Japan Sinks: 2020 (2020) User Reviews (115)

Has some good and some bad moments

[natgian · 7/10 · 11 July 2020]

At the beginning I was like, ok, this is interesting and has a lot of potential, by the middle I thought what the heck is this turning into and by the end I was crying like a baby.

So overall there were bad moments but also really emotional ones and that's the most important for me personally, in the end, it made me feel something.

Waste of time

[semog15 · 5/10 · 11 July 2020]

First episode is good, after that is just a downward journey. Story telling is bad, animation is excruciatingly terrible. One character dies at every episode, just for the sake of it, and others just get saved by miracle means. Completely waste of time, save yourself from the disappointment.

Devastating setting, devastating animation

[reggieamadeo · 6/10 · 17 July 2020]

I think for the most part, we can agree that the story was great. It showed the horrors of natural disasters and how easy it was for people to die. What's also interesting is that unlike many doomsday movies, the humans here tend to help each other (safe for some individuals and later nazis). It gives a fresh new perspective, in a realistic manner to humanity when under a threat of being wiped out. Enough for the story now it is time to address the graphics and animation. Japan Sinks 2020 cannot be done without breathtaking landscapes and that's just the problem. The graphics look lazy with characters looking deformed sometimes. They also seem to not be able to draw up perspectives. The awkward sudden change to 3D (which they did horribly). Landscapes aren't amazing, let alone great. It really feels like they skipped animation school because it looks choppy and has a bad flow (like those cigarette scenes). Sometimes it feels like it's straight out of a flash game from dailygames dot com. The characters were great and had solid personalities and the only complaint for this part is that the little kid Go likes to blurt out english phrases randomly and to me it was just damn annoying. All in all, i gave this a 6/10 not because i didn't appreciate the story, it was because they tried to make a beautiful anime but minus the good drawing techniques and smooth animation. The trailer really gets you tricked in this part (I genuinely thought it was Makoto Shinkai's work). Tl;dr : so much creativity, so little technique, Go is annoying.

Confusing Character Emotions

[mossglenfalls · 6/10 · 19 July 2020]

Cool story and concept, but was hoping for more. The animation feels cheap at times. Character development is fairly weak and the emotions of the characters are completely unaligned with how you would imagine people would be if their country is sinking. "Hey, let's all take a selfie!" Or people giggling and chatting light-heartedly 5 minutes after a major earthquake levels entire cities. Even their decision to move to another location at the beginning doesn't make much sense from a survival standpoint. If there was massive flooding, they were already on the highest ground in their city at the Shinto shrine. Why leave in the first place? It leaves us with a rather unbelievable performance. As a side note, the English dubbing is pretty terrible too.

That was unexpected!

[sonodaalex · 10/10 · 28 October 2020]

I guess the simple graphics are not for everyone, but I particularly think it's more attractive. When I see simple graphics I expect the show to deliver a good story.

For those who live in Japan (and are not just visiting) it hits deep because that's very close to home. By that I mean the steps the characters take, choices, scenarios, dialogues...

It's really sad to see so many bad reviews. It shows how little they know about the real Japan that it's not portrayed in futuristic 3D anime filled with robots, guns, flying cars and underage girls with inappropriate outfits.

It's a very good animation.

They didn't manage expectations

[matrixlplus · 6/10 · 13 July 2020]

The first episode was fantastic. It just worked. You could feel the environment, the stress and chaos. But the rest... The rest is meh. There are simply using Screenwriting 101 rules that make everything too predictable. Another thing that didn't really fit is all of the force fed diversity and inclusion. Like, look at those Japanese nationalists that don't like foreigners - let's us blow up their ship. Because they are bad. Just too cheesy.

It's a disaster...

[nodlimax · 3/10 · 14 July 2020]

...and I'm not talking about the scenario itself.

This anime is a collection of characters making stupid decision after stupid decision. Also a lot of these decisions come out of nowhere without providing even context to why that decision was made.

Especially towards the end I just constantly asking "WHY?". Why dive down to loosen the rope when you could remove the rope from the boat itself? Why take the amphibious vehicle into a cave when we can clearly see shortly after that Kite can swim out? Btw. this causes them to lose the vehicle and everything inside. Also why go there in the first place? There was no logical reason to do that. How is that balloon flying? Where did they get the tools for that? We only saw the balloon itself in the water. Also blowing air or oxygen into a balloon doesn't make it fly. It needs a few more things. Also why would Kite jump on that balloon? why not just send it on its way alone?

Early on there were also various things happening that made no sense. The diffing for vegetables scene? No one in a situation like this would try to dig a 2-3 meter deep hole for some vegetables. When the shocking thing happened in that scene I was just laughing.

What the heck was up with that camp? This whole thing was just weird and made no sense. And a huge drug field? Really? Putting that stuff in food and drinks and give it to kids while none of the characters have any issue with that? Seriously?

Also the first Earthquake causing the plane to crash land? Why? That made no sense at all...

One more thing I noticed early on: The anime went for a "diverse" group of characters. The odds of that kind of group coming together like that in Japan are pretty low. In addition the various "pure" Japanese characters and their identity were displayed in a pretty negative light. I also think that this is not a good representation of Japan because as far as I remember Japan was overall doing pretty well after the last major catastrophe (big earthquake in 2011).

Also I have to say that the main character was an unlikable brat and it didn't change for me even until the end. Halfway through the show when she had the chance to get on the ship I was hoping she would disappear from the story and we focus on the other characters. But obviously she was the main character and therefore she had to stay. That was the only time when I actually felt sad...

loved it

[messed-42819 · 10/10 · 17 August 2020]

Yes, spoiler, a lot of characters died and yes, mostly at every episode. but this wasn't a waste of time. i enjoyed Japan Sinks: 2020 bc of how it was very realistic, at certain points, and how the anime wasn't just "oh everybody survives, i got a new boyfriend and we all lived happily ever after". i loved watching the characters develop after losing many of their families and friends. this wasn't a bad anime whatsoever, i recommend watching it before deciding not to. anime isn't always about escaping real life, it can also be about how life is so real (:

Great from beginning and ending but bad in middle

[tanfminh · 6/10 · 12 July 2020]

Look like 2012 version anime, but in the middle of this anime has a lot of people who dead for bad reasons

Unintentionally hilarious

[maplestorygenome · 3/10 · 1 August 2020]

Storyline is extremely poorly written, and the dialogue is so terrible that it is beyond hilarious! I thought it was just overall awful, but stuck around up to episode 9 because its complete lack of character development, one-dimensional/flat characters' lines and somewhat predictable "shock factors" were ironically amusing. Everything from random cult encounter to characters' dull reaction to dad's death failed to relate with its audience, which is comical to say the least. Its like a car crash - disastrous but just can't look away! Unfortunately couldn't finish the series because it stopped being funny after 9 terrible episodes. Go's bad english-speaking was a cherry on the top in my opinion, but it's hard to say what was the worst. Honestly! LOL. The rap scene in episode 9 is comedy gold-- my absolute favorite! It will give you a quality, good cringe/cackle. I also thought gramp's out of the blue opioid addiction was also a gem. It is definitely worth watching if you find extreme tone deafness, defying common sense FUNNY. For those of who are looking for a high quality, well-made, thought provoking anime series, stay away.

Another Masaaki Yuasa Masterpiece!

[bandubo · 10/10 · 16 December 2020]

Incredibly powerful, dramatic, real, raw, and full of twists with constant tension. A splendid animation from the "Science Saru" studio with its characteristic style, a propositional narrative development accompanied by such unique characters imbued with a humanity that director Masaaki always obtains in complex and interesting ways. The first review that I write because of the anger that causes me to read bad reviews of this incredible work, just because things do not happen in the way with the public wants, NO! it is not a comedy, it is psychologically, visually and narratively fantastic (In many ways). A very real and very fresh story.

Entertaining? Yes! Unpredictable? Yes! Realistic? Nope!

[sadako11 · 6/10 · 23 July 2020]

If you are expecting a realistic drama about surviving an earthquake apocalypse this show is not for you.

Logic and common sense started to go away during episode two. I realized that to enjoy the show I'll have to stop analyzing and questioning the actions and situations the characters go through.

The story is unpredictable and entertaining so I did not have a problem watching the show.

Good start, terrible overal

[nitro912gr · 3/10 · 29 September 2021]

As someone who have grown through the terror of earthquake and having lost people that I knew in that big one that happened back in 1995 in my hometown, I found the first episode very immersive and very well made. Terrifying even and I was holding my breath from what was happening.

So imagine how devastating it was to keep watching this after being so wowed by the first episode, only to see it going downhill so much faster than the sinking Japan...

Honestly I don't know why this turned out like this. What is happening and how, is beyond stupid and comprehension, you just can't get your mind around on the decisions, and the events that occur during the family trip.

Also while the first episode felt like it was made from someone who have experienced the terror of a big scale earthquake, what is happening after this just makes you wonder if the writer had even a little bit of understanding of what is happening in the aftermath of that said earthquake, how the people feel, how they react, how the authorities react and work, and the general feeling of the situation that SHOULD be familiar for the earthquake shaken Japan's population, is just not there.

Nope, collapsed buildings, rivers of blood, dead bodies on the streets, but nobody seems to realize the severity of the situation or the situation at all, like they are all high or something...

It really feels like some short of trekking trip from a point on, a trip that insane and terrible things happen, that not only make no sense but are borderline impossible to believe what happened. Like the writers where like "if Japan can sink, I can do this crazy thing too". You are more likely to believe that Naruto existed and could turn into a nine tail fox than what is happening in this anime here.

Anyway. Watch at your own risk.

Help, we are stranded !

[serhatkilicarslan · 7/10 · 9 July 2020]

The premise is simple but somehow realistically and follows a family after a catastrophic event and their journey for survival. Very emiotional and consequent story telling. It also provides beautiful animation and soundtrack and reminded me a little of "Your Name" in these aspects, but in comparison it lacks of interesting characterization (only good and evil) and storytelling (too many ex machina moments). It would have been better as a standalone movie with concentrating on the main characters, but Netflix probably don't likes solo anime movies .

Do people enjoy things anymore?

[CubNutButter · 9/10 · 17 June 2021]

Sad to see so many people calling this series a disaster. Sure, it's a farfetched storyline and characters make erratic decisions, but otherwise the story is told and illustrated beautifully, so many crazy and unexpected things happen, and it's full to the brim with hidden meanings, cultural references and morals to take away with you when you finish it. I finished the whole thing in one sitting because I couldn't bear to wait to find out what happened next. If you love Japan and all things Japanese (and even if you don't) then this is absolutely worth the watch.

First half is awkward, but it gets slightly better

[CrazyEeveeLady · 7/10 · 4 September 2020]

This anime has problems with its writing, character dialogue, pacing, and tone. However it does get more tolerable towards the end.

For one, the main cast of characters (the family in particular) have... interesting reactions upon witnessing their entire country literally sink. From stopping every five minutes to take pictures or going on random hiking trips for no apparent reason. It's an unusual response to have when you're in a literal crisis.

They also don't seem to process death very well. Not like they get overly dramatic and cry uncontrollably, but they barely seem to care at all. The father dies, and it seems like the family is moving on to the next stop in an hour. Everyone processes grief unnaturally, and it takes me right out of the episode when they do. For Christ's sake kid, your father is dead! The least you can do is shed a tear!

Towards the end, though, the characters start acting like humans at last. The trade off is that the animation gets a bit sloppy. Looking at a compilation of traces stock images again just... zaps me right out of the episode.

Overall it was a relatively okay anime to watch with an interesting concept and plot similar to Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 . However, the unrealistic characters and the cheap animation left me uninvested for a good portion of it.

A lot of wasted potential

[rednblackkitkat · 5/10 · 10 July 2020]

The way this series handles the human reaction to natural catastrophes is quite unrealistic. Most of the action happens in the first episode and the way the characters deal with the situation from that moment is just disappointing. The animation style is nothing special, the characters seem promising at first but they don't develop at all throughout the story. The little brother is utterly ridiculous and annoying. The series is tiring to watch. This could have been a great anime and we were looking forward to it, the trailers were promising. Instead, we got a good start and an ok ending with a pile of junk in between. We expected a thrilling story about loss, survival and hope and were awarded with an entirely random plot, flat characters, plot holes and a jolly family taking souvenir pictures as there wasn't an apocalypse going on.

Its a very sad story and one appropriate for the times we are in now.

[Tee1803 · 10/10 · 10 July 2020]

There are so many polarising reviews because it was one hell of a ride. For some, its not their flavour, but I think what this anime does well is that it not only shows the worst in people during a time of crisis, but also there is potential for hope (as cliche as it sounds).

Definitely one I'll remember.

Great potential as a movie

[moustachepimp · 7/10 · 27 March 2021]

This one is a tough review. It has great potential as a movie if they edited it down to 120-150 min. But I could not recommend this as it stands. I thought the show had a lot of heart, and its messaging regarding circumstance, family, nationalism, and existentialism was on point. However too much ridiculous stuff was added into a survival/disaster show. Remove most of the middle, ridiculous characters, and some of the Deus Ex Machina elements and you have a really good movie.

Literal disaster

[Derpyderpaderp · 1/10 · 10 July 2020]

I was perhaps expecting something closer to Tokyo Magnitude from the trailer - and with it being a Netflix original I thought it should be good.

The first episode seemed rather odd - so many things didn't make sense; why would a passenger flight shudder in an earthquake? There is no conceivable reason for this.

Moments later a woman rudely snaps at a stranger asking to use her phone. Maybe that's just who she is? But then it became clear that character moods across the board were shaping up to be completely bizarre - either over-the-top hysterical or smiling and happy. In an earthquake disaster.

Meanwhile the music was just utterly disconnected to what was happening on-screen. Scenes of disaster to upbeat piano music. It was clear there wasn't any intention to the choice; it was just mismatched and at odds with what was being portrayed.

The second episode rolled on and it was clear that the anime was a literal disaster. The writing was bizarre and didn't seem to match up with how people would actually behave in a disaster. And it was clear the dubbing wasn't to blame.

The more I watched the more questions I had - and not the good kind. More how they created something so odd and unrealistic.

I've heard the first few episodes are supposed to be good and that this goes downhill. To me, the first few episodes were bad - so I'm tempted to continue just to be entertained by just how downhill that is. Strangely enough.

Great serie

[nicomanfa · 10/10 · 2 July 2021]

Maybe it's because i'm chilean and i experienced the 9.1 earthquake in 2010, but this is a masterpiece in managing emotions and taking away any hope in a semi-realistic way, just as it happens sometimes in human history.

a mixed bag

[sorcered · 12 July 2020]

I love disaster movies, so I watched this tothe end, although there were many moments I wanted to quit. Watch the first episode - that's probably the best one. The animation quality goes down from there, the story gets very far fetched with plenty of deus ex machina moments, and characters act plainly illogical. On the good side, there were beautiful moments, dark yet realistic moments, and heartfelt moments - too bad all of these weren't put together in a shorter yet better series.

Japan Sinks? More like Japan STINKS!

[addisonarthur · 7/10 · 11 July 2020]

This movie is doodoo, big caca doodoo, and hear me out as to why:

1. Daniel didn't die. 2. Devilman wasn't there. 3. BRO JUST TELL SOMEONE ABOUT YOUR LEG ALREADY PLEASE. D. Hell yeah, Dad's the bomb! 5. Please kill Daniel please for the love of God. 6. MUM SHOULD HAVE BEEN SMARTER. 7. Running man could of survived but he's stupid too. 8. Kid hates vegetables but is totally chill around the Doctor?¿ I don't get it.

5/10 because there was a shark.

logic sinks.

[kxxxxxx · 3/10 · 11 July 2020]

Love netflix's diversity & inclusiveness, but forcefully include weird random foreigners in a show that take places in japan is just too much. characters behave either extremely annoying or way too joyful for the situations. a character can die & few secs later they are having a great time. a very sloppy animation.

Japan Sinks is powerful with strong writing and good character development.

[pranayjalvi · 7/10 · 9 July 2020]

The retelling of a popular novel, especially during these times is worthy to watch. Japan Sinks: 2020 would be an emotionally intense viewing experience at any time. It's even harder to watch coming out in a year marked by significant disaster and death worldwide due to COVID pandemic.

There were couple of episodes, especially of the Shan City which bored me to some extent as it felt sliding away from the main aspect of this series. But without any spoilers, the final episode is a brilliant end to this survival series which teaches us to grow at every moment of life.

My Rating : 3.5/5