Zankyou no Terror was one of those anime that everyone seemed to have an eye on when it was previewed. Not only was it an anime original (which we don't get too many of these days), but it also was directed by Shinichiro Watanabe and looked visually stunning.
Personally, the thing that piqued my interest was the simple concept of terrorism being a main focal point, which doesn't get looked at too often since the threat is very real in several places of the world. Not only was terrorism a main point, but it was the protagonists of the story carrying out the acts. Interesting
...
enough. With that in mind, the question being thought going in to this anime was "What would it do with this concept?".
Story: 7/10
As stated above and in the synopsis, the series protagonists calling themselves "Sphinx" carry out acts of terrorism without harming anyone in an attempt to accomplish something that gets explained later on. The first couple episodes of Zankyou no Terror were gripping, leaving the viewer wanting to watch more. It seemed like a great idea, having Sphinx lay out a riddle for the people of Tokyo to either solve or suffer the consequences while using Greek mythology to explain more about Sphinx themselves.
It's worth to note that the antagonist of the first couple episodes is a recently reinstated detective named Shibazaki. He's the only one who seems to understand Sphinx's riddles, but it works. He's the counter to Sphinx. Someone of equal intelligence who isn't afraid to disobey orders for the greater good. Unfortunately, Zankyou no Terror does something wrong with this and the series begins to go downhill with the introduction of a new antagonist. More on that later...
Another subtle problem I had with the anime story was the ending. In one of the final scenes, I feel like everything was happening a little too conveniently. As in, this happened RIGHT as this happened, RIGHT as this happened and it drew away from the mood the scene was trying to set.
Art: 8/10
Zankyou no Terror is visually stunning for the most part. Every scene in the anime is very well animated and there are few uses of still shots, which lots of anime use as a kind of "get out of jail free" card. The art style is able to blend well the bright, vibrant colours of summer, with the rather cold, and realistic colours of the characters. This helps improve the overall feeling and emotion present in almost any given scene. Also, the animation of the snowmobile scene in the very first episode was spectacular and noteworthy in it's own right.
Sound: 9/10
The OST of this anime was composed by Yoko Kanno, so that basically speaks for itself. It is absolutely beautiful, and the choice of music used for each scene is spot on. The music drives home the tone and emotion of the scene it is used in and left me waiting for the official release of the soundtrack for an immediate download.
Other than background music, the generic sounds were well done. Explosions, gunshots, and the like were not overly jarring and same goes for the other sounds. Not much more to say about that.
I would have rated the sound category higher, but there was one more thing to look in to. That would be voice acting. Everyone who has seen the show knows where I'm going with this, so I'll just say the usage of English in some of the scenes was not entirely necessary and took away some of the immersion from the show. Can't blame the actors for that, it was just a poor choice to use it in general when it could have been avoided.
Characters: 6/10
The characters of ZnT were for the most part not too, too out of the ordinary. We have Sphinx #1, better known as Nine. The tall, dark, and mysterious young man who puts the current objective before any other aspect of life. He refuses to get close to others as they may just get in the way, with the exception of his partner, Sphinx #2, Twelve. Twelve is the opposite of Nine in the sense that he is a lot more easy going. He wanders around and cracks jokes, while still taking the current operation seriously.
Other than Sphinx, there is the character Lisa, an introverted high school girl with an extremely over protective mother, causing a ton of stress on her. She eventually gets involved with Sphinx due to a "Become an accomplice or die" situation. Nothing out of the ordinary with Lisa's character, although it can be said that she probably goes through the most character development throughout the series.
Lastly, my main gripe with this show. The characters Shibazaki, and Five. Shibazaki as I said earlier is a detective who got so obsessed with his last case that he was demoted into the archives department. Throughout the first couple episodes he is asked to come back and work on the Sphinx case. You can see his intrigue in them, his desire to stop them, to learn about them. You can see him getting re-obsessed. We already knew how much he could get into a case and how far he was willing to go to solve it. Just as I felt Shibazaki was about to repeat his past mistakes, he gets put on the back burner for a new, boring antagonist, Five.
Five is a bland character, who's only motive for anything whatsoever is getting back at Nine for something in the past. Revenge. Because revenge is original. Five steps in and engages in "intellectual" battles with Sphinx to try and stop them. And by "intellectual" I mean chess, because chess is apparently a suitable showcasing of a challenge between intellects which in the modern day is bordering on the cliche. However, Five is willing to go to any lengths to get her way. Whether that is becoming a threat to innocent civilians or not.
While she is doing this, Shibazaki is used for the sole purpose of exposing the mysteries of Sphinx's origins. A total waste of potential.
Enjoyment: 8/10
Regardless of the problems I had with this show, the pros outweigh the cons. I still found myself anticipating the next episodes arrival, and had a good time watching it.
Overall: 8/10
Zankyou no Terror was a very good show, but shy of being "great". The beginning was extremely strong, and the ending was satisfactory, but the lackluster middle section and the waste of potential character development brought down my opinion of the show.
That being said, Zankyou no Terror is definitely worth the watch, and I give it a high recommendation to those wondering if they should watch it and those leaning towards not watching it.
Sep 28, 2014
Zankyou no Terror
(Anime)
add
Zankyou no Terror was one of those anime that everyone seemed to have an eye on when it was previewed. Not only was it an anime original (which we don't get too many of these days), but it also was directed by Shinichiro Watanabe and looked visually stunning.
Personally, the thing that piqued my interest was the simple concept of terrorism being a main focal point, which doesn't get looked at too often since the threat is very real in several places of the world. Not only was terrorism a main point, but it was the protagonists of the story carrying out the acts. Interesting ... |
