This series is an intriguing attempt to find the sublime in the ridiculous. What we have to remember is that Pacific Rim was, by design, frivolous and almost a self-parody. It was a knowing wink at the ludicrousness of kaiju and the fancruft that have grown around them, with "no alloys" and "50 diesel engines per muscle strand" as standout lines signalling that everyone involved was revelling in subverting and almost-but-not-quite mocking the source material.
The Black plays it all far more seriously, trying to show the consequences for squishy humanity of the "kaijufication" of earth - or more specifically, Australia, but best not to dwell on that detail, given that most of the voice talent are resolutely North American. There's loss and tragedy, there are merely elephantine kaiju-hounds to give a human sized threat, there's genetic experimentation, there are Jaegers that aren't quite Jaegers: all sorts of ideas that are well worn tropes in themselves, but fresh to this milieu.
The animation is entirely CGI, there's not a hand-drawn cell to be seen. It's very well done though, at least for the human characters. Surprisingly, it's not so great for the kaiju and Jaegers, which are fairly generic grey-and-blue vs grey-and-red over-shadowed blobs, with little sense of size or mass to them.
What really shines through is that the lead voice acting is outstanding, and for once they're given half decent lines to deliver and they're not phoning it in. Gideon Adlon does a compelling turn as Haley, bringing an appealing warmth, range, depth and emotion to the role. Erica Lindbeck also plays it pitch perfect as a passive-aggressivly sardonic training AI, introducing just the right amount of levity. Calum Worthy is the straight-man, and given a bit less to work with, but he takes a damn good swing at what he's given. This is highlighted by contrast with the cast extras, who turn in fairly generic anime performances.
The pacing is also a strong point, with decent story arcs and few flat spots. You won't find much Japanimation budget-stretching scenes here of composed of 2 minute still frames with trembling eyes and meaningless ejaculations of "Oh! Ah!". It's all dialogue here, lads. The score and foley are also well done, adding to rather than distracting from the animation and voice talent.
I'll be honest, I was ready to dislike this, but it won me over. It's a bold and well realized series with its own strong vision, and it delivers it competently and confidently. Definitely worth a try.
