Under the Dog is a science fiction anime OVA about government conspiracies and experimentation gone wrong. It channels a mixture of Evangelion and Ghost in the Shell, both in the art design and the world, including a shady pseudo-governmental organization that uses teenagers as its operatives for reasons that remain unclear. Episode 0 was just released following a 2 year production period after the Kickstarter, with no future episodes planned.

The production values were good but not gorgeous like the first few episodes of Evangelion, or what you would expect from a movie. Avoiding spoilers, the episode’s plot surprised me. Under the Dog plays with the “chosen hero” and “government conspiracy” tropes in a way that feels fresh. The ending leaves an opening for a series but stands well enough on its own, feeling a great deal like a classic science fiction short story- briefly exploring the consequences of a theoretical technology on people’s lives and society as a whole, with disturbing implications.

The acting had its moments, though the subtitles in some scenes give the usual feeling that there is a subtext that has been lost in translation. Some character speak only in English, with the quality of acting varying wildly. The fight choreography is good, better than what you would expect from a series, though not as good as Darker than Black or the trailer for Under the Dog.

Character development and world building are both excellent, showing rather than telling what is happening, and paint a rich yet fleeting picture of the world without an exposition dump. Under the Dog Episode 0 is well constructed with good animation and a fresh plot and if there were later episodes I would watch them based on the strength of the first.

Yet as a Kickstarter backer, it feels like a raw deal. The single episode produced is good, but for $25 and a two year wait I was hoping for more than 28 minutes. This is probably a failure to manage expectations on my part, but to people uninvolved with the Kickstarter I would not recommend paying $25; wait for it to hit a streaming service or go to retail. My disappointment is with the Kickstarter process, which was expensive, long, and created inflated expectations, rather than Under the Dog itself.

Under the Dog stands well on its own, telling a satisfying story in a skillful way that could be continued but doesn’t feel like it has to be either. The main complaint being there isn’t enough of it speaks well about the quality. It works as a unit and I want to see more of it not because it ended on a cliffhanger, but because it is well done and interesting.

TL,DR; Under the Dog is good and worth keeping an eye on in the future if the series is picked up, especially if you like classic dark science fiction. Don’t back Kickstarter projects.