With this finale, we come to a happy ending of ID-0 and overall this was a satisfying conclusion. When the character Jennifer was brought up from the flashback, I wondered myself if she going to reappear, seeing that both Kane and Addams are here now. Turn out she was our Alice all along as she herself transported her mind to the Orichalt and now that she regains most of her memories, she determines to find Alice again. Thus come to the quest of both saving the humanity, and looking for Alice and it just so happens that Alice’s consciousness is nearby due to the large chunk of Orichalt and Rajeev around. See the plot convenience there? But that’s the one I’m happy to look pass as it gives our group one last time to work together as a team. I like the way the show portraits the concept of the space within the Orichalt – it’s just like we are delving into the world of consciousness when we eventually lost a sense of self and wandering around like a lost soul. Although the final solution to resolve this man-eating wandering planet crisis is to teach them the POWER of LOVE from human aka the most cheesy way ever imagined, I’m quite happy with the final outcomes.
For our main group, this final episode gives a deserving spotlight to Grayman and his daughter Claire, the one who was underdeveloped the most out of the cast. Her speech in favor for the pain and the loss her father had experienced is wonderful, and Amanza acts a bit out of character is very nice to see. One of the most impressive decision of this episode, howerver, is the interesting choice of music when the band charged through the Orichalt – It’s so out of place that somehow enhance the excitement and the thrilling of that scene. Seeing all of them charge through for the same goal reminds me greatly about one of the strongest element in ID-0: the great characters’ chemistry. The ending might seem a bit too fairytale with the criminal group all come clean due to saving the humanity, but it did tie the plot neatly and it was so entertaining that I have no complain whatsoever. Lastly, the show nails it with its after-credit stills about the whereabout of our cast: Maya and Karla are the ones who left the misfit band, join and contribute to the society. The ones who don’t have physical bodies of course stay on board, and most amusingly, Amanza left the army the join the team, and I have a good laugh at Fa-loser finally “reconciles” with Rick in a very drunken and moody English ED song.
As a final impression, to be honest I didn’t expect much from ID-0 so I’m genuinely surprised week after week how much it kept surpassing my expectation. I originally took it as a goofy fun show, but it turns out to be an understatement, ID-0 is a legit solid and entertaining show. Furthermore, ID-0 serves as another good example of how to use full CG right in anime and the animation is consistent from beginning through end. So bravos to Sanzigen and their great efforts. As far as I know, there is no official announcement when Netflix will release this piece, and until then I guess this one will fly under the radar for most anime watchers out there. Guys, whatever you do, give ID-0 a chance because it certainly deserves more acknowledgement – at least I know those who had watched this show till the end all found it rewarding.
