Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 Episodes 1-4

Has Bones done it again?

The show is set in Tokyo after an earthquake measuring 8.0 on the richter scale hits the city. Notable landmarks such as the Tokyo Tower and the Rainbow bridge fall as a result of the earthquake. The viewers follow siblings Mirai and Yuuki on their quest to return home and hopefully find their parents, while being assisted by a female motorcycle courier named Mari.

The first episode basically introduces the viewers to Mirai and her ordinary home life. Her parents are away at work most of the time, spending little time with their children. Finally, when they reach at home, stressed out, they always have something or the other to quarrel about. To add fuel to the already lit fire, she finds her little brother, Yuuki, to constantly annoy her. Yes indeed, a very ordinary middle-class life. As her summer break had just begun, she is given the task of taking her little brother to visit the robot exhibition in Odaiba, which is seemingly far enough from their home. While they are there, the earthquake hits Tokyo.

The second episode shows Mirai desperately looking for her little brother in the collapsing building where the exhibition was taking place. In this episode, Mari meets Mirai and helps her and they eventually find him. The third and the fourth episodes basically revolves around the trio trying to find their way back home. Just after starting their journey, they find that there are far more dangers in the collapsing Tokyo than they had imagined.

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 focuses a lot on realistic character development, which I commend the shows’ makers for. The fact that they use an ordinary middle class family seems like a deliberate choice, as it is trying to show how people would act in the circumstances the characters are in, which makes it possible to relate to the characters and make their actions believable.

Another thing that I really like about this show is that the show never loses focus of the trio, Mirai, Yuuki and Mari. It chooses to focus on the small scaled problems such as Mirai’s stomach problems or her sore feet, rather than the big scaled problems at hand. Also, the slow plot progression adds to the sense of realism the show is trying to portray. The slow bits such as the waiting for help, waiting for a way out, etc, just seem very real.

As far as 4 episodes, Tokyo Magnitude seems to be a very well balanced show. The show is very realistic and effective in its potrayal of the disaster. Bones seems to have another good show to their already great list. Hopefully, the show carries on this level till the end. Tokyo Magnitude is definitely worth your time to watch. Ah, this summer season is just amazing.

And on that note,

See you next, deculture!