English Dub Review: Cagastar of an Insect Cage Season One

Our Take:

There’s a lot of apocalypse and horror here; the story opens with a mutation that turns humans into man-eating giant insects. The few that remain have secluded themselves into waled cities, and the military, as well as mercenaries, are in charge of exterminating the threat. Along the way, the mercenary Kidou comes across a young girl and her dying father, and ends up taking her to safety.

Despite brooding hero Kidou being the protagonist, it feels like the story is mostly centered around Ilie. This I think was a good call, because Ilie has a lot more going for her than Kidou does. I first expected Ilie to be the damsel in distress, the avatar of purity, but it turns out that she’s a lot more than just that. She does represent the next generation and innocence in an apocalyptic world (despite the plot twist) but she has a lot of spunk. She understandably panics at first when she’s put in a brand new and stressful situation, but once she starts to adapt into the city, she shows her true flair. She’s innocent, but she’s also the type of girl to tear her skirt and jump through a metal fence to win a game of tag. She’s willing to call attention to a would-be murder scene, even if it puts her in danger, because it’s the right thing to do. She may be naive and she can’t partake in combat, but she’s not helpless, and I really liked that about her.

While Kidou and Kidou’s backstory do have a fair amount of screentime, the weight of the story lies with Ilie. The majority of the ending, including where she came from, who her mother is, what’s her connection to the insects, carries a lot of the core worldbuilding and the real emotional hitters of the story. Ilie realizing that she isn’t helpless, that she does have power, and she’s willing to take that power into her own hands. She has been through a lot, and her family situation is truly messed up, but she manages to push through with what she can. She needs Kidou’s help, and he does help her, but she can do things on her own too.

In terms of the CGI, it’s okay. I think it’s much more fluidly animated than some earlier CGI anime, but you can still definitely tell it’s CGI at some points. I think the industry is improving on the CGI tech overall, but some of it comes off as clunky. It’s very obvious during the transition to hand-drawn animation, where there’s a visible difference. Still, it’s not bad, and they’re aiming for a lot during those action sequences. It’s watchable, but for those who don’t like CGI, I can understand why it’s a turn-off.

Overall, I had a good time with it. It didn’t blow my mind, but it was a solid story and it was pretty enjoyable. It’s a fun time, not radical or particularly gripping, but it’s a nice go. I don’t remember being bored with any episode, and once the story gets going, it’s fast-paced and leaves you at the very least curious to see more. The ending could be a standalone or it could pave way for a sequel, either or, but what we have so far is interesting enough to be satisfying.