>>822950
I agree with most of what you said, but I disagree with your conclusion.
The lack of beauty in the artstyle and the lack of real story are part of what makes this show so unique.
It's not about two girls driving through a boring environment, it's about the fundamentals of human existence. What is war, what is meat, what is greed, what is memory? All of these questions get asked and answered with a rather nihilistic "dunno, lets find out" kind of attitude.
Allow me to explain using the camera as an example.
Yuu has a very bad memory. This is evident in the fact that she can't even remember where they got the camera from. She barely remembers the last two days, and doesn't mind not knowing where they are, where they came from and where they are headed. All she cares for is that he tummy is full and that she has a warm place to sleep.
Chi on the other hand is very concerned about the past. She writes a diary of some sort, keeps different books, takes notes and considers their future. She plans ahead, and worries where they will end up, and how they are going to get there.
Now look at the camera. It's essentially a representation of what the respective character finds important, what they "focus" on, and what the center of their attention is in that moment.
Yuu is running around taking pictures of everything that comes across her path. Be it buildings, stone statues or anything else that grabber her attention for the moment. She focuses on anything for a brief time, even though she doesn't know that the camera actually saved the images she produced. She doesn't care about the images she took five seconds ago. That's the past.
As soon as Chi realizes the potential of the camera she begins to document the most important things in her life. Most notably, herself and Yuu, but also landmarks, runes and other important sights she considers to be remarkable. She didn't care about the camera at all before she knew about it's potential.
It's a perfect metaphor for history. Yuu doesn't care about it, she just wants to have fun now. Chi on the other hand is concerned about it, and what it says about their future. But what example of are you supposed to follow in your real life?
The answer the show portrays is "Doesn't matter. Your clock is ticking.". In the end the camera has no function to them. They gain nothing from it. The only thing they learn is that somewhere some time ago some people existed and had their own life. What value they place on that information is up to them to decide.
Same goes for you. How much you value the past and future and how much you value the present is up to you to decide. You can't choose your destiny, but you can choose how you would like to look at your journey towards it.