no img no img

Write what you are looking for and press enter to begin your search!

live-news-icon

Live News

Fatal Fury: City Of Wolves Adds Kain, Officially Announces Season 1 Pass: In an intense match, the Lone Wolves came out victorious. Read all about the big night here // Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising Season 2 Pass' Other Characters Announced: In an intense match, the Lone Wolves came out victorious. Read all about the big night here // Asia Gaming Beat: February 15, 2025: In an intense match, the Lone Wolves came out victorious. Read all about the big night here

Pacific Rim The Black Shows Potential For Colossal Fun

It’s been three years since Pacific Rim The Black was originally announced back in 2018, but the day has finally arrived for the 3D CGI anime spinoff of the fan-favourite Pacific Rim franchise (which consists of 2013’s Pacific Rim by Guillermo Del Toro and 2018’s Pacific Rim Uprising by Steven D. Knight). You’ll probably remember the first one the most since the second movie was divisive and not as well-received at launch along with a poorer box office reception.

I was one of the few people who actually liked both Pacific Rim movies equally, but I digress. The question now is; should the franchise even be getting an animated adaptation after all these years? Perhaps the animation format would suit the franchise better, considering that the first movie was inspired by iconic mecha anime like Neon Genesis Evangelion in the first place.

I’m here to tell you that yes, Pacific Rim The Black is definitely worth checking out for fans of the franchise.

Atlas Destroyer

In the first episode, we’re introduced to the main pair of the series; the siblings Hayley Travis (voiced by Gideon Adlon) and Taylor Travis (Calum Worthy). The sister (Hayley) is clearly the one who’ll probably turn out to be not only the face of the series but also the eventual fan-favourite protagonist. She’s cute, likeable and enthusiastic, while her brother is quite the opposite. Sure, they’re forced to survive for years without their parents, and Taylor turns out to be the stereotypical cynic who blames almost everyone or everything else for every problem.

I wish I had gotten more of Erica Lindbeck as the voice of AI named Loa embedded in the siblings’ Jaeger; Atlas Destroyer. The rest of the English cast perform well enough that you don’t have to resort to changing the audio to Japanese. The story is grim (it’s still a post-apocalyptic setting), but it’s not nearly as dark or edgy as other mecha anime like Neon Genesis Evangelion or some of the more mature Gundam series.

As of now, it’s unclear where exactly Pacific Rim The Black takes place in the franchise timeline, but perhaps that question will be answered in future episodes. It’s still difficult to say if Pacific Rim The Black looks and feels more like it in common with Pacific Rim Uprising or the original Pacific Rim.

Jaeger-Kaiju fights take place during the daytime (instead of in the dark or at night), but the tone is sometimes dramatic and closer to the first movie than the second movie’s lighter atmosphere.

Pacific Rim The Black is produced by Polygon Pictures, the same animation studio behind several episodes/seasons of Star Wars The Clone Wars, both seasons of Star Wars Resistance and Netflix’s Godzilla movie trilogy. Because of their experience, their 3D CGI animation is pretty good despite still suffering from the style’s annoyingly-low framerate (at times), but their biggest problem in the past has always been the narrative more than anything. The facial expressions and character movements are expressive enough that they don’t look awkward or stilted, which many other 3D CGI animes often suffer from.

The scenes with the Jaegers and Kaiju feel awesome to behold, and they’re epic. Pacific Rim The Black definitely delivers on that front. What helps is that the sound effects of the Jaegers and Kaiju sound like they were ripped straight from the original live-action movies, which make the scenes even more immersive.

Still, the animation isn’t perfect. The limitation of the 3D CGI animation style means that some scenes still look awkward, especially one particular shootout involving human characters.

Thankfully, there was only one of those in the three episodes I watched, and the epic Jaeger-Kaiju scenes still make up for that.

However, keep in mind that episodes are pretty short, ranging from as low as 20 minutes long to only about 28 minutes in length. That’s not much time to show much of anything, so the aforementioned Jaeger-Kaiju scenes were sparsed and few in between. As a result, the pacing also feels a bit too rushed, and you won’t have time to get the bearings of what’s happening before the next thing happens.

For Mecha & Kaiju Fans

Unfortunately, Netflix Malaysia only gave us access to the first three episodes of Pacific Rim The Black Season 1 (out of seven in total for the first season). They’re not enough to provide us with a full picture yet but these were decent appetizers and they certainly made me excited to catch the rest of the first season when they eventually premiere on 4 March 2021.

FINAL SCORE: 70/100

We received an early access screener of the first three episodes of Pacific Rim The Black Season 1 courtesy of Netflix Malaysia. It is slated to premiere exclusively on Netflix on 4 March 2021.

Related News

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Is Getting A TV Series Adaption From Sony Pictures Television

23 years after its release, the cinematic masterpiece Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is finally making a comeback in the form of a TV series adaptatio...

First Fast & Furious 9 Trailer To Drop Later This Month

The last numbered installment in the long-running franchise was 2017's The Fate Of The Furious. Three years later, the sequel will finally be released...

Darksiders Genesis Is A Lovely Action Romp That's Fine With Borrowing

Platform(s): PC Genre: Part action RPG, part isometric platformer, all Darksiders Trust the Airship Syndicate (or ex-Vigil Games, if you want to be b...

Write a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment(2)

  1. Pacific Rim: The Black Anime Season 2 Stomps In This April | KAKUCHOPUREI.COM

    March 24, 2022 at 1:48 am

    […] the Pacific Rim anime that was on Netflix last year? Yeah, us either. But it’s coming to a conclusion with its […]

  2. Netflix April 2022: Our Picks & Highlights

    March 24, 2022 at 1:19 pm

    […] Check out my review of Season 1 here. […]

Tournament Tool Kit

Latest Video

Follow Us

Recent Posts

Captain America Brave New World: Five Things To Know If You’re Not Keeping Up With The MCU
Street Fighter 6 World Tour Guide: How To Find Mai Shiranui
SNK Did Mai Shiranui’s Definitive Theme Justice In Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
Daredevil Born Again Trailer Breakdown: Kingpin, Muse, White Tiger & More
Honkai Star Rail 3.0 The Herta Guide
Our Most Anticipated Games Of 2025
Kakuchopurei’s Southeast Asia Game Awards & Appreciation 2024
The Best 40 Games Of 2024
Must-Watch Animes This Winter: 2025 Season
Heroes We Need To Come To Marvel Rivals
[Updated] Comic Fiesta 2024: What You Need To Know
Marvel Rivals: The Best Heroes To Counter Iron Fist
Marvel Rivals: The Best Heroes To Counter Jeff The Land Shark
Path Of Exile 2 Early Access: All Uniques In The Game So Far
Infinity Nikki: All Dungeons & Boss Guides & Walkthroughs
Path of Exile 2 Early Access: All Ascendancy Nodes Revealed
Indiana Jones And The Great Circle: PC Specs & Southeast Asia Launch Times Revealed
Infinity Nikki Gacha & Monetization Explained
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl – How To Increase Carry Weight?
These Are The Finalist Games For Apple’s App Store Awards
The Best Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals To Get: Gaming & Hardware Edition
Fatal Fury: City Of Wolves Adds Kain, Officially Announces Season 1 Pass
Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising Season 2 Pass’ Other Characters Announced
Asia Gaming Beat: February 15, 2025
Elden Ring Nightreign’s Network Test Went So Bad, FromSoft Had to Give It Another Go
Valentine’s Day 2025: Wishes & Messages From The Games Industry
Like A Dragon Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii Demo Sets Sail Today
The Lord Of The Rings The Rings Of Power Renewed For Season 3
This Is When The New Gundam Is Coming To Malaysian Cinemas
Here’s Your First Look At Fatal Fury: City Of The Wolves’ Season 1 DLC
Twisted Metal Season 2 Trailer Reveals Release Window & Fan-Favourite Character
Logo