So I finally went back and finished this after having to force myself to restart the
incredibly boring, almost perfunctory 8th episode. And then I just powered through the rest of the show. I wasn't going to let the negativity online stop me from enjoying what was there.
I didn't imagine I would be saying this after I saw the pilot, but Terror in Resonance is no longer the weakest thing Watanabe has done. This show is a mess:
- The premise is fascinating, but the scripts just... aren't. The dialogue is dry, it's missing much needed character banter and humor, and the dub/localization does not help. Many of the plot elements are tired tropes (government agencies working on superweapons, Russian spies, brainwashed assassins, and plucky hackers) that are frankly beneath Watanabe.
- The cast is too big; we end the story barely knowing who the main characters are. (Christine and Douglas especially are unknowns.) And the writers don't lean heavily enough into stock characterization to make that work. Axel is the closest to a successful stock character... but I still barely understand his personality at the end. He just seems like a really watered-down, younger Spike Spiegel with less clear motivation.
- The other side of the coin is the episodes are far too plot heavy, with too little room for characters (or even plots!) to breathe because of the half-an-hour run time. (An exception would be something like the cult episode, which explored fascinating ideas while characterizing a few of our cast members.) And many of the plots aren't that interesting.
- Far too little attention is paid to how the impending mass extinction (effectively) of the human race affects people psychologically, especially the public at large. (The overall tone should be apocalyptic and filled with the despairing tone from the prison introduction in the pilot, but it's not.) And while the show does make some gestures in that direction (the repeated intro animation with a character voice-over was an excellent idea that they dropped too quickly, and I liked the little scene with the unremarked-upon mass shooter ignored by the antagonist), there are not enough of them. And while our main characters do have a mission to focus on, they should stop and discuss their feelings more than they do. (Of course, to do that, you have to know who your characters are...)
- They wait far too long to explain why this group of specific people has been chosen for this task. There's no assumed explanation on the audience's part, just a situation that doesn't make much sense until they info dump in the last few episodes.
- While there's plenty of subtle world building, there's a lack of intriguing, near-future ideas being explored. Bebop was filled with that stuff, but it's too light here.
- It all just feels derivative of Watanabe's earlier work in an unflattering way. It's like the superficial parts of Bebop mixed with Terror in Resonance's humorlessness.
- And all of that is not even getting into the stuff that felt like it was mandated by Adult Swim: the climate change preoccupation, a gigahon trans character and a "non-binary" they/them mystery meat fatass hacker, a ton of black characters, discussions of racism (yeah, that's why I watch Japanese shows, to hear about the same shit American shows won't shut up about)... was this show even one Watanabe was passionate about making? It almost feels like Adult Swim showed up with money and a list of stipulations, and he just took a job.
Dedicating the project to Keiko Nobumoto was touching, but you almost want to go back in time, take Watanabe by the shoulder, and tell him to not to draw attention to her absence. Because I hate to say this, but I really wonder if the guy has the ability to create something original and great without her scripts.
Anyway, would I watch a second season? Probably, if only because the soundtrack and animation were phenomenal. And at least I would have
some idea who some of the characters were going into it. But I would expect to be disappointed again.
I want Watanabe to succeed. This is his only real "miss" in my opinion (though I haven't seen Carol and Tuesday yet), and it's not worthy of his legacy. Maybe he would be allowed to do something more interesting in a second series.
