Nov 5, 2014
“Zankyou no Terror” is one of the most remarkable animes of this season. It was directed by Sinichirou Watanabe, who is known for animes such as Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo or Sakamichi no Apollon.
.:: Story ::.
The theme of two young terrorists in Tokyo isn't exactly a well-explored one. The premise of the series was entirely new to me and really fascinating. The first few episodes are really excellent and although the anime isn't quite able to keep up that quality throughout the course of the series it never becomes boring or dull. Although I'm not too fond of the ending, since I'm under the
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impression that the only purpose the ending serves is to evoke an emotional reaction from the audience without serving any greater purpose, I still think that the series becomes better towards the ending again.
8/10
.:: Character ::.
Both Nine and Twelve have intriguing personalities that complement each other very well. Personally, I believe that their relationship is by far the most interesting one. Finding out about their past and being curious about their future was the main factor why I kept watching.
Detective Kenjirou Shibazaki, who started off as the antagonist of the series, plays an important role and is the essential component that keeps the story going. Unfortunately, I didn't find all characters to be fleshed out that well. While Lisa's storyline is not hindering the development of the story, I find her to be rather bland and boring. Moreover, I believe that she could be substituted for any other generic looking high school girl and it wouldn't make much of a difference.
[Spoiler]
One of the few problems I have with the series was Five. After her introduction midway through the series the story goes downhill and seemes to be going in circles for a while. Five was supposed to be an opponent worth of Nine and Twelve, both brilliant boys, but turned out to be overly powerful. Although I was interested in her past, only few of the man questions I had were (vaguely) answered at the end. I find it incredibly hard to take a liking to her and I was even relieved when she died, because I hoped the series would be able to pick up where it left before the introduction of Five.
7/10
.:: Art::.
The anime was produced by MAPPA, which is a relatively new animation studio, but there's no doubt that it has the potential to become one of the big powerhouses for animation in the future. The animation was well-executed and smooth. The animation style was clean-cut without being bland, simple but not ugly, realistic and yet dramatic. I personally would have liked it to be a bit more detailed, but the animation never failed to impress and entertain me nonetheless.
8/10
.:: Sound ::.
The series' music is composed by Yoko Kanno, who has previously composed music for Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell, Porco Rosso and various other well-known animated series and movies. The soundtrack, and especially the opening theme song “Trigger”, was without doubt one of my personal highlights. The songs are wonderfully tailored to the anime's plot and really refreshing in a way. I bought the soundtrack to “Zankyou no Terror”, which I rarely do, and still enjoy listening to it.
10/10
.:: Enjoyment ::.
I watched the entire anime in one day, so even though it's short I think it's fair to say that the anime is quite enjoyable.
8/10
.:: Overall ::.
The anime was overall very compelling, entertaining and surprisingly mature. Although there were some minor weak points they were overshadowed by the fascinating premise, the beautiful execution and most of all the beautiful music. All in all, I could recommend this series and see it as one of the best new animes of 2014.
Overall: 8/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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