James Cameron’s original 1984 The Terminator is a perfect synthesis of brainy sci-fi, gruesome horror, nail-biting suspense and clever character drama, all brilliantly executed on a limited budget. Its premise is dynamite, and it’s no wonder that it has spawned a string of sequels and multi-media spin-offs. But, where Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgement Day was a masterful escalation of the original premise into the realm of high octane action blockbuster, most of its successors have failed to take the concept anywhere interesting, eventually (and repeatedly) going the route of the underwhelming nostalgia-driven legacy sequel. Terminator Zero, the new eight-part animé series from American writer Mattson Tomlin and Japanese director Masashi Kudô, avoids nearly all of the franchise’s usual pitfalls by uncoupling the premise from its established characters and setting, and prioritizing heady themes and bleak, gruesome violence over action and spectacle. Its first four episodes may not be groundbreaking, but the second half is daring and thought-provoking enough to reward your investment.

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The events of Terminator Zero are centered in Tokyo in a selectively futuristic 1997. (You can buy a bipedal........

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