Screenwriter Gen Urobuchi is most famous for his dark deconstructions ( Madoka Magica , Aldnoah.Zero ) and psychological action-thrillers ( Psycho-Pass , Fate/Zero ). However, I've always had a soft spot in my heart for his 2014 post-apocalyptic mecha film, Expelled from Paradise . In a future where 98% of humanity live as digital data on a megastructure orbiting a ruined Earth, the story of an accolade-hungry government agent who finds true friendship in a normal earthbound man and an AI reaching for the stars hits all the right notes—both philosophically and in the action department.
However, that film barely scratched the surface when it came to world building. Resonance goes a long way to change that. This film takes place not in the ruined wastelands of Earth but in the mountainous regions where life is once again flourishing. It dives deep into explaining the civilization-ending “nanohazard” as well as the unexpected (and continuing) effects of Angela's actions in the first film.
Of course, this film isn't Angela's story: it's Gabriel's. Gabriel is a heavily traumatized woman, unable to come to terms with the idea that her best friend never really existed—that she was just an AI simulacrum designed to fool people until her real programming kicked in. And as her mission to find the Fallen continues, it becomes apparent that the leaders of DEVA (who have grown only more self-serving and authoritarian since the first film) don't trust her and have likely included another AI sleeper agent in her current team. Thus, Gabriel is forced to relive her trauma—knowing that one of her companions is not the person she (or even they) think they are, even as they all grow closer.
The film also does a great job of blurring the lines between hero and villain. Everyone's actions are made in the name of survival. Gabriel and her team are trying to get back into DEVA's good graces by hunting the Fallen. The Fallen are trying to become an alternative to DEVA as the next step in human evolution. And even the DEVA leaders are simply trying to eliminate any possible threat to their way of life. All are willing to consider desperate, perhaps amoral, actions in pursuit of their goals.
But Gabriel herself acts as a counterpoint. She adds the ground-level viewpoint of a person willing to follow their own personal morals regardless of any claims made by others about “the greater good”—much as Angela did in the first film.
The film is also a thought experiment about AI. Even in this fictional world where AI can evolve to have sentience naturally, do the manufactured personalities of these AI sleeper agents count as people? Are they not but a cover for the simple, rule following programming beneath? Do they have souls?
The closest we get to an answer is Gabriel's own—that it doesn't matter because the friendships she has had with these pseudo-personalities are real to her on an emotional level. However, it's clear that other characters in the story would vehemently disagree with Gabriel's conclusion. Regardless, its a fantastic thematic exploration that stays with you even after the film is over.
Resonance really shows how much CG animation has improved over the past 12 years. The shading has improved drastically and there is a much wider range of emotion seen on the various character's faces throughout. The film also does a good job separating the virtual world, the real world, and the surreal elements created by the Nanohazard through visuals alone.
The music is likewise a step up from your average anime film. Not only are the theme songs absolute jams, the first film's theme/ insert song EONIAN returns. On one level, it ties the two films together. On another, it being sung acts as the central character moment that the rest of the film revolves around. It's a fantastic example of music being used as a vital piece of storytelling rather than just something in the background to elicit emotion.