The Spring 2025 Anime Preview Guide

Moonrise

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With the invention of specialized elevators, it became possible to colonize the moon, and now, humanity is split between inhabiting both planets. But the moon-dwellers aren't pleased with how Earth has been treating them, and a "moonrise" is coming. Jack Shadow, the adopted son of the people who commercialized the elevators, is living an indolent life in L.A. when the moonrise happens. Will he give up his privileged life at the behest of his old friend Phil?

Moonrise is an original project by writer Tow Ubukata and Wit Studio. The anime series is streaming on Netflix on Thursdays.

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Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

The best science fiction has something to say about our present world, and Moonrise is aware of that. It's too soon to elevate it to the upper echelons of the genre. Still, its first episode does feel at least a little timely as it opens on a story where the privileged upper classes party and game on superyachts while their colonies on the moon foment rebellion. Did the suspiciously-named Shadow Corporation do more than build the technology that allows easy travel between the earth and her satellite? We don't know yet, but watching the ship be taken out by the very tech it's celebrating feels apt, if not just.

Of course, it's not technically their fault – even the name is taken from its founder's family name, Shadow. But there's still a sense that the Shadows are out-of-touch, at least to a degree, and that maybe that's because they're busy living their champagne dreams. Only Jake, their adopted son, seems aware of the disconnect between how his family lives and the rest of the world. He does a good job playing the role of spoiled, indolent son, but there are hints that his life before he became a Shadow was anything but kind. There's a strong implication that he and his friend Phil lived in a group home on the moon and that Phil did something to orchestrate Jake's survival. Jake appears to have believed that Phil did so at the cost of his own life, but that doesn't necessarily seem to be the case by the end of the episode – and I suspect that if he got to choose, Jake might pick Phil over his cushy life.

It's a strong opening. The episode does an excellent job of showing rather than telling, allowing us to draw our own conclusions about Jake and his world, and the contrast between him and Rhys, who is very preoccupied with Jake being who and where he's supposed to be, is well set up. We know from the flash-forward opening that Rhys will realize that there are bigger fish to fry, but right now, she represents the idea that Jake owes something to his family that he might disagree with. She's uptight in a particular way that contrasts with Jake, interestingly.

This also looks and sounds really good. I'm particularly impressed by the sound design, which knows how to use silence almost better than sound. There are two moments where events unfold without any noise, allowing us to focus on the nuance of the characters' reactions. I think the sub cast is slightly better than the dub, mostly because side characters, like Jake's father, sound stilted in the dub, but it's not a question of one being overwhelmingly better. Moonrise is a little disted in its opening episode, possibly on purpose, but it's still off to a good start. Serious science fiction fans should check it out.