Anime Review: A.I.C.O: Incarnation - Disappointing Netflix Anime

Netflix has been producing anime since the last few years, and B: The Beginning was a somewhat solid anime. Sure it had its cliches, but it was an enjoyable anime to watch and a great feat for a Netflix-exclusive anime. A.I.C.O: Incarnation, on the other hand, was somewhat disappointing and I think this was due to a lot of factors. When I looked at the score for AICO: Incarnation on MAL, it was pretty bad, and the reviews generally support this claim. However, I still wanted to give it a try, because it may be better than expected, but it was not the case.

A.I.C.O: Incarnation is a sci-fi, action anime that explored the idea of an out-of-control AI called the "matter" that goes on to break out of its research facility and on its way to the rest of the world. However, Japan has developed gates to prevent/slow its progress. Now onto the characters - the characters were very generic and even if there were deaths, I didn't really tear up because I couldn't develop a connection between the characters.

We eventually realise our main female character is separated into entities - her real brain in an artificial body, and an artificial brain in her real body that is located at the facility that the matter broke out from. I didn't mind the idea that she was humanity's only hope to destroying the "matter", as cliche as it could be since it was a plausible idea - we just need to reunite the bodies to their respective parts. Easy right? No, the anime describes the journey to the facility as a gruesome and treacherous venture, and that no one has even passed the third gate from the facility.

What was so ridiculous was how easy they breezed through the tough pathway to the facility. It was meant to be tough, and the fights were pretty mediocre. I expected some Dead Space like monsters, but we got none of that. Another aspect I didn't like was the group that wanted to prevent the group from reaching the facility. It was not the idea I hate, it's how sleazy it was. They introduce the antagonistic group, and then suddenly dispose it before midway of the anime. Come on, really? Sigh..... And please don't get me started on that ending episode. It's a boss fight and it involves a human antagonist using clone bodies. And guess how it was resolved. The group didn't even defeat it by fighting, it was resolved by removing the connection of the clone bodies and the antagonist's daughter's real body.

At least the art wasn't that bad so I'll give them props for them, but art is not what keeps me entertained - it's the story and its characters. The OP and EDs are also not really memorable, and the voice acting are ok - suitable for a cliche anime. A.I.C.O: Incarnation can be simply described as your typical action game - you fight enemies and then you fight a final boss. Nothing special cause there's no solid story. Would I recommend? No. However, I am still interested in future anime production that are Netflix-exclusive. They are relatively new to the anime market, so I'm sure they can drastically improve. Until then, I will be vigilant.

Overall Score: 6/10

Story: 5/10

Characters: 4/10

Art: 7/10

Sound: 6/10

Enjoyment: 6/10