But there is a downside to these shows that seem to promise so much, and that is that sometimes they fail to deliver. What sounded like an interesting premise has become nothing more than a change in setting; the eccentricities of that peculiar art style have been overlapped by substandard animation. We have escaped the torrent of lingerie, but still have to contend with that annoying tsundere character.
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 suffers from all of these faults to varying degrees, and it is an almighty shame, because it absolutely was not inevitable. While the emotional tale of two children caught in the middle of a natural disaster of an unprecedented scale will be enough to take in some, those who are not easily swayed by sentimentality will find themselves searching for the substance here, and be left feeling incredibly disappointed when it fails to materialise.
The problem of Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 is twofold: the first is the nature of earthquakes and disaster relief; the second are the leading characters, the pre-teen girl Mirai and her younger brother Yuki. These two forces alone are largely responsible for the complete collapse of the show.
The idea of a series which has a realistic take on an earthquake is one that would seem enticing to most; so often are stories of natural disasters exaggerated for dramatic effect that the idea of portraying them as they are in reality is quite refreshing. However, the reality of earthquakes is that they involve somewhere between ten seconds and two minutes of sheer panic and terror, after which they subside completely, barring the occasional aftershock or delayed building collapse. After the initial danger has passed and you've made your way to safety, it just becomes a matter of waiting to be rescued.
Spending several episodes on ‘waiting to be rescued’ would of course be incredibly boring, and the creators recognised this. For this reason the children set out on the highly perilous and ludicrously impractical task of making their way back to their home, inconveniently located on the other side of one of the world's largest cities, which has just been struck by one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded. However as unlikely as this story seems, this is not the least of TM 8.0's worries: because even though it gives the cast a goal to work towards it still doesn't provide them with anything interesting to do on the way.
There are times where we break away from the dullness of the main story, but sadly these are no more satisfying than the main plot. There is the occasional brush with danger, where an unfortunately timed aftershock will strike as the cast are stood underneath a swaying lamp post, are walking around carelessly inside a structurally unsound building, or just happen to be walking underneath a suspended grand piano... oh, what a rotten bit of luck.
Alternatively the distraction will be minor sub plot. This will invariably take the form of a side story involving people the main characters encounter, and is always aimed at making the viewer realise that no matter how big you think your problems are, there is always someone worse off than you are. Some might say that a story about two young children separated from their parents by an earthquake would have already achieved that goal, but for some reason the writers decided that the point really needed to be hammered home; probably because otherwise people might notice just how uneventful this show really is.
The experience of watching Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 feels somewhat similar to a being a passenger on a long car journey, a resemblance made all the more uncanny by the two annoying little children that accompany you throughout its run: the annoyingly self-centred preteen brat called Mirai, and her eternally optimistic young brother Yuki. Let us be grateful that this is one journey we can stop whenever we feel like it, without having to apologise to Grandma.
While the series does not have a 'narrator' as such, Mirai takes the role of the main protagonist, and acts as our eyes and ears as we make our way through what was formerly known as Shibuya. Immediately this presents us with a problem, because unless you're a twelve year old yourself or are amazingly conscious of how you behaved at that age, then you are going to find it incredibly hard to identify with Mirai; and harder still to sympathise with her.
What's so remarkable about her character is that she manages to remain her vain and selfish old self throughout the show. Almost unmoved by the catastrophic event she is stuck squarely in the middle of, not to mention the suffering all around her, she struggles to find the time to worry about anyone else for any longer than two or three consecutive scenes. It is hard to ignore the conscious effort being made to portray her character as human underneath all that self-absorption. That it seems so improbable only amplifies the problem; it's not hard to picture a twelve-year-old acting conceited, but to behave that way during the aftermath of a major earthquake?
Surely there is a point when instinct takes over, when the shallow front crumbles to reveal the scared little girl who is just old enough to recognise how powerless she really is amidst the chaos all around her? It's all just too much.
While Mirai's character is annoying, she does have one redeeming quality and that is that she is not annoying as her younger brother's character. A little boy so filled with naivety and youthful optimism that it reaches out and pokes its finger down your throat. His very presence irritates his sister and she makes no attempts to hide her contempt, but Yuki doesn't bat an eyelid. He continues to talk, laugh and smile through it all, never once letting her nastiness form so much as a crack in his perpetual smile.
While his character is much more believable than Mirai's is, because while it seems unlikely a preteen who is entirely aware of her situation would be able to distract herself enough to be self-conscious, the idea of a post-toddler not appreciating the gravity of the situation seems plausible enough. The problem is that while it is believable, it's still incredibly irritating. It all makes sense, but it's not in the least bit intriguing.
Our two little darlings may be the leading roles but it is the guardian angel figure looking after them who is the true star of the show. While she is perhaps a little too idealistic to be believable, watching her is at least bearable. Her name is Mari and like all strong women she is a single mom who runs her own business. Needless to say these qualities make her not only dependable and quick-thinking, but also give her that caring instinct necessary to make someone go out of their way to help two lost young children. Of course, as the series progresses we become more and more aware of the imminent danger faced not only by Mari's young child, but also by her elderly mother. And of course, this does nothing to weaken her resolve to help our heroes or indeed to attempt to save her own family. It's a lovely thought, but sadly not one that seems terribly realistic.
It's not all a shambles though, because the artwork for Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 is of a reasonable standard. As a product of the Bones animation studio, it shares similar qualities to their other work- although the animation takes a noticeable plunge when compared to their cinematic works, which though hardly unsurprising or unique to this studio, since these are their most prominent titles it seems to become more noticeable. The backgrounds are fairly well detailed, although it should be noted that the promotional artwork is misleading in this respect. The animation is solid but alas, it does not attempt anything interesting either.
The soundtrack however fits the show like a glove; the opening and ending theme is precisely the sort of music we would expect a pre-teen like Mirai to listen to, in other words Japan's answer to Linkin Park. The angsty sounding pseudo-metal, aside from being incredibly irritating, utterly fails to capture the seriousness of something as catastrophic as an earthquake. And if anything, this only emphasises the main story's failure to do so.
As for voice acting, well I can tell you that the two main characters from the show are children. I believe no further explanation is necessary.
Reflecting on the points that have been brought up over the course of this review, as well as its overall tone, it should not come as much of a surprise that I did not think much of Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, and have gone to great lengths to justify that position. However while that may explain my overall perspective on the show it perhaps does not adequately explain why I dislike it so passionately. This was alluded to at the beginning of the review, but I would like to elaborate on it further before I conclude.
Irrespective of the quality of the finished product, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 remains an example of something interesting; it shows a new direction for anime to take in the future. As it turns out, on this occasion it was a failure, and ultimately it failed to provide anything 'new' at all. This is the fault of the writers, who failed to make the best possible use of the great opportunity before them. Nonetheless, it has proved to be a success and TM 8.0 has managed to win awards and many fans.
Do I think that it is worthy of such praise? No I don't, but I am very happy that it did, because it opens up more opportunities further down the line. If more animation studios recognise they can dare to be different, then they will. And from there it is simply a matter of finding the creativity or the talent to make something truly worthwhile.
At the same time, the fact that TM 8.0 was not something great is the source of frustration, because while further opportunities may exist further down the road, at least one opportunity to make something fresh and exciting has presented itself, only to be squandered to provide some Land Before Time rip-off for twenty first century Japan.
And just like real earthquakes, we can never quite work out when the next one is going to strike.
