Is Terror in Resonance’s Five as Strong as She Appears?
Poor treatment of female characters, notably the weak motives of the primary antagonist Five, is a flaw in the excellent mystery anime.
Her entrance at the conclusion of Episode 5 sends a clear message to the audience: she is a violent lady who isn’t scared to murder. Five is portrayed as being both smarter and more vicious than Nine and Twelve as the plot develops and more information about her is revealed. She captures Nine and Twelve in her own plan by playing into their hands, and it is only Shibazaki’s intervention that enables the two lads to flee Five uninjured.
Although Five makes for a terrific adversary, she has a rather one-dimensional overall personality, acting and behaving like a cartoonish bad guy with no depth or distinguishing characteristics. Her character’s finale, which reveals how little effort was really put into developing her, is illuminating. She confesses that all she wanted was to defeat Nine and that he was the one who had kept her alive all these time as she lights herself on fire.
Although her fixation with Nine isn’t completely unwarranted, her motive isn’t as strong as Nine’s or Twelve’s. It’s also sadly cliché that everything she did was for a guy, particularly given how little is known about her and the lack of any other redeeming qualities. Although viewers don’t know much about Nine and Twelve’s background, they receive enough glimpses of it to piece together their tale and connection. In fact, her whole biography is absent. This doesn’t happen with Five.
Five Starts Out Strong But Loses Her Edge
The viewer is clearly informed when she appears at the conclusion of Episode 5 that she is a deadly lady who isn’t scared to kill. Five is shown to be more clever than Nine and Twelve, as well as more cruel, as the tale goes on and more information about her is revealed. She plays them at their own game and catches Nine and Twelve in their own trap; it is only Shibazaki’s intervention that enables the two lads to escape Five unscathed.
Although Five makes for a decent adversary, her entire characterisation is a little one-dimensional, with her actions and gestures befitting a cartoonish bad guy who lacks any depth or distinguishing characteristics. In terms of how little care was really put into developing her, her character’s finale is instructive. She says as she sets herself ablaze that Nine was the one who had kept her alive all these time and that all she had wanted was to defeat him.
Her fixation with Nine isn’t completely unwarranted, but in comparison to Nine and Twelve, her motive is relatively little. Since the spectator knows nothing about her and there isn’t any aspect of her personality to identify with, the idea that all she did was for a guy is also sadly mundane. If viewers are only given brief glances into Nine and Twelve’s background, they are able to piece together their tale and connection even though her whole biography is lacking. This does not occur with Five.
Lisa Is Five’s Underwhelming Counterpart
Lisa, a high school student who is the anime’s second main female character, is similarly quite uninteresting. Although her familial environment and psychological history are fascinating, she plays a very little role in the storyline and spends much of her time either aggressively disrupting things or being rescued. The only meaningful actions she does that affect the plot are likely her resolve to stand with Nine and Twelve and her encouragement of Twelve to rejoin Nine.
Terror is Resonance does a mediocre job with its female characters considering how much it has to offer and how well it handles its topic and protagonists. Not every woman has to be powerful and smart, and not every character in the show had to be really well-rounded, but since Five was the major adversary, she needed to be much more than she ended up being.
Is Terror in Resonance’s Five as Strong as She Appears?
- Reference Sites:
- https://animesee.com/
- https://www.crunchyroll.com/
- https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/
- https://www.cbr.com/
