Comments on: Tokyo Magnitude 8.0

By: AC

AC — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:19:59 +0000

I don’t know if the qualities of the characters in the show is restricted to Japanese people, but it’s a matter of course that they are two types of people in the event of any crisis – those who look forward and those who look backwards. It’s fair enough that TM8.0 explores these two groups of people, but apart from the elderly couple, they’re not explored enough. They seem to be there just to accomodate and complement the main trio in the plot development.

I actually wished the series explored more on the ugliness of the people because not only it enhances the dynamics of the trio’s interaction, it has a lot of potential to showcase how people may react differently in times of desperation and despair e.g. why would people start behaving selfish and yet not making them necessarily evil, or how a kind act of selflessness may backlash to a person.

On a side note, I wouldn’t give credit to the series simply because it explores the human spirit. The human spirit is just the motif of the series and how the motif is put under the spotlight at various angles is more important to me (Now and Then, Here and There is a wonderful example to illustrate this explanation).

Oh, and I welcome feedback regarding my review, so please don’t apologise. I appreciate you explaining why you disagree with my review, so a big thanks to you from AC.

By: My comment somewhere else… on TM8.0 | tueac

My comment somewhere else… on TM8.0 | tueac — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:28:03 +0000

[...] commented on an article and kinda wrote alot on Tokyo Magnitude 8.0… on The Banzai! Effect, dun wanna waste it so I’ll post it here [...]

By: tueac

tueac — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:24:03 +0000

I disagree with your review…

TM8.0 had done well from start to finish and ended realistically, just like an disaster with the last few episode showing very good directorship.

It happened with a bang just like you said but it soon starts to turn into a struggle for survival, with the climax over and the mess left behind. TM8.0 is almost like that, where the process of the cleaning the mess is the important part. The emotions portrayed in this process is very well done.

I personally am touched at how Mirai grown up from the stubborn girl to an understanding, independent and optimistic girl before throwing her back into the depths of darkness.

The many minor characters along the way also showed that the Japanese people are united and forward looking, rather then dwelling in the past… You might not remember the names of the minor characters, but for me atleast, they have left to me a deep impression, examples like the Robo-Otaku, the Elder couple, the kind army driver or even that cute Office Temp.

There are also ugly people but luckily they are not really featured.

If it can leave us with such a deep impression and the hope of not a bleak future in-case something bad happened…. Human spirit will conquer all!

But Like the show pointed out, what has happen is now gone… We must live for the future. Let look forward to the next season of animes!

Wooh! looks like i wrote alot… .. … sorry…

By: AC

AC — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 06:55:12 +0000

I haven’t watched the bulk of the anime this season has to offer yet, but even on its own merit, I find this series to be disappointing. It’s not a disappointment right from the onset, but it disappointed me halfway through the series. I don’t feel the suspense, tension, sense of despair or desperation that I should for a story that centers around such a catastrophe, nor do I feel a sense of emotional connection or deep characterisation for a series that also centers around human emotions. That’s why I feel that the anime is straddling genres when it would have benefited from focusing on only one.

There are some good character dynamics between the trio but that’s sadly the good thing about the series ends here. As for the emotions illustrated in the series, I feel that they’re forced and unnatural. Seeing many people dying doesn’t do enough to make me sad because if done distastefully, it can be a cheap way of scoring sympathy points. The only episode that moved me is episode 5.

It’s a disappointment by BONES to me because it has done way better with its previous works.

By: Glo

Glo — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 06:32:53 +0000

I still think that TM8 was one of, if not the best series of the year, and here’s why:

I thought that it portrayed the all around feel and appearance of a disaster perfectly. It honestly felt as if I was there. From the mass amounts of walking people to the aid given by rescue crews and others to people dying and families crying. I feel like Bones did a great job with this anime.

I actually got choked up at the end, and that’s hard to do to me.