Anime: Terra Formars (テラフォーマーズ)
Animation Studio: LIDENFILMS
Genres: Action, Sci-Fi, Horror
Episodes: ?
Kicking off this Fall season as one of the earlier shows to begin airing, Terra Formars managed to catch the attention of quite a few, as both fans of the manga as well as those unfamiliar with it look forward to seeing if it’s worth following. A sci-fi anime where humans fight giant cockroaches on Mars? Well, you can’t blame people for being at least a little interested! The premise may sound ridiculous but the tone of the anime is quite dark – this of course would come as no surprise to fans of the manga. Let’s take a look at this bug swarmed anime and see if it should be left to thrive or crushed under our feet!
Set centuries in the future, Terra Formars details the story of a band of operatives who go from Earth to Mars to battle the threat of oversized cockroaches. Yes, it sounds ridiculous. But with a little suspension of disbelief this may yet be an interesting anime!
The show certainly relies on darkness in its animation. Most of it looks very drab and dull. This is most likely to set the tone though, and should not be thought of as a detriment. Noise filters and pitch black backgrounds during closeups give it an eerie feel. One that is complimented by its equally creepy soundtrack. It doesn’t help that the art style isn’t exactly your typical moe fix either – the character models are sharply drawn and aren’t the most colorful.
One can expect a visually bleak experience for sure. Once again however, it should be reiterated that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing as this may be exactly what the creators were going for – and if creating a dark atmosphere was the intention, they got the job done.
As one can see, the designs and art style tries to stay faithful to the source. The visuals resemble classic anime from the 90s more than currently airing shows but some prefer this style and actually miss it – for those, Terra Formars may even be a refreshing look at a style less used today. Coupled with modern CGI the sci-fi aspect is handled well, as scenes involving advanced technology look nice without coming across as tacky or ridiculous as a result of using far too many colors and filters. It’s a very sober experience – one that immerses you deeper into this dark future world.
Urban or technologically advanced landscapes may not be very prevalent however, as the anime takes place on Mars for the most part. While the first episode simply introduces characters and offers a glimpse at a backstory, eventually the scene is shifted to Mars – where the rest of the show will presumably take place. That isn’t to say it’ll be boring though! In this future world Mars is teeming with giant cockroaches for humans to kill and plenty of action can be expected in later episodes.
With a catchy opening theme and interesting premise, this show might be one to follow. Censorship will be at play in this show unfortunately but if one can look past that, the action seems promising as well. The atmosphere is rather dull and the show is visually reminiscent of classic sci-fi anime but if you fall under the niche audience membership who would enjoys such a thing, this is one anime worth following this Fall. To watch it, make sure to check out our download link for Terra Formars!
Will you be following Terra Formars? What expectations do you have and what do you think of it so far? Let us know in the comments section below!
