Terror in Resonance

"Ready or not!"

“Terror in Resonance,” directed by “Cowboy Bebop” director Shinichrio Watanabe, is a 2014 thriller anime that follows two mysterious children (matchlessly named Nine and Twelve), both of which whom lay an impossible terrorist attack on Japan, all the while purposely causing no casualties. They call themselves “Sphinx,” and their one true motive is to “pull the trigger on this world.”

First off: Yoko Kanno is a genius.

Yoko Kanno (the music creator behind “Terror in Resonance”), only at the age of 51, has already created some of the best music I’ll ever listen to.

Normally, I don’t have a tough time liking the music in an anime or the likes- if it has a good beat, (potentially) good lyrics, and is written/composed intelligently, then it’s golden. However, with “Terror in Resonance,” the music is much, much more than good: it’s fantastic. Ranging from tense, thrilling beats to melodic, somber tunes, “Terror in Resonance’s” OST is a marvel to behold, and is certainly good enough to listen to on its own.

Leading off of some more technical things, I just have to add: the animation is also quite impressive. Studio MAPPA, though very new, has already churned out some very pretty animation. Usually, with my praising of visuals, I find it a bit hard to explain, so you’ll just have to judge for yourself with the added pictures.

Onto the meat of the show: it is very, very original. Stunningly original, in fact; I’ve just never heard of anything quite like it. No, it isn’t just because of the “terrorism” aspect part of the plot (that too), but just because of its own way of going about things.

Granted, its always-interesting storyline does lend a hand to this, but it’s just the presentation that makes it so unique.

But, for as many reasons I can recommend this anime, there are also a few reasons to draw back on an immediate decision. But what could it be? The animation is good, the music is great, and the overall presentation is original, so what could have gone wrong here?

Plot holes. Some extremely saddening plot holes; specifically, for the last episode.

It’s all a matter of “Why did that thing happen? Why didn’t that thing happen? When? How? If that happened to that person, why didn’t it happen to that person?” Also, maybe even worst of all: “Boy, that’s awfully convenient.” Since I still recommend this anime, I really don’t want to go into specifics, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.

As a side note- the writing, as a whole, does slightly dip a bit at episode 5. This, especially, was a bit of a shame, considering that the first 4 episodes were very strongly written. Although, during this time, it still remains interesting and manages to pick itself up around episode 9.

However, even with this handful of flaws, I can’t find myself being able to condemn the show for it; after all, it still has its own unique style and flair throughout its entirety.

8/10- It does have its fair share of issues, yes, but when most of the culminating entities make up for it, and a consistent air of uniqueness surrounds the whole, that’s when you know you’ve found something truly original and special.