Dimension W, on paper, sounds like it makes sense, but after that, it sort of loses its way.

My main issue with Dimension W is it tries to be lots of different things while wearing a sci-fi “mask”, including things that are compatible with sci-fi but are not sci-fi (namely, horror, mystery and supernatural stuff, each at different points in time). The best kinds of anime can wear this “mask” effortlessly without ruining the mood and I noticed long-running anime and anime from before the simulcast era tend to do this quite well and whether Dimension W succeeds on this front is up to the viewer. I think while it does succeed in capturing the intended mood sometimes, the integration of the sci-fi into the rest of the story can make things a bit jarring.

The reason for this is because the sci-fi itself can take a backseat to the ideas explored, despite it being a sci-fi series in its categorisation. The “conflation” I’m referring to in the title is mainly that of how energy = potential, which then causes time warps, “ghosts” and memory manipulation. Trying to jam that all in with Mira’s occasional insight into how she works and how she’s almost indistinguishable from a human (right down to the biological processes!) is a bit much.

Meanwhile, discussing the problems with infinite energy the coils can bring creates discussion around economics and/or politics (or rather, it should create discussion), considering how petroleum does the same thing in the world as we know it, but despite there being an international cast once the plotline revolving around recovering Kyoma’s lost memories kicks off, the anime prioritises action set-pieces rather than discussion…While action fans who don’t mind style over substance will be fine with this, those who think sci-fi is meant to “get under the surface” of society and/or the human condition won’t be happy with it (especially since Mira is the only way anyone gets close to what those viewers want), so I can see Dimension W being quite polarising for some.

As for the international cast itself, the representation of “Africa” present in the back half is inaccurate, which detracts from the story…more specifically, the “Africa” in the anime is more accurate to the Middle East in a lot of senses, including the clothing, and all the dark-haired civilians you can see which are supposedly from that region ignores the fact there are Caucasian Africans from decades of apartheid. (Then again, that isn’t enough to stop me from watching when the Mexicans wear sombreros and ponchos and act like they’re cowboys.)

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Anyways, what are your thoughts on this anime? (I know Scott doesn’t like it all that much, which is why I thought about why it would be polarising, but what about everyone else?)