I want to start this review by saying that i've never experienced an earthquake so far in my life, so I can't really relate to the situation that the characters are put in. Yes, earthquakes this large rarely happen, but people who have been through one or two earthquakes or more can and will relate to this more than I have.
Japan Sinks 2020 is a show that I discovered when it was announced, i'm pretty sure it was on twitter. When I saw the title, I decided to give it a shot when it came out, because it sounded completely different to anything i'd seen so far. Come the release date, I had forgotten about it, and remembered it had released when I was scrolling through Netflix and remembered it was supposed to come out soon, and it had already released, so I started watching.
// Story : 7/10
The overall idea behind Japan Sinks isn't a bad one, i'd say it's actually decently original when it comes to plot in anime. It loses points for some of it's, let's call them "weak arcs".
In 10 episodes you can't pack a whole lot into the show when it comes to arcs, but Japan sinks can be cut up into a few: The earthquake, the road trip, the cult, lost at sea, and then the ending arc. I may be pushing it, as the road trip got an episode and a half, but when it comes to 10 episodes, it felt like it's own mini-arc.
Overall, the first 2 episodes are amazing, the destruction and the scenery coupled with Ayumu's response to it all was fantastic, and as someone who's never been in an earthquake, it definitely felt real to me.
Where the story starts going downhill is with episode 4 and the introduction of the "cult", it felt so random to me, like a downplayed version of Negan's cult from TWD. From the moment they got there, I knew there was something going on, no-one would be so nice to random strangers, it all felt off, and of course it was.
From FaZe_Grandpa who hit the sickest trickshots of the decade to the kid getting smashed in the most comedic way possible, it all felt like a wierd dream, like a wacky break or a distraction from the destruction that was going on.
// Art : 5/10
I thought about giving this a lower score, but that would be a bit harsh.
I watched this show in segments, first episodes 1 & 2, then 3 & 4, then 5, then 6-10.
When I watched the first 2 episodes, I didn't notice anything wrong with the art, it didn't feel wierd. When I watched episodes 3 & 4, it felt like the art got a huge decline in quality, as if all the budget had gone to first two.
Maybe this is just me, and I need to go and check back, but when I watched episodes 3 & 4, what I first thought was "wow the art was this mediocre?"
Some scenes are done really well, especially in the early episodes, which saves this category from an abysmal score.
I remember one scene in particular where Ayumu was arguing with her mom, and Ayumu looked so distorted up close, I paused and wondered if I should laugh or be horrified...
// Sound : 5/10
I didn't pay any attention to the sound whatsoever, I never do unless it's the Monogatari series. Since I have no recollection of what the soundtrack sounds like, i'll give it a 5/10
As for the voice acting, it was all pretty average, the only one that I really hated was Go, but more on him later.
// Characters : 6/10
This show presented some interesting characters, before killing them off in a fashion that makes Attack on Titan look like Kimi ni Todoke.
The dad's death scene striked me as surprising, shocking, and kind of unnecessary. It was at that point where I started placing bets on who would die next, new characters got bet on the most, of course.
Ayumu and Nanami were the only characters that stood out to me, too bad Nanami got 1945'ed.
Go is the most annoying character i've seen since Bam from ToG and he joins Deku and Bam in the list of characters I want to kick the life out of.
His random bits of english are annoying and unnecessary. Ok, we get it, you can say "dad" in english, so can I. His english felt forced down my throat, I kept saying "no" and he wouldn't answer "はい", but he'd answer "yes" instead.
Overall, a decently forgettable cast with some fun betting along the way.
// Enjoyment : 6/10
I enjoyed the first two episodes, I hated the cult arc, and the rest was "meh".
Joey (theanimeman) put it perfectly, "it's the definition of a 5/10".
It is average / below average in most cases, and while I enjoyed certain parts, it wasn't a pleasant ride the entire way through.
Howevern, this show has managed to weasle it's way into my mind, and I keep thinking about it.
Overall: 6/10. Just above average, but not by much.
