Ok. I will say from the start. This is an anime that you either don't get it and hate it or you get it and you like or love it.
First of all, the theme and title. If you expect an insight in the world of terrorists or criminals, well, this is not for you. Go to Black Lagoon or Akudama Drive for that. Despite it's title, the show focuses little on the ideea of terrorism, but terrorism as a last resort of communication.
!!!Now, I won't be able to picture the ideea of the story without giving some major spoilers, so carefully thread through the
...
lines below!!!
Characters (8-9)
The story has 2+2 sides: the 'first terrorists' aka Sphinx against the Police + Five and US gouvernment+a girl serving as an interface between SphInx and the perception of the audience.
Characters overall are good to very good. This is not a saga, the anime doesn't even have 12 episodes, so they had to make a choice between 'flashing out' characters and telling the story in a proper manner. And it chose the later, but not at great expenses for the former. . It's true, they are not very complex, bearing extraordinary reactions and good monologues or one-liners, but they don't really need to be.
Sphinx is made up of two brothers who have been awfully wronged by the gouvernment of Japan, in bed with the US. Their plan is to launch a seriers of terrorist attacks on Japan, always hinting at a 'big hit' as their symbol/mark is the same as one used during a uranium theft from a nuclear powerplant. Against them, you have the Police department, centered around detective Shibazaki. A bit later, Sphinx is joined by a girl, Lisa, who is in a strained relationship with her current life. They accidentally bump into her as one of their hits is about to fail, but they still pull off the stunt and are left wondering what to do with her. While 'getting rid' of her is presented as an option, she somehow manages to sneak into their organisation. As stated, her character is meant to be a medium or interface of communication between Sphinx and us, the audience, meant to nail the point of the show, by expressing the thoughts of Sphinx without needless monologue. Finally, we get introduced to Five and the US gouvernment.<spoiler
They are 'the final boss' and the main antagonists to Sphinx.
/spoiler>
The only 'fleshed-out/complex characters' are Sphinx, aka Twelve and Nine. At the start of the show, they leave the impression of being nothing more than some pyromaniac edgy teenagers. However, it is soon revealed that they have a reason for every single detail of their plan, fully aware of the risk they face. Also, they are not entirely uni-dimensional and carbon copies of each other. Nine is the more calculated one while Twelve the more action oriented one and he is even hinted as developing a crush on Lisa. Shibazaki is more or less a meah character, driving the plot forward, while keeping the population safe. He is more or less meant to represent the audience, struggling to solve every minor riddle put forward by Sphynx and the big mystery behind every decision they make. Five represents a 'what if' version of the two guys in Sphynx, meaning what if Twelve and Nine deceided to join the underworld instead of following their plan. And I've already said what needed to be said about Lisa. She's the one getting Twelve and Nine talking so we don't have to rely on pointless monlogoues.
Story and implementation [10] (TL/DR at the end of the section, spoiler free as much as possible)
Now, it's going to get a bit incoherent as I'm trying to separate the ideea behind spoilers and spoilers, but bear with me:
The premise behind the show is beautifully illustrated through the eyes of Shibazaki and Lisa as Sphinx and Five are entering a 4D game of chess. The plot-twist of the series (and it's premise) is slowly revealed after each hit of Sphinx. .The first few episodes are setting the scene and the tone for how the story is implemented. <Enter spoiler territory, mostly revealing the ideea behind scenes, not just the scenes themselves>
The show starts with a heist at a nuclear power plant and some uranium is stolen, with only a mark left behind. Then, a couple of teens bearing the same mark, Sphinx post a video of how they are going to bomb some buildings, while giving a riddle to find the locations of the bombs or sabotages. This ideea is repeated for a couple of episodes in order to make a good point: the threats are real, the buildings do explode and they do have the stolen uranium. But there is a small devil in the details. Even if the world is shocked and the destructions are visible, the number of victims doesn't add up, because there's nothing to add. Not long after a few episodes repeating this scenario, we are introduced to Lisa and her first meeting with Sphynx and here we are revealed the first secret: Sphynx is not trying to actively kill anyone. By the end of the show, we are revealed that they are actually going out of their way to avoid killing anyone. And then the main antagonist, Five, shows up, backed by US forces who take control over the investigation. She's better than both Nine and Twelve and takes advantage of her position to try and sabotage the image of Sphinx by turning their scares into tragedies with many victims, which severly complicates their plan of using the uranium for a similar stunt.
Now, about some contextual meaning and meta-writing. The story itself is not 'that wow'. It could be summarised in a few lines, as I've done above, but it combines with a wonderful implementation to create something speciall. In terms of 'pacing', it's really good. The first episodes, as stated, are meant to establish narrative tension and the stakes. The situation is viewed mostly through the eyes of the 'civillian'. For them, and for us, each threat is real. They either solve the riddle or buildings blow up and people die. This is amplified through the series as even if we are introduced to Sphinx and their ideals, Five showing up now has both sides trying to avoid a disaster. In terms of writing, I know some people are looking for a deeper meaning, but I say one should look for the meaning behind the deeper meaning. The ideea of riddles is plainly obvious, the Sphinx is handing out riddles to random people, and if they fail to give the right answer, they die, pretty much like in the Greek mythology. However, this is not the 'deep meaning'. The deep meaning is in the way the answers are given, as simple knowledge of Greek mythology won't give you the answer straight away, and this is made clear when the police station is seen. To find the answer, one needs to dig deeper. And this is the deepest layer of the story: Why are Sphinx doing everything they do, the way they do? Why do they try to give police hints? If they simply wanted to humiliate them, why giving riddles and not false or vague information? Well, it is revealed that their endgoal is not to cause damage, but to fuel the curiosity of the people, to make them want to know more about Sphinx and reveal their truth for themselvesand understand their motives, so they can 'resonate' with them.
<exit spolers>
TL;DR The story is simple, yet its implementation is rather complex, with many layers, and its beauty can be really felt once you start taking a moment and trying to peel those off. First of all, the show, for something that has the aura of mystery and mythology linked to it, seems to have quite a lot of action, doesn't it? Well, this is done on purpose, to keep the viewer hooked and constantly remind him that everything is realy: Sphinx are real, the bombs are real, the imminent danger of a building blowing up is real and the greater danger of genocide is real. And each riddle, does have a meaning. Not in the riddle or answer themselves, but the way the riddles are solved, constantly giving the feeling 'If a complex answer is obvious, then it's not complex enough'.
Art (8)
Not going to lie. This thing is not meant to be a Sakuga galore or anything like that. But the characters and surroundings are pretty realistic. Sometimes I really love the 'generic drawings' if they keep the general features of humans (aka proportioned eyes, round faces, mouth smaller than the eyes etc.) because it brings you in that immersion ideal: 'those are faces in the crowd, like you and me, who got thrown in an unexpected situation'
Sound: it's there.
Overall 10
As said, with 11 episodes, the show is forced to keep things to the minimum, but it manages to make almost perfect use of its resources. Even if each little step and solution seems too unexpected to not laugh at, the big picture tells a tragic story of two people forced to take the dark and dangerous road in order to let people now that they even existed.
May 21, 2021
Zankyou no Terror
(Anime)
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Ok. I will say from the start. This is an anime that you either don't get it and hate it or you get it and you like or love it.
First of all, the theme and title. If you expect an insight in the world of terrorists or criminals, well, this is not for you. Go to Black Lagoon or Akudama Drive for that. Despite it's title, the show focuses little on the ideea of terrorism, but terrorism as a last resort of communication. !!!Now, I won't be able to picture the ideea of the story without giving some major spoilers, so carefully thread through the ... |
