Review of Terra Formars

Terraformars, Sagasu Yu & Tachibana Kenichi (2014), at least for its first season stands out, for a relatively new studio, with its hard and gruesome stylistics despite its numerous plot holes. The stylistic and cinematic aspects were a large part of the appeal, on first watch. The formal elements of sound, mis-en-scene, camera work, and editing, all resemble an apocalyptic or dystopian style. The visual and aural motifs (the black swirls resembling swarms, the ringing synthetic music, the conflation of a lost past and lost present) are cinematically superior to most 12-episode science fiction anime. Moreover, the gore is realistic and aurally accurate, as inthe scene where muscle fibre filled the frame as it stretched and tore visually and aurally. Rather pleasing: the uncensored version is quite brilliant. Terraformar’s implied or implicit meaning, in its staticky use of color, silence, and conflation of lost-past to lost-present, is its strength.

The diegesis and narrative fulfills science fiction tropes, in relation to technology, odd pseudoscientific explanations, and the biological presuppositions posited by characters. This is not hard science fiction, a category of science fiction known for accuracy and correspondence to real time scientific data; on account of it being soft science fiction with little accuracy to data or logic, the plot is endurable, despite several unsound scientific leaps. However, certain plot elements are glaringly faulty: why select only untrained children, surely there will be no shortage of able individuals who will volunteer all on their own; why have very little international consensus regarding research, who/how did they verify that the Alien Engine Virus is from Mars and not from any other extraterrestrial body; why 1,000 samples; why send only a small group of 100 untrained young adults; and so forth. The narrative is quite troublesome, logically. There is slight humor, but only ever as a mature defense mechanism, not as a slapstick measure.

“To think that they were this intelligent” is an understatement, yet the characters too display an understanding of how illogical their diegesis is; “[…] experimentally combined with various bugs”, any bug base for a “mosaic” ability that permits a transformation of human anatomy into resized bug anatomy. However, as a seinen work, it addresses character backstory brilliantly, with deliveries such as: “Does losing money mean that your wishes get stolen away, too!?”; “Sakurato! Is there something you want to do when you get better?” from an evidently distressed Akari; “Judging from the lack of hesitation in all your actions, that leader has a vision”. Moreover, the extradiegetic narrative offers plenty of accurate information regarding the base insects/animals. The extradiegetic narrator is also a means of pacing and insight that ties in well with the anime’s emphasis on the emotional backstory, “At that moment, Michelle had a feeling […]”, and so forth. The conflation of a lost-past with a lost-present is depicted beautifully in the case of Adolf Reinhardt.

However, the cinematic elements more than compensate. The intertitles of “Christian Era 2619”, the black screen with the Terraformars logo provide plot pacing and breaks amidst the sense of inevitable failure and bleakness visible in the anime’s earlier episodes. The hues, the technology, the intertitles, all resembling traditional science fiction frames, utilize darker hues with interspersed dulled whites. The use of black, silence, and space is notable in the anime: several frames are dedicated to the scurrying movement of cockroaches, the black in the frames is dynamic, like a writhing mass of cockroaches/insects; moreover, the blackness creeps over the screen not with distinct lines but with the staticky formlessness of swarm. This visual motif was rather impressive. “Use the corpses?” is a notable scene that illustrates how the swarm-like use of the color black both in terms of opacity and dynamicity work well with the unnatural silence motif of science fiction, usually employed in relation to a fear of the unknown. The editing is unusual for a 12-episode anime, but given Terraformar’s propensity for artistic stylistics, it is well done. The camera movement through cinematic space is unusual; often, it requires more of the viewer, who is expected to piece together the provided plot to discern the implied story. The editing is visible and not continuous, often having faded transitions between the lost-past and lost-present. The off-screen space is key: many story elements of Terraformars reside there. A primary example is that of Adolf Reinhardt, who’s past and present conflate and blur in-out of focus during the action sequence; “Are you saying we’re going to take their entire lives away?” states an off-screen voice as the camera moves over and through a cinematic space comprising a restrained Adolf and the equipment used to modify his base of electric eel.

Aurally, the anime bears distinct science fiction sounds: the synthetic music resembles several video games of the same genre. Lovely use of Gustav Holst’s “Mars: The Bringer of War” for Adolf Reinhardt, a striking character and perhaps the most intriguing part of both plot and story. The sound mixing is well done: often, the vital aspect of a scene overpowers the other elements; sometimes it is only the sound of breaking bones or the sounds particular to the anatomy of the insect/animal, sometimes it is only Holst’s “Mars: The Bringer of War”, sometimes everything is overridden by the silence that resembles the sound of a swarm. The heavy rock and metal of the action and gore scenes is striking, often allowing for a disinvolvement with the brutal visual and aural nature of gore. The classical pieces, particularly the violin during Adolf’s initial strike and his memories of his wife’s affair is a favorite.

The character design renders each slightly more mature, as is the case with most adult viewership targeted anime. The Johj resemblance and nationalist tint are a point of conflict with some, I believe. The realistic proportions and darker tones complement the tonality of the plot, story, and the aural timber. Moreover, the character designs further illustrate the somber circumstances and resulting desperateness evident in the action and gore sequences. The male and female characters equally exhibit resolve and terror. There is more I would like to say of the anime, but any more, and this will become a critical analysis, not a review.