''Exception'' (stylized as ''e∞ception'') is a

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

horror

original net animation An original net animation (ONA), known in Japan as , is an anime that is directly released onto the Internet. ONAs may also have been aired on television if they were first directly released on the Internet. The name mirrors original video animat ...

(ONA) series based on an original story by Hirotaka Adachi with character designs by

Yoshitaka Amano is a Japanese visual artist, character designer, illustrator, a scenic designer for theatre and film, and a costume designer. He began his career in 1967 at Tatsunoko Production working on anime such as '' Speed Racer'' and later became the c ...

, music by

Ryuichi Sakamoto was a Music of Japan, Japanese musician, composer, keyboardist, record producer, singer and actor. He pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the Synthesizer, synth-based band Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his ...

, and directed by Yūzō Satō. The series was released on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

on October 13, 2022.

Premise

Humans are searching a new solar system for potential new planets to terraform after being forced to leave Earth. To explore a potential planet, "Womb", a 3D biological printer creates an exploration team one individual at a time to pilot spacecraft. However, a fatal exception causes one crew member, Lewis, to be misprinted as a deformed monster that could potentially pose a threat to the rest of the crew. A new, successful printing of Lewis joins the crew to help in the situation, which raises philosophical questions of humanity, self, and life.

Characters

;Lewis : ; Nina : ; Mack : ; Oscar : ; Patty :

Episodes

All episodes were written by Hirotaka Adachi and directed by Yūzō Satō with Chien Yi Lin, Yu Cheng Wang, Mntn Chang and Grace Chen as assistant directors.

Production and release

first announced the project as part of their Geeked Week in June 2021. Hirotaka Adachi wrote a new science fiction horror story, and the character designs were done by

, who designs the characters for ''

Final Fantasy is a Japanese fantasy Anthology series, anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi which is owned, developed, and published by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fanta ...

'' games. The series is directed by Yūzō Satō. At the next year's Geeked Week, Netflix released the first look at some of the series art and character designs. A trailer was released in September 2022, revealing that

composed the music for the series as well as the main Japanese and English cast members. The series debuted worldwide on October 13, 2022.

Reception

The art and design for ''Exception'' were especially praised thanks to the work of Yoshitaka Amano. The

CGI animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Modern c ...

itself, however, did receive some criticism for having a low-budget appearance. The story and the music were also spoken highly of.

Accolades

The episode "Misprint" from ''Exception'' was nominated for an

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...

for Directing in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

References

External links

* * * {{Netflix original animated series and films 2022 anime ONAs Japanese English-language television shows Anime with original screenplays Television series set on fictional planets Horror anime and manga Science fiction anime and manga Netflix original anime Tatsunoko Production