Tokyo Magnitude: 8.0

Alternate Titles: 東京マグニチュード8.0

Original Japanese Release Date: July 9th, 2009

Episode Length/Run-time: 11 Episodes

Summary:

It was a normal day until Tokyo was struck by a devastating 8.0 earthquake.  The destruction is extreme and in the rubble and brother and sister make their way home.

Review:

Mirai and Yuuki were off having a nice weekend in Tokyo when an earthquake of rare power hits Tokyo, leaving the city in large part destroyed.  These two children are the focal point of the anime as we experience the aftermath of the quake through their eyes.  It’s a shame they aren’t very interesting characters.  Most of the time they’re either crying or complaining about something (though I probably would be too if the world was destroyed).  I suppose they are strong children considering what they’re going through.

The appeal of this anime is in its novel approach.  There may not be a single other anime that is about an earthquake.  The execution if the show was quite good.  The creators hired consultants to actually tell them which structures would and would not remain standing after an 8.0 earthquake and therefore, the anime depicts what is supposedly realistic picture of what Tokyo would have actually looked like.  The animation and art is good as well and so overall, the appearance of the series is very good.

The problem with the show is that its horribly slow.  Unfortunately, earthquakes last a matter of seconds and therefore, the action of the series, which occurs in the first couple episodes, ends with the earthquake.  It’s not like a volcano, firestorm, hurricane, or any other natural disaster that can last hours or days.  Since the earthquake takes place in the beginning of the series, the remainder came off, at least in my opinion, as rather boring.  It’s really unfortunate because the shows concept is really good, but you can only look at debris so many times before it just ceases to be interesting.

The last 10 episodes of the series follow Mirai and Yuuki as they walk home, literally, through the destruction.  They encounter different things along the way, such as a make shift hospital, but it really doesn’t spice the show up enough from being boring.  The end did have a nice plot twist in it but unfortunately it wasn’t a very surprising one.  I imagine that many viewers will have this one figured out long before they actually see the twist happen.  That being said, the show doesn’t suck, but I wouldn’t recommend it. If you like survival type themes, I’d recommend other shows like Mujin Wakusei Survive or something as they are more interesting and certainly have better pacing.

[starrater]