Because of these localized concepts, Terror in Resonance has become a divisive anime among critics and many have outright quit it because of the fact it is so Japanese. I’m going to avoid going into the politics and message as much as I can because I don’t think it is fair for me to complain that I didn’t get it. But I’ll explain as best I can what the anime is trying to say (though I’m most likely completely wrong).
The first episode of Terror in Resonance is very strong and tense. After stealing an atomic bomb from a secret facility, two teenagers named Nine and Twelve plant bombs in a government building. They tease the police and wind up mobilizing an investigative force to prevent future bombings and find who these terrorists are. We see the set-up for a unique detective drama, as well as some more controversial material for discussion. How often does an anime have a bombing of a real government agency?
The episodes that follow are tense and have the terrorist duo–Sphinx they call themselves–making a huge announcement about a bomb, the police trying to figure out how to stop it, and lots of explosions.
While tense and definitely different, this first part of the anime still has a lot of faults. A bombing every episode seems a little much and doesn’t allow enough time for the detective drama Resonance is trying to be. Any detective work seems relegated to offices and big meetings. And even when there is a little bit of mystery in the air, the answer is typically found thanks to a bumbling side-kick who just happens to do or say something that makes the answer click.
Another problem is the introduction of Lisa, a high school girl who Twelve stalks around and pushes into the group. There’s a subplot about her mom being over possessive and crazy that appears like it may make some sort of appearance in the story, but never does. She’s just kind of there, the token female.
I also want to point out how over-used and frankly boring the “follow our crimes using mythology or history” plot is. It’s not smart, it’s formulaic.
About halfway through, Resonance then takes a further nosedive as an FBI agent and a woman from Sphinx’s past gets mixed up in the action and she begins to plant bombs for Sphinx to deal with. So it’s a triple cat and mouse game all of a sudden. The woman, Five, was at some facility with Sphinx when they were children and this pace was evil, having been a government project to breed child savant soldiers…This is when the show tries to be Monster and fails. Instead of becoming smarter, it gets stupider.
The end is pretty decent though with a tense situation and great action. Here is where the character’s intentions become hard to follow. Something about Japan being too dependent on other countries, plunging the country back to how it was a hundred years ago, and America being dicks.
It’s an ending not intended for me to understand and I’ll appreciate that.
The animation is fantastic with an attention to detail rarely seen anywhere. If you’re familiar with some of the ads seen around Tokyo, you’ll be surprised when you see them animated in Resonance. It pulls us into the city with the exquisite detail and makes the show that much more thrilling.
The music is wonderful as well, something you’d expect of a Shinichiro Watanabe directed anime.
But that rings true for everything else: Underwhelming plot? Check. Lackluster characters? Check. Good ideas hindered by a guy who thinks style over substance? Check.
For those who don’t know, Watanabe is the guy behind Cowboy Bebop (a good but overrated anime), Samurai Champloo (meh), Kids on the Slope (really meh), and Space Dandy (super meh). He’s the guy who has given us some of the best music of anime in some of the most lackluster, overhyped titles ever.
Regardless of that I feel Terror in Resonance may be his second best anime. It’s infinitely watchable, entertaining, and does make you think but it’s also very amateur in writing and development. If you liked Eden of the East, I think you’ll find a lot of good parallels here. But if you’re in it for an intelligent crime story, you’ll be disappointed. The “villains” aren’t interesting, the police work and internal politics aren’t the best, and the motive is mired in stolen pretention and geopolitical concepts I’m too gaijin to understand.
