Zankyou no Terror - First Impressions

[gallery columns="4" ids="18281,18282,18283,18284,18285,18286,18287,18288"]

Zankyou no Terror hooked me with the amazing music in the preview.  What will keep me watching is the amazing animation and captivating plot.

The plot is so captivating thus far simply because there’s so little that’s actually revealed in this first episode.  We know that Nine (Arata Kokonoe) and Twelve (Toji Hisami) are terrorists of some kind based on their actions.  However, we have yet to learn who they work for and why.  We know that they lived at some sort of institution when they were children (via a nightmare Nine has), but we know little more than that.

The wild card of the plot is Lisa Mishima.  Judging by her reaction to receiving text messages throughout the day from her mother, my guess is that she has some sort of trouble at home.  On top of that, she is bullied by the other girls at school.  She manages to get dragged into Nine and Twelve’s attack on a shopping center, at which point they give her a choice: die or become an accomplice.  She, of course, chooses the latter, and Nine tells her she can never go back now.  It should be interesting to see how her inclusion changes the tight dynamic between Nine and Twelve.

Zankyou no Terror also has top-notch animation.  There were several times during this episode that I had to remind myself that I wasn’t watching a live-action show but rather something animated.  A lot of time and energy clearly went into animating the scenery, in particular.  A scene in the introduction showing Nine and Twelve riding on a snowmobile looks almost like a live-action shot, as well.

On top of the amazing animation is the excellent soundtrack.  The opening song is what hooked me on the series, but the ending song and the soundtrack are just as good.  The soundtrack is very understated unless you’re listening for it (which I often do), but it definitely highlights the action on screen.

Zankyou no Terror has the potential to be the best anime of the season, and it’s definitely one I’ll continue watching.

Zankyou no Terror OP

[gallery columns="4" ids="18289,18290,18291,18292"]

Zankyou no Terror ED

[gallery columns="4" ids="18293,18294,18295,18296"]