Netflix’s Revisions: A promising new vision for sci-fi anime

Gorō Taniguchi’s newest CGI-enriched series Revisions releases on Netflix, combining the best of previous sci-fi anime.

Flying robots and a world in choas is nothing new to the world of sci-fi anime–or, for that matter, anime in general. So while director Gorō Taniguchi’s newest apocalyptic series Revisions, now streaming on Netflix, might inhibit flashbacks to previous anime fan favorites, this show has a style all its own and demonstrates the potential of a harmonious marriage between CGI and Japanese animation.

Revisions starts out on a bloody and brutal note, focusing its attention on the mysterious backstory of Daisuke Doujima, a second-year high school student, who was kidnapped as a child and saved by a pink-haired woman named Milo.

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Milo kills the kidnapper in front of young Daisuke and his six closest friends, then tells the main protagonist that he is the only one who can protect everyone from a forthcoming disaster.

Understandably, Daisuke (voiced by Koki Uchiyama/Bryce Papenbrook) becomes obsessed with this “prophecy” and, seven years later, turns into an overprotective self-proclaimed guardian. While his friends think Daisuke is a little off his rocker, everyone’s world is shattered when monsters called Revisions invade Shibuya and the city is “leaped” 300 years into the future. During the “Shibuya Drift,” Milo (voiced by Mikako Komatsu/Reba Buhr) returns and–surprise–hasn’t aged a bit. Milo offers the flying humanoid weapon, “String Puppet,” to Daisuke and urges him to protect Shibuya as only he can control it.

There’s no skating around the fact that Revisions shares noticeable similarities with other science fiction anime series’ such as Kuromukuro, Darling in the Franxx and Last Hope, all of which released in the U.S. just within the last few years. All four of these series have the same overarching theme–the world has fallen to ruin and seeks the help of a prodigy robot pilot who will be its savior.

But there’s a reason these themes are so often used. They’re popular because they work.

Darling in the Franxx shares a particular commonality with Revisions in that both have a perplexing pink-haired female who acts as a guide for the protagonist, leading him to his world-saving destiny as a soldier. But with as much as Revisions has in common with these other highly successful anime, it’s hardly a copycat, but rather a collage, taking the best traits from past shows and applying them to a brand new kind of story.

What’s made Taniguchi’s anime more daring than most is its full-time use of CGI. For decades, anime has had an iconic 2D watermark, utilizing masterful artists to make these cartoon creations, in a word, sparkle. But Revisions takes that iconic 2D image anime has carried for so long and pretty much throws it out the window.

Though Last Hope, which released on Netflix last fall, also employed CGI for its robo fight scenes, Revisions is one of the first anime to take the risk of using CGI animation throughout the entirety of the series. Rakuen Tsuihou, to be fair, also attempted this approach back in 2014, but Revisions still maintains the beloved glitter and glam of traditional Japanese anime, which has only increased in quality with time.

The full use of CGI in Revisions is a change that certainly takes getting used to and not all who have watched the show thus far are in favor of the shift. But the straight-up stunning colors and gripping story line is enough to easily hook any viewers adaptable to change.

Another particularly interesting trait that Revisions doesn’t share with its sci-fi anime counterparts is the choice of using a real place for the setting. Most apocalyptic anime shows take place in unknown or fictitious cities–at least, that is the case with Darling in the Franxx, Last Hope and Rakuen Tsuihou. But the literal heart of Revisions is Tokyo’s Shibuya district, a very real and very iconic tourist destination.

The world-famous Shibuya Crossing, Hachiko statue and international shopping centers make multiple appearances in just the first episode. It might be a little jarring, seeing iconic landmarks so well-known be turned to piles of ash in an anime series, but there’s also something refreshing about drawing on both the unreasonable and the relatable to create an enticing plot line.

Full spectrum CGI in a cartoon series might seem like taking a step back to the early 2000 days of Dragon Booster, but animation simply was not on the same caliber back then. Instead of using CGI to make paper-like animations look more real, Japanese animation today is using the craft to make their already captivating works of art more fluid and their character’s emotions more genuine.

It’s true, anime has never had any trouble drawing audiences into the eyes and emotions of their characters, but the simple truth that change might not be needed, doesn’t mean it will never happen. It also doesn’t mean that change won’t come with its own unique perks. Revisions is a perfect example of that, ignoring the typical status quo with fans who might expect a certain style and challenges that with their own vision, an animation partnership that’s drop-dead beautiful.

Revisions is available to stream on Netflix right now! What do you think of the series? Could CGI be the new future for sci-fi animation? Comment below!