Our take
In a world acclimated to the technological advancements and integration of AI, Sudo Hikaru offers illegal medical procedures in the hopes of finding the people behind his mother’s stolen data. The Gene of AI takes an interestingly neutral tone towards the integration of humanoids among the population (akin to our current normal with social media and smartphones). Even as the question of ethics and legality weaves through everyday conversations, the idea of AI being inherently bad is never the conclusion. So far, the narrative follows a procedural format that feeds each new case/scenario back into Hikaru’s search.
With a small primary cast and a heavy hand on CGI (which feels deliberate given how the show discusses the human-technology relationship), the show has the potential to deliver a memorable narrative in the transhumanism genre.
The story
The future is here, and a new species lives among people: humanoids. These robotic beings are highly sentient like man and suffer from unique ailments. Thankfully, Dr. Hikaru Sudo can help. He vows to treat the humanoids even by means that may be considered illegal, causing him to lead a double life. But when strange diseases emerge due to this coexistence, ethical lines become blurred.
A doctor who treats humanoids that have become part of society investigates a mysterious illness that is affecting them.
While this sci-fi style will always explore what makes us human, it is sometimes hard to do so subtly. Hikaru's quest explains the world without info-dumping by starting in the throes of this new world that has already set up regulations and integrated humanoids into society (with humans getting regular neural implants). And through humanoid sentience, the show examines the parts of the human condition that are often taken for granted.
AI sentience in sci-fi isn't new but seeing a humanoid contemplate death and their sense of self = an existential crisis!
The details
Who picked it
Kerine Wint is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. When she’s not absorbed in anime and weird docu-series, she reviews speculative fiction for Fiyah Lit Magazine or designs album covers and magazines. As for her film taste, One Cut of the Dead (2017), The Lure (2015), Inu-Oh (2021), and Dear Ex (2018) sum it up pretty well.
