Gen:LOCK (Season 1)

Gen:LOCK (season 1)
Let the good times roll.
Genre: Action Adventure Drama Science fiction Country: United States Release Date: January 26, 2019-December 23, 2021 Network(s): Rooster Teeth (season 1) Max (season 2) Adult Swim (TV; season 1) Created by: Gray Haddock Distributed by: Warner Bros. Television Distribution Seasons: 1 Episodes: 8

gen:LOCK is an American adult-animated science-fiction web series by Rooster Teeth on their streaming website Rooster Teeth First in 2019.

Plot

In the year 2068, a military organization known as Vanguard is at war with a terrorist organization known as the Union. One of the members, Julian Chase, sacrifices himself during a battle at New York, leaving his significant other, Miranda Worth, all alone in pain and loss.

Four years later, Miranda eventually moves on, and starts to develop a more serious personality because of her loss, but soon discovers that her former loved one, Julian Chase, is still alive after all these years and was recruited by an eccentric scientist named Dr. Rufus Weller, creator of gen:LOCK, a program that allows the human mind to connect to a mech called a Holon.

Dr. Weller then welcomes new recruits, Cameron "Cammie" MacCloud, Kazu Iida, Rob Sinclair (demoted after being revealed to be a Union imposter), and Valentina to be members of gen:LOCK, and with these new recruits, and Julian and Yaz (first members of the program), the Holons help Vanguard in their war with the Union, as well as one of the Union's very own Holons called "Nemesis".

Why This Season Rocks

1. Beautiful and fluent CGI animation, especially the fight scenes.
2. The plot is well-written.
3. This is the first Rooster Teeth show to feature big-name actors like Michael B. Jordan, Dakota Fanning, Maisie Williams, and David Tennant that usually star in live-action TV shows and movies.
4. Awesome music, including songs like Belgrade, Alive, and Weight of the World by Battle Tapes.
5. A great roster of likeable characters like Julian Smith, Cameron "Cammie" Maccloud, and Dr. Rufus Weller.
6. Nemesis is a very intimidating and compelling villain.
7. It is one of the very few western animated action shows to appeal to a mature audience due to its TV-14 rating.
8. Has some funny moments, including ones where Cammie randomly drops the F-bomb.
9. The translator gimmick with Kazu Iida being unable to speak English and is being voiced by veteran anime seiyuu Koichi Yamadera to boot is an interesting one that does not appear often in science fiction.
10. The way the mechs called Holons are operated is very unique because you can link your mind and conscience to one and actually be the Holon itself.

Bad Qualities

1. The second season is rather lackluster.
2. Very little character development.
3. Miranda Worth, one of the lead characters, is reduced to a supporting role when the new recruits Cammie, Val, Kazu, and Sinclair were introduced.
4. The show has its share of cliches.
5. The pacing of the show feels rushed at times, almost as if it's trying to get straight to the point of the action.
6. We hardly know much about the characters, other than their backgrounds just briefly explained by others in the show.
7. The series is overly reliant on diversity regarding genders, nationalities, and sexuality, leading to most of the characters having bland personalities and traits.
   • Valentina is by far the worst offender about this, as her/his/its personality can only be described as "constantly switching genders" to the point it simply hurts.

Trivia

• There is a RWBY reference in Episode 4 where the main characters enter a VR world and Cammie switches between different costumes for them, one of them being ones from RWBY.

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