English Dub Season Review: Deep Insanity The Lost Child Season One

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The action takes place in a world where a large part of the population has fallen into comas due to the mysterious illness called “Randolph Syndrome”. The illness is revealed to come from deep under the South Pole in a place called “Asylum”, which leads people to explore this new land to discover a cure for the disease or find what treasure this new land holds. Shigure Daniel Kai (Lee George), a young man who’s immune to the Randolph Syndrome, joins a group called “Sleepers” in hopes of becoming a hero. He is assigned to Antarctica Front Platoon 11 to explore the Asylum, where it’s inhabited by monsters called “Scarred” and human “Exiles”. Daniel is then tasked to assassinate a young girl named EL-Cee, a “Child of God” with the power to end the world.  

Our Take:

At first, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this show. But when I found out that Square Enix was behind it, my curiosity immediately began to rise to its highest peak. As someone who has played Kingdom Hearts countless times, I’ve been constantly intrigued at what Square Enix has been cooking up, whether it’s part of an existing franchise or something original. This information was enough for me to get myself interested in the anime adaptation of Deep Insanity.

The main background of Deep Insanity is a pandemic-like future, where humanity is keeping themselves protected from the proclaimed “Randolph Syndrome”. For the anime, it serves as the backdrop to a narrative arc that occurs between the manga, Nirvana, and the role-playing game, Deep Insanity: Asylum. This concept seemed mistimed in my eyes since it somehow drew parallels to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the manga was released a few days before a public health emergency was issued. At least, that’s what I thought when I started watching this show. Thankfully, the story arc for The Lost Child focuses more on a group of characters surviving the Asylum rather than the disease-infected world created for the franchise. 

Now, the only question that remains is whether the anime is an excellent addition to the mixed-media project for its followers and the newcomers. Speaking from the perspective of an inexperienced “Sleeper”, The Lost Child may not have anything too special to gather much attention. However, it works as a diverting sci-fi action series that doesn’t require much knowledge to understand its lore.

The first half of the season focuses solely on developing the characters’ relationships amid its action set pieces. It’s a bit surprising considering its concept, but it leads to some enjoyable yet predictable moments. Throughout the first five episodes, Shigure grows attached to and learns about the other members of Platoon 11. The team includes Leslie Blanc (Josh Grelle), the leader of the group, and Lawrence “Larry” Jackson (Matt Shipman), a Sleeper with a prosthetic right arm and a brain injury that left him with a lack of fear or the ability to feel pain. I didn’t mind this approach, as it provides some suitable depth for the characters before the season’s second half. Unfortunately, it does lead to some rushed and even similar moments that kept the series from escaping the Asylum.

An example of this was in its fifth episode, “Take 05”, where Shigure and Reika Kobato are paired together because the team believes Shigure might have a crush on her. This episode has a formula that’s been done multiple times in other shows, which would’ve made me write it off as filler. However, it offers enough material to provide some development between the two, including some hints of story progression and the characters sharing a familiar taste in anime.

The season’s second half is where the series got a little better regarding the narrative. It involves Leslie’s death affecting the team and Shigure discovering the mystery behind his commander, Vera Rustamova (Erica Schroeder), and her desire to assassinate EL-Cee. It does feature another formulaic plot element in the form of a time-loop scenario, but it is used to craft a more focused structure centering on Shigure’s quest for heroism and Vera being a time lord. Despite not having as much screen time as the Platoon in the first half, Vera provides an engaging character arc that helped keep the series going for me. She’s seen as a character who’s internally tormented from having to relive her same failure repeatedly while protecting her power from falling into the hands of evil. While predictable in some moments, the second half provided a much-needed boost in its seasonal arc and voice cast to complete its mission with ease.

The animation by Silver Link offers a compelling style that captures the look and feel of the franchise’s world regarding the action and settings. Even though it doesn’t capture the pandemic-filled world entirely, it does offer a sense of bleakness and danger for the Asylum. Deep Insanity is another anime that combines traditional animation with CGI designs, mainly for the Scarred creatures and Larry’s weapons. It’s pretty common for specific anime shows to have this combination. It can provide a stunning new dimension to a show with its action sequences and backgrounds if used correctly.

On the other hand, The Lost Child offers a combination that missed a few targets regarding the execution. While the 2D animation looks stellar in its settings and characters, the CGI is another story. The 3D animation for the Scarred creatures was pretty lackluster, as they resembled the designs from a mid-2000s video game. The way some of the monsters blend with the 2D animation looked somewhat unnatural, especially in the first episode.

Overall, Deep Insanity: The Lost Child doesn’t offer anything new to the sci-fi formula regarding its plot. However, it hits enough targets to provide a decent addition to Square Enix’s mixed-media franchise. It’s an enjoyable yet formulaic series that proves to be accessible for both fans and newcomers unfamiliar with the source material. With its likable characters, a decent second half, and solid animation, the series features plenty of moments to get me interested in the franchise’s future.