Harmony

In 2019, following an uprising in the USA and a subsequent global nuclear war, humanity was decimated by a catastrophe called "The Maelström." A half-century after this cataclysmic event—to preserve humankind—the World Health Organization (WHO) has progressively assimilated worldwide political power and completely redefined society: people are now considered public resources and are guaranteed a happier life. The heightened development of medicine, nanomachine technology, and augmented reality promote this greater devotion to human health.

Suffocated by the excessive kindness of Japanese society, high school student Miach Mihie decides to oppose the societal values she considers dehumanizing before the health implant surveillance system WatchMe activates itself the day she turns 18. Miach plans to kill herself with two of her friends, Tuan Kirie and Cian Reikadou. However, Cian betrays the pact in disagreement with Miach's intentions, allowing Tuan to survive her suicide attempt, unlike Miach, who is declared dead.

Thirteen years later, now a high-ranking inspector of Helix—an organization affiliated with WHO to monitor military conflicts—Tuan is sent back to Japan after her drug smuggling activities in the Niger warzone are discovered by senior Helix inspector Oscar Stauffenberg. On her first day back to the country she tried running away from, thousands of people simultaneously commit suicide. Tuan is now in charge of investigating this wave of mass suicide and exposing the terrorist organization behind the unprecedented attack.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Mihie, Miach Main

Ueda, Reina Japanese

Kirie, Tuan Main

Sawashiro, Miyuki Japanese

Stauffenberg, Oscar Supporting

Sakakibara, Yoshiko Japanese

Reikadou, Cian Supporting

Suzaki, Aya Japanese

Asaph Supporting

Ootsuka, Akio Japanese

Étaín, Gabrielle Supporting

Watanabe, Akeno Japanese

Mihie, Reiko Supporting

Mori, Chiaki Japanese

Woll, Uwe Supporting

Ono, Atsushi Japanese

Saeki, Keita Supporting

Cho Japanese

Vasilov, Elijah Supporting

Miki, Shinichiro Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Yoshizawa, Takashi Producer

Ozaki, Noriko Producer

Ogihara, Tomoko Producer

Reviews

Nov 1, 2025

in_situ

Recommended

Happiness or truth?

Alongside Genocidal Organ and Empire of Corpses this is another anime based upon Project Itoh's novel. I now think that this man's influence on anime is to be reckoned with, even though he had nothing to do with the industry directly.

This time it plays out like a cerebral sci-fi, highly philosophical, slow-burning and pondering. 2 hours sharp of reflections about the nature of free will, the meaning of conscience for a human, the dangers of conformism, the Weltschmerz tied to anyone bound by higher enlightenment and how the greater knowledge is incomparable with feeling of happiness. Think The Brave New World if it ... wasn't trying to be cinematic as Equilibrium, although this is a beautiful anime. It mixes 2D with striking architecture and authentic coding interfaces, even framing establishment meeting as some sort of cold piercing white cyberspace, relying more on 3D artistry than pure anime visuals which makes it even more distinct. Moreover, it uses the city dioramas to indicate how aesthetically grinding the utopian world may be - pink (it's not so much a feminine color, but a sign of passive passion, stilted dreams - as a mellow counterpart to red the protagonist is wearing) perfectly geometrical skyscrapers reminding London's Gherkin tower and chessboard-alike floors indicating the homogenous order of things. Sometimes other minor CGI elements are present, but they only make the overall art more dynamic.

Outside of all of that it's also a mentally disturbing story, dealing with the Werther effect (copycat suicide) and war crimes PTSD, at the same time fueled with population control paranoia and existential fear written all over it's narrative. To a certain extent it feels like it's holding the answers to it's own questions instead of trying to expand your cognitive threshold. For example, the way it dissects the genealogy of morality is quite vague, but I feel like it achieves it’s goal in trying to be an intellectual horror sci-fi, because it's basically Ergo Proxy without mythology and waifu to be a cultist for, yet it still leaves you, profoundly, with an unexcitment of certainty.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Aug 29, 2025

shirogane_kei9

Mixed Feelings

Harmony is an anime film adapted from Project Itoh’s novel, and from the very beginning it’s clear this isn’t a light watch. The story is set in a future where humanity has built a so-called utopia disease is eradicated, people live healthy, peaceful, and harmonious lives. But behind that “perfection,” the film asks: is a life without conflict truly a life worth living?

Story-wise, the strongest part for me is in Tuan Kirie’s inner conflict and her relationship with Miach. Miach, as someone who rejects the utopian system, becomes a catalyst for the film’s core philosophical question: if suffering is erased, are we still human? That ... gives the movie a heavy existential weight.

That said, here’s where the weaknesses kick in. The pacing can feel slow,
and the dialogues are often long and heavy. Some viewers might find it a bit tedious since the film tends to “tell” more than it “shows.” Toward the ending, the pacing suddenly rushes despite the weight of the issues being explored. Plus, the side characters are underdeveloped, leaving the focus almost entirely on Kirie and Miach.

Still, overall Harmony is a solid film. It delivers an experience that lingers in your head long after watching. Thematically, it’s bold enough to tackle subjects rarely touched by mainstream anime—bodily autonomy, free will, and the meaning of suffering in life.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Nov 4, 2017

RunningShirtGuy

Not Recommended

TRIGGER WARNING FOR HARMONY: Many suicides are shown on screen, rape is discussed in relative detail

Story (1/10): The story was comprised of the MC being info-dumped by everyone, even if the person giving the information isn't doing it out of their own interest. The story uses suicide as a plot device, pretending (at the same time) that it is both poetic, and a casual part of life. In reality, suicide is neither of those things. Harmony comments how books can cause suicide imitations if the suicide is described in detail, yet has no problem whatsoever showing full suicide scenes within the movie. Harmony's plot itself ... is also flawed, as it starts out as a utopia with problems, but it cant decide whether it wants to be Orwellian or Huxleyian. If it had chosen one (or neither) this would not be an issue, but every other scene it seems they change their mind. Harmony pretends to use philosophy as a plot device, but in actuality, it is just high-school level science. Looking at the story from a scientific lense, plot points have several plot holes, even when giving the world the benefit of the doubt. For example: "This rare recessive gene can cause the human to be born without a conscience... But then, her conscience was awakened by the horrors of Chechnya." That's just not how a conscience works.

Art (9/10): While some backgrounds weren't perfect and some faces were bland, most of the art was quite beautiful. Important sidenote: the suicides scenes had blood and LOTS of it. Do not take these warnings lightly!

Sound (7/10): Nothing to write home about, but nothing bad either.

Characters (1/10): The side characters only existed for info-dumps, and once they finished their shpiel, there were never seen again. The MC and her friends try to glorify suicide, and they are one dimensional too. Throughout the story, the MC flip-flops her ideology 3 times within a scene 4 separate times.

Enjoyment (1/10): I rolled my eyes countless times while watching Harmony, but I think you gleaned that from the rest of my review already.

Overall (2/10): The artwork was beautiful but the rest of Harmony was not, do I need to say more?


TL;DR: Do not watch this.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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