Terminator Zero (Netflix) 2024 - Season 1

The first ever animated series based in the Terminator Franchise, Terminator Zero is a Japanese/American co-production which tells the story of the Lee Family in Japan, in the days preceding and immediately after Judgement Day.

 Dr Malcom Lee is a gifted scientist with knowledge of humanity’s nuclear fate. He has created an AI named Kokoro to act as a potential rival to Skynet which can either stop judgement day or ensure humanity’s survival after the nuclear attack. 

As time is running out, Dr Lee now fears that Kokoro might arrive at the same conclusion Skynet would should she come online: that humanity is an existential threat. 

 In another part of Tokyo, Dr Lee’s children, Kenta, Reika and Hiro, along with their nanny Misaki, are hunted by a new threat from the future; a relentless killing machine clad in human disguise. A Terminator. Hope is not lost though as another time traveller named Eiko arrives to stop the Terminator. 

But as mysteries are unraveled and revelations made, it may seem like the two time travellers’ missions are not that different after all. 

 This is a magnificent show evoking the first Terminator movie in more ways than one! The first thing that hits is the music by Michelle Birsky and Kevin Henthorn. The eerie synth tunes are a clear homage to Brad Fiedel’s score without being a slavish rehash. Meanwhile a haunting musical is motif which reminds me of John Murphy’s work on 28 DAYS LATER, permeates the whole thing and complements both visuals and story perfectly. 

 Visually, TERMINATOR ZERO may not be a high end production the likes of Ghost In the Shell but it is good where it counts. The traditional animation blends well with the CGI and is used to good effect for all scenes. The quality does get a bit inconsistent in crowd scenes but on a whole it still looks great and relatively fluid throughout.

 I loved how the story presents a whole new side to the terminator lore while still retaining familiar tropes of the franchise. A boy whose life is turned upside down and faced with a destiny he never expected, a timid young woman grows to become brave warrior, a parental figure grapples with the burden of their knowledge of future events, a soldier learns to lower their emotional guard and regain some manner of their lost humanity. It is all familiar to a long time fan of the franchise such as I, with some surprising twists along the way

The series was primarily written in English but dubbed in both English and Japanese at the same time. I felt the Japanese voices fit better considering the setting is in Japan, but some standout performances from the English dub especially Timothy Olyphant’s extremely disturbing voice for The Terminator.  

Overall I am very happy with the 8 episodes of season 1. It is a thrilling tale that stays true to the tone and style of the first TERMINATOR movie, expanding the lore beyond just Sarah and John Connor. 

It may start off a little slow but once it gets going it never lets up. Everything about it is great and I look forward to seeing more from a second season. TERMINATOR ZERO season 1 premiered on Netflix on 29 Aug 2024 and I highly recommend it.