Tôkyô magunichûdo 8.0 (2009) User Reviews

Bittersweet and beautiful

[r_massey · 8/10 · 17 June 2015]

"Tokyo Magnitude 8.0" tells the story of two young kids, a brother and sister, surviving a post-apocalyptic world after the events of a catastrophic earthquake as they make a long journey home to be re-united with their family. Though it isn't the most creative and compelling story, it really is more about the 'journey' that these characters take and the people they meet along the way that makes the anime worth the watch.

Even with just 11 episodes in 1 exclusive season, some episodes simply come across filler material as certain elements become repetitive very fast due to the show's slightly slow pace. However, this is all forgiven when we reach the show's bittersweet climax and, without delving into spoiler territory, discover the surprises that the anime has in store, making you appreciate the time taken to reach the ending and, as previously mentioned, the journey taken to get there.

Aided by the admirable story are the beautiful visuals, the art style being very reminiscent of Studio Ghibli productions. It is also worth mentioning the delicate score too, which is often serene and led by an elegant piano in the show's calmer moments, complimenting the animation and contributing to the show's overall bittersweet ambiance.

An English dub of the series does exist and though the entire voice cast is not superbly talented, the performances are definitely sufficient and convey the characters appropriately, especially Luci Christian whose performance of teenager Mirai Onozawa stands out amongst the rest and comes across impeccably from episode to episode.

Whether you're new to anime or not, "Tokyo Magnitude 8.0" is definitely worth the watch and with just 1 short season, it gets to the point with a definitive ending. It's worth noting that there's a "condensed" version of the series which runs under just less than an hour but I would strongly recommend just watching through all 11 episodes and following the characters' journey in these tragic events from the very beginning to the very end.

"Tokyo Magnitude" appropriately gets an "8.0" for its simple yet effective storytelling and memorable characters.

A heart touching movie!

[marinab-196-459001 · 9/10 · 25 January 2015]

The movie is about a brother and sister who must make their way home after a devastating earthquake hits Tokyo. The movie is heart touching, and shows the reality of how people cope and or come together as one in such situations.

The series is shown in the perspective of the brother and sister, they argue, they have disagreement but the love between them is clearly visible. The support they have for one another is awesome. The series teaches you to support one another, fight as one, and also shows the reality of what can actually happen. yes there are fights (between people) but also we see the bonds that some people have!

Would recommend it! 9/10! ^_^

Really sad that its based on real life natural disasters but its very powerful

[Irishchatter · 9/10 · 21 April 2018]

I tell ya, this series would really frustrate and sadden you with the amount of stress the poor children had to face without their parents and the fact we get to experience the aftershocks. Since we don't get earthquakes here in Ireland, its hard to know what an earthquake would actually involve after it does its destruction. It all does remind you of the Fukushima earthquake that happened 2 years later after this series was aired. Although it wasn't a 8.0 magnitude, it was a 6.6 magnitude. Still its really heartbreaking, I mean you could see in recent years that the indian ocean and the Haiti earthquakes had a lot of damage been done too! No one ever deserves to experience mother nature being destructive. Unfortunately thats how earth life works!

Lets get talking about this brilliant series, I honestly thought Mari was wonder woman for the two children, she had such a heart of gold in looking after them and trying to find their parents with them. I swear, I think she deserves a freedom of the city key for her kindness and bravery. Like you would think a single mum would only think of her child but not other peoples kids. However she just made herself such a role model and puts other people first as well as her child. I wouldn't consider the character to not think about her kid, she thought of her kid all the way through this series and made sure that everyone was safe. She definately has some nerve lol!

I cried like so hard when Yutaka died, he was such a sweet character. You do wish he was your little brother because he was so positive and he wasn't like other little boys who would talk back at their siblings whenever they said anything nasty to them. Although Mirai was such a negative thinker, you kinda understand her situation. The parents were always working too hard so they were never able to spend quality time with the kids. I say it is frustrating and lonely for the pair of them to not have the parents around that much. In the end like, you could see the parents regret and you feel bad for them because they weren't able to give the children much thought. It was really devastating that they now have guilt over their heads since little Yutaka died and the fact, Mirai has no little brother to talk to anymore. Aw man, I really really wish we could see a happy ending here but unfortunately its not the case in this one...

Get your tissues out folks or even have 10,000 of them beside, this anime is a real tearjerker! Please have your siblings by your side folks and tell them that you love them even if you annoy each other a lot <3

Heart touching anime!

[poornasyapa · 10/10 · 4 December 2010]

Tokyo magnitude 8.0 is a very heart touching anime series. It is about a brother and sister who faced a earthquake in Tokyo. There they met a women and three of them survive from earthquake and heading to home.

On the way they see lot of people some are crying, some are hopeless and some are happy being rescued. Just like reality it is shows us how people deal when there is a earthquake or natural disaster. How people helps others, some quarrels with others for foods such as.

The story is pretty nice and you won't stop it watching until the end. The sister and brother here always fight and we can see that in real life too. But actually they love each other.

This anime is mainly about humanity. A love between a sister and brother. The ending is really sad and beautiful. This is one of the best anime series I have ever watched.

So if you haven't watch this yet I suggest you to watch this and I am sure you will love this.

"We hay have lost our friends, family but we know they are always watching us and thinking about us"

Much, MUCH more than I expected!

[davidjmcleod · 10/10 · 24 October 2020]

Full disclosure: I was studying abroad in Tokyo when the 9.0 Tohoku earthquake struck Japan. As someone with a minimal grasp of the Japanese language, attending a school run by disorganized idiots (Americans, in case you were wondering), it was a... let's say it was a "challenging" time. Nothing like fleeing thermonuclear meltdown to build character in a person, eh?

So when I saw this pop up on one of the streaming services, I thought at first it was going to be gross disaster porn capitalizing off the tragedy of 2011. I was disgusted, but as we were in pandemic lockdown and I'd watched everything else there was to watch, I put on the first episode to hate-watch.

I was shocked to discover that this wasn't disaster porn at all, but one of the most gripping character dramas I'd seen since Grave of the Fireflies. The focus of this story is squarely on the children and the happenstance stranger who takes it upon herself to see them to safety. This is a story about the relationship between a girl unhappy with her home life and her younger brother; the disaster that gives this series its title only serves as a setting and catalyst for their story. I binged the entire series over the rest of the day.

What shocked me the most, however, is that this series I thought was exploitative of the 2011 earthquake... actually came out TWO YEARS BEFORE that tragedy! I could hardly believe it, as there were so many little details in this anime that tracked with real life... so much so that, if I'm being honest, I was having little PTSD flashbacks watching it: the way thousands of people were stranded when a city that relies on public transportation had all its trains shut down, how cel service was overwhelmed, or how the convenience stores that were usually so well stocked were suddenly bare. It didn't help that the altruistic adult who comes to the childrens' aid drives (what appears to be) the same model of bike I was driving the day of the Tohoku quake.

(One tiny nitpick with the almost psychic accuracy of this anime? In real life the people of Japan were nowhere NEAR as selfish or rude as some of he characters in this show. The Japanese people came together to help one another in a way I would never have thought possible when real disaster struck).

I really can't recommend this series enough. I would absolutely put it in the top three to show to people who think anime is all silly cartoons. A definite must see!

Best anime

[sirazzsadiaa · 10/10 · 26 August 2020]

This is a best anime.This is not very popular,but this is great!!!!! Every sad anime lover should watch this.This should be rated 8.9 but unfortunately this is only rated 7.9 . This is a very sad and nice anime .This is a worth watching anime👍👍👍. So,everyone please watch this and make it popular. 😊😊😊😊😊😊

So sad

[Quanfa · 3 May 2020]

I love depressing anime, and this one delivers. It's not quite the sustained sadness of Clannad, but the emotional gut punch of Grave of the Fireflies. The second to last and final episodes will wreck you emotionally.

Most Amazing Show I've Ever Seen

[samaboyolo · 10/10 · 27 December 2016]

I remember some days after I suffered from an earthquake I was going through anime's to watch and found this one. I felt a huge bond with Mirai since I was only 11 when I watched it, her phrase of hating her home and parents was exactly like me and not being the typical shoujo girl was more like me. I agreed with everything that she said and even though I'm the younger one and my brother the older one I felt like Yuuki was like my bro. I was also alone the moment of the earthquake so when I watched her being alone I was like ¨don't worry I've been in that position to¨ my brother was in the center of the earthquake however I wasn't he was in his last trip with his year group in a 5 star hotel not so far from where I was couple of hours 6 or 7 in car. I truly adored everything from it the characters the music the scenery )the animation wasn't so good but I still loved it), however when Yuuki started to disappear and appear I knew he was going to die so I was like ¨man an other anime that doesn't make me cry¨since I've never cried in an anime but when Mirai and her mom reunite and start crying I cry like hell and then when they all cry in the hospital I cry even more. I think this show is a masterpiece as expected from studio bones.

Why this anime got great reviews, I don't understand

[Aleta_Nook · 6/10 · 4 March 2016]

It was hard to write this review about this drama. An anime about the realistic depiction of an earthquake may be the reason why it got such high praise, the character interactions had flaws and the story was just OK. So, I wasn't extremely sad when Yuuki died. Mari is about the only character who stuck with me and got me through this long torturous journey.

Mirai is a despicable teenager who acts like a child, hence may be the reason why she is treated like one. Also, she has this relationship with Mari that I felt was excessively motherly. Her brother could also be a little too childish, but he's just a young kid so I don't have that much of a problem with it.

The twist with Yuuki was quite predictable, I did think something was wrong with him keep disappearing and reappearing and how was he able to survive that surgery, by the way?

I think that the anime should've been shortened to about 9-10 episodes long, it was a bit boring but it may have been because I was sleepy at the time. There's not really anything inappropriate in it aside from one bad word but it's too scary and Yuuki's death would be too distressing for young teens to handle.

You may try it but don't expect anything too special. It's mainly something you can watch to pass the time or if you need an absurd anime to laugh at. But you may just forget about what happened in the next couple of days.

If you feel like crying then this won't let you down

[OrewaShinobi · 9/10 · 7 June 2019]

A large earthquake hits Tokyo,two siblings are trying to their way back home, along their way they meet a kind lady who happens to live close to their home, during these hard times everyone helps each other to stay strong and keep going forward in life because their loved ones are always watching over them and that's what their loved ones would've wanted.

10/10

[cosmin742000 · 10/10 · 15 July 2019]

In my opinion this anime is the second best after Hotaru no Haka

Touching but Heartbreaking

[femininityrevisited · 5/10 · 3 June 2013]

**SPOILERS** This was an awesome and touching anime. However, the ending is heartbreaking.

The art is excellent, the characters are well thought out. It is a great story of learning how to persevere through trials and tragedy. Still, this ending when her brother dies is too tragic. I didn't expect that they would make it home and then Yuuki would die! Good Lord! It was so tragic.

I recommend that NO CHILD UNDER 15 watches this! It is truly heart-rending and difficult to watch. For anyone over 15, this is a deeply moving anime. Definitely not light-anime fare but a deeply emotional journey.

Good Anime

[Drago1995 · 10/10 · 1 January 2022]

Really enjoyed this anime, shame i didn't see it earlier but better late than never, if you like disaster stuff give this one a watch. Also grim has just under a year and a few months a real and even more powerfull earthquake happened.

Very sad and depressing, but pretty nice writing too.

[Lukasmj · 8/10 · 16 November 2022]

"Tokyo Magnitude 8.0" is quite a depressing anime.

This is the story of two siblings who are surprised by a very strong earthquake during a trip that turns Tokyo into rubble and ashes.

Luckily, the two meet a woman who continues to take care of them.

Of course, the siblings want to go back to their parents and the woman to her little daughter, all three of them not knowing whether their loved ones are still alive.

The story is told appropriately to the situation, which progresses relatively slowly and sluggishly.

The animations aren't outstanding and neither is the character design, because more value was placed on visualizing the destroyed Tokyo.

Here a sad story is told, but which is occasionally interrupted by glimmers of hope.

The anime is really good and suitable for everyone who is looking for something emotional.