Anime-Review: JAPAN SINKS: 2020 (on Netflix)
SUMMARY: "Shortly after the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, a major earthquake hits Japan. Amidst the chaos, siblings Ayumu and Gou of the Mutou household, begin to escape the city with their family of four. The sinking Japanese archipelagos, however, relentlessly pursue the family.
Plunged into extreme conditions, life and death, and the choice of meeting and parting—in the face of dreadful reality, the Mutou siblings believe in the future and acquire the strength to survive with utmost effort."
And while I've Instagrammed my watch and blogged about them on my I NOT OTAKU Blog, I'd wanted to combine my impressions (Episodes 1-6 + Episodes 7-10) and share them HERE in a single blogpost, for "JAPAN SINKS: 2020", currently streaming on Netflix.
You are temporarily lulled into normality from the beginning of Episode 1 (forgetting what you saw in the trailer, that is :p), but 8 minutes in, the Earthquake hits, and personally for me - for a split second - I forgot that it was an anime I was watching ...
The narration as the characters transverse thru the destruction is pretty effective to wrestle the emotions out of you, at least for a person like myself who has never experienced living thru a earthquake.
I had watched the entire series in the original Japanese spoken language, with English subtitles.
And because I watched the entire series in a single day, comfortably back-to-back - or as the young'uns call it; "binged" - the voice-overs still remained fresh in my memory, in relation to what happens in the finale of this series ... but I am getting ahead of myself here... :p
After seeing the destruction in the first episode, the peaceful opening title sequence seen at the beginning of Episode Two (first seen in Ep1) feels so bittersweet... an instantaneous feeling of “loss” ... the visual depictions of a peaceful mundane life becomes such a cherished "memory" that might have been taken for granted...
Without giving away too much, with subsequent episodes, each time the opening sequence begins, you are left with a perculiar sadness - at least I was - especially since I watched the episodic series chronologically back-to-back, so whatever happens in the previous episodes, still feel "fresh".
Rated “R21”, this season consists of 10 episodes total, with each Ep clocking in 25(ish) minutes per episode, and when I reached Ep2 (what happens in the end would fck you up tho), and I am hooked... but I remained somewhat "fearful", becoz I don’t know how much I can take ...
This series can feasibly be finished within a dedicated day, around 4+ hours in total, maybe? This is like a disaster movie in small doses each hit, and believe you me, the episodic break is what you NEED... otherwise it would be too relentless, even if it is an animated project, IMHO.
This series is an adaptation of "Japan Sinks" - a disaster novel by Sakyo Komatsu published in 1973 (labelled as "science fiction" in the show's description) ... and there was a rather cheeky reference to the novel (seen in a slideshow Insta-upload embedded below), which at the same time addresses the very real current online/media climate.
And while I have not (and do not intend to) read the novel, I can hazard a guess that the notion of smartphones and it's usage, completely brings the novel to current contemporary times, IMHO.
To be utterly honest, the visual aesthetics leaves much to be desired (think "Devilman Crybaby" - which is also directed by Masaaki Yuasa), but without a stylistic "anime shorthand" in the forefront - with the beginning few episodes featuring a very decent presentation of it, but by Episode 7, the deterioration is immediate and obvious, which distracted me enough from the story.
"Japan Sinks: 2020 was animated by Science Saru, with Pyeon-Gang Ho serving as the series' director and Masaaki Yuasa as director. Toshio Yoshitaka handled series composition, Naoya Wada designed the characters, and Kensuke Ushio composed the series' music. Yuko Sasaki, Reina Ueda and Tomo Muranaka are credited with starring roles. It was released worldwide on Netflix on July 9, 2020." (Wiki)
On one hand, I can appreciate that the design is utilitarian, as it somehow "buffers" the severity of the circumstances being shown on screen. As mentioned earlier, this series is rated "R21", and it has its fair share of severed body parts and bloodied human carcasses, so a non-too-realistic depiction style does lighten the notion, maybe? Heh.
The series hits Episode 4 and we veer off a tangent for a couple of episodes, and return to the calamity at hand. And while I can understand the story-telling aspect of the episodes (not really), how it is explained though, left me with questions on its intent, to be honest...
As the series title says, the country that is "Japan" in the story, has sunk, and recognised in Ep7. And mind you, the disasters and tragedy do not let up. By the end of Ep7, with 3 more episodes to go before this series ends, I frankly could not see any resolution by ep10... But I was to be proven wrong.
Episode 8 was more macabre than it let on, with the interaction between the siblings resulting in a real nice dialog (screensnaps below), especially when they talk about "eating each other" ... and it is with such charms amidst tragedy, that lulls you into a sense of “hope”, until the end of the episode slaps you in the face again ... Ep8 is hard, man...Standby your tissues...
It took me by the end of Episode 9, to realize+recognize the "pattern" of this anime, and how they treat their characters in the story ... without spoiling anything further: whatever happened at the end of Ep2, will be a constant repeat for the rest of the series, and they are relentless... I had to tell myself: "it’s just a anime, it’s just a anime, it’s just a...."...
Stick until the end / finale episode #10, and better days await you, and your patience will be rewarded. There is no need for a “2nd season” at this point too (AKA "no cliff-hangers"). Things wrap up pretty quick too...
Be warned of a specific scene that would tug hard at your heartstrings, and is a very effective use of "modern technology", and I now wonder what was the equivalent (if any) from the original novel source...
Besides the obvious nationalistic rahrah (which I’m not going to explain more about), I really appreciated how they linked up the finale with previous eps... as for HOW they do that, you’ll have to watch the anime on Netflix.
Is it worth applying for Netflix just to watch this? Not really.
Is it considered "essential viewing"? I would not say so specifically.
Is it watchable? I mentioned "6/10" in my Insta upload ... but upon a days' reflection, I have arrived at "4/10" instead, as I enjoyed the "diving into despair" riding the rollercoaster that plummeted before it rose again ... BUT, if I decide to consider the ANIMATION AESTHETIC? This would be a borderline 3/10, to be honest.
I found myself quite exhausted from the tears I’ve been constantly having to shed in my heart while watching this series on Sunday, and it's all good! I'll recommend this to folks who enjoy a good disaster series, and can tolerate heartbreaks for a short time.
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