The Terminator anime series, currently titled “TERMINATOR”, is seemingly aiming for a TV-MA rating according to IMDb.
The production is a collaboration between Skydance (Terminator Genisys, Terminator: Dark Fate, Top Gun: Maverick) and Japanese animation studio Production I.G (Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion, Ghost In the Shell), with Mattson Tomlin (Mother/Android) acting as writer and showrunner for the project.
What does a TV-MA rating for the ‘Terminator’ anime actually mean?
TV-MA is one of the ratings created by the TV Parental Guidelines (a television content rating system which was founded in the United States in 1997) and is similar to how the MPA – the Motion Picture Association (formerly the MPAA) and the BBFC – the British Board of Film Classification, rate theatre releases in the U.S. and the UK. Though the ratings have no legal standing, they exist to give parents a guide as to what their kids can / should watch on TV or streaming services like NETFLIX, for example.
Wikipedia states:
TV-MA
“This program is specifically designed to be viewed by adults and therefore may be unsuitable for children under 17.
Contains content that may be unsuitable for children. This rating was originally TV-M prior to the announced revisions to the rating system in August 1997 but was changed due to a trademark dispute and in order to remove confusion with the Entertainment Software Rating Board’s (ESRB) “M for Mature” rating for video games.
This rating is rarely used by broadcast networks or local television stations due to FCC restrictions on program content, although it is commonly applied to television programs featured on certain cable channels (basic and premium networks) and streaming networks for both mainstream and softcore programs. Programs with this rating may include crude indecent language, explicit sexual activity and graphic violence.“
Wikipedia
The R / mature rating will hopefully be reinforced for the anime; as more mature content is desperately needed to offer something more substantial than what we’ve seen in the last few additions to the franchise – and strong language, graphic violence (and potentially some sexual activity) may serve to please Terminator fans – especially those fans that are also interested in anime.
Obviously animated violence and bloodshed will never rival a live action movie, but what will be most important to us (on this website) is a good solid story.
Although Terminator anime writer and showrunner, Mattson Tomlin, unfortunately lost his writing credit for ‘The Batman’; Hollywood clearly still has faith in the writer, as he’s signed on to pen the Robert Pattinson led sequel with Matt Reeves (which is suggested to happen in “less than five years”).
Mr. Tomlin has also been working for NETFLIX live adaptation of the Keanu Reeves comic book BRZRKR.
No official release date for Skydance’s ‘Terminator’ has been set yet.