The world of neodystopian sci-fi fiction has brought us a fancy lot of series, films, and now as it seems, the animated show ‘Pantheon’.
Rotten Tomatoes now describe it as a mind-bender that earns its own dynasty of exploring themes of morality and consciousness quite impecabbly. Boasting a 100% From critics and 90% from users, the series Pantheon is a bulldoser of an animated series about a girl who starts receivings callings from her deceased father.
Exploring the Anime in Pantheon
Given that we are Spiel Anime, it may make sense to you why we wanted to explore certain Anime references in Pantheon series. This may just as well be a foreboding hope of an Otaku to incorporate any and all decent animated series under the umbrella of Anime, but I will honourably recline from such an overly-obsessed-anime-fan move.
PANTHEON SEASON 2 COMING OUT TODAY. DO ME A FAVOUR AND WATCH THIS SHOW pic.twitter.com/Sj8KbJVE3u
— Chiphead (@Salmonella_010) October 15, 2023
From movies such as ‘Upgrade’ 2018, ‘( Also check out “Her” on Netflix) to Black Mirror’s ‘Be Right Back’ (Season 02 episode 01) or “The Entire History Of You” (Season 1 Episode 3), we have come quite a way. While for the animated tadbits, we do see shows such as Love, Sex and Robots, and Rick and Morty. But Pantheon does it a little different from all of these.
Without spoiling to you, the overall gist of this series explores themes relating to consciousness of internet uploaded information.
TRIVIA: Did you know Noticeably this was also William Hurt’s one of last portrayals, he played the voice of Stephen Holstrom.
All the Pantheon Anime references that are worth your attention
Redditors are quick to make the judgement that Anime Serial Experiment Lain is the closest to describing the majesty that’s embodied by Pantheon.
One of the things that caught my eyes while watching the latter was precisely how it deepeend conspiracy elements into the entire plot of deceased father makes unwarranted calls to daughter.
Pushed by the larger theme of uploaded intelligence within a global network (i.e internet). That’s one step different from Serial Experiment Lain where our protagonist got so immersed into the internet that at one poine she transcends her learned reality.
Well Serial Experiment Lain is more about the philosophical aspect of Internet, with some inkling of technicalities and sci-fi elements being incorporated into understading Lain’s existence. Pantheon is more about technicalities and sci-fi elements, with philosophy thrown in every now and then. If Lain has philosophy as its two bun, then the philosophy in Pantheon is the patty itself.
TRIVIA: Did you know that Pantheon is based on sci-fi short stories by Ken Liu.
Serial Experiment Lain is the not the only Anime that Pantheon seems to refer to. There are plenty more aspects which pave way for one wanting to prove Pantheon Anime references in a friends group chat (or subreddit for that matter).
Ghost in The Shell Reference
Have you noticed how Lorrie looks ghastly similar to Motoko from Ghost in The Shell? Even if unintentional, the similarity seems to stark when you think about how the protagonist Motoko from Ghost in The Shell was a full fledged augumented consciousness putinto a synthetic human prosthetic cybernetic body.
That’s quite a lot many sci fi term being used in one go, but you get the point. At the same time one may also call out similarity of Lorrie with Re-L from Ergo Proxy
Paranoia Agent and Gurren Lagan?
Then again, check the scene where Maddie’s laptop is shown in her backpack, which is the dog mascot from Paranoia Agent.
Then a reference is also found of Gurren Lagan when one notice David’s Winter reign avatar’s head piece. The symbol on his chest also reminscient of the same.
Neon Genesis and Berserk references
Check Lorrie’s laptop and you will see the NERV logo reference (speleld as NERD) from Neon Genesis.
Again, when Maddie and David encountered the PVP Event in Reign of winter, one of the invading PCs was based on Guts from Berserk.
Concluding
That’s kind of it for what I personally witnessed about Pantheon making big russ of Anime references. One may add that these are mere incidental similarities, but then again the similarities seem to starking to be simply unintentional. Regardless of the truth or falsity of the intention behind these references, one can hardly ignore the influence Japanese Anime has had on Western animated series. And as such influence keeps growing, so do we here at Spiel Anime.
To keep up with such growing Anime culture, please do consider taking a hit at our Weekly Newsletter. It’s the editor-in-chief’s personalised homefront where I send you weekly insights in what goes behind a company that’s all about Anime.