Want to hear more from the actors and creators of your favorite shows and films? Subscribe to The Cinema Spot on YouTube for all of our upcoming interviews!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
The mere idea of Mattson Tomlin, Netflix, and Skydance collaborating on a Terminator anime television streaming program is a project that the world needs. Netflix Animation has had its intriguing titles, including Love, Death & Robots and Blue Eye Samurai, with two or three more series coming in 2024. Skydance Television has previously worked with the streaming empire on Altered Carbon.
Moreover, executive producer David Ellison and Skydance Productions currently own the Terminator franchise rights, having produced two of its most recent film installments—Terminator Genisys in 2015 and Terminator: Dark Fate in 2019. With that said, Tomlin is a vital piece of the puzzle that points to a rather refreshing direction of James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd’s iconic franchise. Through a different storytelling medium, the screenwriter provides his utmost brilliance with a new narrative in the action science-fiction thriller universe. Having seen the series twice over, it is safe to say the franchise is absolutely here to stay.
Terminator Zero is developed and written by series executive producer, Mattson Tomlin (Project Power, Mother/Android, The Batman, The Sea Beast, The Batman – Part II). All eight episodes of Season 1 are directed by Masashi Kudō (the Bleach anime franchise).
In this review, I will discuss Terminator Zero Season 1.
NOTE: Spoiler language was sent to the writer and editor of this piece beforehand by public relations representatives. The following writing in this article does not touch upon explicit details regarding narrative and character development. This review is based solely on the English dub version sent to the critic of the article.
Netflix’s Terminator Zero Synopsis
According to Netflix Media Center, here is the full synopsis for Terminator Zero Season 1.
2022: A future war has raged for decades between the few human survivors and an endless army of machines. 1997: The AI known as Skynet gained self-awareness and began its war against humanity.
Caught between the future and this past is a soldier sent back in time to change the fate of humanity. She arrives in 1997 to protect a scientist named Malcolm Lee who works to launch a new AI system designed to compete with Skynet’s impending attack on humanity. As Malcolm navigates the moral complexities of his creation, he is hunted by an unrelenting assassin from the future which forever alters the fate of his three children.
Netflix Media Center
Discussion
For its pivot from the live-action format to the anime medium, Terminator Zero translates the world-building magnificently. Tomlin re-imagines Tokyo, Japan of the late ’90s as a world where technology enhances humans’ living conditions profoundly. This Netflix title features callbacks to previous Terminator films. Most frequently, we get to see references to the original film and its sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Terminator Zero taps into its horror side once the season enters its midway point, where humans are not allotted moments of success to cherish. There is no rest for the wicked, and not even for the heroes of the day. While the screenwriting is cohesive, this couldn’t be accomplished without the contributions of its animation team.
Masashi Kudō et al’s storyboarding keeps viewers at the edge with fast-paced action sequences. By comparison, the scenes with Malcolm Lee (voiced by André Holland) conversing with his artificial intelligence, Kokoro (voiced by Rosario Dawson) fluctuate depending on their topics of discourse and what they perceive at a given moment. Occasionally, the traditional anime stylistic paired with computer-generated imagery (CGI) isn’t detrimental to the series’ aesthetic aspect. Instead, it’s showcased as enticing mixed media integral with the rest of the artwork.
The simulations and the broadcasts in Lee’s Cortex Industries laboratory are experimental to what the Netflix Animation team can do, and it can be as simple as an outline of Terminators marching underneath the character’s feet. However, Kokoro habitually envelops Lee in imageries of chaos, tragedy, and ultimately, darkness, pressuring him into cracking humanity’s largest enigmas.
“Hello, world.”
The opening sequence alone is an excellent blend of storyboarding, music composers Michelle Birsky and Kevin Henthorn’s Eighties/Nineties scoring, and character designer Satoru Nakamura et al’s work on characters from Eiko’s (voiced by Sonoya Mizuno) time. The action elements, which are almost always an exhibition of humans against Machines, are breathtaking. I often have to rewind by a few or several seconds to see how a Terminator picks off target by target. Yet, it’s more astounding to see it fight off Eiko or the Lee family’s “nanny” figure, Misaki (voiced by Sumalee Montano).
Prop designers Tomomi Takeuchi and Naoki Arakawa carefully detail weapons that characters supply themselves with, such as a handgun or a crossbow. The background artistry is beautiful work from Tokyo’s urban landscape—as meticulous as the display of a PlayStation 1 gaming system to the minute depiction of a Wendy’s logo—to the empty spaces of a shopping mall to the bright prominence of the Cat Town theme park exterior to a bush of pink flowers (meant to symbolize love and awareness) by a playground to the luminous Cortex computer server room.
Editor Akari Saitoh understands how to weave moments and scenes together in a manner that isn’t too challenging to take in. Her match cuts from frame to frame are seamless, such as going from the red glow of a Terminator’s eye to the scarlet skies during a nuclear bomb impact.
An appeal “for a completely different future”
Tomlin displays his brilliance most when diving into philosophical territory. When he does so, he tends to have a poetic way with language, e.g. assigning names to characters. Kenta Lee (voiced by Armani Jackson) gets his name from traits inherited from his father, especially his growing wisdom of the world. Additionally, Misaki means “beautiful”, but also “sand” and “ocean”. Tomlin also takes a page from his feature directorial debut, Mother/Android, to define what it means to be a “robot”.
The whole “knowledge is power” adage takes on a whole new meaning, where insight can lead to all sorts of control. Through Lee, the screenwriter often debates between transhumanism and post-humanism. (See my prior reviews, e.g. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. for more on those critical terms.) With human invention comes the establishment of ideological systems like capitalism and classism. Tomlin balances the narrative on subjects of destiny and volition, urging viewers to ponder their everyday decisions.
Ethos and logos both influence the emotional component of the show, which is where Tomlin also succeeds. He sheds light on loss, grief, fury, and fear, but also remembers to spotlight love as a dominating force. By testing the characters’ beliefs and trust in one another, the showrunner illustrates how people’s hearts can be changed.
“Human and Machine”
In the grand scheme of this premiere season, Terminator Zero begs the question, “Can we co-exist with a foreign species?” The Netflix series focuses on the balance in dualisms—between humanity and inhumanity; female and male; peace and war; the future and the past, etc. Most of all, it oscillates between enlightenment and enlivenment, where human beings must ask themselves whether sacrifices can be made for the good of the many. Finding the fine line and treading it is a decent means to resolve conflict, yet the steps taken are the next challenge. This first season hits home for me because of how Tomlin reiterates his demonstration of nuclear missiles and the horrors they stand for. Living where I live and being so close to a former blast site elucidates what kind of world we occupy, which is why this type of story matters.
The Crew Behind Terminator Zero
Akari Saitoh serves as the editor for the Netflix series.
Michelle Birsky and Kevin Henthorn score the music for the series.
Series director Masashi Kudō serves as the sound director. Kudō also storyboards the first through fourth episodes, along with the finale. Kudō serves as an animation director for the season finale alongside Yuta Maruyama.
Tohru Kanegae serves as the assistant sound director. Yasumasa Koyama works on the sound effects of the series.
Kazuya Nomura storyboards the fifth episode. Toshiyuki Yahagi storyboards the sixth episode, and Naoki Arakawa storyboards the seventh episode.
Animation Team
Mineo Oe serves as the animation director for the first and sixth episodes.
Haruka Tanaka is the animation director for the second and seventh episodes. Shigeki Hatakeyama is the animation director for the third and fifth episodes. Tomomi Takeuchi is the animation director for the fourth episode.
Hirokazu Hanai serves as the assistant animation director for the second episode.
Masanobu Nomura serves as the art director for every episode except the fifth one.
Mai Ichioka serves as the assistant art director for every episode except the fifth one. Ichioka is credited for artboard work on the fifth episode with Norika Kinoshita.
Toshiki Amata, Arakawa, and Takanori Tanaka serve as the art designers.
Satoru Nakamura serves as the character designer for the series. Sachiko Nakahara serves as the costume designer and stylist.
Arakawa, Tokuyuki Matsutake, and Keiichi Kakuta serve as the secondary character designers.
Takeuchi and Arakawa also serve as the prop designers.
Sayoko Noda serves as the color designer.
The Voice Cast of Terminator Zero
In the English voice cast, André Holland (Moonlight, A Wrinkle in Time, Castle Rock Season 1, Bones and All) voices Malcolm Lee, the adult human protagonist of the Netflix series.
Armani Jackson voices Kenta, the Lee family’s older son. Carter Rockwood (Batman: Caped Crusader) voices Hiro, the Lee family’s younger son.
Gideon Adlon (Blockers, Witch Hunt, Pacific Rim: The Black, Sick, Miller’s Girl) voices Reika, the Lee family’s only daughter.
Sumalee Montano voices Misaki, the Lee family’s housekeeper.
Sonoya Mizuno (Ex Machina, Maniac, Devs, House of the Dragons, Shortcomings, Civil War) voices Eiko, a Resistance soldier from the future.
Rosario Dawson (the Sin City film series, Death Proof, Fede Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues’ Calls, Marvel/Netflix’s Daredevil and Luke Cage, Ahsoka) voices Lee’s artificial intelligence, Kokoro. Dawson’s voice is also credited as the character’s three different forms: spirit, mind, and heart.
Ann Dowd (Apt Pupil, Masters of Sex, Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta’s The Leftovers, Hereditary, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Exorcist: Believer) voices The Prophet, a wise woman in the future, during the first, second, and sixth episodes.
Timothy Olyphant (Scream 2, The Girl Next Door, Deadwood, Justified, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Fargo Season 4, Ed Solomon and Steven Soderbergh’s Full Circle, Alien: Earth) voices The Terminator in the third, seventh, and final episodes.
Supporting Voice Roles (Japanese)
Hiroshi Iwasaki voices 1NNO, the robot models present throughout Tokyo, Japan for most of the season.
Ayaka Shimoyamada voices Ani, Eiko’s romantic partner in the first, second, and seventh episodes.
Yuka Keicho voices Natsuko, Lee’s assistant at Cortex Industries in the first two episodes.
Minor Voice Roles (Japanese)
Motoki Sakuma voices a Resistance soldier in the pilot episode.
Riho Sugiyama voices a mother at a toy store, while Taiki Yamashita voices a toy store manager.
Shohei Kajikawa voices a taxi driver on the morning of Judgment Day.
Satoru Ito and Satsuki Kokubu voice a security guard and an office worker at Cortex, respectively. Ito, Kajikawa, and Wataru Tsuyuzaki voice scientists at Cortex.
Shoumaru Zouza and Seiyu Fujiwara voice men at Eiko’s Resistance camp. Riho Sugiyama voices a woman at the Resistance camp. Zouza also voices a police officer at a parking lot in the third episode.
Miho Hayashi voices a radio personality playing during a traffic jam.
In the fourth episode, Cho and Yohei Azakami voice Tokyo police detectives Fujino and Shiraki, respectively.
Wakana Kowaka voices a news reporter. Aya Gomazuru voices a female police officer. Zouza, Oshita, and Yuuki Sanpei voice police detectives. Tsuyuzaki voices a police officer.
Ito voices a researcher outside Lee’s Cortex laboratory.
In the fifth episode, Takahiro Shibano voices a police officer. Taiki Yamashita voices an SAT officer.
Koichi Kuroda voices a doctor at a Tokyo hospital. Kosuke Echigoya, Junichi Yanagita, and Kousuke Oonishi voice paramedics at a Tokyo hospital.
In the sixth episode, Tetsuro Miyata, Takayuki Ishii, Zouza, and Taro Kiuchi voice Resistance fighters in 1997 Tokyo. Miyata also voices a Resistance commander in 2045 during the seventh episode.
Miyuki Satou voices Malcolm Lee at 7 and 13 years old in the seventh episode.
Kajikawa, Fujiwara, Hoshi Yuuki, and Kiuchi voice Resistance soldiers in 2045.
Toa Yukinari voices a woman assisting in Lee’s birth.
Performances and Character Developments
Holland surprises me as a voice actor, having only seen him in live-action. Malcolm Lee traverses a downward spiral, revisiting issues too traumatic to address straight away. As a father figure, the character is unavailable, which makes it hard for me to believe that he means well. Then again, with his level of brilliance comes a vast array of conditions and obstacles that are not easy to navigate. While he isn’t my favorite character, I do appreciate the effect that he has on others, which is why I can at least see him as a memorable face.
For an actor still at the beginning of his career, Carter Rockwood has a moment or two where he lets his emotions loose. Out of the three siblings, Hiro seems to need a mother figure the most, especially in the most stressful predicaments. By comparison, Kenta is indecisive, reckless, and pretty much has a lot to figure out. At the end of it all, the character learns that he mirrors his father in more ways than one. It will be fascinating to see how he will be able to take on a leadership role in the near future.
As a voice actor, Olyphant isn’t present in the series. Mainly, it is because the Terminator moves like a silent killer. Olyphant’s delivery as the Machine adds to a refreshing character role, which is fine enough.
“the nurturers of life”
Like the other two adult protagonists, Mizuno’s Eiko is well-written with a background uncovered once viewers burrow deeper into the season. The character is introduced as an Ethan Hunt/Indiana Jones archetype with a mission to accomplish and a mystery to unfold. Mizuno has the best delivery that I have heard in a while, and her emotional tone of voice matches Montano’s sometimes. Due to their individual circumstances, they share tears of sadness and screams of fear in inflections. To juxtapose them, Eiko is more harmful because of her raw anger, whereas Misaki is more kind-hearted.
With that said, Montano takes me by surprise as Misaki. Having only seen her in Love, Death & Robots Volume I, “Good Hunting”, I was unsure of what to expect. Her voice acting is as tremendous in delivery as Mizuno’s character. Misaki’s relationship with the Lee boys is something of a maternal figure, and she never has to be commanding unless the situation deems it necessary. Time and time again, she finds herself questioning her identity as a woman, but her discovery of the truth is intertwined with the journey through the conflict itself.
Dawson as Kokoro makes for a calm-sounding entity albeit one who is textbook gaslighting. As an AI, her rhetoric is a major tool in achieving what she wants. Her childlike wonder and proclivity to search for comfort mirrors Reika. Adlon has a unique voice for her role, which makes the careful choices in casting pleasant tenfold. The juxtaposition between the intangible presence and the siblings is quite clever, with all three children being chips off their old block and Kokoro looking to embody all three crucial strengths of humankind.
Final Thoughts on Terminator Zero Season 1
Mattson Tomlin’s Terminator Zero leaves some questions unanswered as it leaves the door open for a possible second season. Viewers are left wondering who the Prophet (voiced by Ann Dowd) is and what part she plays. On the topic of missing or unavailable characters, I am also curious about the otherwise sizeable role of the unnamed Lee family mother figure—that is, the human one, not Misaki.
The timing has been so perfect for a new Terminator story to grace fans’ lives. Given the world’s socio-political climate today, it has become imperative that we take the time to look at the brighter side of life. It’s difficult to articulate how extravagant the musical scoring is because each episode stimulates through animation, dialogue, and story. Although, overall the arrival of this show and the probable immediate impression it can have on audiences will likely turn this into a required viewing.
5/5 stars
Terminator Zero is now streaming via Netflix!
For more action, adventure, animation, and science-fiction-related news and reviews, follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
