Anime Review: Terror in Resonance

There are very few anime scenes that leave me feeling choked up and the last scene of Terror in Resonance was one of them.

Warning: This post contains spoilers, reveals the ending.

Synopsis: Painted in red, the word “VON” is all that is left behind after a terrorist attack on a nuclear facility in Japan. The government is shattered by their inability to act, and the police are left frantically searching for ways to crack down the perpetrators. The public are clueless—until, six months later, a strange video makes its way onto the internet. In it, two teenage boys who identify themselves only as “Sphinx” directly challenge the police, threatening to cause destruction and mayhem across Tokyo. Unable to stop the mass panic quickly spreading through the city and desperate for any leads in their investigation, the police struggle to act effectively against these terrorists, with Detective Kenjirou Shibazaki caught in the middle of it all.  Zankyou no Terror tells the story of Nine and Twelve, the two boys behind the masked figures of Sphinx. They should not exist, yet they stand strong in a world of deception and secrets while they make the city fall around them, all in the hopes of burying their own tragic truth.

Source: MAL

Episode 11, from 12:19 to 19:50, the most heart-breaking scene unfolded.  I grew emotional attached to Twelve and Nine after watching their childhood consist of inhumane tests, suffering and abuse.  The two were exceptionally smart individuals, forced to become puppets for the government.  Even though I knew that the two of them were considered terrorists, I felt like they were still good people.  They never intended to kill anyone…they simply wanted to expose the government’s corruption and inform the citizens that there is more going on behind closed doors than they know.  Twelve and Nine knew better than anyone else that things were not right.  The government was willing to use any person as a sacrifice for the nation.

In the scene, it felt as though humanity was restored and all was well.  Twelve and Nine were acting like normal teenagers.  Lisa and the two were playing around with a ball, listening to music and hanging out.  Despite the group’s normal actions, one could tell just by looking at Twelve and Nine’s exhausted faces and listening to the background music that sounded like it was from a carnival that something was off.  Twelve and Nine were not going to be able to live their desired normal teenage lives, that was already decided during their youth.

You could tell in the boys faces that they knew their end was soon to come.  Nine even made an attempt to be kind to Lisa, unlike in the other ten episodes of the anime.  He allowed for her to get to know him by offering her an earbud of his.  I still wonder if this was his way of trying to connect with her, to assure her that everything will be fine.

As soon as the detective made his appearance, I knew that it was all going to go downhill from there.  Their cover as Sphinx was blown, and there was nothing they could do to stop the repercussions.  They must have intended to be caught from the start.  The two couldn’t possibly want to die from the side effects of the drugs they were given as kids.  They wanted to pull off an elaborate plan before dying to teach a lesson to those that will live.

My eyes started to become watery as soon as the US forces showed up.  You can tell from their faces that they never planned for them to come.  They had the detonator, but never intended to use it.  They simply wanted for everyone to “Remember…we lived”.  I started to cry after seeing Twelve get shot right in front of Nine.  Twelve was the only person that Nine could rely on and he was taken away from him.  The stress must have been too much for Nine since he followed Twelve shortly afterwards due to the drug’s side effects.

I tend to forget how much I enjoyed this anime.  The plot, the characters and the emotions that it invokes into the viewer all make it truly outstanding.  I definitely recommend this anime to anyone.  The well thought-out, minor details are what makes it even more interesting.  You can just tell so much time and effort was put into creating the story.  The creators did an amazing job at getting various messages across.  I feel like everyone who watches the anime will take away something different and valuable.