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Terraformars
Episode 6

by Paul Jensen,

I'm starting to suspect that Terraformars is actually an educational show disguised as an action anime series. The narrator spends this episode dispensing biology lessons on a near-constant basis, and even the characters throw in the occasional factoid. On top of the usual stuff about the incredible abilities of insects, the audience also gets to learn about the different stages of suffocation, and even hear a bit about the origin of the curveball pitch. How the writers managed to fit a storyline in amongst all this information is beyond me.

Michelle and Akari continue to fight their super-powered opponents this week, and we also get some hints about what's happening behind the scenes. Both battles are entertaining in their own right, but they primarily serve to reveal a possible consequence of the previous Mars mission. If some members of the Terraformar population really did find a way to craft new abilities for themselves, we must have seriously underestimated their intelligence. Will this lead the series to ask serious questions about the morality of exterminating sentient beings? Probably not, but at least it's an interesting notion for the viewer to grapple with.

From an action standpoint, Terraformars remains fun in its own muscle-brained way. Akari's fight in particular is filled with delightfully cheesy bits of dialogue, and the variety of insect powers continue to provide interesting moments of combat. The narrator's constant interruptions don't help the episode's pacing, but they're amusing once you learn to expect them. It almost feels like Terraformars is covering some kind of ultimate fighting sport and the narrator is there to provide color commentary on the action. If the alternative is to have other characters spout expository dialogue from the sidelines, then the narrator is easily the preferable option.

It's becoming increasingly obvious that Terraformars is aware of its own absurdity, and that's a good thing. The show knows that anyone seeking a genuinely smart series has jumped ship long ago, leaving it free to offer the rest of us some self-indulgent fun. The action sequences are allowed to revel in their own intensity, and the script is usually able to laugh at itself before the audience has a chance to. If you squint hard enough, the alien character designs even seem reminiscent of the “man in a rubber suit” monsters that populate old sci-fi movies. The imagined scene of a mad Terraformar experimenting with insect powers is certainly reminiscent of old black-and-white horror films. The one thing we're missing is a corny public safety PSA at the end of each episode.

If Terraformars is doing all of this deliberately, then it's a reasonably smart series disguised as a dumb one. If not, then at least it provides entertainment in the form of super-powered humans beating up space monsters. This episode finally puts the show's potential to good use, and will be fun to watch for anyone who's stuck around this long.

Rating: B

Terraformars is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Paul Jensen also covers anime and manga at SharkPuppet.com.


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