Japan sinks is something original, and that's always worth praise in my eyes. In the age of the generic, Science SARU put out something memorable, something that created discussion and debate, something that wont immediately sink into the recess of your mind as yet another seasonal anime nobody cares about.

It tells a story of human sacrifice, compassion, self-sacrifice and of motivation, whilst touching on themes of nationalism, identity, racism and inner strength. The disaster setting is very striking since the sinking of an island nation isn't that far removed from the horrific earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes and other natural disasters that do plague certain countries and it's that root in realism that allows Japan Sinks to plant emotional hooks in you to yank out now and then.

Characters & tragedy are where this show excels. Each main character serves a clear purpose in the story and together they laugh, cry and grow. The realistic range of emotions they show matches up nicely with Science SARU's distinctive style that I think lends itself well to a story with its roots in realism. Each character design is very distinctive and unique from their body, to their hair, to their face and the environments often look superb. Expressions are also a highlight here as Science SARU show no fear in portraying the ugly side of their characters with both vicious words and particularly well-done 'ugly' facial expressions. People aren't really cute when they cry, they aren't cute when they scream or are going through physically demanding scenarios, and the studio clearly know this painting all kinds of colourful expressions on their realistic character designs.

The sort of character arcs present in this show are very impressive given it's narrow scope. The focus rarely extends beyond the main family unit yet we see a wide range of problems covered in such a short runtime. The decision to have a mixed race family was also excellent, it serves a clear purpose in the story and adds an additional layer to themes of nationalism and identity. On the note of identity I also want to take a moment to appreciate how cleanly this story was modernised. Modern technology is used in the story to very good effect and the decision to have a famous YouTuber character was one I was initially sceptical of, but it ultimately played out very well, the character never felt out of place to me.

The story framing these excellent characters isn't always the most original, certain character deaths and self-sacrifices can be seen a mile away, but it's clear the creators knew this as none of the deaths rely on shock value; they all serve a purpose, completing a character's arc or further developing others over time. The storytelling on show here is an excellent mix of obvious and subtle and has a surprising amount of thought put into it. To demonstrate this I'm going to talk about the somewhat infamous cult people seem to hate.

To me, it was one of the best portrayals of a cult in recent media. No comically evil cult leader, no awkward mass suicide or ritual sacrifice seen. This cult is a bunch of people that were in pain who found a Medium that could soften the pain and a society that accepted anyone. There are nice implications about the origin, purpose and development of the cult and when all is said and done, it's one of the most respectful portrayals of a radical group like that. I kept waiting for the scene where they make everyone drink poisoned kool-aid with the ire this series seems to draw from some but it never came.

There are a few scenes that look a little off visually that some people exacerbate the flaws of significantly. Boar-wrestling, arrow-shooting, rocks-falling. Yet these slight hiccups in visual quality would easily be skipped over in any other show and are only notable here to some people due to the distinctive visual style Science SARU have and their own scepticism. As far as I'm concerned they're no worse than the hiccups notable in almost any anime.

Ultimately, for me, this show is essentially perfect. Any tiny visual hiccup didn't take away from the experience whatsoever for my own enjoyment and at a time when most anime are failing to elicit any kind of emotional response from me, this show came along and hit me with an addicting 10 episodes and a fierce emotional core to it's story.