ANIME REVIEW: TOKYO MAGNITUDE 8.0 (SUMMER 2009)

MAL Synopsis: 

Middle school student Mirai Onozawa is dissatisfied with her family circumstances and, in a moment of frustration, wishes to tear everything apart. Unfortunately, these destructive thoughts seem to come true in the form of a magnitude 8.0 earthquake just a few moments later. 

When summer vacations begin, Mirai reluctantly takes her younger brother Yuuki to Odaiba, where a robot exhibition where he wanted to go is being held. However, the earthquake strikes while they are in the exhibition center. Helpless, both the kids witness the devastating power of this natural disaster as it brings the city to its knees. 

In its aftermath, they stumble upon Mari Kusakabe, a motorcyclist and single mother who decides to help the siblings. Aiming to return to their homes and reunite with their families, the group sets off on a long and hard journey through the decimated city. 

My Review:

It's all going down. The whole of Tokyo is crumbling due to an 8.0 magnitude earthquake, and with it is crumbling the life of a 7th-grade teenage girl Mirai. Stranded away from her home and parents with her younger brother and another woman named Mari, will she be able to complete her journey home?

I cannot really categorize Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 in a good or bad category. Parts of it make you think that you should probably watch something else while parts of it can get you just glued to the screen.

Story:

The overall premise of the story is good and it is what compelled me to start watching it. After the 1st three quarters, I felt that it was a really good story gone waste but the last quarter does the work of binding together everything and providing a sense of completeness at the end. This anime is much more than just about an earthquake and how lives are destroyed by it. It is about a girl, rowdy and pessimistic at the beginning and her journey as she comes round to realize what truly matters and how certain events change the way she thinks about things and people.

Art:

The artwork is breathtaking. There are some amazing shots of buildings and the surroundings which are a treat to watch. Especially the shots of bridge and Tokyo Tower in the initial episodes and the details in which they are shown is amazing. The character sketches are not that great and have been mainly kept simple, but that also helps to draw your attention to the minute details in the background. 

Sound: 

The background score is probably the biggest let down of the anime. The score at the time of the earthquake isn't really that great and it also doesn't complement emotions in those tender scenes. But again, the last 3 episodes are the highlight of the anime and the background score fits perfectly here. The OP is not that great but the ED is pretty good and works well after you have completed the show.

Characters:

The characters lack depth, except perhaps Mirai. There's not much work done on this front. But then it can also be because it was to be primarily her show. Yuki as the younger brother is perhaps the most likable character you will come across in this anime. 

Overall:

I didn't really enjoy this anime much, except for the last 3 episodes. It was something which I was not really hooked to. Yes, the episodes ended well and each episode prepared the base for the next one, but there was nothing much going on in terms of character development in the initial stages.

Overall, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 is a good anime, if not an average one. It can get kind of depressing at times, and will surely make you cry a lot towards the end as the journey comes to an end. But it also has those sunny, happy moments provided by Yuki which provide a respite from the otherwise gloomy surroundings. 

Lastly but most importantly,

It's not a tale of survival, it's a tale of a journey back home.