The first seven-episode season of Pacific Rim: The Black is Netflix’s attempt to transfer the action packed Pacific Rim franchise into an original anime series. The story focuses on the two teenage siblings Hayley and Taylor Travis in Australia after the continent has been completely overrun by Kaiju and their Jaeger pilot parents disappeared 5 years ago. The two stumble upon an abandoned training Jaeger called Atlas Destroyer, allowing them to set out on a journey to escape Australia and find their parents.

Overall, the series takes a different approach from either of the Pacific Rim films. The plot of the show is much more serious and centralized around the fight for survival against the odds, allowing many of the characters to be quite dynamic. The significant amount of worldbuilding the first season does is also very captivating and focuses on new aspects of the franchise’s universe. It also has its fair share of combat and titan sized beasts, though these events are much less prominent than are in the films.

Unlike the films that were packed with regular, exciting combat and focused on the Kaiju as a global threat, The Black has a much deeper story that has a lot of intense struggle for survival. There is no hope for rescuing Australia from its Kaiju infestation, so those left behind simply have to make do with what they have. The protagonists are not only untrained to pilot a non weaponized Jaeger, but they also have to overcome frequent accidental deaths they cause. It’s quite a shift from the franchise’s norm, but that distinctiveness is something that can be quite enjoyable.

One of the most interesting components of The Black’s unique plot is the sort of black market that’s created by the fallen continent. With a country overflowed with Kaiju, Kaiju eggs and Jaeger parts become quite valuable to the remaining survivors. The various conflicts that arise as a result of this system of marketing dictate the majority of season one’s plot and its primary villain’s motives. By diverting the focus away from military efforts to eliminate the Kaiju, the series gives the audience a fresh, intriguing perspective on how the creatures radically altered the dynamics of civilian life.

Unfortunately, choosing to create an anime adaptation of Pacific Rim wasn’t fully beneficial to the show. The Pacific Rim movies are, unsurprisingly, centralized around the crazy, intense fights between Jaegers and Kaiju, but that amount of action isn’t really possible with only a single training Jaeger without any weapons. Additionally, the series displays some generic anime qualities that can make it at times feel less like a part of the humorous and exciting franchise depicted by the films.

Nevertheless, these unfortunate downsides aren’t significant enough to ruin the whole series. In the first season alone, a lot of worldbuilding and character development is done to prepare the audience for the rest of the season that’s coming. It might be a bit lacking at the moment, the potential for the anime is enormous.

In conclusion, Pacific Rim: The Black is a deviation from the standard Pacific Rim that has its own positives and occasional flaws. The story is filled to the brim with attention grabbing depth and plot development while introducing a plethora of new concepts and adaptations for the people without Jaegers. The intense struggles that the siblings have to face just to survive also helps create the show’s immersiveness. It might lack some of the core attributes, combat, and humor that Pacific Rim is known for, but the first season still brings an incredible amount of depth to the franchise that will, without a doubt, be greatly expanded upon in the future.