Outstanding anime series explores fate, is super gory.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
a lot
Terminators will stop at nothing to eradicate humanity. Violence is exceptionally gory, with characters shown losing their intestines, shot directly in the eye, and injured in other painful ways. Action is frequent and intense, with tons of guns, explosions, bombs, and vicious robot-against-human warfare.
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Characters are shown nude briefly when traveling through time; buttocks and breasts are shown in a non-sexual manner. A character takes off her shirt and is shown in a bra.
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Part of a franchise that has merchandise attached.
Diverse Representations
a lot
Holland, a Black actor and musician, voices Dr. Lee, a darker-skinned character that also appears to be Asian. His kids also have darker skin than other Asian characters. Sonoya Mizuno is biracial and of Japanese descent. Latina actor Rosario Dawson plays Kokoro, a benevolent AI.
Dr. Lee does his best to be a good dad while mourning; he also feels pressured to divide his time trying to save the future with his positive technology. Eiko is tough and single-minded.
Positive Messages
a little
It's worth sacrificing for the greater good. Family is everything. A belief in hope is valuable in a dark world.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Terminator Zero is an animated action series set in the Terminator universe, where evil sentient robots control the future. André Holland voices Dr. Malcolm Lee, a powerful scientist in 1997, and Sonoya Mizuno (Devs, Ex Machina) plays Eiko, a 2022 soldier sent through time to find him. It's ultra-violent and gory, with tons of weapons, including machine guns, sci-fi weaponry, bombs, and explosions. Characters are seen in various states of disembowelment and shot in the eyes, and many bloody corpses are shown. Language includes "f--k," "s--t," "goddamn," and "hell." Synthetic humans are shown nude, and a main character is shown in her bra. Bare buttocks and breasts are seen when character transports through time.
When AI technology Skynet comes online in 1997, it begins building a robot army of terminators with the goal of eradicating humanity. The consequences of this are very clear in 2022, where humans are hunted and struggle to survive. The only way to stop this future? Go back and change the past, starting with Dr. Malcolm Lee (André Holland), a 1997 scientist who attempted to create a "good" competitor to Skynet, Kokoro. Eiko (Sonoya Mizuno), a 2022 soldier, is chosen to travel through time, find him, and potentially alter her own devastated world once and for all. Will she succeed, or will yet another terminator stop her?
This excellent series pulls together the best of the Terminator franchise and anime worlds to create a super-compelling sci-fi tale. Terminator Zero's got what viewers love about Terminator stuff: time travel (that almost makes sense), cute kids, tough soldiers, and relentless robots. It's led by a strong woman not totally unlike the original's Sarah Connor, and the future finds other women in powerful positions as well. The solid writing makes the sometimes convoluted Terminator universe pretty clear (go back in time, save person, fix future). The gore may be a lot for some viewers, but fans of action, adventure, and anime will find this exploration into fate versus free will one of the best recent entries into Terminator lore.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about AI. What are your feelings toward it? Do you think what happens in Terminator Zero is realistic?
What is fate? Is it possible to change your path, or do you think it's pre-set? Why do you feel this way? What other media can you think of that explores this question?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Polly Conway
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
