Zankyou no Terror (Terror in Resonance): Season 1/ Episode 1 "Falling" [Series Premiere] – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

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Overview

Two young men, for reasons currently unknown, perform terrorist attacks.

Trigger Warning(s): Terrorist Attack

Review (with Spoilers)

I originally was just going to watch this and not review it, but it is just too good to  comment on. For between Toji (aka Sphinx 2/ Twelve) who comes off like the Joker to me, and then Arata (aka Sphinx 1/ Nine) who has the cold exterior, but tortured past, like the Batman, it is hard to not find this appealing. Especially since Toji and Arata don’t seem like your conventional terrorist, though you can see their childhoods certainly played a part in not only them becoming terrorist but also their personalities. More on the details on “Falling” below.

Topic 1: Poor Lisa – Lisa

While most of the episode features Toji and Arata preparing for a 9/11 esque terrorist attack, there is also a focus on a young girl named Lisa. From what it seems, Lisa is a bit troubled. For one, her mother is constantly sending her text messages to the point it seems like harassment, then comes the issue that she may or may not be bulimic, or perhaps anorexic, and lastly there is the issue that she is being bullied by the girls in her grade. Something Toji notices and keeps in mind when the two cross paths later on. Especially since Lisa, in his mind, looks like some of the kids that he and Arata grew up with, but couldn’t save.

Topic 2: The Dream – Toji, Arata & Shibaski

Not much is told to us about Toji and Arata. We don’t know if they are friends, siblings, or simply two people with a mutual interest in chaos. For, as of now, it doesn’t seem their actions are financed by an employer. Though it should be noted, it seems they live quite nicely.

So perhaps in the future we may understand why these two young men, with Toji more so being the getaway driver and Arata the infiltrator, decide to go into a heavily secured base to steal bomb materials. Much less why they blow up this tower in Shinjuku? Though with the way Arata talks about keeping a low profile, perhaps this air of mystery isn’t just for those within the show but us as well. But considering the nightmares Arata has, in which he sees this one girl they left behind dying in a burst of flames, I’m sure little by little the mystery will be revealed.

And if not by them then possibly by former detective Shibaski who, due to his co-worker Mukasa focusing more on online videos than work, saw the warning video Arata and Toji released as Sphinx 1 & 2 which could lead to him possibly investigating the boys. Though with him being a former detective, maybe he may just take note but not actively try to find the boys.

Topic 3: And the Nightmare – Arata, Toji & Lisa

While prepping to destroy a rather large glass building in the Shinjuku area, we find Arata, Toji, and Lisa all strangely in the same building. Leading me to wonder if Lisa maybe one of the children from Arata and Toji’s past who recognizes them and is perhaps hoping to share the burden of what they went through? It would explain Toji taking note of Lisa’s appearance and it would explain his kindness toward her, if you want to call it that. For after all these little-stuffed toys are set up throughout one tower of the building, Toji has one left to set but then he runs into Lisa who, due to a blackout likely caused by Sphinx, is naturally scared and found herself at the emergency staircase of which Toji was hurrying down. And with his person being caught, and her letting him know she knows his name, he throws her his last toy and then speeds off down 16 flights of stairs and somehow meets Arata who is seemingly a good mile or so from all that is happening. Yeah, time and distance aren’t really taken into account that much.

Anyway, with Lisa having that toy which is a bomb, Toji uses this opportunity to give Arata a chance to either save her or let her die. Something Arata doesn’t appreciate since he still blames himself for the kids who died when he and Toji escaped the facility they were in. So, in order to deal with the situation Toji made for him to deal with, he gives Lisa the option to either become an accomplice or die. And despite how hard Lisa’s life seems, she says she wants to live so she is instructed to place the bomb somewhere and run away from the blast. Meanwhile, Toji, who is so excited about having someone new a part of their group, rushes so that after the bomb goes off he is waiting for her to jump and come with him to see Arata. Leading the episode to end with Lisa a part of Sphinx, perhaps.