SophieFilo16

WARNING: This rambling review contains light spoilers, particularly for the first episode. No names or major plot points are spoiled in this review.

This was honestly disappointing. I was expecting a thrilling survival story. Instead, I got emotional manipulation. Most of the characters I didn't care much about because we barely knew them. Why were we learning vital information about characters toward the END of the series? I spent 8 or so episodes wondering how one of the characters knew the others until it was casually alluded to. There was also some random cult arc shoehorned into the middle of the series that turned out to be pointless.

This is the biggest issue with the show: pacing. It does too much for just 10 episodes. It expects you to mourn characters you barely even know the name of. This anime tries so hard to be depressing and "inspirational", but it ends up failing. It's so easy to see through the manipulation tactics. There was only ONE death that actually got me to tear up a slight bit. The rest left me with a straight face (except for one that came completely out of nowhere for shock value. I actually got a little mad that the anime used such a cheap trick). That's because the show didn't give me time to become emotionally invested in these characters. In fact, I was slightly hoping one of the characters would die because they were so annoying and self-centered most of the time.

Another issue that cripples the show is the happy-go-lucky, just-keep-swimming attitude of the characters. That takes away all the dread and tension that a story liuke this should have. The first red flag for this show was that an entire family remained relatively unharmed while everyone around them was either killed or severely injured. Gimme a break. They spent the first episode (after finding each other) not worried about the giant earthquake that has devastated Japan or about their friends and neighbors who were likely killed but rather just joking around with each other as though nothing had happened. This family only cares about themselves (rather--nothing phases them as long as they're together). Seeing literal bodies in the street doesn't keep them from smiling. I get what the writers were going for. That "just keep swimming" attitude. But it's not just that family! Very few characters in this entire anime seem disturbed or worried or ANYTHING about the tragedy surrounding them. They just bounce back like it happens every other Wednesday.

And let's talk about the unrealistic nature of this show as well as the stupidity of some of the characters. It's fiction, so I'll let a lot of stuff slide. But the sheer LUCK of these characters is absurd. They frequently stumble upon vehicles, food, etc and consistently make it out of natural disasters with little or no injury. Again, this makes the threat....a lot less threatening. Furthermore, why aren't some of these characters thinking? It's a crisis, you desperately need food and water, but you're worried about STEALING? Taking what's left in an abandoned house or store is about SURVIVAL not morals. And why does everyone leave their cell phones on? We never saw them charge their phones. Fine, let's assume they had a few opportunities to charge. Even so, that doesn't mean you should always leave it on, constantly browsing the Internet, watching the battery drain. Save it for emergencies!

Ugh, I could go on and on about the unbelievable luck of these characters and the stupid little things they do. However, I want to return to what I said before. Pacing is this anime's biggest weakness. Here's how it SHOULD have been (only people who have watched it will understand what I mean by this):
Season 1: Everything before Shan City
Season 2: Shan City (Honestly, I don't even like this arc. It never should have existed in the first place. The only purpose it serves is getting rid of one character [actually two characters] and meeting another.)
Season 3: Everything after Shan City

Doing it this way would have allowed more time to grow attached to the characters and learn about them. It also would have allowed threat to feel like an actual problem because the viewer wouldn't be constantly waiting for the next earthquake or tsunami.

I wasn't even planning to write a review this long, but this show irritates me. It has so much potential and looked promising. But instead of earning its praise, it uses cheap emotional manipulatiion tactics to make the audience think the show is more depressing and inspiring than it actually is. This anime is full of characters but spends next to no time on any of them besides the kids. It introduces supernatural/fantasy elements that go...nowhere. Why even bring it up if it doesn't matter in the end? You injected fantasy into your otherwise realistic fiction (arguably sci-fi) story for no reason. The show doesn't even give focus to the magnitude of the crisis! I have no idea how many people made it out safely or were left to die. If it didn't directly involve the family, the show ignored it. Which, AGAIN, takes away the gravity of the situation.

*Sigh* Such wasted potential. At least the opening theme was nice... 2.5/5

Signed:
~SophieFilo16~