Hype for the Netflix Original Animé Trese will hit a fever pitch as the episodes officially drop. The show carries a lot of hopes and expectations since it’s the first Philippine graphic novel to receive this treatment.

Created by Budjette Tan and KaJO Baldisimo, Trese is set in Manila where the mythical creatures of Philippine folklore live in hiding amongst humans. Series protagonist detective Alexandra Trese finds herself going head to head with a criminal underworld composed of malevolent supernatural beings.

Netflix was kind enough to give GadgetMatch early access so, here’s what I think you should look out for before you watch the Netflix Original Animé. And don’t worry, no spoilers here.

1. Don’t think of it as an “Animé” 

While it technically is an animé since by definition animé is really just any animated work whether hand drawn or computer generated, outside of Japan it’s more popularly known as animation that originated in Japan.

The term also comes with certain aesthetic ✨expectations✨ and that’s not really what you’ll get here. That isn’t a bad thing though.

The art style and overall animation more closely resembles the previous work of series Showrunner Jay Oliva. He’s worked on outstanding DC Animated films — Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, Justice League: War, Batman vs. Robin — to name a few.

You can tell me Bagyon Kulimlim is a DC villain and I wouldn’t bat an eye

Die hard animé fans will likely have a more open mind watching this with the expectation that the visuals of Trese are more Justice League or Batman The Animated Series than Tokyo Ghoul or Bleach.

I think with this in mind, you’ll enjoy the series more and appreciate better what it’s trying to do visually.

2. The Filipino/Tagalog dub sounds like your regular animé dub 

Yes, as a person of the Internet I have seen the comments and the conversations online about how the Filipino dub was executed. But I wanna say about 70 to 80 percent of the series will sound natural as you get deeper into the episodes.

If you grew up watching Slam Dunk’s Hanamichi Sakuragi calling Kaede Rukawa “Gunggong” (idiot) or are a fan of the “Tapusin, tapusin, tapusin” (Kill him, Finish him) chants of the monsters in Ghost Fighter (Yu Yu Hakusho), you should feel right at him with the dubbing work.

It isn’t perfectly natural and it does have awkward sounding dialogue. However, that’s par for the course at least from what I remember from watching Philippine TV in my childhood. Could it have been done better? Perhaps.

I watched the first two episodes repeating scenes while switching between the English and Filipino dub. My impression is that this was written first in English and then translated later on to Filipino. I should be able to confirm whether this was the case or not soon but for now, I think the series was certainly written in English first, then other languages later.

That said, the English dub does put on some accents that I don’t know how most people will feel about. Some of it does sound Filipino and they also mix in some Filipino words here and there. Personally, I wasn’t too bothered but I’m interested to see what the reaction of the general audience will be.

3. The music is fantastic

The intro starts with tribal chants that’s then super charged with some electronica. It perfectly mirrors the theme of the show — mystic creatures terrorizing humans in the modern world.

Does the Emissary give you an eerie feeling?

The show’s score also perfectly evokes the feeling of dread of living among aggressive ghouls claiming the lives of humans. Scenes of dialogue that further the detective side of the story also have this air of mystery to it.

When the action cranks up to eleven, we get a modern twist to traditional Filipino musical instruments played during festivities.

Alexandra Trese kicks ass

All these come together to bring the world of Trese to life and helps with the show’s overall identity.

Overall impressions

Around the time that this animated series was announced, I recall watching (or reading, my memory’s hazy) an interview by the original creators of the title about how they patiently waited for the right people to work with. I think the wait paid off.

The series as a whole is well done. The animation is fantastic if you look at it the way I did. It has a certain look that feels familiar and distinct at the same time. The pace never slows to a crawl. Instead, it slowly builds up to an emotional crescendo.

It’s such a treat to see Philippine folklore in this treatment. Personally, I’ve long wished for something like this. I believe our folklore is rich and deserves to be seen by the world. I pray Trese is just the beginning.

Watch Trese on Netflix.