Terraformars

Episode 11

In a genre where a single plot arc often takes up half a season, it's easy to forget that one episode should offer plenty of time to tell a complete story. Through yet another shift in style and pacing, this latest episode of Terraformars offers exactly that. At the bottom of a deep crater, one Annex crewman fights one elite Terraformar. Twenty minutes later, we will know who won and why it matters.

Our hero at the bottom of the hole is Keiji, a former boxer who joined the mission for a chance to cure his failing vision and settle his financial troubles. His opponent is an extremely muscular space cockroach with a really hard shell. The details of how the two of them got down there are suspiciously vague, but the setup is obviously meant to mirror the conditions of a boxing match. The show's narrator makes for a decent sports announcer, so all that's missing is a skinny Terraformar in a referee outfit.

It's not the most nuanced premise in the world, but the battle does pair up nicely with the flashback to Keiji's life on Earth. His backstory will feel familiar to anyone who's ever seen a piece of sports fiction. Keiji is a simple, straightforward guy who took up boxing to care for his ailing mother. Right after he wins his first championship, an injury takes him out of the sport permanently. With his mother dead, his vision failing, and his debts piling up, he signs up for the Mars mission.

Terraformars has a surplus of characters with tragic backstories, but Keiji's past offers some refreshing differences in terms of presentation. Tearful exchanges and overly dramatic monologues are set aside in favor of a more restrained approach. Rather than making a big scene out of his mother's death, the series simply shows us her empty bed. His attempts to fix his vision and the resulting financial hardships are presented as a necessary piece of information instead of taking up ten minutes of screen time. When Keiji finally does cry during his fight with the Terraformar, it means more because we haven't had a chance to grow numb to it. Compared to the glacial pace and belabored plot points in Adolf's character arc, this is a clear example of less being more.

The only major bump this episode hits comes from the show's uncertainty about when to use the narrator. He's an effective tool during the action scenes on Mars, adding to the sense of spectacle by rattling off facts about the genetic mutations on display. When he intrudes on the quieter moments of personal drama, it doesn't go as well. We don't need the narrator to tell us that Keiji is a simple man with modest goals because it's already obvious from the content of the episode. His personality isn't so complex that it needs the same kind of expository monologue as the unique biology of a particular kind of beetle. Leave the poor guy alone and let him show us why we should care about him.

On a more positive note, the show's visuals are noticeably better this week. There are still a few inexplicably dark shots, but Terraformars is getting better about its use of light. A fire here or a rising sun there helps to create contrasting areas of light and shadow, making for more dramatic images than simply dropping a curtain of darkness over a scene. Keiji's fight with the Terraformar also looks better than many action scenes from the previous story arc. It's a more fluid, kinetic affair that adds a sense of impact to their heavyweight punches. Instead of checking items off a list of typical animation shortcuts, I found myself wrapped up in the fight itself. For an action series like Terraformars, that's a vital improvement.

This episode does in twenty minutes what the show has previously struggled to do in an hour. It develops a likable character, presents a challenging enemy, and lets their fight unfold in a compelling manner. That may sound pretty basic, but it's the basics that so often trip this series up. This is a good example of how to get the core elements of storytelling right, and can serve as a useful blueprint for Terraformars to follow in future episodes.

Rating: B

Terraformars is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

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