An original animation from studio Bones, A.I.C.O. Incarnation is directed by Kazuya Murata with character design by Hanaharu Naruko, the same duo that worked on Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet. Just like Gargantia, A.I.C.O. is quintessential sci-fi. Bones, one of Japan’s most accomplished studios responsible for anime like My Hero Academia and Mob Pyscho 100, has produced A.I.C.O. as an anime series for Netflix. The result is a rather serious anime that follows a television series format.

The year is 2035; the setting, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. A transmission from the Kurobe Dam reservoir had reported that artificial cells created at the Kiryu Biotech Research Facility (later referred to as the Primary Point) had grown out of control, swallowing everything in sight. Gates were built to hold the line and stop the spread of “Matter” just before it hit the Sea of Japan. This incident is referred to as the Burst, and all of the area upstream was deemed Malignant Matter Area; Divers are tasked with recovering research results in these heavily restricted and highly dangerous locations.

The protagonist, Aiko Tachibana, is a high-school student near the Gates who is undergoing walking rehabilitation after having lost her family in the Burst. One day, a mysterious transfer student, Yuya Kanzaki, appears. He reveals to Aiko that her brain has actually been implanted in an artificial body after she was badly wounded in the Burst; after discovering these secrets, Aiko joins other Divers as they make their way towards the Primary Point.

As you might have noticed from the summary above, A.I.C.O. uses a lot of technical terminology, and what ends up pushing the story along is the mystery surrounding the setting and the scientists who hold the key to unraveling it. Aiko is your average layman, which is convenient for viewers because she helps us through all this mumbo-jumbo by asking questions and clarifying the more complicated information we’re not yet familiar with. However, there is a great deal of exposition from the start, and while Aiko’s questioning might make it easier to understand, it still feels overly cumbersome, like listening to someone recite a textbook.

Despite the exposition, the design and animation of the characters are charming; especially Aiko’s facial expressions and how the pupils of her eyes convey her emotions and show internal conflict. Along with an appealing cast, what keeps you watching is the activities of the Divers as they head upstream towards the Primary Point. They analyze the cells of crystalized Matter, and then use the data to create potent vial cartridges on the spot and push past difficult situations. All battle data is gathered as “evidence”, which is the database that all Divers can freely utilize.

The setting and combat scenes are incredibly game-like.

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The setting and combat scenes are incredibly game-like. The progression of the story from eradicating all enemies in the way and returning back to base near the Gates to resupply, to eventually making their way to their objective feels reminiscent of episodic video games, which would be extremely interesting… if it were a game. But since we aren’t active participants in this story, it often feels like we’re just watching the characters do their thing from the sidelines, breaking the immersion you might expect from the best anime.

As for how Matter is animated, it feels like what you would expect from past Bones works: With its lifelike, irregular movement and how it pulsates, it does a great job at expressing its ominous nature as a terrifying, mindless organism incapable of mutual understanding.

But its depiction is not always clear. From the start of the first episode, you see Matter kill someone on contact, much like the horror film The Blob. That scene clearly sets the tone that anything Matter touches will die, which is horrifying. The moment it makes direct contact with skin, you know what’ll happen next. Yet, from the fourth episode onward, it becomes less clear how threatening Matter actually is when the crew manage to easily escape despite having bits of Matter stuck to them, or when Matter hardens itself to stab like a blade. The definition of Matter itself starts to change over the course of the story, and all the while Matter starts changing in terms of how it’s depicted. This can’t be helped in terms of story, but in terms of the action, it becomes difficult to know what to focus on and when to feel surprised, and halfway through the story begins to stagnate.

In an attempt to pick the pace back up, the show touches on the conflict between the scientists and the Japanese government over how to deal with the Malignant Area, and the National Diet (Japan’s parliament) is in shambles. However, this makes each of the cabinet ministers look like ever-more insignificant minor characters, and it feels like it’s out of touch with reality. Because of this political backdrop and the lack of any meaningful movement by the public, despite the efforts of Naruko’s well-designed characters risking their lives in the face of adversity, I found it difficult to feel any sense of suspense or catharsis.

The main characters themselves are extremely appealing and have individuality, but consequently, everyone else feels so insignificant and expendable. There are multiple characters whose backstories I wished could have been explored in more detail, like Akiko Nanbara, the chief of the CAAC who eats cake and ramen while she works. Since the anime is only 12 episodes long, unfortunately they only manage to scratch the surface.

On top of this, the main conflict is centered on Aiko and Yuya, while the dramatic threads surrounding the other Divers, the scientists, and politicians are in their own separate and distinct stories, making it difficult to get emotionally invested. Even though the story progressed just fine while we were still in the dark, about halfway you start seeing a story with little development. The anime tries too hard to be faithful to the sci-fi genre, and it gives off an impression that the production team didn’t have any room to add something more and keep you invested.

The action is varied and the suspense that builds during the analysis of the protagonists adds some depth to the action.

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However, in the latter half, things start picking up again, as some of the mysteries surrounding the world become unraveled. Everything that has been building up until now begins to come together; new information turns everything on its head in such a way that practically screams sci-fi, and I was genuinely surprised. From there, the conflict and unexpected developments make for great science fiction, and I could feel a sense of catharsis that comes from a satisfying resolution of a story arc normally reserved for a television anime series. Also, with the way Matter was portrayed, the action is varied and the suspense that builds during the analysis of the protagonists adds some depth to the action.

Unfortunately, there’s a part of the climax where the enemy begins acting a bit too stereotypical and ruins the serious story development that had lead up to this point. B: The Beginning, another Netflix original series, suffers from the same pitfall, and it is the same trap that countless other anime have fallen into. The likable characters and the thorough overarching story pull you in makes it much like a proper anime series you’d see on TV in Japan; if you happen to take a liking to the sci-fi setting and the stories of the central characters, you’ll definitely find some enjoyment in it. However, it lacks any of the smoke and mirrors that would keep you invested throughout like you would see in other anime on Netflix.

Shuka Yamada is a freelance writer for IGN Japan. This article was translated by Alexander Neang.

Verdict

A.I.C.O. Incarnation’s sci-fi setting and the storytelling wrapped around it can bring surprises, but the action sequences with Matter feel lacking, and the slow story development in the first half does little to impress and keep you interested. A rather serious sci-fi anime, but it has its charms.