English Dub Review: Make My Day Season One

Overview:

A prison colony has been established on a frigid and seemingly desolate planet aptly named Coldfoot. Inside the colony, prisoners are forced to work in a large mine to harvest a precious energy source called Sig ore, which is used to power much of the world around them. The colony is no day spa for its prisoners. They mine, they eat, and they sleep with no options for anything else. The prisoners are kept in check by a team of rigid and no-nonsense guards led by Commander Bark (James Mathis III). 

The central plot revolves around Jim (Zeno Robinson), a part-time security guard in the colony. Jim isn’t much of a guard and appears to be completely overmatched by the job and brutal conditions of the planet. One of the few things that motivates Jim is his incredible drawing ability, which earns the praise of his friends and family but the ire of his coworkers. Jim tries his best to provide for his grandpa, sacrificing his own dreams and ambitions to make sure the two of them can get by on Coldfoot. 

It doesn’t take long before Jim and everyone else on Coldfoot realize they are not alone on their iceball of a home. A swarm of mysterious creatures come up from deep inside the mine and attack the prisoners and guards, jeopardizing the safety of not only the mine and prison colony but the entire planet as well. A rescue mission is quickly launched to salvage the crew and resources, but Jim and company soon find out that the creatures won’t go down without a fight. Can Jim find the strength within himself to fight for his loved ones? 

Our Take:

Originally announced as a feature-length movie by Netflix, Make My Day instead plays out like a disjointed series that was chopped up and stretched out to cover roughly three hours of runtime. There isn’t enough story throughout the eight-episode season to keep this show compelling. Jim’s journey from a feeble boy to a strong and capable leader didn’t ever feel earned. In fact, it didn’t feel like much of anything. By the third episode, Jim makes the leap at the snap of a finger without any real substance. We never saw the inner turmoil that sparked the change, just a flashy sequence that awakened the hero inside of him in an instant. Make My Day is a superficial dud masquerading as a deeply emotional sci-fi epic. There are moments of greatness that offer a glimpse into what could have been, but those moments are too few and far between. 

There is some excellent world-building involved in Make My Day. Dust Box is an intriguing setting, but we just never get to see enough of the town. One or two more episodes to set up the story and flesh out the entire world would have done this show wonders. There was a great foundation underneath it all. Make My Day is filled with interesting themes and engaging plot points that writer Yasuo Ohtagaki and director Makoto Honda built from the frozen ground up, but were just unable to completely thaw out. Similar themed projects such as Aliens or even Avatar offer insight into corporate greed at the expense of grunts, but they do so with a more integrated narrative and complex characters.

The dialogue is tough to digest in this frozen sci-fi thriller. Every spoken line feels colder than the ice-covered planet that the characters find themselves trapped on. Most of the characters churn out stereotypical “tough guy” one-liners and observations, which gives the impression that the series was written for edgy teens, by edgy teens. The dialogue is overly direct and too on the nose to really have the impact that it desires. Exposition-filled monologues dilute what could possibly be a strong story. 

The voice work for the English dub doesn’t exactly elevate the script either. The actors certainly hit their marks, but much like the dialogue itself, the actors are cold and lacking in any warmth or personality. The quips are dull and lifeless with little distinction between the characters. The voice acting isn’t comically bad, it’s just forgettable. Possible emotional moments are bogged down by lackluster performances and frustrating creative choices. Walter (Tony Pasqualini) plays a central role in the narrative, but his muted performance diminishes key scenes. Ironically, the strongest character in the entire season was Casper, Jim’s reliable robotic sidekick. Casper is almost reminiscent of RD-D2 with its nonverbal personality and adorable prompts when communicating with Jim. When in doubt, throw a lovable robot in the mix!  

The art style of Make My Day is a real head-scratcher. At times, it can be captivating and distinctive, with great detail on Coldfoot and its settlements. Explosions and fight scenes are well made and do a solid job of capturing the excitement. One of the strongest aspects of the artwork might just be Jim’s art inside his sketchbook. It is better drawn and more visually appealing than a lot of what we see on screen. The look and feel of Coldfoot and its locations are terrific and really set the mood for the story. But for the most part, the overall style of the show has to be considered a letdown. The character models are strange and often look like they are in poorly rendered video game cutscenes. The design of the creatures is less terrifying and more comical. These monsters are unstoppable killing machines yet they look like something that would scurry away when moving lawn furniture. 

The inconsistency throughout each episode keeps this show from reaching its potential. Is this show worth a watch? If you’re craving some decent sci-fi action and a simplistic story, then yes. It is entertaining enough to spend a few hours on, but it won’t leave a lasting impression or have too many viewers demanding a second season. Make My Day may have been better suited as a self-contained story inside an anthology. It’s not the worst animated show that Netflix has put out, but Make My Day never warms up enough to be considered a good show either.