English Dub Mid-Season Review: Somali and the Forest Spirit

Our Take:

The series isn’t done yet, but here’s a mid-season review of what we have so far.

Somali and the Forest Spirit revolves around the titular Somali, a young human girl who was abandoned in the forest as a child, and Golem, a forest protector who has found her. Golem is very aware that he has reached the end of his life and will die next year, and so wants to reunite Somali with her birth parents so someone can look after her.

While Somali is one of the main characters, Golem is definitely one as well. Golem very explicitly says that he doesn’t have emotions, so he is unable to have context for many things, especially emotional relationships. He operates off logic, and is programmed to function that way. At the same time, there is no doubt that he cares very heavily for Somali. He is in the purest definition, her father figure. He has become her parent, looks out for her, and wants the best for her. He doesn’t want to separate from her because he doesn’t like her, but because he’s aware that she likely wouldn’t be able to survive on her own after a year.

The issue is that Somali very clearly has taken Golem to be her father. She doesn’t remember or have any affection for her birth parents, and considering the circumstances of their meeting, it wasn’t a good time she had with humans either. The series is constantly playing up that humans are violent and dislike anything that deviates from their worldview, and so they will likely view Somali is something to be purged as well. Humans are not the standard in this world, but are the enemy, and it’s hard to tell whether that will or can be bridged with kindness or not.

Altogether, this is an incredibly cute series. It’s by no means purely happy, as this is shaping up to have some dark elements, but it’s a gentle one. Every episode feels incredibly sweet, and I love seeing these two on screen. There’s a lot in the future, as I am certain that the human conflict is coming and isn’t going to end well for either of them, but I hope that Somali and Golem manage to spend some good time together. The crux of the story is their relationship, and I hope they have a soft landing.