Terminator Zero is a new anime series made for Netflix and created by Mattson Tomlin, and it’s incredibly good. It tells an original story set in 1997 Tokyo in which a scientist is attempting to create an AI system to compete with Skynet. With high-quality animation, cinematic storytelling, and good voice acting, this entry breathes refreshing life into an aging franchise.
To most fans, the film saga that began with director James Cameron definitively concluded with 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Since this time, the franchise has expanded with additional films, comics, and games but with little added value. The biggest exception in our mind of course is none other than 2019’s Terminator Resistance, an unforgettable FPS that we recommend everyone to play.
Zero dips itself between the years of 1997 and 2022, showing the contrast between a world that was and one that will be. This is nothing new on the surface in terms of Terminator fare, but necessary for this story. Eiko (Sonoya Mizuno), a resistance fighter, travels back in time to find brilliant scientist Malcolm Lee (André Holland), who is preparing to launch an AI system, named Kokoro (voiced by Rosario Dawson) to compete with Skynet.
Lee believes that Kokoro is capable of protecting humanity, but is fearful of her potential. He is running out of time, however, and with his neglected children, murderous robots, and dealing with a machine of infinite knowledge, Lee is skeptical that humanity is even worth protecting.
That’s what Zero is all about. An exploration of morality that focuses on Malcolm Lee’s family and legacy, rewarding fans with complex dynamics that extend beyond the franchise’s traditional tropes.
Kenta, the eldest son of Malcolm Lee, is designed to showcase the depth of humanity’s ugliness. He is a time bomb, and his nanny who is secretly a cyborg complicates the dynamic. There are tons of evil machines, but not enough emphasis on humanity’s failings.
Showrunner Mattson Tomlin asks audiences whether or not humanity deserves to continue, but he shies away from deeply interrogating such ideas. The dialogue between the cyborgs and humans is surface level, only designed to flirt with the idea of survival without fully exploring it.
The characters serve a bigger purpose than the message. The Lee family is the true picture of humanity’s different expressions, and you’ve got the classic human hero/evil Terminator dynamic. Eiko is cool enough to serve the Kyle Reese/Sarah Connor role, and the Terminator has all the formidable, frightening, and uncompromising features you would expect.
Zero is a return to form for the classic sci-fi series and sits at over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. Currently, there are 8 episodes in season 1, but Tomlin has confirmed that future seasons have been established in terms of plot.