a universal crowd-pleaser. Voice casting, including Yuka Iguchi as Aoi Yukimura, adds to the appeal for fans who follow seiyuu. Released in 2013, it competed with that season's other new series for attention.