Notice: This review covers both seasons of this series. Although I had heard of the Terraformars manga a few times, I never bothered to check it out for two reasons. First, because the premise sounded retarded (bug mutants fighting mutant bugs on Mars), and second because the masses were hyping it to be this super amazing action flick, which automatically means I knew it was yet another overhyped bullshit, like pretty much everything the masses overhype. So anyways, they released a few OVAs before the actual series and it didn’t look bad when you limit your impressions to tension and action. It’s 100% schlock material, regarding a bunch of people with bug powers sent to fight cockroach people on another planet. It sounds like a great action cheesefest from the 80s, like the ones I grew up watching. It would be great if it was something close to Starship Troopers. And sadly it isn’t. The creators had this ridiculous idea of throwing as much overblown drama as possible, at a bunch of cardboard characters. Everybody has a sad backdrop story, and is forced to join this stupid planet colonization project for some silly reason, and here I am watching a Brazilian soap opera instead of a pop corn action flick. But Snob, are you saying that you would rather have characters blowing up shit, without having depth or drama or even a backdrop? Yes! That is exactly what I would prefer. Because that is what the premise prepares you for. This is not a story that makes you think of Space Odyssey, it is something that makes you think of Space Troopers. Bug mutants! Fighting mutant bugs! On Mars! Why the hell do I care if poor Alehandro Rodrigez manages to confess his love to Huanita Gonzales without her strict father finding out? The hell is this crap; give me pure action! But Snob, that only means that your expectations were not met, it doesn’t mean the show is bad. Why weren’t you pleasantly surprised to find out it is far more than that, with the characters having personal conflicts and human pathos that make them far more relatable? Because the drama is shit! None of them are interesting to bother remembering their faces, much less their names and stories. Ok, that Adolf Hitler dude was cool, but all the rest are nothing but fodder. Every story is basic, one wants to gather money for his sick sister, another one wants fame, a third one is a prisoner. There is so much talking and build up between action scenes that you are completely bored by the time the fun begins. Over half of the show is wasted on flashbacks where we see the backdrop stories of the characters, and because none of them matter they feel like dead time.And just like it happens with all shows that are about shock effect, you get a big amount of characters who are dying a few episodes after they are introduced, thus not only failing at allocating enough time for the audience to get to like them, but also rendering all the time that was spent on their drama and backdrop to be a complete waste of time. At best, the only thing you will bother remembering from all this mess is the way they got pulverized.I couldn’t even enjoy the action bits because of all the ridiculous amounts of censorship it had in the first third. They were hiding everything, it was black circles and beams filling the screen. Very smart you guys, animating a super action-gore title and then you hide all the super action-gore. You destroyed the main hook of the show! Granted, the censorship went away later on, and the DVD version isn’t hiding anything, but the damage was already done while the show was airing. Most dropped it because of it, made a laughing stock out of the whole deal, and ruined whatever image the show was trying to promote. What about the non-censored parts; at least those are good, right? No, not even those are. You get the most basic battle choreography you can find in any fighting shonen, coupled with all the bogus tricks they use to stretch the duration and save money in animation. Still frames? Check! Excessive narration in the middle of the battles, explaining the superpowers? Check! Predictable power ups when the plot demands for it? Check! Overdramatization of every minor thing that is going on around people you don’t care about? Check! But Snob, Jojo is using the same tricks and you love it. Why is this show any different? Because the characters in Terraformars are passive crybabies, whose powers are given to them, and then get thrown in a situation where they have no choice. The exact opposite things count for Jojo. So basically, what we have here is yet another Mirai Nikki or Elfen Lied, where the over-excessive violence is the main focus, it’s done in a silly way, only one character drives the show, and everything else is shit. What about the second season? Maybe that one was better? By then, most of the fodder would be dead, and all backdrop stories will be over with, thus we will have a pure action series. Believe it or not, the second season managed to be EVEN WORSE than the first. They switched animation studios and halved the budget, thus the rather cool and detailed artwork degraded to below average doodles. The new soundtrack was also completely forgettable compared to the decent one from before (The first opening is actually amazing). And as if that wasn’t enough, the action was simplified to the point it felt like a silly action series for little children. There is no censorship because there is no gore! No matter how strong everybody is, they never bleed or cut to pieces whatever they hit. It’s as if all of a sudden death ceases to exist and everybody is made of adamandium. This in effect made all the battles completely boring and tensionless.What kind of a genius thought this was a good idea? How is this pitiful change going to make up for the blunders of the first season? How is it even going to boost the manga sales? Terra Formars was never top material but it had lots of chances to be enjoyable schlock action. These retarded mistakes completely ruined it, proving once again how modern anime are a waste of time and there is no passion to do anything properly anymore.
Screenshots
Add to list