The thematic component of a natural disaster or apocalyptic catastrophe has always been the one that perturbs me like none other. Spooky ghosts, outdoor tools of any kind-wielding maniacs, or murderous tires on a rampage all have done a proper job of scaring me silly.
When I think of what horrifies me however. What stays with me for hours, days, weeks, after viewing, is when I can visualize the reality of a fictional piece. Tsunami's, Volcanoes, Asteroids, and Black Holes are all real things (Yes anyone can be an garden equipment psycho
...
but c'mon). Real things that, even with technological advancements, may happen at any fucking moment. You could one second be shopping for a new fuzzy sweater for your rat-sized shit you call a dog.
The next, poof. Gone. The end. Swallowed by a plane of space-time.
Rough.
Equally as terrifying is the humanistic element. When tragedies occur, the worst of humanism is unearthed. Evidenced by the pandemic, you see those immediately rising to fight for that last roll of toilet paper in King-Of-The-Hill style combat. It is apart of our beings to defend for ourselves and our loved ones. To do whatever to survive. Even if that means stepping on those below you. While our morality may clash against that notion, in the prospect that your country was on the verge of a cataclysm and sinking into the ocean floor, what would you do?
This is what initially incepted my interest in Japan Sinks 2020, the new anime licensed by Netflix, based on the legendary novel (that I will totally not bullshit you by saying I have read) by Sakyo Komatsu. A novel that took nearly a decade to complete, winning a multitude of awards, and sparking various adaptions over the years through different mediums.
In this adaption, an earthquake of country destroying proportions, well, destroys the country. This triggers event after event of natural disasters that would make the movie 2012 about, well, 2012, jealous. We follow the Mutō family and those they meet on their journey as they desperately attempt to survive a country that is literally falling apart.
In my preview of Summer 2020 anime (which one can view here), I mentioned this was one of, if not my most anticipated show of the season. For the very same reasons aforementioned about horror, I thought this should resonate to my core and elaborate on philosophical concepts of survival and ethics. In a season marred by delays and ecchi, this would be the bright spot.
Well I was wrong.
Where do I begin? This was an atrocity. When Netflix had stated they were simulcasting this, my thoughts jumped initially to the company testing out changes to their distribution platforms. If this series went well, more and more shows had the potential to escape from Netflix Jail/Prison/Hell. While I was watching this however, I remembered another anime that was simulcast just last year by Netflix, 7 Seeds. Coincidentally, that anime also blew balls.
Screw a coincidence, it's conspiracy time. As with 7 Seeds, they could see this project wasn't going anywhere, so they rushed the hoohah out of it, throwing it out there as soon as possible to limit the money drain. They don't give a rat's prostate about the viewership experience, they just wanted to save a few bucks.
Back on track.
With regard to the actual show, I want to start with the aesthetics. Typically, I choose not prattle on about art. It is indeed subjective, and Science Saru, the studio in charge, is infamous for their unique animation. Ping Pong, Devilman Crybaby, and Eizouken all look weird as shit. However, in each, the style compliments their conceptualizations, granting the creators greater freedoms to illustrate their ideas (Eizouken being the best example of this). Here, everything just looks and feels ugly. The backgrounds are simple, and the characters have very little consistency. The CGI scenes are insipid and reminiscent of the medium's potential in the 1980's. The inability of the studio to have any dynamic movements actually made for a few giggles. In particular, there's one "kick" where I had to rewind just to make sure my monitor hadn't glitched. This feels at best rushed and at worst incomplete. My conspiracy lives on.
The music did no favors either. The OP&ED are forgettable, but where my confusion lies is with the OST. There were quite a few scenes when the soundtrack would portray the complete opposite emotion of what (I suppose) I was trying to feel. At multiple points throughout the story, where tragedy strikes, such as a character death, there is this one upbeat, adventurous, almost jovial song in the background that found me tonally dumbfounded.
The characters are essentially all plot contrivances, once again similar to 7 Seeds. However, at least there, the fact that they were survivalists was kind of the point. Here, you've got the all star team of Japan at your disposal. Electrician, fix-it-all Dad, Olympic Swimmer Mom, Gamer Kid who knows English and all things internet, and, well, the daughter just runs fast, but not that fast. Further, I present EDM and Track Star Glasses Guy, and YouTube superstar, paragliding champ, techno wizard, Seto Kaiba-esque rich guy, amongst others. As we go further into the story, characters magically develop new skills like savants leading to the question: What can't these people do?
Be likable.
With all these incredulous talents, most of the main cast come off as flat, or downright annoying. I understand the son is trying to learn English, but isn't there a time and place? In the absolute worst of times, he'll blurt out an English phrase, continuously leaving me off-put. How tone deaf could one be?
I've done a very poor job of not using superlatives or melodramatic descriptions thus far, but when I say the daughter is quite possibly the worst character I've seen in recent memory, I mean it. In a world where everyone around her seems like they have the potential to apply for the Avengers, she is useless. Perhaps she could contribute through acting as a voice of reason, but rather she is the voice of complaints. Quite questionable complaints, asinine complaints. Upset because someone shared a candy bar, or because they stole food from what appeared to be an empty ass store, settling for taking "only the expiring things." Woman, now is not the time to be worrying about the ethics of shoplifting.
The plot is as messy and broken as the sinking country the show is set in. Government subterfuge, xenophobes, a cult (seriously what was the point of the cult), and a tooth USB drive, I am not sure what the creators wanted this to be. I empathize with the difficulties of cutting out ideas, but when you only have 10 episodes, some things have got to go.
I've mentioned the tone deafness a myriad of times thus far, however it is readily apparent in the plot as well. There were a few times, particularly in the beginning of the story, where a scene would pull genuine heartfelt emotion out of me. The end of episode 2 I felt anguish, despair. Then, episode 3 started with so much levity it gave me whiplash. Later, a character tragedy that actually made sense tugged at my heart. What followed? A rap battle. And a mute man blinking to the beat.
To it's credit, moments like these were what got me to finish the show. By no means during the process was I bored. Nothing made sense, so around half way through I just gave up and attempted to buckle up and enjoy the broken-ass ride. Quite a few scenes such as the rap, the cult kid's first words, or anything Daniel the clown did had me embarrassingly snorting. Is this in the "so bad it's good" territory? Eh, probably just bad. But you've got to give credit where it's due.
I would best describe this series as a rough draft. Many wonderful ideas. Too many. Waaayyyyyyy too many. Unfortunately, per the conspiracy, I believe these ideas were all presented and then Netflix gave them 10 episodes, a couple hundred yen, and a few months to pull it off. Or the creators did a Michael Bay amount of cocaine. Either way, the result is a whirlwind of happenings with no substance, with the occasional unintentional chuckle in between.
Jul 12, 2020
Nihon Chinbotsu 2020
(Anime)
add
The thematic component of a natural disaster or apocalyptic catastrophe has always been the one that perturbs me like none other. Spooky ghosts, outdoor tools of any kind-wielding maniacs, or murderous tires on a rampage all have done a proper job of scaring me silly.
When I think of what horrifies me however. What stays with me for hours, days, weeks, after viewing, is when I can visualize the reality of a fictional piece. Tsunami's, Volcanoes, Asteroids, and Black Holes are all real things (Yes anyone can be an garden equipment psycho ... |
