You know, I previously kept saying that Aoi Hana was my favourite summer show and all. But that was before I watched this episode. After this episode, I’m going to take that statement back entirely: Tokyo Magnitude is without a doubt the best show this season. This episode was utterly amazing and exceeded all my expectations. Even for Noitamina, this episode stood out as one of the best.
What baffles me the most is that it’s only been two episodes: this series only needed one episode of build-up and character-introduction, and after that it was able to put down such a sad and depressing episode around Mirai, who saw her entire world crumbled. What made the most impact on me was how she was separated from her brother at the time of the earthquake, and so she had no idea whether he was alive or not. She was all alone amidst tons of people who also struck with the same fate.
And the thing is, that if she listened to Mari it might have taken ages before her brother was found and he might have died of smoke. Only because she kept looking for him was she able to figure out that he went to the toy store afterwards, and got trapped underneath the shelves. The first episode really put her down as your average whiny teenager, but this episode most definitely made her human, and just a weak little girl.
And yeah, this episode also did a fantastic job of not just showing Mirai, but also how just about everyone else in the area is suffering because of the earthquake, all in their own ways. This is one of these series in which every random bystander is a character, rather than a paper bag who is just there to fill air.
This obviously isn’t a series for you if you hate depressing series, but damn. I really hope that the creators can keep this up. I’m going to be a bit careful expecting the rest of this series to be amazing after Eden of the East dulled in a bit after its introduction, but with this series, all the creators have to do is logically progress the story, throw in lots of realism and keep up with their realistic characterization. I really hope that the creators are going to be able to pull it off, because this episode was just too good to just waste on a mediocre series.
Rating: **** (Fantastic)
I’ve been avoiding this show because of fears that it would be a survival show (the few manga I read in the genre bored me interminably), but it sounds like maybe I should check it out.
You say Mirai was your average whiny teenager… and I’d agree, up to a point. The thing is, though, most teenagers in anime seem to be bitchy, or wallowing in angst of apocalyptic proportions.
Mirai was sullen, which I don’t think I’ve seen all that often. Actually, I can’t remember seeing it at all, but that seems unlikely.
In any case, she definitely stood out in my mind.
Premise is promising, characterisation appears excellent (and that’s probaby the most important component in a survival series), direction is very tight, confident, animation is good, probably better than it strictly needs to be…
Really, the only way I could see this one scuppering itself is if it gets lost in pathos. Given the subject matter, there’s a lot of potential for the characters to run away with their emotions.
But yeah. High hopes for this ‘un.
I could NOT agree with you more! I just saw this episode this morning and I can’t even find any good words to describe the sheer awesomeness of this episode! If it goes well in my book, it may even catch up to Shounen Onmyouji in my list of favorite anime!
Agree that it is good, but I think that bakomonogatari is still better 😉
lol I just saw the episode, and you were right, it WAS extremely good. @.@
i’d keep my expectations a little bit low since it’s from BONES…
There is a reason why Tokyo Magnitude’s pilot episode was on the top ten of anime TV rankings. This episode is just pure awesomeness. I was just wondering what genre this series falls under? Is it a whole new genre? Say, disaster anime. As long as I can remember, I really can’t remember any anime that depicts survival from a tragedy or a disaster. If this is a whole new genre, then I must say that the anime industry is not dying, but rather evolving in some other ways.
Check out: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-07-15/japan-animation-tv-ranking-july-6-12 for more information.
AKI: actually, Porfy no Nagai Tabi is about a kid who loses his family in an earthquake and the aftermaths of it, but then again, there may have been only… ten people that watched it. What makes Tokyo Magnitude stand out is that it’s done the same thing in only two episodes that Porfy no Nagai Tabi took fifteen episodes.
hairgreen: true, there is that Bones ending that worried me a bit, but this series is also being produced by one of Bones’ child companies. Perhaps they’ll be able to break the curse of the Bones ending.
@psgels — Great comment about Porfy taking so long and this show doing it so quickly. I was one of the ten viewers — for a few episodes.
@Autonomous Monster — “Sullen” is the perfect word. And her nasty sullenness is of a piece with the determination that led her to find Yuuki. But I’m not opposed to real pathos (as opposed to false bathos). Bring it on. Tears sprang to my eyes when she found Yuuki.
This and Aoi Hana are definitely my two favorites of this season. But I also like Kanamemo, Canaan, Princess Lover, Bakemonogatari, and Sora no Manimani. A good summer season.
This could be easily the best show of the season. When they focus the show on people and their bonds, very good animes come out.
The earthquake came suddenly, did its damage quickly and left destruction all around.
I mean it’d be so easy to overdo with the earthquake’s destruction spree and show tons of blood and explosions. Many american movies falled in that trap.
But this earthquake just lasted the time it was necessary to mess all up and the focus was quickly put back on Mirai and ger own fate.
I found that good.
And again Catastrophic anime is quite an underrated genre. Will this be the first of a series of new animes? Is this the way of find new formats and ideas i mentioned in some thread lately?
I’m glad it sidestepped the screaming-and-running-riots-in-the-streets-tons-of-buildings-falling-over kind of exaggerated spectacle some American disaster films are guilty of being. The people react realistically, dazed and shocked, moving with purpose but also with caution.
The question is: where does it go from here?
That was a great episode,definitely the best episode of this season so far.However,I’m a bit worried about the coming episodes though.Now the main disaster already happened,how will the creators keep the story interesting?But I’m okay with anything really except for ANOTHER huge disaster(tsunami,volcano eruption)..
Well from now on the lead chars (3 of them) must go back home and find some missing siblings.
Anything can happen from now on
I enjoyed the first two eps and can’t wait to see what happens between the three of them from this point on. Mari is already taking on the roll of the dependable mother they never had and I bet they are going to end up giving that flower to her further on.
This really was a strong episode, and basically said “we can make this concept work! stay tuned”
Yuuki didn’t go to the toy store, he went to the convenience store to get Mirai the drink she requested. That was where he was trapped.
But Mirai didn’t remember that till later.
The top 10 anime ranking had everything to do with the (growing) popularity of the noitaminA slot and not the show itself. After all, it was only the first episode.
Nevertheless, it’s good that people are tuning in to all the new series.
While not liberally splashing on gallons of blood is a plus, the show excercised a little too much restraint in my opinion. My main gripe is the scene with the obviously dead children in the toy store. There should probably be at least the peekings of a pool of blood around their feet. This is a tiny gripe, as I can understand they don’t want the viewer to be caught up in the carnage at the expense of the characters.
A little correction – Mirai didn’t find Yuuki in the toy store, but in the juice bar.
The worker protecting him was a nice touch and added the sense of other people having minds of their own. They did have disclaimers stating they exhaustively researched different scenarios, so perhaps that isn’t just a bunch of hot air after all. This series looks very promising.
After ep 2, its seriously going to be giving canaan a run for its money as my favorite show of the season, although, canaan is doing well everything I like in anime, tokyo magnitude is doing everything well that i like in storytelling, period.
This looks like a promising series. I hope that it will not just become another normal disaster flick. With the right character development this could be something great. I actually really like Mirai. She acts just like a normal girl going through puberty. ‘Sullen’ is the perfect word for her.
As someone who lives in earthquake territory and has been in a 6.9 earthqauke, I like that they didn’t overkill the earthquake scene (too much). I was so worried that the suspension bridge in the backround was going to crumble to the sea. That would have ruined it for me. (No way would that fall.)
Keep in mind that (assuming we’re both using the Richter scale), an 8.0 is about 40 times stronger than a 6.9 (according to wikipedia’s table on the Richter Scale page)
The Richter Scale is logarithmic, so a 5.0 is ten times stronger than a 4.0. Given the destructive power of an 8.0 and the subsequent aftershocks, it wouldn’t be unbelievable that the bridge would collapse.