‘Terminator Zero’ (Season 1) Review: The Killer Robots Are Back
It is not an understatement to say that James Cameron’s Terminator franchise is one of the most creative and original stories ever. It is also a confusing franchise because the Terminator series has suffered from sequels, prequels and reboots that compromised the story. But an anime series with a new story and characters is about to change everything.
Netflix and Production I.G., a Japanese anime studio, have teamed up to develop a series that follows a world slowly doomed to the robot apocalypse. With red-eye killing machines and time-travelling, Terminator Zero, written by Mattson Tomlin and directed by Masashi Kudō, returns to its familiar roots and brings the nostalgia of Terminator films with a clever story.
Terminator Zero begins in 1997. Judgement Day is coming. Malcolm Lee (Yûya Uchida) is the only person who seems aware that day. He is a workaholic who doesn’t spend time with his kids, even though they are the most important people to him. His nanny, Misaki (Saori Hayami), looks after the three children and brings an A.I. robot cat, which Malcolm disapproves of because of his no-robots-in-the-house rule. Malcolm is a scientist and engineer working with his A.I. machine to prevent a catastrophe he knows will happen. He constantly has nightmares of the red-eye killing machines who take over the world. But this future is happening sooner than he thinks, and the events he tries to stop have already occurred in 2022.
Then, the series jumps to the future. Judgement Day has happened. Eiko (Toa Yukinari) is part of the resistance. After retrieving data from Skynet, she discovers that the company has plans to travel back to 1997. With the help of the resistance fighters who live in hiding, Eiko travels back to the past to find Malcolm and stop the robot dominance.
What’s different about Terminator Zero is that the story is centred around Japan. It’s a completely different setting with new characters who bring a human approach to the dark story.
In this version, Japan is slowly overrun by robots, an earlier rendition of the 1NN0 models with artificial intelligence being introduced to the markets in 1997. Robots are the next big thing, and Malcolm is against their presence in his house, especially around his children. Malcolm’s children: Kenta (Hiro Shimono), Reika (Miyuki Satô) and Hiro (Shizuka Ishigami) are the characters that show humanity and kindness towards the world. It’s impossible not to be emotionally invested in their story. They’re the heart and soul of the series.
Perhaps the downside of Terminator Zero is that the story takes huge precedence on Malcolm and Kokoro, the artificial intelligence unit, debating the value of humanity and saving the world before Judgement Day. Malcolm spends more time with Kokoro than his children during the entire series.
Even if the first episode introduces the children’s complicated and fragile relationship with their father, who would rather seek companionship with an artificial intelligence unit, Terminator Zero should’ve shown that Malcolm cared about his children. Their relationship is barely explored after the first episode. The scenes together with Malcolm and Kokoro are exposition-heavy. Their constant conversations about humanity, the world, and the future could’ve been reduced down to develop their children’s relationship with Malcolm. It would’ve been better to explore their familial ties because the show’s biggest aspect is Kenta, Reika and Hiro’s emotional strength.
Terminator Zero has a few problems. But if viewers could overlook some of these issues regarding over-exposition and lack of character development, it is quite an enjoyable show. None of the legacy characters, or an Arnold Schwarzenegger cameo, shows up in this anime series.
Timelines are confusing. This is the biggest disadvantage that this series has, even if it is what makes this franchise popular. Terminator Zero provides a promising, exciting story with fascinating characters and incredible visuals. It explores the consequences of human choices that turn sour and change the world’s trajectory. It is definitely worth the watch.
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Books about Palestine on Verso Books
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More reading materials on Palestine
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You can also join the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement, a Palestinian-led movement as a form of resistance to Israeli occupation:
