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FYI, this first post is spoiler-free. I binge-watched this 4-part CGI series tonight and found it to be quite enjoyable, overall.

Now, please take note: not good, not smart, not coherent. I said, enjoyable. And I would highly recommend it to RE fans. Again, please note: to RE fans. If the name Leon S. Kennedy means nothing to you, just skip Infinite Darkness — it will be utterly unintelligible to you.

But if you, like me, are a RE fan then here’s what you can expect from RE:ID and why you should watch it.

First, the major weakness: It feels like watching a YouTube compilation of cutscenes from a Resident Evil game. I’m pretty confident that Capcom didn’t develop RE:ID out of a game they decided to scrap in favor of RE8 but that sure is what this feels like. There are big chunks of plot (and even character development!) simply missing, which anyone familiar with video games will instantly recognize as elements a game, as opposed to a show, would introduce and develop during the course of play between the cutscenes. And so I sat there watching the show very frequently imagining how cool all the stuff I wasn’t seeing must be.

Second, that weakness is also a strength: What a thoroughly entertaining series of cutscenes! This kind of thing (essentially, anime) can easily slide into interminable babbling but RE:ID, true to the art of video game cutscenes, only covers the most crucial expository information and the most dramatic plot points. The episodes are thus very brusquely paced and one simply doesn’t have time to get bored, or even, at times, to really understand just quite what’s going on or why. Which brings us back to how the main strength of this “show” is also a weakness, and so on, back and forth.

Considering how most companies are spoonfeeding their valuable IPs to the broadest possible audience demographics, the fact that Capcom unapologetically aimed RE:ID at fans is extremely refreshing. While I doubt there will be a second season in the conventional sense (given RE:ID is set between RE4 and RE5), I hope Capcom decides to make another series like this ASAP.

While not really a RE Fan, I do have just enough knowledge of the games to know who Leon is and his significance, so I thought the series was rather alright.

I agree with everything you have said, I really enjoyed it, but thought that was probably because I am a RE fan.

I also kept thinking it felt like a game, and I wish it had been. Some of the locations would have been awesome for a game.

The animation was top notch though and there were some "uncanny valley" moments in places but it looked great.

I was actually disappointed it was only 4 episodes - the last episode felt a bit rushed and there was enough material to actually put in another couple of episodes.

But yeah, nothing ground breaking, but it was enjoyable.

It's actually made me more confident about the live action TV show that's coming at some point.

so this is 4 episodes and done?

 usernamesareannoying wrote:
so this is 4 episodes and done?

Yes, 4 episodes, each around 25 minutes. makes me wonder why it wasn't just released as a movie tbh.