Pacific Rim: The Black : Season 1
Might contain spoilers.
Excellent animation, particularly when it comes to the kaiju and the jaegers. As many online have already pointed out, though, the show is dour and lacking in the fun that characterizes the franchise. I was frustrated by how the musical motifs constantly tease a relationship to the iconic theme from the original film without ever substantiating it—I understand the score needs to function on its own, but I would have preferred a new sound entirely instead of all these hints at something superior.
The multiple episodes with Shane and his gang are tedious and unnecessary. They steal precious time from the overall season, one whose abrupt, unsatisfying ending seems to exist only to allow Netflix to spread out the same story over two nominal seasons. Speaking of that ending, Boy’s climactic transformation into his kaiju form is heavily telegraphed (and unusually ugly), not to mention a clumsy way to expand the Pacific Rim universe. It suits the anime sensibilities of this story, but not the world as we’ve seen it thus far.
Loa and her dry sarcasm (like the simple yet memorable ‘Of course’ from the finale) are the highlight. I would have been happy to see more of her simply interacting with the protagonists (who are apparently so forgettable I can’t even remember their names or what they looked like now).
I did enjoy hearing proper Australian accents again.
I watched under a minute of the second season. Having rewatched the film recently, I couldn’t sit through more of this joylessness.