Another new anime series has dropped, the new Japan Sinks 2020, which is being streamed all around the world on the Netflix streaming platform. Being a huge fan of a similar disaster anime Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, I decided to give the new anime a watch with Mrs. J-List. Keep reading to see if you should watch!
The Story
In an alternate universe where Covid-19 didn’t disrupt the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, a huge earthquake strikes Japan, causing massive damage to the city. We follow the four members of Mutou family — Japanese father Koichiro, Filipino mother Mari, elder daughter Ayumu and young son Go — as they struggle to reunite and then get to a place of safety. Together with Ayumu’s fellow track team member Haruo, flamboyant YouTuber Kite and a mysterious paralyzed man named Onodera, they journey around Japan trying to stay alive as regions of the country sink into the sea.
It’s Based on a Famous Disaster Novel
The anime is loosely based on 日本沈没 Nihon Chinbotsu, a disaster novel published in 1973, which was made into a 1973 film and a 2006 remake. There was also a parody film made called Nihon Igai Zenbu Chinbotsu (“Every Country Except Japan Sinks”), about every country in the world sinking into the sea, and needing Japan to help them survive. The anime story is totally new, with only the character Onodera being found in the original work.
I Love The Mutou Family
Being part of an American-and-Japanese mixed family, I liked that Mari was from the Philippines, and had married a Japanese man to create a blended family, just like mine. The way young Go is better at speaking English than Japanese was very similar to the way my daughter mixed English and Japanese together, not understanding that her preschool teachers didn’t speak English. The inclusion of non-Japanese characters made fans from the Philippines super happy.
If you happen to be from Estonia, then you’ll love this show, as there’s an Estonian character too. And a character from Yugoslavia. Anime is getting so international!
The Story Gets Dark
Being a card-carrying fan of Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, I wondered what kind of story the creators had in store for us. In keeping with the theme of Japan sinking, the story is properly dark and dramatic, and you should certainly watch if you like high drama.
Some Aspects of Japan Sinks are…Uneven
One of the rules of being an anime blogger is to never say anything bad about any anime, as some fans will fight to the death about it on social media. So if you love Japan Sinks and don’t want to read any criticism about it, stop reading now.
The show is downright gorgeous visually, as Mt. Fuji is erupting and Japan is falling into ruin while our characters try to stay alive, and happily is not the dreaded “cel-look CGI” that some studios try to foist off on fans. The animation is by Science SARU, who brought us such off-the-beaten-path works as Devilman: Crybaby and Ping Pong The Animation, plus my beloved Keep Your Hands of Eizouken! The sound is excellent if you have 5.1 speakers, since you can hear the destruction from all sides.
The problem is that there are irregularities in the show, both in animation quality and the sub-plots the characters find themselves in. Some of the problems with the animation are scenes or whole episodes that just seem to be low quality, as if they were being rushed or worked on by the “B-team” of animators without the same level of quality control as other episodes.
While we can chalk up any issues with some episodes’ animation to the studio’s unique style or Covid-19 related challenges, I was more bothered by some of the bizarre twists the story takes in the middle (there’s a secret marijuana-worshipping cult hidden in Japan? really?), and some of the unexpected comic relief, which didn’t fit the seriousness of the story being told.
Then there’s the story structure. One aspect of Japanese is that there are many four-kanji combination words that were imported from Chinese 1500 years ago. One of these is 起承転結 kishou-tenketsu, which originally described the four-part organization of Chinese poetry but today describes the “introduction, development, turn and conclusion” that a good story should strive for. The Western equivalent of this is the three-act structure that Hollywood movies use, with some famous examples being Back to the Future or the classic High Noon. While we would never want anime to ape Hollywood’s style of storytelling, I sometimes feel it’d be nice if more attention to crafting a coherent story could be considered by anime creators.
Compared to Japan Sinks 2020, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 is a veritable masterpiece, crafting an amazing tale as we follow Mirai and her brother Yuuki as they’re caught in a terrible earthquake that destroys Tokyo, and must get find a way to get home. In addition to being one of the best-structured anime series I can think of, it was especially prophetic because it basically came true two years later, as Japan experienced the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. I can’t recommend Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 enough.
I Really Enjoyed Japan Sinks
In the end, I really enjoyed this show. It was thoughtful, told a good story loaded with fresh, new ideas and kept Mrs. J-List and me on pins and needles in most episodes.
Thanks for reading! What did you think of my take on Japan Sinks 2020? Post your comments below, or tell us on Twitter!
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