Terminator 0

Decades after the sentient artificial intelligence Skynet took control of the planet in 2022, the resistance is still fighting against the machines. Following a fierce battle, Eiko, a guerilla soldier in Japan, manages to corner a Terminator—Skynet's elite killing cyborg. Eiko extracts crucial details of its plan, allowing the resistance to send her back in time and secure a different future.

In August 1997, days before Skynet's looming nuclear attack known as Judgment Day, Malcolm Lee works on launching Kokoro, a new AI model designed to fight for humanity. As Judgement Day approaches, a Terminator arrives in Japan to hunt Malcolm and his children before Kokoro becomes self-aware. Malcolm must prevent his creation from getting misaligned and coming to the same conclusion as Skynet: the extinction of humans.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Terminator Main

Mamiya, Yasuhiro Japanese

Eiko Main

Yukinari, Toa Japanese

Lee, Malcolm Main

Uchida, Yuuya Japanese

Misaki Supporting

Hayami, Saori Japanese

Lee, Reika Supporting

Satou, Miyuki Japanese

Kokoro Supporting

Tanezaki, Atsumi Japanese

Fujino Supporting

Cho Japanese

Annie Supporting

Shimoyamada, Ayaka Japanese

Shiraki Supporting

Azakami, Youhei Japanese

Natsuko Supporting

Keichou, Yuka Japanese

Banshou, Kouichi Producer

Kudou, Masashi Director, Sound Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Maruyama, Yuuta Episode Director

Takeuchi, Tomomi Episode Director

Reviews

Sep 15, 2024

Jxstin117

Recommended

As a longtime fan of the terminator series I would say this anime is the best thing to happen to the franchise after Terminator judgement day. Not exaggerating.


The plot and story is very good. Most of the main characters and the terminator are likeable . They almost never make any dumb decisions. The music is the perfect blend of something new and a bit of judegment day's theme. The gore is alright but ive seen better, There's a handful of nostalgic callback scenes from the original first 2 movies . the terminator felt almost like arnold's terminator from the first movie, like an ... unstoppable killing machine that almost no one can help u escape , hes also very mysterious, reminds me of a homeless toji zenin . I love that this anime cleared up a lot about the effects of time traveling and changing the past and how it effects the future with the war and skynet . Although its only 8 episodes i appreciate that there's almost never a dull moment . Seeing a T-800 dual wielding M82 50.cal sniper rifles is prob the most badass thing ive seen in anything terminator related, like it honestly tops Arnold's shotgun on a motorcycle flip reload and minigun scene.

I have a few complains
The CGI for the terminator's skeleton and the AIs holograms were a complete eye soar, they stood out pretty badly since everything else looks really good but ive seen way worse cgi to be fair .
I hated the plot armor on a certain character is absolutely annoying, like she straights up fist fights and shoves T-800s around as if they dont weight a couple hundred kilos more than an adult human and as if they're not made of titanium .
The kids were very annoying , they were straight up war of the world kids level of annoying .
It felt as if the creator was a hardcore fanboy of spy family and just wanted a Yor forger in the series in the form of Misaki with how she fights and same voice actor.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Sep 17, 2024

logic340

Mixed Feelings

"Terminator 0" is an anime TV series available on Netflix that attempts to bring the iconic franchise into the world of animation.

Story/Plot: 6/10
The plot follows the familiar Terminator formula, which is enjoyable at first but becomes predictable about halfway through. The minimal payoff is disappointing, as key questions are left unanswered for a sequel. Character development feels inorganic, and the plot relies too heavily on creating shock value instead of building a cohesive narrative. One of the biggest issues is the inconsistent portrayal of the Terminator. It feels artificially weak to serve the plot, which ruins any stakes the story tries to create. There’s ... a scene where a human tank blows from the Terminator, even though it had been established as far stronger than humans. This lack of consistency damages the believability of the plot.

Animation/Design: 7/10
Production I.G.’s animation is as good as expected, but the unnatural highlights on characters in situations where there shouldn’t be a light source are distracting. The action scenes are visually solid, but the way the Terminator’s skin deflects bullets without damage takes away from the immersion.

Characters: 5/10
The characters were not likable, and their development was shallow. Many decisions they made felt like plot devices rather than reflections of genuine personality. The relationship dynamics had potential but were underdeveloped. The father and eldest son were particularly disappointing, with the father speaking in riddles and avoiding crucial answers. The world felt empty, as if the main cast were the only characters with any importance, and the Terminator itself was weakened to the point of losing its menacing presence.

Audio/Soundtrack: 6/10
The voice acting in the English dub was good, but the soundtrack didn’t leave an impression. The lack of iconic music or sound from previous Terminator entries was a missed opportunity, which might have helped elevate the experience. Nothing about the audio stood out as memorable or unique.

Enjoyment: 5/10
While some elements were enjoyable, the show ultimately fell flat. Poor character development, a predictable plot, and a Terminator that felt inconsistent and weak made the overall experience lackluster. The stakes never felt real, given how poorly the Terminator was handled in terms of power and danger. The weak portrayal of the Terminator, like being pushed back by a regular human and failing to land a finishing blow, undermined the excitement of the action sequences.

Overall: 6/10
"Terminator 0" introduces some interesting ideas but falls short due to its weak portrayal of the Terminator and an incoherent plot. The Terminator’s inconsistencies significantly hurt the tension, making the human vs. machine dynamic feel unbelievable. While the sequel may resolve some of these issues, it’s not a series that leaves you eagerly anticipating the next installment. Rewatching it after the sequel might make for a better experience, but at this point, it’s lacking in too many areas to fully enjoy.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jan 16, 2025

perseii

Not Recommended

Terminator Zero is typical "Netflix content," seemingly created for a single purpose: to fill a hole in the streaming platform's line-up, labeled "sci-fi," "anime" and "violent." Underneath its Terminator-brand skin and a nice coat of paint, there is a "product" that is simply going through the motions with unexciting action, incoherent and unsatisfying story, flat characters and only vaguely interesting ideas.

The story is, like every Terminator movie, a straightforward action thriller with some philosophical musings sprinkled in. This time around, we follow a scientist, locked in a room ruminating and agonizing for most of the runtime, and some kids and their guardians, on a ... dreary trek through abandoned buildings and empty streets. The story here just stumbles from event to event with no real sense of flow or build-up, with things happening seemingly because they are supposed to happen in a Terminator story. Of course there has to be a sequence at a police station. There is some shocking development around the half-way point, but it has surprisingly little impact on the characters and the overall story, which ends with a whimper and a tease for a sequel that will likely never come.

On a more positive note, Terminator Zero toys with some interesting concepts (which is more than I can say about the last two movies). Can you debate and negotiate with AI? What will you sacrifice to prevent a future that may not even come to pass? Frustratingly, the show does not really follow up on any of them. The third-act "moment of truth" has no weight because the drawn-out debate goes out the window and the scene heavily relies on a character that has no good reason to be there and has little meaningful to say about the issue at hand. The show also tries to expand the world of Terminator, setting it in Tokyo and introducing rudimentary humanoid robots, but these quickly become irrelevant or reduced to simple plot devices. Basically every introduced idea is either discarded or poorly integrated with the characters and the story.

The action part of the overall package fares somewhat better. The action sequences are decently choreographed and thankfully do not lack for brutality. Some things do not make much sense (a human tackling a 400-pound hunk of metal cannot end well), but the bigger problem is that many of them feel strangely low-intensity. Good Terminator fights feel visceral, crunchy and unstoppable, but most fights in this show simply do not hit as hard; they feel awkward and floaty. There is one fight that feels a little different than usual, but it still feels derivative as it evokes Ghost in the Shell instead. It does not help that the action is bogged down by the constant questions of why this has to happen and why I should care about these people.

The characters we follow have no depth or personality. Scientist. Human from the future. Machine. Child. Everyone is at all times either stone-faced or distressed. Yes, Terminator has always been grim, but most of the movies remembered to crack a joke and add some character. The Terminator himself has no charisma, intimidating aura or an interesting gimmick here. Say what you will about Arnold (growing ever older), but there was a reason they kept wheeling him out in every movie; he has a distinct and likable presence. The human characters have unclear or uninteresting motivations, making odd and seemingly-random choices to move the plot forward. The children are the worst examples of this, as they constantly run off on a whim, make plot-critical discoveries by chance and act without understanding anything. It is difficult to care about them when I am not even sure if these people are human, in a way that I do not think was intentional.

The production quality is solid overall; this is Production I.G., after all. The visuals and sound are kept grounded to match the serious tone. The characters sometimes have stylistic, almost-neon colored outlines, which I like but some may find distracting. There is not much else notable that elevates the mediocre material, unfortunately.

Speaking of the technical aspects, the subtitles are a small point of irritation. The English subs often do not match the Japanese audio, to the point where subtitles appear when no one can be heard speaking. I assume the subs are matching the English dubs instead (which is probably how the original script was written by the American screenwriter), but the issue indicates a lack of care on Netflix’s part. Also, the English subs use far stronger language than is typical of an anime, so a timid Japanese babysitter dropping f-bombs frequently took me out of the show.

It is true that I am reviewing this as someone who has watched the Terminator movies and the TV series. I do love Terminator 2: Judgment Day (like a lot of people), but I would definitely not call myself a fan of the series. I still check them out because I believe that the core concept of Terminator still has some legs; fighting off and running away from a highly-advanced killing machine satisfies my action brain, while artificial intelligence and time travel tickle the sci-fi brain. The franchise is long overdue for expansion and re-interpretation, especially now as we are entering the age of AI. Even if the anime did none of these things, I would have at least appreciated an exciting, high-quality retread. The show tries to do a bit of both and manages neither of them particularly well. At the end of the day, I just cannot imagine that the creatives involved with this project, especially the writer, particularly cared.

The most charitable way to describe this would be an unremarkable sci-fi action anime that passes the time. However, there is very little excitement, cleverness or heart to be found here. As a Terminator show, it adds nothing to the franchise. If you want a sci-fi anime with robots, thought-provoking ideas, likable characters, an intriguing story and good production values, I would recommend Pluto instead (also on Netflix, incidentally). Terminator Zero is a plain waste of time and is destined to be forgotten in the vast Netflix trash heap.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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"There's an Anime for this Series?"

by Ssnowyy

50 Entries · 297 Restacks

🎧Anime with Thai dubs🇹🇭3｜🎧อนิเมะที่มีพากย์ไทย🇹🇭๓

by Adrena

50 Entries · 3 Restacks

Netflix Anime (Part 4)

by ReSeinen

41 Entries · 70 Restacks

	Poll: Terminator 0 Episode 1 Discussion Marinate1016 - Aug 29, 2024	38 replies	by Yuri-Crusader »» Mar 22, 2:27 AM
	Poll: Terminator 0 Episode 8 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Ba-Cii10 - Aug 29, 2024	56 replies	by Adnash »» Mar 20, 2:35 AM
	Poll: Terminator 0 Episode 7 Discussion Ba-Cii10 - Aug 29, 2024	17 replies	by XCT3 »» Mar 13, 9:30 AM
	Poll: Terminator 0 Episode 6 Discussion Ba-Cii10 - Aug 29, 2024	17 replies	by XCT3 »» Mar 13, 8:40 AM
	Poll: Terminator 0 Episode 5 Discussion Ba-Cii10 - Aug 29, 2024	23 replies	by XCT3 »» Mar 13, 5:07 AM