Title: Terror in Resonance (Zankyou no Terror) aka When anime goes too far...
Genre: Thriller, Psychological, Crime, Terrorism
Overall Rating: 1 star out of 5
Note: I am going to do something a little different for this anime. Because I gave Terror in Resonance such a low rating, I will break up this review in two major sections: the good and the bad.
Overview: The modern city of Tokyo is rocked by terror attacks in which no one dies. It is then revealed (to the audience) that the terrorists behind these attack are your main characters. Twelve and Nine are two mysterious high school-aged teens behind these attacks. In a new attack on the Tokyo Metropolitan Building, one of Nine and Twelve’s classmates, Lisa, inadvertently gets caught in their plain and is given a choice: become an accomplice or be killed.
THE GOOD
Animation: With a producer such as Watanabe, near perfection is what was expected for the animation. Let me say, they delivered. The animation, with the exclusion of the people (i.e. eye size, body proportions), was drawn in the most realistic way possible. The animation is always fluid and detailed. It is breath-taking and a joy in itself to watch.
Music: Per usual, Yoko Kanno blew the music out of the water. She added an undertone of Icelandic vocals, something different than her previous work. Also the theme song “VON” was beautiful, and haunting at the same time. While there is a wide range of music throughout the show, the entire soundtrack gives off this haunting vibe. Unlike her world for Cowboy Bebop, this soundtrack seemed more like one very long song. If you do nothing else with this show, at least listen to the soundtrack.
Entertainment value: Despite the low rating I have given this show, it was still enjoyable to watch. And I watched every single episode. But because I write analytical reviews, I must maintain the low rating for Terror in Resonance. Though entertaining, Terror in Resonance lacks substance.
THE BAD:
The so-called plot: The greatest failure in this series is the plot, or lack thereof. The characters constantly contradict themselves. For example, in the first episode, the main characters (Nine and Twelve) wonder if they should kill Lisa. Yet, even in the first episode, Nine and Twelve risk their lives and freedom for complete strangers and acquaintances alike. To me that was the first red flag that something was up. Other than the fact that the sequence of the first terror attack was almost identical to 9/11. But that’s my next point.
Terrorism as entertainment: Before we talk about my problems with terrorism used as entertainment, let us define terrorism. Terrorism is the destruction of property or loss of life intended to strike fear/terror in the target(s) that were unprovoked. Unprovoked is the key reason that I believe terrorism should not be used for entertainment. The reason that I have a problem with terrorism being used and not war, is that in war two sides are attacking one another. Although, sadly many civilians do get caught up and killed in war, in terrorism, it is almost ONLY civilians who are killed. And that is where my problem lies. I do not find the taking of innocent lives entertaining. I see it similar to the Holocaust. The Holocaust is not simply something for entertainment. Schindler’s List is not a movie made simply for entertainment, but an acknowledgement of the terrors that happened in WWII. The movie also causes the audience to mourn what happened, and join together to never let it happen again. Terror in Resonance does not do this. It does not acknowledge the horrors that occurred, nor even justify them. It does not deal with real ways to combat terrorism. It simply was meant to entertain.What an opportunity missed! Terror in Resonance tries to bypass the horrors of terrorism by causing no loss of life. This does not negate terrorism. Their attack realistically would cause some loss of life, and millions of dollars worth of damage. It would also affect the well-being of the citizens of Tokyo.
It does not follow the psychology of terrorism: The main thing that separates terrorism from the actions of the mentally ill (such as the Sandy Hook school shooting), is a real cause behind their attacks. Environmental terrorist fight companies who damage the earth. Groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda attack countries that oppose their ideals. And so on. But Twelve and Nine in Terror in Resonance do not have a “reason” behind their attacks--at least one not revealed to the audience nor the police nor the city of Tokyo. When terrorists attack, they make sure that people know why. But Twelve and Nine never put forth much effort into helping anyone understand why, even Lisa, who becomes their accomplice. It fails to follow logic. In fact, Twelve and Nine have more in common with BTK (serial killer in Wichita, Kansas) than they do with any terror group I know. Rather than having a reason for what they do, they do it out of some twisted sense of “revenge.” They find joy in taunting the police and FBI. Much like BTK, Nine and Twelve enjoy sending cryptic and taunting messages to both the police and media. And like BTK, they feel no regret for what they have done. At least, none that is expressed to the audience.
According to psychology, Nine and Twelve are not terrorist, but mentally ill. Which makes a lot more sense in hindsight. And you'll know what I mean if you choose to read the rest of the review.
From this point on, this review contains SPOILERS.
I repeat, this is your final SPOILER ALERT!
The Police are either corrupt or incompetent (or both): After the first terror attack, Nine and Twelve (collectively called Sphinx) release a video to the police about their next attack. In the video, it hinted that the police (or at least someone within the government) knew the reason behind the attack. The police force, however, did not know what Sphinx was talking about and enlisted the help of a disgraced cop that was moved from active duty to the archives. I personally didn’t find the “riddles” too complex, but apparently no one in the police department is not intelligent enough, or not motivated enough to solve these. And when I say I didn't find the riddles difficult, I mean I solved it before the next episode began. And I watched this show after it finished airing (I watched it in one week). And that brings us to the next character, the deus ex machina detective. He is the only one who can solve these riddles, and really the only character that seems determined to get to the bottom of all this mess. Just because we needed someone to do that.
The FBI’s attitude (in the show): After several terrorist attacks,the FBI gets involved with the investigation. This, in itself, is not surprising. After all, the U.S. and Japan are allies, and Japan houses many U.S. military bases. However, the way the FBI was portrayed was…incorrect?...offensive?...wrong? While I am not well-versed in how the FBI operates, I am sure that they would not place bombs in areas with many civilians (regardless if they were Japanese civilians or American civilians) for the slight possibly that the terrorist would be caught in the explosion. I’m not saying that the FBI hasn’t makes some questionable or even just plain wrong calls in the past, but if a child can explain the flaw in the plan, an entire bureau should know the flaws in this plan. The plan itself is just one big flaw! "Let's just bomb the **** out of civilians and see of the terrorist stop attacking, then we can assume they died!" Imagine if this was done with the case of BTK. A bomb is dropped over Wichita (a city of about half a million) and the FBI is like, "BTK is dead!" Yeah, BTK is dead, but so are thousands of people. More people died in that attack than would have been killed by BTK. I just can't get over how stupid the plan is. But I digress. Yes, I have simplified what role the FBI has in the show, but as an American, I still have a problem with it. Not to mention, that no one who voiced any of the FBI characters in the show was a native speaker of English. I sounded (literally) like the writers of the show simply put Japanese through Google translate. (But that is a whole topic of its own!)
9/11: Perhaps the biggest and most unforgivable flaw in this show is the references to 9/11. The creators of the show claim that it is not based off of any real persons or events. I think that is a bunch of crap. Do the creators think that I am stupid? I’ve heard a rumor that the main character’s names were going to be Nine and Eleven (subtle, I know), and were changed to Nine and Twelve (the day that it would have been in Japan when the news broke). Ok, so your main characters, terrorist, are named after the worst terror attack in America’s history. How is that not supposed to be offensive?
Now, let’s talk about the first terror attack in the show. I happened at a building called the Tokyo Metropolitan Building. Now, for those of you who don’t know, that is a real building in Japan. I’ve been to that building, I have a picture of me in front of the building--bottom line, it is a real place. When I first saw the building in Tokyo, I, like many Americans, thought of the World Trade Center. Even at my college, were we have two dorm towers that are 7 stories high, many people on campus are reminded of the World Trade Center. That act of terrorism is burned onto the minds of many Americans.
I was left questioning why the creators of Terror in Resonance chose this specific building. When most people think of Tokyo, structures like Rainbow bridge, Tokyo Tower, and Skytree come to mind--far more popular destinations for school trips too. Why not attack one of those places? The sole goal of the first attack was to simply announce their presence in Tokyo. Wouldn't attacking Tokyo Tower have had a much bigger effect? Why the one building in Tokyo that looks like the World Trade Center?Another issue that I had was the way the attack was carried out. It just so happened that one tower blew up and then the other, like 9/11. It just so happened that one tower collapsed and then the other, like 9/11. It just so happened, that despite the differences in construction between the two buildings, it fell the same ways as the World Trade Center did. Really!?
I remember watching the newscasts, trembling, the images forever burned into my mind. To use that simply for the sake of making a few bucks is disgusting. I remember not being able to sleep, just crying until I slept simply from being exhausted. Several years after, I remember a girl in my class bringing several items on 9/11: a urn with ashes from the World Trade Center and a folded flag. She told us that her father worked on the floor that was the epicenter to the first plane crash. That as soon as her mother turned on the news, she knew her father was dead. They didn’t even get a body, just some shrapnel put into an urn.
I remember seeing (on the news) the subway walls plastered with thousands of “Missing Persons” posters. I knew, even then, that most (if not all) of these people were dead that that their bodies would never be recovered. That their families could never have anything but an empty coffin at the funerals.
One of my co-worker's nephew was killed in the attack. He was only eight. He, his twin sister, and father were fleeing the area when the first tower collapsed. He was hit in the neck with a piece of metal and died in the arms of his sister and father.
Excuse me if I have lost my taste for terrorism. I fail to find 9/11 anything other than one of the worst things perpetrated throughout history. To use the Holocaust for simply entertainment is disgusting. And in the same way, to use 9/11 for entertainment and shock value to make a few more dollars is disheartening.
