English Dub Season Review: iD-0 Season One

iD-0 delivers.

OVERVIEW (Spoilers Below):

Maya Mikuri is a brilliant young girl. She is a student specializing in cosmogeology. Cosmogeology focuses on the study of the elements in outer space but in particular Orichalt. Orichalt, is a mysterious element that can manipulate space and time and is subsequently very valuable. Orichalt basically allows humans to be able to teleport through outer space freely. However, it can also be used as a weapon. After a mining accident that was supposed to be part of her scholarship to The Academy, Maya is left stranded in outer space and saved by a group of respectable asteroid mining specialists. Except… they’re really more like pirates – most of the crew has a criminal background. Much to Maya’s surprise, she is quick to find out that her former college professor who was responsible for helping her gain her scholarship, has actually sold the information she obtained and presented in an academic seminar for profit and has betrayed her. In a strange sequence of events, Maya has now become a criminal herself! With not much of a choice, she joins the crew of “respectable mining specialists” on their missions of mining for Orichalt. With the use of I-Machines, they are capable of braving the vacuum of space unharmed. An I-Machine is a robot that you can transfer your mind into using Mind Transfer technology, a technology that when combined with the usage of Orichalt, has helped propel humankind to new heights in braving the final frontier that is outer space. Mining Orichalt however, is not always the safest adventure. Removing the Oricalt core from an asteroid typically results in a catastrophic explosion. On just Maya’s second expedition to extract Oricalt, they extract a motherlode of 100% pure oricalt from an asteroid and are shocked to find a mysterious little girl hidden deep within the Orichalt core. Not long after that, The Alliance steps in and things begin to get even more interesting. All of this is just the beginning of one crazy space adventure that ends up leading to a battle for the sake of every man, woman, and child of the human race. I totally did not expect things to take a turn in that direction, yet they did.

I’m not going to lie, I don’t really enjoy mech anime. I’m a fan of Gundam Wing and G Gundam but that’s about it. Now, you’re probably thinking… how can a space odyssey, about I-machines and mining for Orichalt be even remotely interesting? I thought the same thing, however, with each episode that passed I found my self enjoying the show more and more. iD-0 has a way that unknowingly draws you in. Admittedly, there were spaces in the first few episodes that I had some what of a hard time paying attention, but it didn’t take long for me to become fully immersed in each episode. Also it helped a little bit that one of the characters, Amanza, is a total babe. Certain episodes had a sense of desperation that made my palms sweaty. Its scary, thinking of what it would be like to get lost in the infinite void of what we call space.

At times the plot focuses on Ido, part of the crew that Maya joined. He is what is known as an EverWander – someone who abandoned their human body in favor of an I-Machine. I have to say, the idea doesn’t disinterest me, leaving behind a fragile human body in favor of a giant mech with replaceable appendages. The interesting thing about Ido, and what sets him apart from other EverWanders, is that he has no recollection of any of his life prior to waking up in an I-Machine. The other thing about Ido is that he easily the most bad-ass I-Machine out there. In fact it was his character that drew me into the show initially. I’m a sucker for action, so once I saw Ido jumping about and maneuvering like a mech-space-ninja while throwing space-kunai during a mining operation I was hooked like a fish. In fact, a lot of the shows action focuses around Ido. On top of that, the mystery surrounding his character added to the bait that kept me hooked on the line. Granted, there were a few times that my attention kept wandering. Especially in the early episodes, I felt like I kept waiting for the series to pick up and blast off… so when it finally did, I was thrilled. The final four episodes hit like a runaway mack truck. On top of that, the voice acting is on point too! My only complaint is the voice of Grayman , the captian of the crew, doesn’t seem to fit his character in my mind. But that’s just me and easy to overlook.

OUR TAKE

iD-0 is actually pretty good! This isn’t some powerhouse anime that will solidify Netflix as a reputable name in the anime industry, but if they can keep adding series like this to their growing repertoire, Netflix might actually have a bright future in the ever popular anime industry. This space odyssey has its ups and downs. At times the plot feels like it moves very slowly – yet it is essential for the building of the world that the story takes place in. When it all comes together in the end, it all makes sense. iD-0 is a very well written anime. However, at times, I feel like it may be better received if it had been presented in movie format as compared to the 12 episode series. The post-credits scenes at the end of each episode have a way of making you want to watch the next episode immediately. While binge-watching the entire series – which took me about 6 hours – is not an insurmountable task, I was happy when the final episode finished, and truthfully I felt slightly exhausted afterward. The ending also even made me shed a tear. You won’t see any over the top action scenes like you might see in a Gundam series, but the gravity-defying space action is there. The animation, plot, as well as the voice acting, are executed magnificently. I was truly impressed with the animation of this series. The series itself plays like a movie, which I question if that may have been a more appropriate medium for the presentation of this story. Overall, this was an enjoyable series that I have already recommended to some of my fellow anime friends. And so I will do the same for you, reader. Check out iD-0 on Netflix today. You don’t have to binge watch it, as I’m sure it would be easy to come back to, but it is definitely worth it once you reach the end of the journey.

SCORE
8/10