Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 Anime

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 is an anime that made my interesting Summer 2009 anime list. With an interesting plot synopsis it easily became my most anticipated series from that season. After watching the first couple posts I explain in my first impressions post why I was liking this anime so much and what I was looking forward to seeing.

Scratching my post apocalyptic obsession itch and wanting to see death and destruction was high on the list of things I wanted to see in this anime. Seeing what could or would happen if one of the largest metropolitan areas by size and population on the planet was hit by a massive earthquake would be quite an educational experience. Plus with the amount of earthquakes that has been bringing death and destruction all over the globe lately I was inspired to complete this 6 month old draft and tell you why you must see Tokyo Magnitude 8.0.

More on Jamaipanese.com:  Naruto Shippuden Jiraiya figure - all hail the pervy sage

Plot Introduction

Siblings Mirai and Yuuki are on summer vacation. Yuuki is excited about attending a robot exhibition in Odaiba Tokyo and so their hard working parents instruct his older sister Mirai to accompany him to the expo. Of course the rebellious Mirai isn’t happy about that but has no choice but to look after her playful little brother. At the exhibition Mirai entertains herself with her cellphone and run into a female motorcycle courier named Mari. Like the typical teenager Mirai is angry dissatisfied with her life and angry with the world expressing in her phone journal that she wished the world would just “break”. Just after typing that message Tokyo is hit by a magnitude 8.0 earthquake.

Series Overview

The entire series focuses on a small cast name Mirai, Yuuki and Mari with other characters making short appearances in different episodes. Firstly I must say the voice-acting throughout the entire 11 episode series was spot on and the overall quality of the series was good. The series seems to be split in 3 with each third being dictated by the happenings on screen and the direction of the development of the characters. The first third is all about chaos and character introduction, the second third about character development and adventure while the final third is like an entertaining finale complete with a heart wrenching plot revelation.

More on Jamaipanese.com:  Virtual Akihabara Station opening soon

Highly Recommended

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 is a must watch for anime fans not too keen on flashing lights and neck breaking action but who cares more for good story telling and the feeling of developing a connection with the characters. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 is also a good introduction series for non-anime watchers and even the casual anime fan. This is now one of my favourite series and an anime that I will be recommending to friends.

I wasn’t joking when I said that Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 was educational. The creators of the series did extensive research on how such a massive quake would affect Tokyo and using this research aimed to accurately depict the aftermath including the destruction, response and reaction from the disaster. Turns out that in fact there is a 70% chance that Tokyo will be hit by an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 or greater withing the next 30 years – with my awful luck it just might happen I visit next summer if Operation Visit Japan is a success.

More on Jamaipanese.com:  Yasuke - The African samurai reimagined as a CRAZY Netflix anime series

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 Official site [Japanese]

[love]

8 thoughts on “Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 Anime

  1. I’m still working my way through the show and so far I’m really enjoying it. For being a disaster type show, it manages to keep a good mood, I could say, through out the series. It’s not overly depressing. I’m looking forward to the ending, I’m pretty sure I know how it’s going to end though…

  2. I’ve seen this i concur it is truly AMAZING. mades a nice change from the action genre anime’s i usually watch!

  3. I just re-watched this of 2 years and the real earthquake.

    It was as good as I remembered. Well worth watching again.

    Bring your tissues at the end.

Comments are closed.