Terminator Zero Director Masashi Kudō on Crafting Dark World in Netflix Anime Series – Interview

Kudō discusses the artistic inspiration behind Terminator Zero.

Netflix’s highly anticipated anime series Terminator Zero from creator Mattson Tomlin is now streaming. It brings a fresh take on the iconic franchise with veteran anime director Masashi Kudo at the helm. He is known for his work on Bleach and Tower of God. Kudo brings years of experience to this gritty reimagining of the future war between humans and machines. The series shifts between 2022 and 1997. It follows a soldier sent back in time to protect a scientist who could change humanity’s fate. In a recent Netflix-hosted roundtable discussion, Kudo delved into the challenges of blending the beloved Terminator lore with anime’s dynamic storytelling and his vision for the series.

Q: What inspired you to want to come on board the series?

Kudō: So the story is set in Japan. So I thought that was interesting. The Terminator story setting in Japan, and Mattson’s script, for me, was a Hollywood-style script. There’s not much dialogue; it’s more the people’s actions and movements that tell the story. So, that was something I thought was challenging and actually interesting for me to take on the project.

Q: How does it feel to leave your mark on this iconic franchise with this incredible series, especially in a year that celebrates the 40th anniversary of the original film?

Kudō: So the Terminator franchise—I’ve seen all the films. From the first one to the latest one and personally, I’m a huge fan of the franchise. So, to be involved was just so exciting for me. Especially with this new story, with a new angle, set in Japan, was very interesting. In the whole history of Terminator, I was very honored and so happy to be a part of its long history.

Life long fan of the franchise.

Q: Was it an easy switch from going from fantasy, lighthearted fun to something gritty, dark, and bloody?

Kudō: Yes, especially this time with Terminator, we wanted to bring back the horror of the first Terminator film. So for me, I love horror films to begin with. But it’s very hard to do horror in anime. You know, you could pitch so much, but it doesn’t go through. So for me to be able to tell a story that has a strong horror element. I was very, very excited, especially because I wasn’t able to do it until now. So I put my all into this project.

Q: What does it mean for you, with your background as an animator, to work on a story in the Terminator franchise told through animation and to have it be set in Japan?

Kudō: When you tell a story through animation, I definitely wanted to carry on the tone and the story of the Terminator franchise, obviously, but we wanted to bring something new to it. So that was something I was very excited about, and especially being able to be creative and bring my own twist to it was very challenging, but also very exciting. For me, with all the experience I had with past work and the technique I gained from that, I was able to use that for this. So I see this as an accumulation of all the works that I’ve done in the past, leading to what I did with Terminator Zero.

Q: Were there any influences that made you outline those action elements and pieces for the series?

Kudō: It was all in Mattson’s script. He detailed the setting, location, and what happens. The action was written in detail in the script. So when I read that, especially episode four, there’s an action scene in a police station. I went back to Terminator 1, and it reminded me of the police station action scene there, and I kind of understood where Mattson was coming from. That’s what he wanted to capture here. So, with that in mind, I thought, “How can we approach this differently in Terminator Zero?” In episode two, there’s a highway car chase scene. I’ve seen many films in my life, and I tried to remember some of the car action scenes I’ve seen and referenced that, building up that sequence while being faithful to the script.

Inspired by the horror genre.

Q: Were there any films you watched to bring the horror vibes to the show?

Kudō: Well, obviously the first Terminator film. The direction of that was definitely a reference. Also, Japanese horror films—we incorporated a little bit of Japanese J-horror, not flashy horror but more eerie, unsettling horror vibes. Because the story is set in Japan, I thought that would be a good match, so we referenced some J-horror films.

Unique animation techniques.

Q: Can you share some insights into the artistic choices made to create the visual style?

Kudō: The tone is quite dark, so the color is more muted, especially in the background. We asked the artist to go a little darker, tone it down. Even on a clear day, we didn’t want it to look very bright. We wanted everything to blend into the darkness. We added highlights to outline the characters so they would stand out in the darkness. Depending on the scene, we were mindful of the colors, like when the Terminator appears, we’d shift to a greener color to ensure each scene had its own vibe.

Q: What were the challenges in animating certain graphic scenes?

Kudō: The metallic skeleton, with the human skin torn off, revealing the skeleton, was in the original live-action film, and it was visually striking—grotesque but cool. We wanted to bring that into the anime version too. The endoskeleton is 3D CG, but the other characters are 2D hand-drawn. Combining the two was challenging to make it look natural. Sometimes we had a 2D endoskeleton depending on the scenes. The consistency across the series was challenging, but we tackled it.

Q: I’d love to hear about your process of creating Kokoro and making her feel so different from Skynet.

Kudō: Kokoro is an AI that Malcolm develops. Her feminine appearance and why she looks like a female character will become more apparent as you watch the series. In terms of visual approach, we wanted to go for a more Japanese myth, goddess, fairy-type look, so that’s why we ended up with that design.

Q: Did you already know who you wanted to use for the series’ score?

Kudō: When we got the plot idea from Mattson, he sent us some music samples by a composer, an American composer, who was a friend from university. When I heard the samples, I thought they were perfect for what we were trying to capture. I actually used the demo music in the storyboard for episode one, and when Mattson and I watched it, we agreed it was perfect. We ended up using those composers for the entire series.

Now streaming on Netflix

The Terminator Zero series features a dynamic cast led by Timothy Olyphant, who voices The Terminator. He is known for his roles in Justified and Deadwood. Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka, Common Ground) stars as Kokoro. She is an advanced AI from Japan, grappling with the moral dilemmas of humanity’s fate. André Holland (Moonlight, The Knick) plays Malcolm Lee. He is a brilliant programmer driven by visions of a dystopian future, working on an AI he believes could save humanity. Sonoya Mizuno (House of the Dragon, Crazy Rich Asians) portrays Eiko, a resistance fighter sent back in time to prevent the rise of Kokoro. Ann Dowd (The Handmaid’s Tale, MASS) rounds out the cast as The Prophet, a wise and philosophical leader guiding the human resistance in a post-apocalyptic world.

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