by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
There are some genres of TV that I have avoided in the past. I have nothing against them, but some things just aren’t my bag. It’s helpful, though, that there’s a ton of content available now, so picking and choosing options has never been easier (or harder, depending on who you ask). There are some genres that I’m just not that interested in, like reality TV or reality competition shows, and certain shows I’m not that high on, like Doctor Who or old school Star Trek. A type of genre that was on my list for a very long time was anime. It’s just not my thing, and I’ve never had the chance to pick something to see if my tastes have changed. I’ve watched some older anime, but nothing recently. When AMC+ put out an anime show, I decided to give it a shot.
Pantheon, created by Craig Silverstein and based on the short stories of The Apocalypse Triptych by Ken Liu, centers around high school students Maddie (voiced by Katie Chang) and Caspian (Paul Dano), who discover that a tech company named Logorhythms is secretly scanning people’s brains into the cloud. This process is known as Uploaded Intelligence, or U.I. (a bit on the nose with that one, right?). A conspiracy is discovered that shows multiple companies have been performing illegal and unethical uploads in order to test the process. Once Caspian and Maddie discover how deep this goes, their lives and the whole world becomes at risk. Pantheon is eight episodes and is currently streaming on AMC+.
A slight trigger warning. There are themes and scenes in this that talk about the loss of family members. It’s not overt, and we don’t actually see anyone die. However, there might be a chance that someone gets triggered by the prospect of reliving what it was like to lose a family member they were close to. In addition, there are scenes involving being bullied as well. It only really happens at the beginning as part of the pseudo-start of our heroes’ journey. So, if those two things are triggering for you, exercise caution when watching this.
Anime’s style of animation is something I don’t appreciate enough. It really is a beautiful form of entertainment, and Pantheon has some pretty amazing things going for it. The animation, direction, and effects are really well done. The scenes where people are in virtual reality or the cloud are really strong. The scenes where things are glitching, or where there’s a malfunction make you feel distorted. It’s a really inventive way for the audience to see what these people are visualizing. The fight scenes are also really strong, too. Whether it’s the choreography, or that the animators know what they’re doing when it comes to action, it’s intense and well-crafted. So props to the technical team for their efforts to make Pantheon a beautiful show.
Also on the technical side, the music and sound are both fantastic. The sound effects when it comes to machines, computing, and everything else related to technology are really great. The music is really great as well. Not only is the instrumental music amazing, but any time they redo a popular song in a slower tone, it fits perfectly with what the story is trying to say. The last song in particular got me good, because I love the song, and it fits in perfectly with the current situation of the moment.
As characters I’m rooting for Maddie and Caspian. There are a lot of moving parts to this, and it can sometimes get confusing in regards to who is related to or aligned with who. It gets even more confusing when they come together to see who is brought in from a certain side. There are a lot of side characters in this beyond Maddie and Caspian that play a part. The big highlight for me is David (Daniel Dae Kim), Maddie’s dad. He’s a loving father, and we find out that Maddie is struggling with his death in the beginning of the first episode. The grief that Maddie has, and its effect on her relationships, is really hard to watch at times. Kim is a great addition to this cast, as his voice provides a calming presence among all the chaos that unfolds.
From a story perspective, this is beautifully done, and has a lot to say about the perils of technology, and what it means to be alive. Yes, we’ve seen the perils of technology in a lot of different places, like Terminator, The Matrix,and Devs. It’s something that we will have to endure as technology evolves more and more. Technology as a whole is at play in both the business sense and the virtual reality sense. Greed often trumps the need for sound business practices, and people will stop at nothing to be first when it comes to a certain type of technology, or will cut corners and fudge data in order to get the most out of their product or service. For virtual reality, there’s an impending sense of doom because virtual reality is one way that anyone can live forever. In addition, this causes global conflict, which the ending shows is a natural consequence of messing with technology we don’t understand just yet.
Overall, I enjoy what Pantheon is trying to do, even if it’s a little convoluted at times. I caved — I may watch more anime now because of this show. There’s enough here that keeps me interested, but it also has a ton of stuff to say. If you are looking for a bonkers sci-fi show with deep meaning, great characters, and extremely heady technology concepts, this one’s for you.
Score: 7/10
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