Zankyou no Terror is a show which I love like a lover and hate like a blinded hater. Except there's a reason for both. Zankyou no Terror is the only show in this world, till now, which made me jump in excitement like a toddler, think like a celebrated philosopher and bash my head violently in utter frustration and similarly made my blood boil, in the same show.

A lot of people on MAL and anilist noted out that the show was successful due to its legendary director Shinichiro Watanabe. And to put out a contradictory claim I'll say no. It's loved and hated all due to its story.
So let me explain why (Warning Spoilers Ahead)
So right of the bat the first few episodes, are like the charm of this show, they made me jump in excitement and showed a lot of promise. And even though the characters were kind of generic, It didn't matter to me because even if they were classic archetypes and cliches relevant to anime, they managed to maintain the theme and lore of the show really well. In a way, they provoked a sense of fear, suspense and uncertainty in me, and I was disgusted by their actions at first, yet still, I had an affinity towards them. I was pissed at them, not irritated by their actions. even though certain aspects of terrorism was missed by the show, like mass hysteria and curfews, it still managed to give out a sense of fictional realism. To a point, I called my friend and asked him to stop everything he was doing and just watch the bloody show. Cuz it was f-ing marvellous. It had everything. And the plus point was that the terrorists weren't painted as just bastards. They weren't evil. They had their intents and motives They were deep characters. And even though Shibasaki was a great yet cliched character, he was downgraded to a mere plot device, after his dynamic with the duo was broken. And that's where the show started to go downhill.
Let's study that in detail-
This show suffered from what I'd call death note syndrome, where a good story, is ruined by the appearance of an uneccesary character ,just trying to break the flow. The first 5 episodes are equivalent to the first 25 episodes of death note. After that its a mess. And even though death note isn't bad after episode 25, it won't be a masterpiece either. It will simply be downgraded to a good to excellent anime, rather maintain its "masterpeice" status. That's the case with zainkyou no terror, it would've been a masterpiece, but that white whore just ruined it. Five was and will be in my eyes the worse and most unnecessary antagonist of all time. She is a characterless antagonist whose only motive is to derail the plot. And let me tell you why I think that way, to put it, its simply because five doesn't have any personality or aim, her actions are never explained, she is just there for the heck of it. To turn the cards against nine and twelve. To just serve as a direct contrast to eleven and nine, except for the fact that this combination doesn't work. Because as I said she is just there. She just derails the plot. And makes it worse. It would've been bearable if she had some development and motives. But no, to make the ending seem obvious there needs to be a cliched antagonist right?

I'm not saying she ruined the show, she might've for some. But what she did was turn a unique show, into another cliche show, where we as viewers can predict the fate of the anti-hero. If five wasn't there the show could've taken so many other directions. It would've been so magical to see the government battle a force trying to shred them to bits. And the police force standing up against the supposed the corruption of authorities and whatnot. But what happened? A simple cliche story, where saving the damsel in distress comes at a cost and our anti-hero gets busted. Now tell me is this not cliche. Don't you think this anime could've been elevated from good status to brilliant or even possibly legendary status?

Again however I felt that the ending and the occasional action-filled thrilling sequences made me stick to the story. Because even if one were to argue that the plot was garbage (Which btw it isn't it's good), the addictive hook of the story and what's to happen next, can definitely make this show an entertaining watch. And I feel even though the fact that it derailed between episode 7-10, I feel it bounced back strong in its finale. By spreading its moral message, fleshing out its generic characters into something special. As I feel, eleven and nine aren't just generic good anti-heroes.. they are fleshed out well as characters, who are willing to make deliberate mistakes. That's what makes them such great anti-heroes. Fuck the people who complain about their generic past. It was. Yes. I agree. But the show compartmentalized well on it. As for Lisa. You poor soul, you like five didn't need to exist. But you weren't gullible either. You just acted in the way any person would act and you were the reason characters had development in the show, so I'm fine with you.
Shibasaki could've got more but again, he did what he had to.
And he was an absolute badass at times.

As for the moral themes conveyed in the show... It's simply the reason as to why I love this show so much. The final words of Nine truly made me think. And even though I don't justify or glorify terrorists, their vigilantism served well and they did teach me a lesson and made me think. You like this anime or not, you are forced to think over the message, and that's where the anime truly shines.

As for the theme of the show, people can't complain that it's unrealistic. It kinda is and isn't. Blowing up a town multiple times to show or spread a message, does happen. It has happened. Hate crimes happen, due to personal anger, which is un-addressed. It's just that such incidents are so rare that its almost impossible to believe them. And even if the actions of nine and eleven are unrealistic. The show's way of portraying it with a unique outlook is extraordinary. The show just exaggerated realistic concepts a bit that's it. However, my problem or rather an only problem is that there seems to be very little tension in japan while this is happening. No curfews nothing. Lol, why?

Final Verdict.- Nonetheless its an addictive show with a hook to it. With both shallow and excellent characters. It was good but it had potential to be better or even best. The message conveyed is beautifully done, and the show bounced back really well at the end. Is it a must-watch? Yes

So I'd say just ignore the bad in the show, and enjoy the good. Because if you can get a hold of the good in this show, its a really rewarding experience. And in no way am I forgetting this anime. Because I would've never spent so much time on an f-ing review which no one will see, if the anime would'nt have been that good,
The message was conveyed well, the plot parallel to it was just sloppy. Period.

Have a nice day and watch the anime.

My final score-90