Painted in red, the word "VON" is all that is left behind after a terrorist attack on a nuclear
facility in Japan. The government is shattered by their inability to act, and the police are left
frantically searching for ways to crack down the perpetrators. The public are clueless—until, six
months later, a strange video makes its way onto the internet. In it, two teenage boys who identify
themselves only as "Sphinx" directly challenge the police, threatening to cause destruction and mayhem
across Tokyo. Unable to stop the mass panic quickly spreading through the city and desperate for any
leads in their investigation, the police struggle to act effectively against these terrorists, with
Detective Kenjirou Shibazaki caught in the middle of it all.
Zankyou no Terror tells the story of Nine and Twelve, the two boys behind the masked figures of
Sphinx. They should not exist, yet they stand strong in a world of deception and secrets while they
make the city fall around them, all in the hopes of burying their own tragic truth.
(Source: MAL Rewrite)
_ __“On that cold summer day I met a smile as warm as the sun, and a gaze as cold as ice.”___ Our leading heroine’s first, simple thought after barely escaping from the brink of death. By their hands. img320(http://i60.tinypic.com/2d78xfo.jpg) Buckets available on request. _Zankyou no Terror_, or “Terror in Resonance” takes the market by surprise in 2014. The main topic—terrorism—is not exactly a welcome topic for a very, very angry Western world. The idea of having the two main characters of the story as the actual focus can already turn it off to a closed-minded audience, as the word terrorism sparks the same sort of rage that “bastard” or “charlatan” did a century ago. __Bottom line:__ Considering the global crisis of terrorism emanating from the Middle East, this risky topic really takes some guts to chuck on television for an already disgruntled Japanese youth. __An anime perfectly metaphorical to the suppressed rage of Japanese teenagers.__ (93/100) Two mysterious bombers, Sphinx No. 1 and Sphinx No. 2 mysteriously appear in the summer after demonstrating a real intent to cause terror. Local investigators tangle themselves with historical puzzles and internet flaming. The two bombers, numbered Nine and Twelve (aliased “Hisami and Kokonoe”) are two brilliant teenagers doing all the talking, leaving just enough breadcrumbs behind for one introspective detective, Shibasaki, to see the horrible truth behind their violence. Towards the end of the series these seemingly unstoppable prodigies bare a more human frailness, as their relationship with Mishima blossoms. A story with many missions, many hopes, many failures, and disastrous consequences. I really enjoyed the story. While I do not think my brain is fit for mysteries and puzzles, the atmosphere and believability of the characters kept a solid pace for me to confidently explore it. The layers of detailed historical figures and mythology puzzles were well thought out enough to force me to rewatch various portions of each episode to understand it myself. It would be an insult to the genre itself not to at least credit a solid high score here, even if it’s not my thing. Meanwhile, discovering the truth about Nine and Twelve is what drew me in far more than anything else. I found myself pondering (like a good student) what sort of Japanese saying would be fitting for Nine and Twelve’s personalities. The phrase “dou shiyou mo nai,” meaning “I don’t have a method/choice” seemed to help me draw a conclusion. It is a commonplace thing in 21st century Japan for the youth to be discouraged. In fact, it’s safe to say that they believe it is necessary constantly. To restrain oneself (遠慮, _enryo_) is lauded as a very mature behavior, which is something that can have serious consequences with children. While this old-fashioned behavior worked well in Japan some time ago, constant exposure to our diverse, interconnected world raises some rebellious questions. It may even instigate some really detached and/or abused kids to do whatever they can to get their point across: such as destroy stuff. This is the element in the series that appeals to us about them. While the world compels us to subjugate and annihilate terrorism, to find ourselves drawn in by two ultra-pissed Japanese teenagers is truly ironic. We know they’re angry, and we will even root for them so long as we might finally know why. Perhaps terrorism isn’t the problem but, rather, the unrealistic world we live in today? Perhaps it’s because we as well do our best to restrain ourselves from…blowing shit up, too? __Of course with a brilliant plot, 11 episodes isn’t enough time to keep equally brilliant characters.__ (75/100) The strongest character in the entire show is undoubtedly Shibasaki, with perhaps Mishima in a distant second place. Both of them provide shapely personalities to balance out the coldness and dissociative traits of Twelve and Nine respectively. I am really fond of Mishima, despite her being relatively incapable of doing anything and dealing with serious personal issues. Watching her growth though shed a very different light on this series, though, since a klutzy, black duckling like her keeps the pace simple enough to prevent the series from getting riddled with complex puzzles and mind games. Twelve’s typical personality was a big turn off for me, as I could constantly predict his words and actions. This, too, might be okay considering that both Nine and Twelve need to have some sort of connection to the audience, as their antagonistic choices already are well outside the realm of any moral compass. And then…well yeah, things just stopped moving for a bit. Sometime after a particular antagonist shows up, Nine’s character unrealistically draws up some conclusions that don’t befit his character at all. I found his enigmatic grin and passive-aggressive behavior quite captivating, as I was certain he would go on some crazy, “Higurashi-level” sort of body bludgeoning streak at some point towards the end. Nope. img320(http://i59.tinypic.com/25tguwl.jpg) In the end his character is reduced too greatly, a choice that I don’t think needed to happen. In fact, the events within the last three episodes of the series could have been developed completely differently (perhaps with a feasible Higurashi-level killstreak) and it still could have gotten the same marks. I’m sure that whatever screenplay it was derived from would have needed to develop another 13 episodes to do Nine’s character the justice it deserved. __Visually beautiful and characteristic of the century.__ (84/100) As with all of my reviews, I try to stay objective concerning the animation choices, and focus on the development. It is not really hard to earn a 72 or higher from me, so long as the characters faces don’t become a googly-eyed mess of preschooler level quality every 12 seconds. Some of the scenes and choices of panning helped with an outlook of modern day Japan, which intrigued me. I also am glad that the leading heroine of the series looks like she has the actual body dimensions of a Japanese high schooler—a feat rarely seen in the sperm fueled, as-many-big-boobs-at-school-as-possible genre infecting the farthest studios from Tokyo at this point. __Simply: the music makes me wet myself. CONSTANTLY.__ (100/100) Yoko Kanno demonstrates her veteran prowess with captivating tunes and an endless development of style. She writes in Greek minor modes and awkward irregular meters so that the music nerds can get their fix. She shapes beautiful melodies that are pleasant for the musically inept. “walt” and “ess” from the OST are solid examples of her ability to make background music stay in the background, yet give a foreground performance. Her multi-faceted style utilizes tools and instruments from classical, jazz, electronic, rock, and polyphony—pretty much the entire spectrum of music as a whole. Her collaboration with Icelandic artist, Arnor Dan, hinted catchy new-age feel with the complexities and trivial freedoms of avant garde craftsmanship. Even the head-bopping opening theme has had her hands partially involved (listen to those weird key changes and you’ll see that those are definably Kanno’s writing). As a musician, I strive every single day of my life to voice my music as freely as she does hers, and this music clearly dictates how riveting her freedom is. Though many of the seiyuu in this series are new on the market, the devotion to quality and creativity is kept as each character is demonstrated to their entirety. Shunsuke Sakuya delivers another outstanding performance as Shibaraki, as it is always enjoyable to hear the tension in his voice as he gets serious. The weakest voice actor at most was Mishima’s, Atsumi Tanezaki, with some airy and otherwise sloppily overexaggerated noises—though this might very well have been a choice considering Mishima’s goofy character. __Overall: A must-see anime if you love Japan.__ (86/100) Not saying that your typical anime geek isn’t going to love Japan, but I feel _Zankyou no Terror_ has a thrill to it that needs a little bit of familiarity with Japanese culture to get the whole gist. Many known holes in Japanese politics are subtly reproached here, as are allegations concerning human experimentation during World War II. While the series might be enjoyable without any familiarity with these elements, to actually know them will turn what might be a weird half-season of cat-and-mouse games into a thought-provoking demonstration of human injustice. Lastly, the ending is a tough one. While it shook my enjoyment of the series a little bit, I respected the choice and would willingly watch it again on a whim sometime soon. The atmosphere is very much like _Death Note_ and _Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu_, despite the macabre main characters; I was really convinced that the ending would be quite typical, but then of course, neither of these series has a “typical” ending, either. I highly doubt there will ever be a sequel, too, but I do have hopes to see something of this experimental caliber again.
This anime had a good storyline, the whole soundtrack was completely and beautiful. The soundtrack is personally my favorite soundtrack out of any anime I have ever watched. One bad thing about the show was the English in it, for some reason they had German voice actors instead of English voice actors to voice the Americans. I obviously speak English and I could barely understand the words they were speaking half the time. I believe this anime could have been expanded and more in depth but even so, it was a masterpiece. It is one of those anime's that you will remember forever. You should definitely watch it if you haven't already. __Characters__ The characters are developed very well and you begin to become emotionally attached to each one. You learn the backstory to pretty much every character which aids in making you emotionally attached to them. Personally my favorite character is Nine, as for his and Twelves' wit adds a lot to the series. I sorta wish that we could have learned a little more about the main character. __Plot / Storyline__ The storyline was a genius idea in showing the corruption of the government, this series could have easily had 3+ seasons but they decided to keep it short because it was already a masterpiece as it was. I personally loved the plot and the idea of this anime but I wish it would have been a little bit longer. At the very beginning of this series it seems as if the anime is going to be an anime about terrorism but trust me, it has much more to it even though terror is in the name. Every action and event that occurs has a reason in the end. I also enjoyed the art-style that this series had, it was very beautiful and different from the normal shows I watch. __Soundtrack__ The soundtrack to this series is perfect. I can pick any song from the soundtrack and I would love it, each song went so perfect with each scene it was played with. You can definitely tell that they put thought and effort behind the song choice. Personally this anime has the, in my opinion, the best soundtrack out of any anime I have seen so far. I can put the soundtrack on in the background and sit back and it would relax me.
Terror in Resonance is a show that looks promising at first glance. It has impressive visuals, nice music and a theme that could be interesting. It then completely fails to deliver. The protagonists are supposed to be terrorists. Why, you ask? Well, because they bomb places, and that's a terrorist thing to do, right? But for all that, they're careful not to let a single person get injured, much less killed, do little to inspire terror, and neither do they mean to. The "bombing places" bit is completely irrelevant to anything and serves no actual purpose. As for the characters themselves, we have Nine and Twelve, who have a generic institution orphan backstory that's never elaborated on, Five who fluctuates between a friend who the former two failed to save and a girl who was an evil mastermind before an age of 5 (not that staying at the institution makes any sense in that case, but the show really pushes for it), Lisa who is, once again, irrelevant and could be skipped entirely (they had to introduce a large obvious weakness to balance out the the protagonists' prodigious luck), Shibazaki the obscure riddle-solver who's connected to the whole business by yet another skippable thread that's never elaborated on (you'll notice there's a lot of not being elaborated on yet being introduced regardless going on this anime), the generic "above the law" American guy (yes, Watanabe, we understand that you're trying to send a message) and a bunch of sidekicks who are there to fill up the space. I feel the need to stress that none of them have any real character building, remaining one-trait characters even as the big reveal rolls in. The storyline is nearly nonexistent. The characters spend the time until Five's introduction essentially playing around with the tool called plot convenience, like the police's security system server having an intentional backdoor webpage that can be accessed from anywhere with no one the wiser in open access. Then Five's schizophrenic back-and-forth chase begins as quickly as it ends with Lisa's captures (yes, plural), and before you realize it, the ending happens. Speaking of the ending, that's got to be the best thing about the show. It takes everything accumulated over the 10 episodes (and precious little it is) and tosses it right out of the window, doing a complete 180 from the entire show's mood. "I got you, Nine! Guess I'll kill myself now, bye. Oh, and that orphan-fueled research program you've been learning about for the entire show? Pfft, off to the background it goes. Also, let's knock Japan back to the Stone Age for the lols, we're dying anyway." The supposedly evil Americans are the most reasonable faction of those that matter, so yeah. All in all, Zankyou no Terror completely fails to drag you in as every story thread that ever begins is immediately and brutally murdered, and the conclusion shows up out of nowhere and takes up half an episode where three minutes would've sufficed. The show is only watchable because of the art and music.
Zankyou no Terror is a show which I love like a lover and hate like a blinded hater. Except there's a reason for both. Zankyou no Terror is the only show in this world, till now, which made me jump in excitement like a toddler, think like a celebrated philosopher and bash my head violently in utter frustration and similarly made my blood boil, in the same show. A lot of people on MAL and anilist noted out that the show was successful due to its legendary director Shinichiro Watanabe. And to put out a contradictory claim I'll say no. It's loved and hated all due to its story. So let me explain why (Warning Spoilers Ahead) So right of the bat the first few episodes, are like the charm of this show, they made me jump in excitement and showed a lot of promise. And even though the characters were kind of generic, It didn't matter to me because even if they were classic archetypes and cliches relevant to anime, they managed to maintain the theme and lore of the show really well. In a way, they provoked a sense of fear, suspense and uncertainty in me, and I was disgusted by their actions at first, yet still, I had an affinity towards them. I was pissed at them, not irritated by their actions. even though certain aspects of terrorism was missed by the show, like mass hysteria and curfews, it still managed to give out a sense of fictional realism. To a point, I called my friend and asked him to stop everything he was doing and just watch the bloody show. Cuz it was f-ing marvellous. It had everything. And the plus point was that the terrorists weren't painted as just bastards. They weren't evil. They had their intents and motives They were deep characters. And even though Shibasaki was a great yet cliched character, he was downgraded to a mere plot device, after his dynamic with the duo was broken. And that's where the show started to go downhill. Let's study that in detail- This show suffered from what I'd call death note syndrome, where a good story, is ruined by the appearance of an uneccesary character ,just trying to break the flow. The first 5 episodes are equivalent to the first 25 episodes of death note. After that its a mess. And even though death note isn't bad after episode 25, it won't be a masterpiece either. It will simply be downgraded to a good to excellent anime, rather maintain its "masterpeice" status. That's the case with zainkyou no terror, it would've been a masterpiece, but that white whore just ruined it. Five was and will be in my eyes the worse and most unnecessary antagonist of all time. She is a characterless antagonist whose only motive is to derail the plot. And let me tell you why I think that way, to put it, its simply because five doesn't have any personality or aim, her actions are never explained, she is just there for the heck of it. To turn the cards against nine and twelve. To just serve as a direct contrast to eleven and nine, except for the fact that this combination doesn't work. Because as I said she is just there. She just derails the plot. And makes it worse. It would've been bearable if she had some development and motives. But no, to make the ending seem obvious there needs to be a cliched antagonist right? I'm not saying she ruined the show, she might've for some. But what she did was turn a unique show, into another cliche show, where we as viewers can predict the fate of the anti-hero. If five wasn't there the show could've taken so many other directions. It would've been so magical to see the government battle a force trying to shred them to bits. And the police force standing up against the supposed the corruption of authorities and whatnot. But what happened? A simple cliche story, where saving the damsel in distress comes at a cost and our anti-hero gets busted. Now tell me is this not cliche. Don't you think this anime could've been elevated from good status to brilliant or even possibly legendary status? Again however I felt that the ending and the occasional action-filled thrilling sequences made me stick to the story. Because even if one were to argue that the plot was garbage (Which btw it isn't it's good), the addictive hook of the story and what's to happen next, can definitely make this show an entertaining watch. And I feel even though the fact that it derailed between episode 7-10, I feel it bounced back strong in its finale. By spreading its moral message, fleshing out its generic characters into something special. As I feel, eleven and nine aren't just generic good anti-heroes.. they are fleshed out well as characters, who are willing to make deliberate mistakes. That's what makes them such great anti-heroes. Fuck the people who complain about their generic past. It was. Yes. I agree. But the show compartmentalized well on it. As for Lisa. You poor soul, you like five didn't need to exist. But you weren't gullible either. You just acted in the way any person would act and you were the reason characters had development in the show, so I'm fine with you. Shibasaki could've got more but again, he did what he had to. And he was an absolute badass at times. As for the moral themes conveyed in the show... It's simply the reason as to why I love this show so much. The final words of Nine truly made me think. And even though I don't justify or glorify terrorists, their vigilantism served well and they did teach me a lesson and made me think. You like this anime or not, you are forced to think over the message, and that's where the anime truly shines. As for the theme of the show, people can't complain that it's unrealistic. It kinda is and isn't. Blowing up a town multiple times to show or spread a message, does happen. It has happened. Hate crimes happen, due to personal anger, which is un-addressed. It's just that such incidents are so rare that its almost impossible to believe them. And even if the actions of nine and eleven are unrealistic. The show's way of portraying it with a unique outlook is extraordinary. The show just exaggerated realistic concepts a bit that's it. However, my problem or rather an only problem is that there seems to be very little tension in japan while this is happening. No curfews nothing. Lol, why? Final Verdict.- Nonetheless its an addictive show with a hook to it. With both shallow and excellent characters. It was good but it had potential to be better or even best. The message conveyed is beautifully done, and the show bounced back really well at the end. Is it a must-watch? Yes So I'd say just ignore the bad in the show, and enjoy the good. Because if you can get a hold of the good in this show, its a really rewarding experience. And in no way am I forgetting this anime. Because I would've never spent so much time on an f-ing review which no one will see, if the anime would'nt have been that good, The message was conveyed well, the plot parallel to it was just sloppy. Period. Have a nice day and watch the anime. My final score-90
What is terror? What defines a terrorist? While almost everything in life includes morality of subjective nature, we can all agree that excruciating deeds, resonating through time can be considered synonymous to acts of terror. All of us are familiar with some act of terror that sends shivers down our spine with its inhumane dourness. We choose to empathize and even try to bring justice. But for most of these acts, we can do absolutely nothing. We empathize with the victims of the holocaust, auschwitz, atomic bombings, slavery, and educate the world on morality, humanity and try our best to condemn societies and organisations that would remotely even dare to try for any reason. But what of terrorist acts hidden in the shadows? What of its victims and the non vocal resonance it creates, especially when the perpetrators will never allow it to come to light? If these questions and lines of thought intrigue you, then be glad to know that Terror in Resonance touches these themes with much delicacy and is proper in delivering it. *WARNING: Some of the content below can be considered spoilers for the faint hearted.* Terror in Resonance, just as the title is very simple but carries depth, idiosyncratic to one’s own view of the world. The story is not only elegant but is very impactful taking us with the characters to the ending where the so-called mystery is unveiled. I can understand why many would argue that Terror in Resonance is rather childish and contradictory. And I get their point, but TIR more than those criticisms if we choose to understand the depth of the story from a historical and artistic standpoint. The story is mainly about two victims, Nine and Twelve of the highly confidential ‘Institution’ also known as the Settlement which was involved in trafficking prodigies under the age of five. The Settlement was government funded and was a means to be a truly independent country. Nine and Twelve under the symbolic name, Sphinx,in possession of a prototype atomic bomb, commit acts of terror in the form of riddles, taunting the government with its serial bombings. Detective Shibuzaki, a second generation victim of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima is their only match in solving these riddles, and is given the role to understand what they stood for. Lisa, their so called out of nowhere hostage-acquaintance is given the role to understand what they are, contributes much to the plot, the Sphinx’s course of action but little to sense, despite her interesting backstory. The Sphinx isn’t just some random terrorist organization that maniacally laughs every time its bombs explode(Aye I am looking at you Kira), in fact it is extremely diligent in making sure there are zero casualties.This isn’t exciting or fascinating as Death Note or Code Geass where dramatism and the supernatural are introduced in the battle of wits between the sides. TIR is a blend of slice of life and mystery and is subtle and rather mellow. Perhaps it could be analogized with the intentions of the main characters themselves. The intention of the Sphinx was to educate and express their pain, not to conquer, create or destroy chaos. TIR ,in my opinion was a form of catharsis of vehement pain and sadness that cannot be given closure to. The atomic bombing and the intervention of the United States throughout the course of the plot is of more significance than you realize. The United States was concerned about an atomic bomb being in the hands of terrorists and chose to intervene with Five, one of the subjects from the Settlement. Though her motivation wasn’t exactly apparent, it was nevertheless coherent, impactful and a key character in driving the story forward. The United States could be considered a terrorist for bombing two cities and traumatizing generations physically and even going as far as involving itself in future Japanese sovereignty, which was the trigger to the Settlement and its redrafting of its constitution to become more independent. As I mentioned earlier the title is open to many interpretations and this is why. Terror in Resonance(to invoke certain feelings), can be seen as the way Nine and Twelve used terrorism as a form of expression. Terror in Resonance can also be seen how almost all parties in the story were terrorists of some form, and how even their past acts of terror were resonating with the present causing other such actions, to some degree. The animation is beautiful and perfectly harmonious with the soundtrack culminating to an enrapturing ending. The soundtrack, composed by Yoko Kanno is excellent in helping us understand the mood and the feel of a scene, and delivers seriousness and sentimentality at the right intensity and it would be wrong of me if I don't mention her creativity in symbolically naming the soundtracks, correlating the plot, mood and tracks itself. The melancholic opening with its uncanny rhythm is unique and one of a kind, and is very deep when correlated with the story, speaking about dualism. Though none of the characters lacked common sense , I think that some characters were included just for the story to move forward and had little motivation, even if they had an interesting backstory. The character development was understandingly lacking, which can be attributed to its very little screen time. The many symbolisms including Oedipus, Land of the cold, Von and what not, in the entire story makes it more original and untouched, providing more depth to the characters.I choose to remember Terror in Resonance,to have lived, for its seemingly cold, flawed yet warm and beautiful, plot and screenplay . And I Von you do too.
>WARNING: REVIEW CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS. Don't read unless you want to get spoiled or you've finished this anime series. img800(https://anidoramareviews.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/best-anime-zankyou-no-terror-hd-wallpaper.jpg) First of all, I must say people seem like appreciating the anime series based on the Light Novel and the Manga due to their popularity and their premises which have given from the story. Thus, they can get "spoiled" from the material reference which makes them understand the story better. But the otherwise can be said for the original series. Alas, people are somewhat underachieving the genuine or a stand-alone anime series even though it has very good premises of the story let alone the fans service as it has none of the stuff. Zankyou No Terror was one of the "victims" of this prejudice of the original anime series. It has a lot of premises for the story which leads to an eventful end. When the anime series title itself hints about the terrorism and bombs, it's more than those stuff essence. It's the series which tells more about the essence of philosophical matters and the irrational nature state of the human being. It also tells about the story of people who are looking for the authenticity of "surviving" or "staying" in this cruel world. img500(https://data.whicdn.com/images/231623128/original.gif) ~!It tells about Nine and Twelve, two young boys who were disguising as the Spinx and looking for their freedom as the human being. They had a terrible past which they can't forget and they had the aim to make people realized about their existence. Mishima Lisa, a girl whose clumsiness and shyness can be exposed to be the main target of the bullies. Nine and Twelve had transferred to her school, and they met them under the blazing sun in a very hot summer. She had seen two different people looking at her. img500(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ba/d5/7e/bad57eedeb18fec3306e821d579d95be.jpg) Their "names" were Kokonoe Arata and Hisami Touji, but it wasn't their real names.!~ The premises of the story are very intriguing. As the psychological genre didn't show its nose until the mid-part of the story. The thriller is the main premise of the story due to the current state of Tokyo which had shown as massive terrorism since 90's era for the government. Hence, the mystery "played" on its own part when the riddles were needed to solve the case, it soothes my mind as I never saw something like this, the transition between one premise to another it's just so fluid. As for the drama, it's the main background of the story due to the aloof behaviour of the characters themselves. img500(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a0/40/72/a0407283c8257dbd2efcfb41e9f9e9e9.gif) The characters and their voices, I might say it's all good apart from some. Nine and Twelve were the centre of the story with the most character development due to their background. They have covered almost every flaw of the story which found to be a mass advantage for the series. As they weren't there not just to make the terror, but also aware of the safety of the other people surrounds the building, which means they never meant to kill people. Lisa Mishima is the next, apart from her sounds unimportant to tell, it's actually not. She played a deep role as she had intervened and influenced both Nine and Twelve's decision to do something. She also brought the stability of both and I might have to say, without Lisa, Nine and Twelve would never be that central for the story. As to the villain, I might say that they need to hire a good Voice Actor who can speak English, Five was very good as a villain letting alone the fact that she was a typical male villain who enjoyed the pleasure of "playing" with her opponents but I might say her English, I want to yell every time I hear that, it just sounds so horrendous and annoying. And about the other characters, I might say Shibazaki Kenjirou as a typical detective has played an important role, not just as police, but also a person who wants to figure about something for the sake of his ambition. Overall, I might say it's a good one. I've rewatched it several times and I enjoyed it. The art is unique, the OP, ED, and soundtracks were memorable and possibly one of the best anime that I've ever watched. Okay, I think that's all. Agreed or disagreed, it's your choice, I don't mind it either.
__Terror in Resonance__ is an original, thriller anime produced by studio __MAPPA__. Created and directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, the famous director of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. ~~~img300(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTBlZjk3ZDctYjc3Ny00YThkLTgzMDEtMzk3Y2QwOTBiODk0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzM4MjM0Nzg@._V1_.jpg)~~~ Terror in Resonance can be considered studio MAPPA's first major project.. or at least their first worth talking about. Following two teenage boys Nine & Twelve, intelligent terrorists with unknown backgrounds, start bombing major buildings and causing mayhem across Tokyo. As the panic quickly rises, they challenge the Tokyo police force to a battle of wits. The series has a strong first 5 episodes, having a vibe to that of Death Note, as the main protagonists are not heroes but also not immorally evil only targeting a series of empty but connected buildings. They pull off their terrorism without the cost of life and then make funny youtube videos mocking the police. The episodes were great, intriguing, and suspenseful, combined with some beautiful animation and a good art style. While the music personally isn't my cup of tea, it is good overall. ~~~img620(https://occ-0-92-1722.1.nflxso.net/dnm/api/v6/9pS1daC2n6UGc3dUogvWIPMR_OU/AAAABRnSe7fregmE64rfsIfWOAUI_ffIRiStJdsIG9hs9qcX6I9VqUolicbrUvn6bZvccAuTVwJQ9C3j8y5bdS6Foyq0qp3MSjJluqY2j1gM7cYCVVAA.jpg?r=f17)~~~ The series nose dives in quality when the character Five gets introduced. The story suddenly shifts from an intriguing cat-and-mouse battle, between the terrorists and the police force, to a not-so-intriguing "battle" against a revengefully bitchy scizo evil character. Suddenly the terrorists become the bomb-defusing squad, trying to stop the insane revengeful woman from causing explosions that would cause massacres. Five is characterized as lonely, revengeful, and obsessive with outsmarting Nine, but she never amounts to anything and ends up just becoming an eye sore of an antagonist that changes the direction of the story into something less interesting. ~~~img620(https://formeinfullbloom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/zanterochildfive.png)~~~ But my biggest gripe with the story leads to the main female character Lisa, who is one of the worst female characters I have seen in anime. Her characterization is that of a bullied, psychologically damaged high school girl. While her actions and personality may be accurate to what a real person would do in her situation, except much more idiotic. Her significance and character development are almost non-existent. Serving as a romantic interest for Twelve and a plot device that can be used by kidnappers to corner the protagonists. She as a character holds no value for me as the audience, and the show would've been much better without her. As the screen time wasted on her could have been used for the better. You honestly can't take this character seriously. When she can't even follow the simplest of instructions set by the protagonists, such as: not answering the door to strangers.. in their safe house.. _when you're a wanted criminal no less_.. then fucking up so bad that her entire apartment complex literally explodes. ~~~img520(https://www.denofgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/20140321_terror01.jpg?fit=620%2C605)~~~ Terror in Resonance is an anime with a strong first half and a second half so bleeeh you'll be impressed. The story shift was for the worse, and while the last episode and ending did improve the quality, the damage was already done.
# Summary _This review may contain spoilers._ The anime is about two outcasts who go to any length to make their society listen to their pain. The anime shows the viewer that a government can be incappable in handling issues and that it may have an agenda which interferes with the happiness of its citizens. The characters are interesting and their design is realistic. The animation is great and a lot of effort is put in making their world look realistic. The sound is good and has many good soundtracks. # Story __Like__ Nine and Twelve don't kill anyone throughout their bombings. They always make sure people can either escape before the explosion or the bomb can be stopped by solving a riddle, which is related to mythology from different cultures. In the beginning of the bombings the police, a governmental institution, is shown as an incapabable group of people who do nothing but have meetings and do not act. At a certain point Sphinx also releases all their collected info to the public which is another nail in the coffin for the government. The goal of Nine and Twelve their actions is to create enough media in their society and in extension the world to tell them their story. How they were used in an unethical governmental programme and how it messed up their lives. Their voices were heard and will never be forgotten in their history due to their final bombing. __Dislike__ It isn't so clear why the American government is involved in the police's investgation. Something is mentioned about an interpretation of their constitution which leads to an atomic bomb, but it isn't clear. This may have been due to how the English speaking characters are hard to understand in the anime. It is also not clear why the American military shows up at the end and kills Twelve or why Nine suddenly dies, since he doesn't seem to get shot. # Characters __Like__ The characters look realistic in their design. They aren't drawn in a moe style, which fits the theme of the series. It is amazing how Nine can come up with all the bomb contraptions and planning that goes into sphinx their actions. Despite his cold attitude he is actually caring person, who doesn't want to involve people in his business so they won't have to suffer with him. It is nice that Twelve is the emotional support for Nine. He wants to help him cope with his flashbacks/nightmares by involving Lisa in their actions by setting up a similar situation as the one in Nine's nightmares and letting him make the choice. Twelve even wants to help Lisa even though he knows he shouldn't and it almost got him killed. He really is a good person even if he doesn't want to admit it. It is interesting how shibasaki wants to understand why Nine and Twelve do what they do instead of just labelling them as criminals and trying to stop them. He gives of the same vibes as [Kogami](https://anilist.co/character/68315/Shinya-Kougami) from Psycho-Pass who wants to understand the reason behind [Makishima](https://anilist.co/character/69725/Shogo-Makishima)'s actions, who in this comparison would be Nine and Twelve. Shibasaki also wonders at a certain point in the anime whether Nine and Twelve are somewhat justified in their actions and if their society has become too authoritarian, since in his younger days people would throw rocks at riot police and that was acceptable and now it is seen as an act of terror. __Dislike__ It feels like Lisa could have been written out of the story and it would not have made a difference. She doesn't really do anything until episode 7, which is after half of the anime, and when she does something she seems to just get in the way or cause more trouble for the main characters. The motivation for Five's actions weren't so clear. She mentions she wants to surpass Nine at the end of the anime, but she already did by finishing the special government programme that she was in so many years ago. # Animation __Like__ A lot of detail is put in making the anime look more realistic by appropriate shading and the amount of detail in the environment of the characters. When the characters are in a city the buildings look realistic, the signs look realistic, etc. There are also well animated parts where something happens in high speed which makes those scenes look smooth. It happens in the first episode during the snow scooter chase and it also happens when a character quickly runs down the stairs like what happened in the first episode when Lisa runs down the emergency stairs in a skyscraper. The anime opening is cryptic which fits theme of the series and the backstory of the main characters. __Dislike__ There are parts where CGI is used and sometimes it is done well, like in the first episode during the motorcycle ride in the city. It is visible that CGI is used for the cars in the background but due to how fast that scene is it doesn't really stick out, but there are times when it really sticks out like when CGI cars pass by slowly or when the detective and the chief of the police sit and talk in the park and CGI people pass by in the background. It happens a few times in the anime that people in the background stick out due to being in CGI. Nothing can probably be done for the cars that pass by slowly, but perhaps for the people that pass in teh background it would have been better to either not show them or to draw them static and further appart from the characters so they are still in the background but the focus is on the characters that are doing something. # Sound __Like__ The opening song sounds so light and combined with the cryptic video you get the feeling you are watching a dream. Here is the opening song: https://youtu.be/g1ARRcK4LVs Each time Nine has a flashback a certain soundtrack is played and it feels unsettling which is also the feeling the main character has. It sounds like a soundtrack straight out of a Silent Hill game. Here is the soundtrack: https://youtu.be/2esZCrgq5u4 The [soundtracks](https://youtu.be/XmqRsIudBII) are good overall and after summing up the ones that stick out I realised I summed up almost all of them and removed them from the review. __Dislike__ The English which is spoken in the anime is difficult to understand. # Other __Like__ None __Dislike__ None
(TLDR Review at the bottom. Hopefully, that helped, in advance. Thanks for reading) *This is a revamp of one of my MAL reviews. If you for some reason have a problem with AL reviews. You can go check out [my MAL version](https://myanimelist.net/reviews.php?id=359709), slap an upvote there if you liked this, it makes me feel better* Obligatory Dream moment note: ~!Also, according to Anilist statistics, only a small percentage of people reading this review, are actually following me. So if you ended up liking this review, consider following, it's free, you can always unfollow later. Enjoy the review :)!~
Coming from two big names in the industry, Shinichiro Watanabe and Yoko Kanno, and produced by MAPPA—a newly founded studio by one of the industry legends, Masao Maruyama—Zankyou no Terror was an intriguing title. At least, it probably was an intriguing title for the people who had background knowledge about these names back in 2014. I was a newcomer in the anime medium with no background information when I first watched Zankyou no Terror, and I didn't have any big expectations. But it still was quite an experience. It quickly grabbed me with its realistic approach to the medium, beautiful OST, striking directing, appealing characters, and compelling story. What would you ask more from a show, right? With this mentality and believing it's a total masterpiece, I spent years after years, and despite rewatching it a couple of times, I've never realized its big mistakes. However, my preferences for a story and anime changed over the years. Also, I started to understand the fundamentals of writing better and as I thought about the show more, I began to comprehend its narration mistakes roughly. Yet I didn't watch it one more time to confirm my doubts. At least until now. I recently rewatched it again, and now I can see where it did go wrong for Zankyou no Terror more clearly. ~~~img850(https://animesher.com/orig/1/150/1504/15044/animesher.com_awesome-zankyou-no-terror-gif-1504433.gif)~~~ Zankyou no Terror starts with two youngsters who call themselves Sphinx do planned bombings in Tokyo and announce it beforehand through videos on social media. In these videos, they are giving riddles about the place of the bombing to the police. It catches the attention of Shibasaki, a former detective now working in the archives for disobeying orders given in a case fifteen years ago. And he solves their second riddle, which leads to him returning to the first unit. Then he eventually realizes something bigger is happening behind the scenes and tries to unravel what they are trying to accomplish. The story goes very straightforwardly from start to end without taking a detour. It might sound appealing at first, but believe me, it's not—at least not for a show like this. Zankyou no Terror is a show that tries to be a plot-driven and character-driven story with a low episode count. It's a very challenging task only a few can accomplish, and, saying this in sorrow, Zankyou no Terror is not one of them. I'm sorrowful, and the reason is this show is not just a random one that fails on this task because it can't cut it. This show had the potential of being successful and making a name for itself as an undoubtful masterpiece. After all, it has spectacular production values and a magnificent first five and final six episodes of a two-cour show. However, the middle episodes of that two-cour show are absent here. It only has eleven episodes, and this causes it to conclude with its plot and characters remaining undercooked. If it took some detours instead of trying to reach the final at lightning speed, it could add more layers to its story and characters, which were necessary to make this a better show. ~~~img750(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a3/fc/29/a3fc298da22a3aa09fc40843021c5cc0.gif)~~~ Shinichirou Watanabe commenced this project with a clear goal in his mind—showing the effects of war on children & innocent people and how tomorrow always bears hope with a unique story concept. It's easy to make people emotionally invested in the story and cast with a theme like this. So, it's a good choice. However, the execution of this is another story. Go and ask this theme to the people who watched Zankyou no Terror. I bet most of them will say it's an overreading. Is it because they are not smart enough to understand what Shinichirou Watanabe tried to do, or the story itself? They certainly are not. That's the fault of the show, not otherwise. The main idea and the messages are still there. You can dig it up and get them. Regardless, it doesn't change the fact narration is weak and couldn't portray the message proficiently. There is almost no trace of this message until the last three episodes, and it heavily relies on exposition in those final episodes. Also, there's a possibility some people still couldn't understand the show's message even after that exposition because it's a bit vague. That's where the symbolism steps in. There's one thing in the show almost every scene contains: The colors of the flag of Iceland. Items in blue, red, or white appear on the screen too often, usually at the same time—I know there are too many countries with the same flag colors, but the word "VON" is also used many times in the show, which means hope in Icelandic, so it's Iceland without a doubt. So, why did Watanabe choose Iceland specifically? Because Iceland was invaded during World War 2 despite staying neutral. It's similar to the Japanese government in the show using innocent children as test subjects to improve the situation of their country. However, this symbolism is even vaguer than the narration through it tries to convey its message. Therefore, it doesn't hold any value in the end. The same thing also goes for almost every other symbolism in the show. Most of them are cool and all, but they fail when working in context due to the lack of a strong narration. ~~~img750(https://animesher.com/orig/1/109/1094/10940/animesher.com_zankyou-no-terror-gif-manga-1094064.gif)~~~ >"If it doesn't have a striking narrative to be a good plot-driven show, how does it spend time until the last three episodes? Is it a character-driven story that contains character arcs?" Unfortunately, no. It does not have character development or exploration until the last three episodes. This show offers a magnificent first five and final six episodes of a two-cour show. It starts outstanding and quickly hooks the audience with a well-paced first five episodes. Then it starts to take a weird turn in the middle of episode six. The story after that point feels as if we skipped ten episodes worth of content. It gives all five main characters clear goals and enough personality traits to not make them feel like cardboard characters. However, their characterizations and character arcs are a mess. Sphinx members, Nine and Twelve, start the story as simple terrorists and get more and more characterization as the story progresses. However, these characterizations don't add up after a point. We can summarize their characters as Nine is the cold-headed and Twelve is the happy-go-lucky one of the group. They balance each other nicely, but the show fails to deepen their characters. The saddest thing about this is the show gets too close to success at deepening Twelve's character but fails because of the pacing choices. He gets involved with Lisa too much—she is a random girl who becomes their accomplice after their first bombing—and starts to develop some bond with her because there was no one he could befriend until now except his lifelong companion, Nine. However, this attempt fails because the show decides to move to the final stage without proper story development. If the show had more episodes, it could utilize his potential. For example, they could've written his character arc as he learns how to get loved and love someone for the first time in his life and live like a regular teenager. Don't get me wrong, I don't try to say this is precisely how Twelve's character arc should've done. It's just a random story concept that came into my mind after seeing the failed romance attempt of the show between Twelve and Lisa. The situation is even worse for Nine and Shibasaki because they don't even have character arcs. They are there only to make the story move and don't have any crucial impact that can come only from them. You can replace them with similar characters from a random crime drama and the story would stay the same. However, they are still fun to watch. And this is what makes me sad the most. With the addition of good character arcs, they could be unique and riveting characters. I have no idea what could've been done with Nine since the show gives almost no room for creativity to think about a possible character arc for him, but there's a lot to do with Shibazaki. The simplest yet effective one that came to my mind is a buddy cop story. When Shibasaki was assigned back to the first unit, a newbie officer named Hamura—who didn't know Shibasaki was a talented detective back in the day—was there. He already has some characterization, so they could've written interesting character developments by turning him and Shibasaki into a team. It also would help the story since they could've done more things with the journey of Shibasaki to solve the mystery behind the Sphinx's actions. What they did in the show with Shibasaki and his journey is giving it a couple of scenes where Shibasaki realizes all of the bombings Sphinx did were somehow connected and wrapping it up in the last three episodes with a rushed plot. With the addition of more than ten episodes and a buddy cop subplot, Shibasaki and Hamura could've solved the mystery with a pacing that feels more natural. ~~~img750(https://78.media.tumblr.com/ae73ef286cf729eca2818daea42c86f7/tumblr_oyqds9nAvA1rjf4f5o1_500.gif)~~~ Now it's time to talk about the female main characters of the show—Lisa and Five. They are the ones who often get the most criticism for being unnecessary among the main characters. Do I agree? My answer depends on what we are talking about here. If we are talking only about the existing content, my answer is—yes, they are unnecessary and steal screen time from the other main characters. Also, their existence causes both the plot and character developments to end as rushed. But if we are talking about this show's true potential, my answer is: no, they are not unnecessary. Both Lisa and Five are characters with tons of potential. Lisa has a mother who mentally abuses her, and she is a lonely girl who gets bullied in school—also, at the start of the story, she wants everyone in the world to disappear. With a characterization like this, she has a lot of room to develop. And what I said for Twelve goes for Lisa too. Lisa and Twelve are a perfect match because how both need someone to love them in their lives. However, this idea doesn't get explored much, and Lisa becomes just a Damsel in distress not only once but three times. She gets into trouble three times only to get rescued by Twelve. Also, her character arc ends without any significant development. We don't know if her life got any better after all the things she went through. The only thing we got is an implication that she started to have hope in life. Her character is another misused element of the show, and I understand why people see her as a nuisance. Although Lisa is a misused character, I can see what Watanabe tried to do with her and the theme of hope. However, I have no idea why Five does exist. What is the purpose of Five for the story? I can't see anything she does good for the story. However, if this was a two-cour show and she got a character exploration, we could justify her existence by saying she spices things up and provides a dramatic character arc. And this isn't a wild dream because it's clear they wanted to make Five a character with clear motivations and goals. During her last meeting with Nine, she tells him how she has always wanted to surpass him, and he is the only thing that has made her come this far. This whole speech of hers should've been a complete character arc. We should've seen how she struggled only to meet with Nine for one more time before her time was up. It was the only way she would've been relevant to the story. ~~~img750(https://64.media.tumblr.com/6694b447076655fd0a3e3d48b3f2bc72/tumblr_phaczlX7yO1una0sr_500.gifv)~~~ With the involvement of talented staff, Zankyou no Terror is one of the first-class pieces from all TV productions in the 2010s audiovisually. Its detailed background artwork and fluid animations are a joy to watch. The show doesn't move too much, but the character actings are spectacular when it moves. Also, if you like visually realistic approaches to the medium, Zankyou no Terror is one of the extreme examples of this. The director Shinichiro Watanabe is known for being influenced by Western cinema too much, and if you are a newcomer to the medium who likes to watch Western movies, you won't feel like a stranger. With Hanna, nc17, Seele, Von, birden, bless, ís, and much more, Yoko Kanno's OST for Zankyou no Terror is a masterpiece. It doesn't just elevate the show's already exceptional atmosphere but also provides pieces that can be stunning on their own. I wish I had more knowledge about the music and talked about Yoko Kanno's beautiful work in a more detailed way. It's something that deserves an entirely different review. Also, let's not forget about Shinichiro Watanabe's stellar directing. Depressive, sultry, happy, colorful, and more—he can convey any emotion he wants to the audience with every tool he has in his hands. You have no escape from Watanabe. No matter how bored you are with the story, he will grab you and evoke any feeling he wants in you as long as you pay attention to the show. It is one of the show's best qualities and one of the main reasons many people fall in love with the show, despite it being a narrative mess. ~~~youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AZ_yJ7mfCo)~~~
img1000(https://gonzonyan.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/tumblr_inline_n9shwjbfkt1s3dkt7.png) Feelings of wanting to destroy society to reconstruct its ideologies have been at the forefront of terrorist actions. Since the beginning of the 21st Century, lately has cropped up numerous terrorist acts across the globe. So, what better way of showcasing these horrific acts of violence than to make an anime where the terrorists are the protagonists? With Cowboy Bebop director Shinichiro Watanabe at the helm of production in Terror in Resonance, this was sure to be a fiery sensation like many of his previous works. Yet, despite the hype, it turns out to be a prime example of how not every show with a talented director will be a great project. However, saying this is an abject failure would be stretching it too far. It can be construed as a pretty good thriller compared to most recent anime thrillers that have come out. Watanabe knows what to do in his direction to create an impending tone for the viewer. Whether it's comical like in his earlier works or serious like in Kids on the Slope and Terror in Resonance, we feel an intense, unsettling atmosphere directed by the three protagonists that we're following with the latter. Cold and calculated, they know how to create chaos in a just society, and we can feel that anguish and thought process quite clearly and with great direction. img1000(https://gonzonyan.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/terror502.png) Music speaks with radiance and greatness, accomplished by the always talented Yoko Kanno once again. Blending various styles of electronic music composition and dark string instruments, Kanno helps add so much layered atmosphere to the show. This and Watanabe's unclear direction create an excellent mixer that feels very cohesive to the structure of the environments we see in many scenes throughout Terror in Resonance. You don't often see artwork on character designs to look more human than in typical anime. Terror in Resonance's artwork consists of beautifully drawn backgrounds with a nice coat of colors that give a dreary focal point to the setting. Washed-out colors with dark blue overtones are paved, even in scenes where there is daylight. Sometimes, in a minor nitpick, I'll admit, the darkness can be a little too much, to the point where it is difficult to see. Especially in the scenes where we visit the apartment rooms, there is hardly any light, and I can barely see the characters in front of the camera's view. img1000(https://gonzonyan.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/screenshot-139.png) What Terror in Resonance marvels is in technicality. Other than those aspects, Terror in Resonance lacks the elements of a story and character development. The vast majority of the characters in the show feel very bland in terms of their characterization and personality. The only exception is Lisa Mishma because of her internal struggles that feel genuine and relatable in her anxieties and psychological issues. Outside of her character, the two people she brought herself into, Nine and Twelve, aren't as strong as her. Nine especially is inexcusably dull from what his goals are, to begin with, which I'll get to later on, and his overall arc. Twelve is at least a bit more enthralling because of his charming charisma, but considering how the show wants to be a dark psychological thriller, it feels a little out of place in some areas. Besides our three main leads, other characters come off as just decent, but nothing more memorable than that. Though I will say, Five is a contender for the villain of 2014 because of how they successfully make her into a significant considerable threat. The police terrorism division head, Kenjirou Shibazaki, is a nice throwback to old-school crime detectives who are the main driving force in stopping the opposition. However, they aren't the slightest bit memorable of the lack of any unique identity, other than the fact that they are just there to stop the protagonists' bombings. img1000(https://gonzonyan.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/zankyou-no-terror-03-02.jpg) Now we get to the story portion of the critique. This can easily be summed up in a few main crutches that make it suitable: Lack of a coherent structure and poor development. All of this can be pointed to the backstory of Nine, Twelve, and Five, which feels uninspired. Yes, it's your typical "kids escape from a facility of a brainwashed government facility and go their separate ways" plot. That isn't to say that it can't ever be done well, but Terror in Resonance lacked a unique pull for me to be interested in this type of plot again. Uninspired is the perfect word to describe the story. With Watanabe on board on a project like this, you'd expect something more ambitious than this. With all that said, was this a great thrill ride despite all that is said about the plot issues? Absolutely. The tension I get whenever the police try to find the bombs that Nine and Twelve put out in the city are some of the most intense sequences I've experienced yet. Again, with Watanabe's superb direction, the atmosphere helps make this work tremendously. Kanno's extravagant music makes for a perfect amalgamation of all these elements neatly wrapped into a triumph for a suspenseful thriller. img1000(https://gonzonyan.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/terror-2.png) Some aspects disappointed me in some regard, considering this is Watanabe's first directed show in nearly five years. That aside, I can still see this as worthwhile to watch. This anime will likely be his least popular work, considering how everyone typically looks at Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. But trying to best out his other works would be an impossible feat to take over, probably even for Watanabe himself. Grade: B-
So, this is my first public review. I never planned to make one, but something about this show enticed me to do so. I will break them up into sections. __There will be spoilers, I have warned you.__ Also, please do not consider me a professional at writing/making reviews. I am simply voicing my opinions. ~~~(∩｡･ｏ･｡)っ.ﾟ☆｡✩°｡⋆⸜(ू˙꒳˙ )~~~ __Lisa Mishima:__ img600(https://64.media.tumblr.com/8d9903f29660fd42d883144387f6477a/3f0bfc9527f10a77-76/s540x810/5997dc9071bd8a2db65733670e8c81d563714ac5.gifv) Look, I get why she’s here, I really do,(No seriously, I understand very well), but that still doesn’t mean much when she could be removed. Lisa Mishima doesn’t feel like a character to me. She’s more like… a pawn to demand conflict/motive. Do you follow me here? If she was removed, and the story just focused on Nine and Twelve and their terrorist ideals, I would honestly like this show a lot more. However, this is not the case. Every time the show gets “intense” or it gets “suspenseful”, Lisa comes in and ruins it with her own, out of nowhere conflicts. For example: “A government building is about to collapse from a terrorist attack? Um, Lisa’s in the bathroom alone and she’s not evacuating.” “A police building just blew up? Well, Lisa’s running away from home.” “The police are close to figuring out Sphinx’s riddle? Oh, well, Lisa is getting stalked by creeps.” “The airport is about to blow up, killing hundreds, and our protagonists are about to be blamed for it? Aiya, b- but Lisa’s cooking some noodles and she wants to prove her worth!” It. Gets. Tiring. And I personally dislike it. __Five:__ img600(https://pa1.narvii.com/6500/de65ff29f07a0199625da122e6a3c46dec372226_hq.gif) Now, I don’t have an enormous problem with her (Can you tell I’m lying?). They should bring her in as… something different. Maybe she’s an ace of the terrorism control department? What if they brought in and introduced her as “the ultimate obstacle” in the form of something slightly easier to believe? I get why the USA was involved in this, (sort of), but I seriously feel she should be… different in a sense. (If we HAD to keep her in the story). She should be obsessed with tracking them,(Twelve and Nine), down differently. Maybe like how L in death note was tracking down Kira? (By extension, we can also say Near. Yes, I know what I’m implying.) Actually, let’s sort of use the Near example. Let’s say the police fail to solve the riddle, and the subway blows up as usual. Now, Five is on the case because these attacks are getting out of hand. …Does that sound interesting to you? It’s fine if it’s not, just throwing out ideas. __The Story In General:__ img600(https://giffiles.alphacoders.com/191/191968.gif) Now, this story is pleasant and I quite enjoy it, but I can’t help but feel something is wrong, and not in the “something feels wrong and it’s intentional” way. I can’t quite explain it, for the words are out of my vocabulary, but it’s a strong feeling in my gut. Something could be better here, but what is it exactly? What is causing me this feeling? I think I know. The story could be rewritten somehow… All stories can, obviously, but this one could use it. I don’t want everything to change, I just want Lisa out of it, for Five to be a better antagonist, and the backstory to be moderately different. Those were my feeling throughout the entire thing, and I don’t want it to be. During the entire anime, every time Lisa showed up, I wished Twelve just killed her like he said he would. Heck, maybe even just left her to die. I don’t want these characters, Twelve and Nine, to be completely humanized or come to their senses. I want these characters to be true anti-heroes, and that’s what causes my gut so much turmoil. They should be anti-heroes with strong morals. I wished they destroyed those buildings whilst making sure people were generally unharmed. I wish they continued their terrorist attacks while constantly bringing the police into their little game. It’s the type of show I long for and can’t seem to find. One where we follow bad people who barely change their ideals… And win. That’s my problem, however. I’ve had too many expectations for this show. __Bonus:__ img600(https://thumbs.gfycat.com/BestJoyfulHorseshoecrab-max-1mb.gif) _“Why is Lisa in this story? What is her part?”_ Lisa’s part in this story is quite simple. She is the chance for Twelve and Nine to prove they are no longer weak. What do I mean? Listen here. In the past, they couldn’t save the other kids in the institution they grew up in. Those kids were weak, they were fragile. Man, who does that describe? Lisa, it’s Lisa. Lisa is weak. She is fragile. She can barely do anything herself. She needs constant saving. These are the reasons I hate her entire being and why the boys need her. She brings some humanity into their lives. This doesn’t mean I’ll think of her as a character, however. She’s still just a pawn for a motive to me. That’s all she ever will be to me. _“What did you like about this anime?”_ Aiya, I’m a real sucker for fire and explosions, you know. I also adored the ending of the 10th episode. ‘Sayonara’. It was said with the same delivery as ‘Farewell’. The eeriness of it makes me smile. I also liked Nine and Twelve’s interactions. They are such good friends. Furthermore, I liked the concept: Terrorists destroying Japan, and they’re not 1 dimensional? Sign me up. ~~~(∩｡･ｏ･｡)っ.ﾟ☆｡✩°｡⋆⸜(ू˙꒳˙ )~~~ That’s it for me, I wish you a fantastic day.
__Plot __ The plot was engaging from start to end and there was never a time I felt it was too draggy or boring. Instead, I was on the edge of my seat eager to see where the plot could turn. The anime had a “peel the onion” kind of format where in each episode, we learn something new about the terrorists motives for their crimes. Information and flashbacks are dropped at certain parts of the show but are not explained immediately. The attacks were not to incite terror as such, but rather a way to get the police attention on an issue swept under the carpet. Normally in shows where the police are challenged (eg death note) you will expect to have some tension between perpetrators and the police and within the police force itself and Terror in Resonance is no exception. Excitement was created when Shibazaki, the main character from the police side, tried to solve the puzzles given by Sphinx and quickly joined the dots. There was a lot of drama as well due to the pressure that police face when public lives are in their hands. Most importantly, the hierarchy within the police force made saving the day even harder. As for Sphinx, we can see that there eventually comes some friction between them and they even have to face an enemy that they encounter. The police, ironically, become their ally and they work together to prevent havoc caused by the enemy. Given the serious nature of the show, there were some highly emotional moments that will surely tug your heartstrings. There was also a pinch of doomsday romance which was sweet and innocent and well developed over the course of the story. __Characters __ Our terrorists, Nine and Twelve, who call themselves Sphinx are decently written. Although they may not have a rich backstory and their motives are predictable, it is their contrasting personalities which make the show entertaining to watch. Nine is your Kira, the mastermind who is focused on the mission and Twelve is the happy-go-lucky type, who manages to have a positive attitude despite the high risk nature of their crimes. With their enemy, Five, added to the mix, things got more heated. The numbers for their names might also have some meaning: 9 and 12 are multiples of three so they are connected in a way. Whereas 5 is a prime number and only has one factor (apart from 1) suggesting that Five is on her own. Furthermore, the numbers can be assigned in order of increasing suffering. Five suffered the most before. I remember a conversation between Nine and Twelve : “ Is she even sane?” “ there was no sanity to begin with”. Nine and Twelve seem much more rational but between the 2, Nine gets flashbacks of his past but Twelve seems to have moved on. However, this is just my theory. Lisa is another addition to the main cast. She annoyed me at the start and that impression continued till the end. However, what I did realize was the purpose of her character. Just as she was useless to the duo, I also felt she was useless to the plot. I expected her to be the third member of Sphinx but that never happened. However, moving on in the story her purpose did come into shape. She is your typical shy,clumsy and timid anime girl who tries to be useful but just fails. She does help to bring out the compassionate side of twelve and this causes a rift between nine and twelve, creating conflict in the show. I can't say much without spoiling the show but I eventually cozied up to her in the end. I would also like to point out the teamwork and camaraderie of the small group of people in the police force who pursued Sphinx, namely Shibazaki and the other policemen. Hamura’s and Shibazaki’s trope was cliche: Hamura, a newbie, was salty that a senior joined his group but eventually gained respect for him when working for him. Shibazaki led the team, fulfilling his duty to protect citizens despite being sent to the archives. We can see the slow progression of his involvement in the case. From casually talking about it to his colleague in archives to standing in the frontlines, trying to evade disaster. There were some eureka moments that happened due to chance which I am not a fan of. However, the clues were mostly grounded on Greek mythology which was interesting. Shibazaki is backed up by a few other policemen, who were on the same mission as him. Rebelling against orders from higher ups, they stood unfazed to expose the truth. __Animation__ The animation is great. It was sort of dull but it matched the vibe of the show. Even though it was completely fictional, the expressions and the place managed to make it look realistic. The actions scenes were dramatic (like explosions, buildings collapsing etc). I particularly liked the ferris wheel scene, it was intense but calm the same time. There were many of such scene thoughout the show. Some major themes [spoilers ahead]: __Terroism__ The main debate that arises from this show is: Were Nine and Twelve actions justifiable? Is endangering the lives of citizens worth bringing out their story? Much of their plan was hugely dependent on the police, more specifically, Shibazaki. They needed him to figure out the location in order for their grand scheme to succeed. They needed someone to join the dots between the locations. Sure, they did not want people to die but their plans were risky, placing the public at risk (eg the train incident). Moreover, they did not anticipate Five’s involvement which made their plans even harder. However this made the show more suspenseful. There was also a common motif of birds. In some scenes, we see Twelve, gazing at the sky at what looks like feathers. At first we don't know their significance but it makes sense once we see Nine's final moments: as he faints he sees birds flying to the sky. The feathers symbolise his hope, pieces of their plan coming together. The fact the Nine saw 2 white birds in his last moments, shows that their mission was a success and he died peacefully. White also represents peace. __Greek mythology__ Terror in resonance was structured to be Greek play. Our villains called themselves the Sphinx and Shibazaki was Oedipus, who solved the riddles to get rid of the Sphinx and save the town of Thebes, or in this case Tokyo, as he did in the actual mythology. The audience of this play were none other than the citizens of Tokyo who would watch the broadcasts and see the police scramble to stop the attack. Although Shibazaki did not face the same fate as Oedipus, he fulfilled his own prophecy that he'd be the one to save Nine and Twelve and expose the real Sphinx. the ministers who carried out the inhuman experiments. As mentioned in the previous section, Nine and Twelve relied on Shibazaki to solve the riddles in order ot make their plan a success and Shibazaki did not let them down. P.S: one of the location of the bomb was in a building next to a shrine in Akihabara. Does the name of the place ring a bell? The mood and tone of the show resembled Steins; Gate. Overall, the show is meaningful and the message comes across clearly, but in an artistic manner. The show was all-rounded with thriller, action, drama and romance. I feel this is a show everyone can enjoy.
~~~__(spoilers)__~~~ Watching Zankyou no Terror now in 2022 made me feel the same thrill of watching anime as back in 2020 when all i did was watch anime. I'm sure it's really biased of me to say this but i believe that the anime is a 10/10 and one of the few in my list that actually deserve a score this high. It achieved everything it aimed to achieve; the OST was very fitting and well done, the atmosphere was always on point and most importantly it captivated all the emotions it did in such a nice way; the first scenes with Lisa had me pitying her a lot and the antithesis of 12's intervention in them every time was really creepy considering what he is capable of doing to her. Then the sphinxes' videos were HYPE AS FUCK, especially the ones after the first one where you started to get what was happening. They always prepare you for what was about to happen in such a cool way where they both announce a new threat to Shinjuku and to the police force. The terrorist act preparations and executions were insanely exciting and the explosions were more so. The government building collapsing like a failed match of Jenga, the police building going KABOOM, the train exploding like it was a bomb vessel itself; all of those were captured and depicted in a fantastic way. The police's attempts to resolve every crisis were just as fun to watch as the POV of 12 and 9 but that was all thanks to Shibazaki, who was a very outstanding character in the series. Even though he is supposed to be with the ''bad guys'' he still becomes one of the most likable in the anime. His efforts, knowledge and conviction all make for a character with a personality beyond interesting. As the anime progresses, 12's growing bond with Lisa Mishima is unlike any anime i have ever watched. Bonds between characters of the opposite gender forming and developing are usually exciting to watch. Their development caused me nothing but pain however. 9 warns 12 to cut ties with her again and again and again but even still, these minor things that 12 uses to justify an interaction with her become larger and larger issues and before you know it she becomes a burden to both. After she moves with them, the entire anime becomes painful to watch in a beautiful way, but still depressing. Lisa is fully aware of how she is holding the two back but can still do nothing about it which made me feel shittier and shittier and shittier as the story progressed. After the airport incident their plan starts to deteriorate so much as a result of 12's sympathy towards Lisa but it only made me feel worse. Even though i could never blame Lisa or 12, the fact that 12 put so much on the line for Lisa made me feel awful for 9, who had his eyes set on their initial goal until the end. After 5 captured Lisa i just could not decide if i preferred 12 to stay or go - both seemed worse than the other somehow. the Ferris wheel scene however was what broke me completely. Lisa not being able to stop apologizing and crying non stop, 12 trying to concentrate and keep calm in order to remove all of the explosives, the timer beeping down agonizingly slow - it was all horrible, and 12 revealing the two's secret to 5 was the cherry on top. It felt like falling in the mud and getting shit all over your face. Meanwhile Shibazaki's conviction kept becoming more evident as he pursued the ''bastards'' behind the scenes in search for the truth behind 9 and 12 and although it was sad to see his downfall yet again and watch him lose his badge and risk his life on top of that in search of the truth is also agonizing to watch but the Ferris wheel incident completely overshadowed the sadness of it for me. Then, when i thought it couldn't get worse, 9 turns himself in and upon learning that, 12 gets torn apart which is completely evident, no matter how well he tries to hide it. He is completely aware of what he did and the guilt he feels could not be hidden. Surprisingly, the one who set him straight was Lisa, who convinced him to keep going for the sake of 9. Thanks to that, 9 is rescued by 12 and has the chance to set the final bomb. The endgame was simply just beautiful. The final message of the sphinxes, now only depicting one of the two sent chills down my spine when he mentioned that the final one was an atomic bomb. In these final moments, 12 gets to meet once again with Lisa and 9 gets to a high point to watch the final boom. The explosion is admittedly amazing, as one would expect and the results were just as Shibazaki and the others had expected. Japan had now entered an age without electricity. Then there was the ending. I cluelessly thought that the ending would be a happy one, with the three meeting once again and 9 forgiving 12, everyone having fun in the place everything began, Shibazaki finally meeting the sphinxes; it was truly heartwarming. And then this soothing scene turned into hell so fast, i could not believe my eyes at all. Every desperate attempt that was made to get out of __that__ situation was futile, as everything fell apart all over. Just when you think everything is over, it's not. Just when you let your guard down, you get backstabbed by the last 5 minutes the show has to offer, something that left me traumatized till now. The anime ends in a similar fashion to the film ''__kimi no shizou tabetai__'' with Shibazaki and Lisa saying goodbye to each other before your heart is healed from the sorrows brought to life minutes before, as the shot of the bridge they pass each other on turns to the sky and everything concludes. At that moment i was just thoughtlessly staring at my monitor thinking ''oh great god i am not your strongest soldier why are you doing this to me''. Everything happened so fast i could not properly react to anything before i cried myself to sleep. All in all, this 11 episode masterpiece is in my opinion a great pick for just about every taste there is. I do not really think you have to be into something to enjoy Terror In Resonance, it's an anime that i suspect anyone would love watching. Even though it has forever scarred my heart it, it is forever carved to it at the same time and i will most likely never forget such an experience. I would suggest it to literally everyone who does not mind getting scared just like i did.
# ~~~Why Terror in Resonnance is really good :~~~ (Not in English Yet sorry i will post it in english soon) ~~~
# ___(Written on MyAnimeList on Oct, 8th 2022)___ Terror in Resonance is so far the only anime I have seen that has compelled me to write a review, only because I am so split on the themes and ideas this anime portrays. If Shinichiro Watanabe is the best sheep herder of the land, then Terror in Resonance is the black sheep of his group. Let me get into why I think this and why many of you likely share the same opinion with me. # __Animation (8/10)__ This isn't a surprise, everytime Watanabe directs and storyboards a show, you can see it. It looks clean and easily understandable, it also seems like everytime MAPPA works on a show without legitimate slave labor schedules it always turns out good ranging to fantastical. I don't really have much to say here, except this is most likely the best thing about the show besides the soundtrack. It is clean, fluid, the effects are great and the small uses of CGI are too. #__Sound (9/10)__ Yoko Kanno continues to bring her A game in everything she creates. She is actually magnificent. I have even less to say here then the animation portion, you know what to expect from her. Standout tracks are "Von", "Crystalized" and "Birden". (She composed Cowboy Bebop, Wolf's Rain, Ghost in The Shell Standalone Complex, Kids on The Slope, and a couple tracks of Space Dandy.) #__Story (4/10)__ This is where problems start, BUT where the show starts is riveting and intense, it shows a facility in the middle of a snow storm, two boys are stealing a nuclear bomb, and they succeed. They leave behind graffiti, it says "VON". After this heist you are shown those two boys who enacted it, "Nine" and "Twelve". As they walk to school. They meet glances with the third main character, Lisa. Twelve sees her being bullied by a group of girls and decides to intervene in his own deformed way. After the school day ends, Nine and Twelve are shown creating another scheme through the POV of someone new. An ex-detective named Shibazaki. He is shown a YouTube video from his co-worker of two boys dubbed "Sphinx" with Sentai masks on, announcing a weather forecast of "darkness over Tokyo sometime after 3PM". Shibazaki passes it off as kids goofing around but seems to keep interest in the back of his head. This is the start of the cat and mouse, the best part of this show. Shibazaki trying to catch Sphinx. I am going to assume most of you have seen the show and not read out any more of the story. I think the first six or seven episodes of this show are great and start to lull you into the false sensibility that this show is fucking awesome. But it falls off infinitely hard, soon after the main antagonist "Five" is introduced. She is one of the survivors of the facility Nine and Twelve came from. She exists just to be an insane manic foil to the protagonists. She wears lack of personality on her sleeve, and when she dies they try to make it seem bittersweet but I feel literally nothing for her because there is really nothing about her that is unique or engaging at all. She is just a psycho. Back to the start of this paragraph, cat and mouse. The act of trying to catch Sphinx is actually intensely engaging, watching Shibazaki and the two boys battle each other with wits. These are acts of terrorism they are committing, they have no remorse and show no remorse for anything they have done, which is why I side with Shibazaki over them every step of the way (he is also just a much better character then the two boys). During episode 7, a bombastic airport puzzle is ensued onto Twelve and Nine by the antagonist Five. They use the airport as a chess board to find out where a bomb is planted inside, that is meant to explode and frame Sphinx. They have to work together with Shibazaki to stop the bomb creating a sudden ally, it's good shit and engaging. The episode obviously, ends with their success and an amazing scene of Nine saluting Shibazaki with the Sphinx mask on and escaping. After this episode, literally everything falls apart. It feels completely aimless and like it has no clue what to do, it has shot its load prematurely. No terrorist acts are being committed by Sphinx anymore which means no cat and mouse. They start to use Five as the engine for the plot instead which just simply doesn't fucking work because she is stupid, psychotic and cringe. She kidnaps Lisa after the Airport attack and it leads into most likely the greatest scene in the show. In Episode 9 Lisa is put inside a moving ferris wheel with a bomb strapped to her chest. Twelve is goaded into going inside her ferris wheel car and defusing it while the wheel moves. It leads to an intense, sad, and bittersweet scene where every ounce of your attention is put onto these characters, scenery, and the song "VON" playing in the background. Convincing you for a second that these characters are people I care about and do not want to see die, that these characters have a personality that is written above a side character from a big shonen. I constantly rewatch this scene and am bewildered that an ending can tank a show this hard. It all could have been like this scene, it could have been an emotional story about two children who have PTSD and a girl who runs from an abusive household, balancing the grey morality of committing terrorist attacks to send a message. But it is half assed, and the ending proves it. Terror in Resonance segways into its ending soon after Five dies. While Twelve was defusing the bomb on Lisa's body, Nine realizes he won't come back anytime soon. Nine takes the nuclear bomb they stole from episode 1, rigs it to a balloon and lets it float into the sky. He activates it triggering a blast in the sky above Tokyo (FOR SOME FUCKING REASON). This leads to a huge power outage and basically no civilization as everyone has evacuated. Cut to the three main characters, they are frolicking happily at the site of the facility the two boys were experimented on. It seems like they are trying to convey this is a "win" for them, it does not fucking feel like that at all what the fuck just even happened???? But onto the next shit that doesn't make any sense, one thing leads to another, Shibazaki teleports to their location out of fucking nowhere and basically says the whole world wants to know what they are, and why they did what they did. If they our caught, everything about them will be put in the light. Sphinx has cemented themselves as a historical event, their voices can never be silenced, so Shibazaki just thinks they should turn themselves in and talk, because he knows they wanted to be caught, he knows that it was their goal to never be silenced again, and THEY know they needed someone to see it through and catch them. After this arguably good dialogue, US military helicopters teleport out of fucking nowhere into the scene to apprehend Sphinx. Nine brings a button above his head, it belongs to a massive bomb inside a nuclear powerplant, he threatens to detonate it if the US forces do not leave. The US Forces are told to shoot to kill anyway, just because they know about the airport incident and other incidents. The absolute stupid bullshit thought process is given, "Even if the bomb is real we can't do anything about it now so just kill them". Twelve is sniped from the helicopter, amazing music plays and I feel nothing. Nine yells and cries out and is going to detonate the bomb, but is talked out of it by Shibazaki, saying he will bring everything they wanted to expose to light. This magically makes Nine stop all emotion for his best friend and brother who just got gunned down undeservedly and he hands the detonator away and assumedly gets gunned down too. This is the absolute worst thing in the show. This ending, these final two or three episodes. A complete failure and disappointment. Choosing to ignore the morality established between these two boys who have shown no remorse for absolutely anything they have done, just to pussy out at the end and not have him push that button. If he pushed that button this show would be saved. Are they terrorists or empathetic protestors? You cannot have both, and if you could have both, it certainly wasn't done well here at all. I thought the show was building up to them causing a nuclear winter, because in the opening it shows a nuclear winter, and the lyrics say "Winter covers everything". The shows final scene is a pitiful conversation between Lisa and Shibazaki. A year has passed and everything has resolved and been put into the light of day. Justice has been brought upon the people behind the facility that Nine, Twelve and Five were at. Lisa and Shibazaki are visiting the graves of Nine and Twelve and have a conversation about what VON means, they come to terms and understand it means "Hope". Credits roll. What a disappointing clusterfuck of failed morals and plot contrivance to a very good first couple episodes. #__Characters (3/10)__ Boring, no personality, and empathetic only when it serves the plot. If explored on more I would probably feel a lot more positive about the show. Shibazaki is the best out of everyone, and Five is an extremely lame antagonist who exists just to be a psychopath. __Summary__ This is Shinichiro Watanabe's dud, his one big fuck up. You are better off watching literally every other show directed by him. "MAPPA, Yoko Kanno, and Watanabe, there's no way this can be bad right?" was my thought process going into this show, and I was thoroughly proven wrong. This is only eleven episodes so I suggest it if you are even slightly interested in anything I have said, just so you can have your own thoughts and opinions on it.____
Music from a cold land and the story of the hero oedipus. Terror in resonance is an excellent, thrilling, psychological drama that has solidified itself as one of my favorite one-shot anime. Warning that this review will include spoilers, because an anime like this is hard to discuss without them. #Plot (8.1/10) I think one of the biggest strengths in terms of Zankyou no Terror’s plot is how unique the premise is. In 2014, I’m not sure there were any other anime with such a large focus on terrorism, much less terrorism that didn’t involve indiscriminate murder (something the characters made clear they were against). Immediately the show hooked me in the opening sequence, and I think the brief exploration into Twelve and Nine’s possible school life was interesting and made you imagine “what could have been” if they hadn’t been subjects in the Athena project. Concurrently, I think the way they depicted Shibazaki’s character and his drive to uncover the Sphinx was great. I do think the plot falters at the introduction of the antagonist Five, but I also think it helped to keep this from being another slow paced detective drama. They went for more of an action thriller in the second half vs the mystery thriller of the first, and I generally think it was successful. In terms of plot issues, one thing that did stand out to me was just how expensive this whole endeavor had to be for Nine and Twelve. There was never much discussion surrounding how they secured the funds to support all their terrorist activities, but I wouldn’t say that point took away from my enjoyment. #World/Setting (7.7/10) This show takes place in modern day Tokyo and generally speaking, is without much change in location. However, I do think this story couldn’t have made many changes to this without becoming unrealistic. As far as terrorist psychological thrillers go, I think the grounded setting made sense. #Characters (7.8/10) If I were to run down my ranking of interesting/enjoyable characters, it would probably look something like: Twelve Nine Shibazaki Lisa/Five For me, Twelve was the most interesting and believable character, with Nine trailing right behind him. It was great to see him shown off as this carefree, energetic guy who in the same breath, can threaten to kill the girl he saved from a bully. His development of feelings (romantic or otherwise) for Lisa was somewhat obvious, but it made sense given his only real connection before that was with Nine. It was almost as if he was curious about this “thing” called a human, and gradually realized they might not *all* be bad, given that he then evolves from wanting to save Lisa from the plane, to betraying Nine to save her again. And while I had no real issues with Nine, he did feel somewhat one-note as the brooding, silent ikemen and didn’t change much over the course of 11 episodes. Shibazaki was similar to me, in that I’ve seen that same detective trope many times before in Western media, so his character felt a bit over used. As mentioned earlier, I think Five sped up the pace of Sphinx’s crusade, but her character itself was also somewhat predictable. My thoughts on Lisa were that the shy, bullied high school girl trope has been beat to death by now, but she did lead to a bit of development for Twelve, and caused some cracks to show in Five’s facade. However, this show *did* come out **10 years ago**, so some of those tropes used in other anime may have been inspired by this. #Visuals (8.4/10) MAPPA is as MAPPA does. I had absolutely no complaints with the visuals here. The art style is beautiful and complements the vibe of the show perfectly. The action sequences were well designed, and I didn’t feel like much was missing by way of animation. In fact, the animation did an excellent job at highlighting the best part of the show which was… #OP/ED/OST (10/10) I am not an audiophile by any means, but even I could tell a lot of work went into choosing the song and visuals for the OP and the soundtrack. The vibes here were matching Call of the Night levels to me, which is a compliment of the highest level. #Enjoyment (8.5/10) I am not one to watch many psychological thrillers, but Terror in Resonance has me rethinking my tastes. This was an excellent show that kept me on the end of my seat for the majority of it’s runtime. **HOWEVER** The ending definitely lost points for me. While it was powerful, and the final goal revealed was in line with my expectations, the way it was done just didn’t sit right with me. After everything, for Twelve and Nine to essentially become martyrs because **the Americans tracked them down somehow despite there being no electricity in Japan** just did not hit. How did they even know they were at the Settlement? If the Americans were so pressed about their involvement not getting out, why would they let Shibazaki live? These were just a few of my unresolved questions at the end, and I think the show stumbled more than a bit here, but overall Terror in Resonance held its own and produced an excellent and entertaining story in just 11 episodes. img220(https://a.storyblok.com/f/178900/768x1080/e720fb903c/terror-in-resonance-10th-anniversary-visual.jpg/m/filters:quality(95)format(webp))