Trese – Season 1 – Radical Dreamer

Title: Trese
Series: Trese #1
Studio: BASE Entertainment
Release Date: June 10, 2021
Episodes: 6
Run Time: 25-33 minutes
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Horror, Crime
Starring: Liza Soberano, Shay Mitchell
Where to Find It: Website
Rating:

In Manila, where dark supernatural forces pervade the criminal underworld, it's up to Alexandra Trese to keep the peace - but there's a storm brewing.

Review

Finally, a Filipino animated series to be excited about! I have had my eye on the Trese comics for some time and was thrilled when I heard that it was optioned for a Netflix adaptation. It is finally here and I am happy to say that it was an absolute blast! The show features a supernatural twist on modern-day Manila bursting at the seams with Filipino folktales and mythological creatures. This series is an easy recommendation for fans of paranormal investigator stories in a wonderful urban fantasy setting.

I absolutely loved Trese and the Kambal, Crispin and Basilio. The banter between them is witty and adds a little touch of comedy in the midst of an otherwise serious plot. The voice acting was a delight in all languages, the English dub is good and still uses Tagalog words at some points, but the full Tagalog is fantastic, it’s nice to have options as a viewer.

The animation surprised me with its style, it felt like a blend between western superhero cartoons and eastern anime, the inspirations from both are keenly felt. I liked how fast the animation felt at all times, even when the characters were doing something as simple as walking. This helped the animations feel smooth with no wasted time, keeping the pace high between action scenes.

The first season is short, consisting of only six episodes. There is a lot packed into a handful of episodes and viewers get to enjoy a couple of investigations that ultimately lead up to something greater. The ending came all too soon and I wished that there would have been more episodes in-between with more investigations. The last episode feels rushed with the hinted prophecy in the early episodes being dumped all into one episode. Since I have not read the comic series, it is hard for me to say how faithful it is to the source material. I really hope that it does well enough to warrant a second season because it really only feels like the beginning of what could be a great series.