Terminator 0

Decades after the sentient artificial intelligence Skynet took control of the planet in 2022, the resistance is still fighting against the machines. Following a fierce battle, Eiko, a guerilla soldier in Japan, manages to corner a Terminator—Skynet's elite killing cyborg. Eiko extracts crucial details of its plan, allowing the resistance to send her back in time and secure a different future.

In August 1997, days before Skynet's looming nuclear attack known as Judgment Day, Malcolm Lee works on launching Kokoro, a new AI model designed to fight for humanity. As Judgement Day approaches, a Terminator arrives in Japan to hunt Malcolm and his children before Kokoro becomes self-aware. Malcolm must prevent his creation from getting misaligned and coming to the same conclusion as Skynet: the extinction of humans.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Terminator Main

Mamiya, Yasuhiro Japanese

Eiko Main

Yukinari, Toa Japanese

Lee, Malcolm Main

Uchida, Yuuya Japanese

Misaki Supporting

Hayami, Saori Japanese

Lee, Reika Supporting

Satou, Miyuki Japanese

Kokoro Supporting

Tanezaki, Atsumi Japanese

Fujino Supporting

Cho Japanese

Annie Supporting

Shimoyamada, Ayaka Japanese

Shiraki Supporting

Azakami, Youhei Japanese

Natsuko Supporting

Keichou, Yuka Japanese

Banshou, Kouichi Producer

Kudou, Masashi Director, Sound Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Maruyama, Yuuta Episode Director

Oe, Mineo Episode Director

Reviews

Aug 29, 2024

Marinate1016

Recommended

As a massive fan of the terminator franchise who’s watched all the movies dozens of times growing up with my dad, I can say this was the best instalment since T2 Judgement Day. It’s thrilling, engaging, thought provoking and a great evolution of the franchise. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.

Terminator Zero starts off clearly reminiscent of earlier instalments of the series, borrowing concepts from the first two films, the spin off tv series and more, but by the halfway point it establishes itself as something unique. While yes it has cool fights and action scenes, the character drama and philosophical questions ... the series poses are much more important. Rather than focus on Arnold Schwarzenegger beating up another terminator to save humanity, we get asked the question of whether or not humanity is even worth being saved. The other entries have always treated this as a given. As if humans have some divine right to the planet, as if we can take whatever we want with no consequences. If you left that judgement to one of our own, the answer would always be “yes, we deserve to live” but in reality this is a simple self preservation instinct rather than objective truth. Throughout the course of its 8 episode run, Terminator Zero has humanity judged by a non biased third party with the core objective being convincing this third party that it should aid humanity in the struggle against skynet. I loved this so much and found it very refreshing.

This is very much a character driven story. I quickly grew attached to the kids and Misaki especially. I think the one downside I’d have here is that Eiko felt a little flat, I wonder if that’s intentional because they want to flesh her out in future media given some circumstances in the end of the series. Other than that, I was on the edge of my seat every episode hoping everyone would make it out of this alive. I’d encourage you to really pay attention to the characters’ subtle behaviours and idiosyncrasies as well. There’s some cool twists at the end that are foreshadowed throughout and it was so cool when we got there and I was able to look back and be like “ah, that’s why__” for 8 episodes, there’s quite a bit of good stuff in this one.

Production IG are no strangers to sci fi and they brought their A games here. Visuals and soundtrack are incredible, character designs as well. The few big fight scenes we have looked awesome too. Show is well paced and pulls you in from the get go.

Highly recommend this as a must watch for any terminator fan or sci fi fan in general. Honestly for younger people who haven’t seen the OG films(you need to ASAP since they’re legendary), this could serve as a good entry point for the franchise. Very happy with what we got.

Terminator Zero gets 9, out of 10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Sep 17, 2024

logic340

Mixed Feelings

"Terminator 0" is an anime TV series available on Netflix that attempts to bring the iconic franchise into the world of animation.

Story/Plot: 6/10
The plot follows the familiar Terminator formula, which is enjoyable at first but becomes predictable about halfway through. The minimal payoff is disappointing, as key questions are left unanswered for a sequel. Character development feels inorganic, and the plot relies too heavily on creating shock value instead of building a cohesive narrative. One of the biggest issues is the inconsistent portrayal of the Terminator. It feels artificially weak to serve the plot, which ruins any stakes the story tries to create. There’s ... a scene where a human tank blows from the Terminator, even though it had been established as far stronger than humans. This lack of consistency damages the believability of the plot.

Animation/Design: 7/10
Production I.G.’s animation is as good as expected, but the unnatural highlights on characters in situations where there shouldn’t be a light source are distracting. The action scenes are visually solid, but the way the Terminator’s skin deflects bullets without damage takes away from the immersion.

Characters: 5/10
The characters were not likable, and their development was shallow. Many decisions they made felt like plot devices rather than reflections of genuine personality. The relationship dynamics had potential but were underdeveloped. The father and eldest son were particularly disappointing, with the father speaking in riddles and avoiding crucial answers. The world felt empty, as if the main cast were the only characters with any importance, and the Terminator itself was weakened to the point of losing its menacing presence.

Audio/Soundtrack: 6/10
The voice acting in the English dub was good, but the soundtrack didn’t leave an impression. The lack of iconic music or sound from previous Terminator entries was a missed opportunity, which might have helped elevate the experience. Nothing about the audio stood out as memorable or unique.

Enjoyment: 5/10
While some elements were enjoyable, the show ultimately fell flat. Poor character development, a predictable plot, and a Terminator that felt inconsistent and weak made the overall experience lackluster. The stakes never felt real, given how poorly the Terminator was handled in terms of power and danger. The weak portrayal of the Terminator, like being pushed back by a regular human and failing to land a finishing blow, undermined the excitement of the action sequences.

Overall: 6/10
"Terminator 0" introduces some interesting ideas but falls short due to its weak portrayal of the Terminator and an incoherent plot. The Terminator’s inconsistencies significantly hurt the tension, making the human vs. machine dynamic feel unbelievable. While the sequel may resolve some of these issues, it’s not a series that leaves you eagerly anticipating the next installment. Rewatching it after the sequel might make for a better experience, but at this point, it’s lacking in too many areas to fully enjoy.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jan 16, 2025

perseii

Not Recommended

Terminator Zero is typical "Netflix content," seemingly created for a single purpose: to fill a hole in the streaming platform's line-up, labeled "sci-fi," "anime" and "violent." Underneath its Terminator-brand skin and a nice coat of paint, there is a "product" that is simply going through the motions with unexciting action, incoherent and unsatisfying story, flat characters and only vaguely interesting ideas.

The story is, like every Terminator movie, a straightforward action thriller with some philosophical musings sprinkled in. This time around, we follow a scientist, locked in a room ruminating and agonizing for most of the runtime, and some kids and their guardians, on a ... dreary trek through abandoned buildings and empty streets. The story here just stumbles from event to event with no real sense of flow or build-up, with things happening seemingly because they are supposed to happen in a Terminator story. Of course there has to be a sequence at a police station. There is some shocking development around the half-way point, but it has surprisingly little impact on the characters and the overall story, which ends with a whimper and a tease for a sequel that will likely never come.

On a more positive note, Terminator Zero toys with some interesting concepts (which is more than I can say about the last two movies). Can you debate and negotiate with AI? What will you sacrifice to prevent a future that may not even come to pass? Frustratingly, the show does not really follow up on any of them. The third-act "moment of truth" has no weight because the drawn-out debate goes out the window and the scene heavily relies on a character that has no good reason to be there and has little meaningful to say about the issue at hand. The show also tries to expand the world of Terminator, setting it in Tokyo and introducing rudimentary humanoid robots, but these quickly become irrelevant or reduced to simple plot devices. Basically every introduced idea is either discarded or poorly integrated with the characters and the story.

The action part of the overall package fares somewhat better. The action sequences are decently choreographed and thankfully do not lack for brutality. Some things do not make much sense (a human tackling a 400-pound hunk of metal cannot end well), but the bigger problem is that many of them feel strangely low-intensity. Good Terminator fights feel visceral, crunchy and unstoppable, but most fights in this show simply do not hit as hard; they feel awkward and floaty. There is one fight that feels a little different than usual, but it still feels derivative as it evokes Ghost in the Shell instead. It does not help that the action is bogged down by the constant questions of why this has to happen and why I should care about these people.

The characters we follow have no depth or personality. Scientist. Human from the future. Machine. Child. Everyone is at all times either stone-faced or distressed. Yes, Terminator has always been grim, but most of the movies remembered to crack a joke and add some character. The Terminator himself has no charisma, intimidating aura or an interesting gimmick here. Say what you will about Arnold (growing ever older), but there was a reason they kept wheeling him out in every movie; he has a distinct and likable presence. The human characters have unclear or uninteresting motivations, making odd and seemingly-random choices to move the plot forward. The children are the worst examples of this, as they constantly run off on a whim, make plot-critical discoveries by chance and act without understanding anything. It is difficult to care about them when I am not even sure if these people are human, in a way that I do not think was intentional.

The production quality is solid overall; this is Production I.G., after all. The visuals and sound are kept grounded to match the serious tone. The characters sometimes have stylistic, almost-neon colored outlines, which I like but some may find distracting. There is not much else notable that elevates the mediocre material, unfortunately.

Speaking of the technical aspects, the subtitles are a small point of irritation. The English subs often do not match the Japanese audio, to the point where subtitles appear when no one can be heard speaking. I assume the subs are matching the English dubs instead (which is probably how the original script was written by the American screenwriter), but the issue indicates a lack of care on Netflix’s part. Also, the English subs use far stronger language than is typical of an anime, so a timid Japanese babysitter dropping f-bombs frequently took me out of the show.

It is true that I am reviewing this as someone who has watched the Terminator movies and the TV series. I do love Terminator 2: Judgment Day (like a lot of people), but I would definitely not call myself a fan of the series. I still check them out because I believe that the core concept of Terminator still has some legs; fighting off and running away from a highly-advanced killing machine satisfies my action brain, while artificial intelligence and time travel tickle the sci-fi brain. The franchise is long overdue for expansion and re-interpretation, especially now as we are entering the age of AI. Even if the anime did none of these things, I would have at least appreciated an exciting, high-quality retread. The show tries to do a bit of both and manages neither of them particularly well. At the end of the day, I just cannot imagine that the creatives involved with this project, especially the writer, particularly cared.

The most charitable way to describe this would be an unremarkable sci-fi action anime that passes the time. However, there is very little excitement, cleverness or heart to be found here. As a Terminator show, it adds nothing to the franchise. If you want a sci-fi anime with robots, thought-provoking ideas, likable characters, an intriguing story and good production values, I would recommend Pluto instead (also on Netflix, incidentally). Terminator Zero is a plain waste of time and is destined to be forgotten in the vast Netflix trash heap.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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