Newest edition to The Terminator franchise, Terminator Zero – does it stand up?

Plot Summary

Set in Japan, the story includes 8 episodes and new characters spanning two timelines, all dropping in one giant indefatigable metal bundle. Featuring the voices of Timothy Olyphant and Rosario Dawson, while it’s part of the Terminator-sphere, it’s a standalone story set after Terminator 2 but not directly linked to the original characters.

The action will center around a soldier sent to save humanity and warn about the dangers of AI as Skynet declares war on humankind. Eiko leaps from 2022 to 1997 to protect scientist Malcolm Lee and his family as he works to launch a new AI that could compete with Skynet.

‘Model 101’ Recap

In 2022, in what appears to be an underground bunker, Eiko hides, watching an unknown man shoot up a dank room of bodies. As he gets closer to her hiding place, she runs out and explodes a bomb that burns away part of his face, revealing a terminator.

She leads him to a bridge with a huge drop below. Jumping over the side with a rope, he continues to shoot at her. Getting further away she explodes the bridge with a bomb but he jumps after her, catching onto her leg. She slams a device into his eye, uploading ‘unauthorized’ content. As her rope frays under their joint weight, he begins a reboot and she unties her boot, dropping him into the abyss. From a trash pile, the terminator sparks to life.

In 1997, Malcolm Lee jolts from a dream of a mushroom cloud that burns himself and his children. He notes he’s got limited time, anticipating a horrible fate.

In the living room, Lee’s son Kenta works on building a constellation nightlight for his younger brother, Hiro. Commending his work, Lee notes that once you understand something, it can never truly control you. Kenta is disappointed that his father has to work even on a Saturday, that he’s always working but Lee can only apologize.

Misaki, the Lee children’s nanny, shops in a store but the robotic clerk seems to be malfunctioning. The manager helps her noting he should send the stupid robot back. While at home, Lee has a call about investment while his younger children, Hiro and Reiko, argue.

When Misaki gets home Lee is running out to a meeting but not before rejecting the robotic cat she bought, telling her to get that thing out of his house. Reiko is upset that he won’t return before tomorrow when they’re supposed to go to the park. But Malcolm says what he’s doing is important and they need only hold out a few more days.

As the boys shout about double standards and Reiko mourns her mother, Malcolm heads to work noticing a few robots here and there among the crowds. The robot from the store wanders, accidentally causing destruction, killing a dog and causing a fatal car accident.

Outside Lee’s office, people protest the destruction of the environment. He heads directly into a secured area confirming no one should follow. Upon entering a double-sealed room, he greets AI, Kokoro. Worried that the path to judgment has already been set, he notes that it’s been walked many times. However, he believes if he gets Kokoro online before the morning, they can change fate.

Jumping to 2022, Eiko brings the device she’d used on the terminator to the Prophet. She confirms that resistance camps are being flattened by the machines, without survivors. The device carries a glimpse of Skynet’s plans – time travel. Meanwhile, the terminator Eiko fought continues killing humans as Skynet turns out banks of new terminators.  

In 1997, Kokoro comes to life in front of Malcolm’s eyes and in 2022, a male terminator enters the time travel chamber.

The Episode Review

Honestly, it was difficult to put this aside to write the review. In ep 1 at least, they’ve got the cliffhanger figured out. While the story introduces new characters and a different timeline, it holds true to the terminator-verse as well as to anime-style. But because we know this universe so well, it’s easy to forget it’s an anime and simply get involved in the story.

Once again, a human anticipating the dangers of technology tries to use technology to stave it off. Will Kokoro be any better? Will Malcolm’s good intentions influence Kokoro’s behavior once it gets loose? They’ve already set up a scenario where people are not very nice to robots and the robots seem to be absorbing the negatives. In other words, in 1997, tech is already ‘aware’ and building some disgruntle. It’s not unlike any diverse group tired of being slighted for looking, thinking or acting differently. Nice one, Team T Zero.

Voices

For the purists, it’s worth noting that you can watch in Japanese with English subtitles as well as with English dubbing by these voice artists:

• Timothy Olyphant (The Mandalorian, Live Free or Die Hard, Rango) as The Terminator
• Rosario Dawson (Dopesick, Daredevil, Lego Batman Movie) as Kokoro, an advanced AI
• Andre Holland (Selma, 42, Moonlight) as Malcolm Lee, a computer programmer
• Sonoya Mizuno (Annihilation, Devs, Ex Machina) as Eiko, a Resistance soldier from the future
• Ann Dowd (Philadelphia, Hereditary, Lorenzo’s Oil) as Prophet

Will it Do Well?

I think it will. There’s a question around whether Terminator fans who are not necessarily anime fans will give it a chance. I believe it’s worth watching a couple of 20-ish minute episodes to see for yourself. It is certainly as dark as creator/producer Mattson Tomlin promised – see the full quote in our Watch Order story.

Should You Continue Watching?

Here’s my guess: once you start, you’ll see it through, quickly bingeing the short 8 episodes over a couple of sittings if not all at once. I have not yet watched beyond ep 1, but I plan to do so. While I’m not completely committed to the new characters yet, the set up convinces me that they’ve got a solid starting point. I’m getting Tokyo Ghoul vibes. I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below. Think it’s worth your precious viewing time?

To catch the latest teaser released this week, click the video at the top of the story.

This is a first impression of the 2024 Terminator Zero anime. If you’d like to see episode-by-episode reviews, let us know in the comments below. We’ll need a few positive responses to get us going, so don’t hesitate if you’re keen.

Need more? Check out our Terminator Watch Order story, Terminator Zero Ending Explained and Terminator Zero full season review.

READ MORE: Anime reviews or our Terminator Watch Order story