LogFAQs > #969769751

4. A.I.C.O.: Incarnation
https://myanimelist.net/anime/36039/AICO__Incarnation
Spring 2018 (12 episodes)
My Score: 10/10, MAL Score: 6.54/10
Best Character: Tachibana Aiko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq9fFLVSroA

Premise: A self-replicating organism known as Matter has gone out of control and now threatens the world. Tachibana Aiko, a young woman who lost her family to the initial disaster, learns that shes the key to stopping it. However, thatll mean fighting their way back to the facility where it all began.

The Good: AICO is a sci-fi action anime, and everything about it seemed designed to appeal to me specifically. To start with, I love the Matter. Its basic form is a self-replicating mass of red ooze that's been snaking its way down what used to be a river. It possesses a kind of intelligence and is capable of shapeshifting into various dangerous, alien forms. The only real weapon against it are cartridges with a chemical mixture, but the Matter quickly mutates so different parts of it require different mixtures and nothing works for long. I love the battle scenes where the characters have to stay alive while trying to get a sample so they can mix the right bullets. It added a strategic element beyond "shoot the thing until it dies". Everyone had different roles, and where they were or how they covered each other really mattered. There's lots of pseudoscience behind the Matter, and learning all the layers of the disaster that spawned it was interesting. Still, the important thing is that no one has been able to stop it. All the dams along the river, which were converted into makeshift blockades, have been overrun and abandoned. Now only one final gate sits between it reaching the ocean, which, in theory, would mean the end of the world.

That's where a high-school girl named Aiko comes in. Her father worked at the facility where the Matter was created, and her whole family was there on that fateful day. Aiko was the only one who escaped, and she's still recuperating when a mysterious transfer student approaches her. He convinces her that she's the key to stopping the Matter. There are competing factions involved, including government agencies torn between studying the Matter or trying to destroy it with heavy ordinance. Aiko sides with a ragtag group of mercenaries who are willing to fight their way up the river. Aiko is one of the best anime characters ever, as I'll talk about more in her write-up. She approaches this strange situation in a realistic and compelling way. I liked all the other characters too, even if not all of them get much development. They all fulfill their roles. I even sympathized with the closest thing the story had to a human antagonist, which really sold the conflict. Beyond that, I also loved the story's pacing. Its so focused on a singular goal, and there are very few detours along the way. There are also some interesting themes about sense of self and ideas like the greater good.

The Bad: There are one or two nitpicks I could harp on (I'm not sure if they ever explain why they need to fight up the infested river, couldnt they just walk right to the facility from the other side?), but I love AICO and I refuse to let minor plot holes ruin it for me. The biggest problem was that it released with a terrible dub. Apparently it now has a new dub thats merely mediocre, I dunno, I only watched it subbed. Still, no matter where I looked when this was new, the awful dub was all anyone talked about and it felt like no one gave it a real chance. Now this wonderful anime has faded into obscurity. It won't appeal to everyone as much as it did to me, obviously, but it deserves so much more credit than it initially got.

Overall: AICO is my favorite action anime. It has one of the most perfect stories Ive ever seen. I love the awesome fight scenes and compelling character dynamics as Aiko and her guardians fight their way through the alien Matter, all while political and scientific figures are maneuvering behind the scenes. Theres hardly a wasted moment, and every aspect manages to come together for a satisfying conclusion.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/0/1/AAcDcBAAD7qR.jpg

CHARACTER: Tachibana Aiko (A.I.C.O.: Incarnation)
https://myanimelist.net/character/148848/Aiko_Tachibana
Voiced by: Shiraishi Haruka
TOP 100 RANK: 3rd

SPOILERS FOR A.I.C.O.: INCARNATION

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw4V7PBt4Xw

The story opens with Tachibana Aiko still confined in a wheelchair, slowly recovering from the tragedies that have defined her life. First, she lost her father and was seriously injured in a car accident. Then she lost her mother and brother in the Burst. I like how Aiko carries herself early on. She isnt constantly depressed. She has friends and hobbies like making paper airplanes. Its still a melancholy scene when she returns to her empty home for the first time and sees all those reminders of the loved ones who are now gone.

She soon learns the truth behind the Matter. The surgery after her car accident involved swapping her brain into an artificial body, and this was what triggered the Burst. I like how realistically Aiko takes all of this. Her first instinct is to run away, and even for much of the story after that shes wary of the mysterious transfer student who is her only source that any of this is true. Ultimately, the mysterious visions shes been getting seem to prove a connection to the Matter, and the hope that her mother and brother are still alive is too enticing for Aiko to ignore.

Even though shes essentially cargo for everyone else to deliver, I love how Aiko refuses to be dead weight during their journey. Shes always aware of the risk everyone else is taking, and she tries to help them however she can. Using her awareness of the Matters movements to provide support gives her a unique role. Theres also an awesome scene where her enhanced body lets her wield a rifle in each hand. Aiko can be a badass when she needs to be! Whenever they reached a checkpoint and shocked the Matter so they could have a brief reprieve, her connection to it made that agonizing for Aiko. I liked the strength she showed in bearing that pain and then pushing on.

All of that is great, but what really makes Aiko one of my favorite characters is how she reacts to the final plot twist. It turns out shes the artificial brain, not the human one. Shes the one who needs to die to stop the Matter. I love that Aiko isnt a self-sacrificing saint right away. Her first instinct is to panic and flee. Once shes had a heart-to-heart with her other self, though, Aiko is ready to die so that everyone else may live. And its this final choice that convinces everyone shes worthy of life after all, and they fight to make that possible. There's a bit of an ass-pull with that hamster thing remaking her body, but, oh well. It was still a great moment, and the themes of sacrifice and one's sense of self were compelling. One of my favorite things in fiction is comparing different sides of a character, and the real and artificial Aikos allowed for that.

The video I linked is just the ED. It doesn't seem especially meaningful, at least not until the very end once the viewer realizes what it means. It shows one Aiko on a hike back down the river, reconnecting with her past. The other is moving forward into a classroom, ready to live a life of their own. I love how the ED turned out to be an epilogue all along. AICO really was a beautiful story.