When Halloween approaches, horror premieres are not to be desired and in Netflix they were not going to be less. In this case, what has practically just arrived on the platform is ‘Exception‘, an ambitious science fiction anime with hints of horror.
The miniseries features several heavyweights behind the scenes, with otsuichi behind the story, Ryūichi Sakamoto in charge of the soundtrack, and some character designs by the hand of Yoshitaka Amano.
With the enemy at home
‘Exception’ part of a common premise in the field of science fiction: Earth has become uninhabitable, so humans are looking for a new planet to call home. So as the migratory ship travels there, a small crew is in charge of terraforming the chosen planet so that humans can survive on it.
Thanks to a very special technology, the ship “imprints” exact copies of various specialists that retain all the memories and abilities of the original humans while they are in suspended animation.
During bioprinting, a system failure causes lewis emerge in a deformed state that is far from human, with which his companions Nina, Mack, Patty and Oscar They must decide what to do with it.
Soon Debate begins over whether the failed copy of Lewis is actually human, and whether it is morally right to kill him. As the plot of the series progresses, the situation becomes more complicated when the rest of the crew shows their true colors and their own agendas, with which the paranoia within the ship grows more and more.
No one can trust anyone, and the success of the mission and the future of humanity is at stake at all times, while a continuous reflection on human nature is in the foreground.
The debate has been going on for a long time in the genre, and ‘Exception’ manages to twist it and successfully continue exploring a topic that may seem worn out at first. At issue is not only the human nature of the monster that appears to be Lewis, but also that of the entire crew. They all retain their memories of earth, their traumas and ambitions, but their body is new and artificially created to serve a purpose… so would they be in reality they human?
The anime manages to maintain tension and intrigue very well, with a constant game that diverts attention towards possible monsters and threats. Despite the fact that in some moments he is even artificial and goes too far with the twists so that we don’t see the result coming at all, he does remain in a continuous state of paranoia and secrecy.
The soundtrack also helps a lot in this aspect to increase the tension, although we are not aware that it is there at all times.
It must also be said that the terror of ‘Exception’ is not jumpscares and gore, if not rather a claustrophobic terror of being locked in space with someone constantly watching. The atmosphere becomes heavier as the story progresses, falling more and more into decisions and darker corners and that undoubtedly gives us a very round series.
Now, if the plot of ‘Exception’ and its characters is what makes you stay for the whole trip, its graphic section is what can take us back from the start to fully enter the series. Amano’s work with the designer is beautiful and has given a lot of personality and details to each of the crew, but it is very lackluster when it comes to passing it to CGI.
Tatsunoko Production and 5 Inc are in charge of the animation of ‘Exception’, and the truth is that once you see the characters in full movement, and above all integrated with the scenarios, things squeak a little less and you get used to it quickly. The aesthetic goes perfectly with a sci-fi story, and certainly gives ‘Exception’ a lot of personality to set it apart from other titles that touch on similar themes.
Even so, and taking into account that we are having more and more spectacular CGI animated series, ‘Exception’ unfortunately falls far, far behind with a finish that is sometimes too reminiscent of a PlayStation 2 video game and a very static and rigid animation.
Now, if we can get used to the style, the plot of ‘Exception’ is worth it and manages to intrigue you until the end by asking us many uncomfortable questions.