“Terraformars” is an anime series that will no doubt entertaining anime fans who are looking for a lot of action (but also a lot of violence). This is a series that spares no expense of offing key characters and a series that showcases the survival of the Annex 1 team on Mars as they take on thousands of evolved cockroaches intent on killing them. While it does not incorporate everything that the manga series featured, it’s still a solid, action anime series worth watching!
Image courtesy of © Ken-Ichi Tachibana, Yu Sasuga/SHUEISHA Inc. All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: Terra Formars
DURATION: (Episodes 1-13) 312 Minutes
BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (16:9), Japanese and English Dolby TrueHD 2.0, Subtitles: English
COMPANY: Viz Media
RATED: TV MA
Release Date: January 23, 2018
Directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki
Series Composition: Shogo Yasukawa
Music by Shusei Murai
Originally Created by Kenichi Tachibana and Yu Sasuga
Character Design:Â Masanori Shino, Satoshi Kimura
Art Director: Minami Kasuga
Anime Production: LIDEN FILMS
Featuring the following voice talent:
Hidenobu Kiuchi/Christopher Smith as ShÅkichi Komachi
Kaito Ishikawa/Robbie Daymond as Marcos Eringrad Garcia
Kenn/Steve Cannon as Alex Kandori Stewart
Shizuka Itou/Eric Lindbeck as Michelle K. Davis
Yoshimasa Hosoya/Chris Niosi as Akari Hizamaru
Ai Kayano/Erica Lindbeck as Sheila Levitt
Aki Toyosaki/Erin Fitzgerald as Yaeko Yanasegawa
Akira Ishida/Todd Haberkorn as Joseph G. Newton
Ayane Sakura/Cristina Vale as Eva Frost
Chiaki Takahashi/Cherami Leigh as Kanako SanjÅ
Daisuke Ono/Max Mittelman as Keiji Onizuka
Kenji Akabane/Christopher Smith as Ivan Perepelkina
Koji Yusa/Doug Erholtz as Adolf Reinhard
Kouji Ishii/Peter Lurie as Narration
Tetsuo Komura/Kyle Hebert as Liu Yiwu
Tomokazu Sugita as IchirÅ Hiruma
Tooru Nara/Max Mittelman as Aleksandr Asimov
Toshiyuki Morikawa/Keith Silverstein as Shichisei Hiruma
UnshÅ Ishizuka/Patrick Seitz as Sylvester Asimov
In the deep silence of space, the planet Mars hisses with death. On Earth, a mysterious virus is devastating the human race. To find a cure and give humanity a fighting chance of survival, a multinational team of genetically modified citizens must race to the Red Planet and uncover its secrets. What awaits is the bloody aftermath of a colonization attempt gone horribly wrong–hordes of hyper-evolved cockroaches known as “Terraformars” roam keen to kill. Earth’s chosen stand ready for combat and ready to change the course of human history. The question is which species can unite for victory.
In 2011, writer Yu Sasuga and artist Kenichi Tachibana would create “Terra Formarsâ€, a manga series that would become a major hit in Japan.
First serialized in Shueisha’s “Weekly Young Jumpâ€, “Terra Formars†was ranked #1 in the 2013 “Kono Manga ga Sugoi!†top 20 Manga for Male Readers survey and an anime series produced by LIDEN FILMS would be air on Japanese TV in 2015.
And now the series will be released on Blu-ray/DVD courtesy of Viz Media.
With Earth looking to colonize Mars which is undergoing its final stages of Terraforming and now becoming a green planet, a group of 15 men and women have been sent to Mars to check on the Terraformation of the planet.
Meanwhile, on Earth, the planet is falling into ruin due to environmental destruction and energy shortages, so Mars has been the focus by scientists.
Scientists have used moss and a black organism to darken the surface of the planet and causing it to absorb more sunlight, increase temperatures and melting the carbon dioxide.
The black organism used by scientists were cockroaches.
As the 15 men and women of BUGS 2 arrive on the planet on their mission to evaluate the planet but also to find out what happened to the first crew (BUGS 1) that landed on the planet.
The team discover that the Terraforming has succeeded but to their shock, the cockroaches have mutated with human bodies.
And now the humans have become the hunted.
Because the cockroaches exhibit all abilities of a cockroach, it was learned that scientists embedded human DNA in them and their mutation has made them beings that would not just survive in Mars but also exhibiting human characteristics and a hatred towards humanity (as humanity has had a hatred towards cockroaches).
But humanity also has found a way for humans to counteract the cockroaches by using injections of insects on humans that will briefly give them insect powers. But is it enough for the humans to survive in Mars as they are now considered the pests for the planet in which the humanoid cockroaches are the primary species?
The anime series is set 20-years later and Shokichi Komachi is now the new head of U-NASA. As one of the few survivors to escape from Mars and survive the cockroach onslaught, the Earth he has returned to is not just facing an overpopulation problem but also a widespread virus that came from Mars.
The bad news that the only way to stop it is to confirm the existence of the virus and determine its type and bring it back to Earth in hopes to create a vaccine.
But will Shokichi find a new group of people willing to sacrifice their lives for humanity by going to Mars and prepare for the onslaught of cockroach/humans that have infested the planet and want nothing more than to kill the humans?
As the Terraformars have invaded the spacecraft of Annex 1, it becomes a battle of survival as the recruits must prepare for a crash landing on Mars, but to find out that not only have Earth’s recruits have evolved, so have the Terraformars!
On Mars, the officers come across different types of Terraformars that somehow have other insect abilities. Did they evolve that way or is someone responsible for the insects becoming bipedal humanoid.
VIDEO:
“Terraformars” is presented in 1080p High Definition (16×9). Featuring character designs that respect Tachibana’s original manga artwork, overall picture quality is well-done and colors are vibrant. I didn’t notice any artifacts or banding issues with this series on Blu-ray.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Terraformars” is presented in Japanese and English Dolby TrueHD 2.0. Crystal clear dialogue and music through the front channels. Both soundtracks are well-acted.
Subtitles are in English.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Terraformars” comes with interviews with the English dub talent (Erica Lindbeck, Chris Niosi, Patrick Seitz and Viz Media’s Terraformars Team), clean opening and ending and an art gallery.
EXTRAS:
“Terraformars” comes with both the Blu-ray and DVD of the series.
In America, there have been a number of sci-fi films that have featured humanity taking on various alien species on Mars.
But what makes Yu Sasuga and Ken-Ichi Tachibana’s “Terraformars” so fascinating and also exciting is the science of Terra Formation and how scientists were able to create something that may lead to their own demise.
It’s interesting because of all species to bring on Mars, any human would know that cockroaches are the most resilient insect. Not only are they quick but they are very hard to kill.
Stepping on them doesn’t always fully kill them, throwing them away in a toilet in water also doesn’t kill them as they try to escape. So, for anyone familiar with the resilient cockroach can possibly think if a cockroach evolved to something much larger than a human being, not only would it be powerful but also hard to kill.
And despite humans ability to strategize, without having the same power to fight back, humans on Mars are literally defenseless. And to fight back, the use of insect injections from powerful insects in the planet may be what is needed to fight against these human cockroaches.
This first half features Shokichi recruit a ragtag bunch of people willing to sacrifice themselves in hopes for a payday but also in hopes for a vaccine to help eliminate the virus from Mars that have been killing people all over the globe. But will these new recruits encounter the same tragic experience that Shokichi had once endured?
And once the humans return to Mars, unfortunately things don’t happen all that well as it all seems doom and gloom from the start as the Terraformars have invaded the spacecraft of Annex 1 and when the crew does reach Mars, they realize that the enemies they have fought, also have gain intelligence and a new brand of fighting back. Which does not sound good for humanity, at all!
It’s a very exciting and action-packed anime series for sure. But having read Yu Sasuga and Kenichi Tachibana’s manga series prior to watching the anime, there are differences.
For one, the manga began with the first 15 men and women of BUGS 2 to arrive on the planet on their mission to evaluate the planet but also to find out what happened to the first crew (BUGS 1) that landed on the planet. The team discover that the Terraforming has succeeded but to their shock, the cockroaches have mutated with human bodies.
In the anime series, it immediately begins with the introduction to Akari Hizamaru trying to save his childhood friend Yuriko and then by episode 2, featuring the Annex 1 heading to Mars.
The manga series put a lot of thought into its introduction, a glimmer of what will transpire on Earth and then the introduction to the characters and Annex 1 heading to Mars. The manga also went into a lot of details trying to describe the insect or mammal/animal they were tested with.
The anime series focuses on Akari and Michelle K. Davis, with other episodes giving certain characters their own introduction. While still action-packed and exciting, the anime series does miss out on a lot of the character building storylines and that’s unfortunate.
The animation is respectful to the manga series and one thing I like about the anime series is seeing the color differentiation with the characters. The manga series could get a bit confusing as certain characters look the same (and it doesn’t help that so many characters are introduced), so the animation does have that as an advantage. Picture quality is good with slight softness but LIDEN FILMS did a good job.  The lossless soundtrack in Japanese and English stereo and the voice acting for both soundtracks are well-acted.
As for special features, the Blu-ray comes with interviews, clean opening and ending and an art gallery.
Overall, “Terraformars” is an anime series that will no doubt entertaining anime fans who are looking for a lot of action (but also a lot of violence). This is a series that spares no expense of offing key characters and a series that showcases the survival of the Annex 1 team on Mars as they take on thousands of evolved cockroaches intent on killing them. While it does not incorporate everything that the manga series featured, it’s still a solid, action anime series worth watching!
