![]() One thing that surprised me about the show was the frequent time jumps. The series spends a lot of time on Keith’s adolescence and upbringing, making him a relatable and nuanced villain. This attempt to make the villain someone you could sympathise with is one of the strongest points of this series. This sets up the eventual conflict of ideals between Jomy and Keith. His distrust of the Mu is because of the threat they represent to the rational order of Grandmother. He is clearly on the side of Grandmother, the artificial intelligence that rules all of humanity. The series spends enough time with Keith so that we can grasp his motivations, so that we realise that he is fundamentally a good person. If you had started watching Toward the Terra from Episode 6, you would have thought Keith was the main protagonist, the hero.īut Keith Anyan is the villain of this series. His struggles and difficulties in trying to fit in make you root for him. However, Keith soon is able to stand up to bullies, and displays an ability to solve problems during crises. Keith is unsure of himself and his origins, and is seen by others as too remote. ![]() From the 6th episode, the story shifts to the perspective of Keith Anyan, a student being groomed for eventual military leadership. While all this is traditional Hero’s Journey fare, Toward the Terra does something really interesting after setting up the basic plot. The stoic Mu leader from Toward the Terra Sympathy for the Devil Nearly killed himself by the humans, Jomy is rescued by other Mu who are in hiding… In the past, there were even genocides against the Mu. What’s worse, once kids pass the age of 14, they have to take a test, and they are killed if the test shows any signs of them being a Mu. But in this dystopian society ruled by artificial intelligence, the Mu’s existence is kept a secret. A 14-year old school boy named Jomy discovers that he is a Mu, a race of mutants with psychic powers. ![]() The series starts in way that is very familiar, nearly cliched. ![]() Toward the Terra (2007) is based on a late 1970s science fiction comic written by Keiko Takemiya, which in turn is inspired by a sci fi novel written in 1940 called Slan, written by A.E. This grey versus grey morality, rather than black versus white morality, forms the bedrock of many fantastic anime, such as Tokyo Ghoul, Berserk, or Legend of the Galactic Heroes. If the classic myths like the Ramayana talk about the struggle between good and evil, our modern epics like Game of Thrones talk about the struggle between…well, people. There’s something about moral ambiguity that is deeply disturbing but strangely enchanting. ![]()
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