0
0
Year: 2020
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama
Episodes: 10
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
It’s fascinating how one little moment in time can change everything. How one day, life can seem so normal, and then the next totally fall apart. Life can come at people quick with a car accident or illness. What happens when mother nature kicks you right in the face? When a tornado destroys your house, a hurricane completely wipes your home away, or even an earthquake rocks your very world. What would you do for survival? Do you think your family will survive?
Japan Sinks is an anime that will punch your right in the gut and face with a significant natural disaster. When an earthquake literally sinks the country of Japan. It shows how one family must navigate through the terrain and disaster and survive when chaos is all around them.
Overview
After the success of hosting the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the spirit of Japan is high. Japan Sinks begins with the typical Mutou family who lead a peaceful life. Kouichirou works at a construction site, and his wife Mari is returning from an overseas trip. Their daughter Ayumu has just finished her track practice while their son Gou is playing video games at home. Life is relatively standard in the land of the rising sun. What is the worst that could happen??
A devastating earthquake hits Japan with a force unknown to the country’s citizens. The death toll is unthinkable as the citizens wonder what to do. As society begins to crumble and the thought of the nation sinking into the ocean, the Mutou family attempt to escape the city with their family and friends. With each new earthquake, the Mutou family is plunged into extreme conditions where survival seems slim. With all the chaos, the Mutou family believes in the future and have the strength to survive this disaster.
Review:
I have mixed feelings about Japan Sinks. On one side, we have a pretty intense story, f**ked up, and pretty sad with some extreme emotions. On the other hand, we have some characters that need to see reality as it is and pull that high maintenance stick out of their ass. That is where I am torn between this anime. I thought the story was actually pretty entertaining and outright messed up in ways but showed in a way what people might do when shit goes down or hits the fan.
The main storyline is that a significant earthquake hits Japan after the 2020 Olympics, and the island begins to sink underwater. A whole country is devastated, and chaos starts as people try to figure out what is going on, survive the best way they can, and ultimately not lose hope in a very messed up situation. The anime follows one family where the hits and pain come one after another until maybe they should lose hope.
There are a few themes that this anime presents, like with most disaster anime and films. The first theme is the idea of survival and how people will do almost anything to survive at any cost. One way is that the family goes to this religious cult where people believe in this woman who can talk to ghosts. The community is friendly and seems to be running smoothly. It looks like home, but like all things, disaster strikes, and the community fails. Another theme is racism and who should be allowed and who shouldn’t. When the family is looking for a boat to get off the island, a ship comes along and states that if they are not 100% Japanese, they can’t get on. F**ked up, but that is the way the world works. This anime shows that when disaster hits, the evil in people come out. Even if it is true, why do men have to rape the women or try to get action? One of the most disgusting things.
Now what the anime does really well is show that no matter what, pain and misery will follow and that no one is safe during a disaster. Almost everyone dies or loses something valuable to them. With the family and spoiler alert, nearly everyone dies. They don’t die from a gunshot or a building falling on them. I am talking about one second, they are around and smiling and the next BOOM, just gone. The dad was digging for potatoes and then boom, just gone. An aunt was going down a hill and then boom, just gone. It was crazy death after crazy death.
For characters, I couldn’t stand Ayumu Mutō. She was a spoiled brat and took out so much on her mom when she didn’t need to. She even blamed her mom when her dad died, which was unacceptable. Her mom couldn’t have known. All she did was have a stick up her ass and a major attitude. Your homeland is sinking, and people are dying, and you act like this. Her brother, Gō Mutō, was pretty cool. He was a gamer and seemed really down to earth. He actually didn’t seem upset half the time. Kite was the best character by far. He was a YouTuber who had fun but always kept a level head.
Since this anime was made by Netflix, it had that Netflix style about it. Something about how Netflix draws its characters and uses colors is entirely different from other anime series. Their style is very distinctive and seems to flow and move differently. It is not a bad thing, it’s just different, and the characters seem to have a dark shade, and the colors just seem a tad bit dull.
Overall, Japan Sinks is a pretty good anime that shows one family’s survival through an earthquake and how they handle it. The main character is straight-up annoying and needs to stop blaming everyone. Some characters come and go. Some are killed in extreme ways, but this anime shows what might actually happen. If you are bored and need something to watch, then give this anime a try.
