Moonrise Review: Netflix brings an intriguing animated series adapted from Tou Ubukata’s novel, which looks into the clash between Earth’s peace and the Moon’s wish for independence. This series follows a utopian world in a not-so-distant future of what Earth looks like with an international AI Sapientia governing the world while people who are deemed bad seeds are sent to the moon to live. The series brings in some very interesting themes alongside the question: What does it really take to accomplish peace?
Moonrise Director
Masashi Koizuka
Moonrise Cast
Chiaki Kobayashi, Yuto Uemura, AiNA THE END, Misaki Yamada, Katsunori Okai, Yu Kobayashi, Kosuke Takaguchi, Arisa Kori, Yuka Terasaki, Satoshi Yamaguchi, Masaki Aizawa
Moonrise Release Date
10 April, 2025
-No Spoilers-
Moonrise Review
Living on the moon is something we’ve all thought about in our lives and in a positive light, but this series brings in a reality that holds a possibility we cannot deny. AI rules the world with supposed equality and justice while humans are slowly sent to live on the moon. Sure, the ones sent aren’t the best for society, but is isolating them like this for our own utopia on Earth really the way to go? This series brings in several such questions, and we cannot help but look into our own world history and how that ended up for the world.
The plot is clear in many ways; there’s a rebellion, there’s efforts made against the rebellion, the truth begins to come out, and you are shocked to find that what you believed to be the truth does not exist. We’ve seen this storyline many times already, but there’s always something new that pops up. This series has those new elements as well; however, it doesn’t give us the best of this storyline. There are too many shifts in the timeline throughout the series, which have often left me confused and annoyed. Where one episode ends with a cliffhanger, the next episode confuses me until somewhere in the middle when the cliffhanger is solved.
With so many animated series releasing where the heroes turn out to be the bad guys, this series has left me with love-hate emotions. I like how the overall plot develops and the exciting end to the final episode, but it also manages to keep me annoyed with the shifting scenes and timelines. Though, I have to agree that I also love how it gives me an explanation of what happens after the end when the saviour saves them all.
Meanwhile, I also have to talk about the fabulous animation that has kept me entertained throughout the series. The people who have worked hard behind the scenes are big names from the animation industry, so it goes without saying that their work leaves us all very pleased. The art is beautiful, the colours are magnificent, and the overall look of the series is just breathtaking. The way the Moon civilization is imagined and created is so well done that you can see this from a realistic point of view. The imagination of the creators is worthy of applause, without a doubt.
Finally, I also have to warn you that there are times when the series would seem draggy and slow, so make sure to either turn up the speed or skip a few parts so that you can reach the end. The end is worth the watch, so don’t miss out on this one.
Summing Up
Moonrise is a series which is capable of putting quite a few questions into the viewers’ minds and making them see another possibility of the future that is different from our ideal imaginations. While the series is intriguing and captivating, it is also capable of annoying you with the shifting scenes and the slow pace. But don’t miss out on the wonderful visuals that it brings because they are definitely worth the watch.
Watch Moonrise on Netflix.
Also Read: Black Mirror Season 7 Review: A Fantastic, Grounded Season