As the series opens, we're shown a dark and futuristic world where an ecological disaster forced the construction of a city called Romdeau. Our protagonist is a young woman named Re-l, who is called in to investigate several deaths that are tied to androids called autoreivs.
While a lot of plot points are left vague, we are given hints that the government wields a lot of power and we see that they engage in some form of experimentation. In fact, the prologue consists of one of these experiment "specimens" waking up and breaking loose.
She may not compare to L, but Re-l is a competent investigator and does a good job of putting pieces together. When she is attacked by one of the aforementioned creatures (later dubbed "Proxies"), she manages to hold her own. Her character backstory isn't really touched upon and she comes off as bored through most of the episode, but that seems to be her general personality. She even describes the "Paradise" as boring.
The show tries to create a creepy atmosphere, a lot of scenes take place in dark rooms that make it hard to see. This doesn't help the fact that the episode doesn't give you a whole lot to go on. It gets better about establishing characters and the general setting, but some may find it frustrating to spend a good chunk of the episode with no real idea of where we are or who we're supposed to be following.
There are points, however, where the attempts at creepiness work rather well. During the scene where Re-l is initially attacked by a Proxy, we see a robot kneeling down and praying. Re-l notes how odd it is, but coupled with the ominous chanting that was playing, it made for a pretty creepy image.
The final sequence is also rather creepy as Re-l is, once again, attacked. The fact that she is accosted in her own bathroom doesn't help matters. Take into account that there are now two of these things running around and you're left with a pretty decent cliffhanger.
This episode didn't blow me away, but it did enough to grab me and make me intrigued as to what's going on. It's not a perfect pilot, but as the series progresses, I can see myself getting engrossed in the show's mysteries and overall arc.
The series is streaming on Hulu, however, because it is intended for mature audiences, you have to sign up and make an actual account in order to watch it.
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