Honestly, the first time I sat down to watch the premiere of Japan Sinks: 2020, I wasn't sure if I was ready for it. It was July 2020. The world felt like it was already falling apart, and here comes Masaaki Yuasa—the guy who gave us the neon-soaked trauma of Devilman Crybaby—dropping a show about the literal end of an entire nation.
If you're looking for Japan Sinks 2020 episode season 1 episode 1 watch online, you've basically got one main destination: Netflix. It’s a "Netflix Original," which in today’s streaming wars means they’ve got the global rights locked down tighter than a bunker. You won't find this one on Crunchyroll or Hulu.
Why Episode 1 Still Hits Like a Freight Train
The first episode, titled "The Beginning of the End," is a masterclass in making you feel incredibly uncomfortable. It doesn't start with a bang. It starts with the mundane. You see Ayumu, a 14-year-old track star, just living her life. Her brother, Go, is obsessed with video games. Their mom, Mari, is on a plane. It’s all so normal.
Then the ground opens up.
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What I find fascinating is how the Shindo scale is used here. In Japan, they don’t just use the Richter scale; they use the Shindo scale to measure how much the ground actually shakes. This episode portrays a Shindo 7. That’s the kind of earthquake where you can’t even stand up. You’re just a ragdoll. The animation by Science SARU is fluid—sometimes "ugly" and distorted—which actually makes the horror feel more visceral. When the stadium lights come crashing down and the sky turns that weird, dusty orange, it feels less like a cartoon and more like a memory of a nightmare.
The Best Ways to Stream It Legally
Look, I know the temptation to hit those shady "free" sites is real, but for a show with this kind of sound design, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Kensuke Ushio’s soundtrack is half the experience.
- Netflix (Standard or Premium): This is the intended home. You get the 4K options if you're on the top tier, which, trust me, makes the wreckage look terrifyingly detailed.
- Netflix with Ads: If you’re pinching pennies, the ad-supported tier still carries the full series.
- Offline Viewing: If you're traveling, the Netflix app lets you download the episode. I’d recommend this because the pacing is so frantic you don't want a buffering icon ruining the tension of a building falling on someone.
What Most People Miss in the First 20 Minutes
A lot of viewers complained that the characters felt "flat" or "unremarkable" at first. But that’s the point. The Mutoh family isn't a group of superheroes. They’re a mixed-race, Filipino-Japanese family just trying to find each other.
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There is a specific scene where the phone signals cut out. It’s a small detail, but in 2026, we’re even more tethered to our devices than we were when the show premiered. Seeing that "No Service" icon while the world is literally sinking is probably the most relatable horror in the whole show.
Also, can we talk about the helicopter scene? Without spoiling too much for the three people who haven't seen it, the way Yuasa handles "incidental" death is brutal. People don't die with long monologues here. They just... stop being there. It’s a jarring shift from typical disaster anime, and it starts right in this first episode.
Is It Worth the Sub?
Some critics, like those over at Anime Feminist or Ready Steady Cut, pointed out that the show leans heavily on shock factor. They aren't wrong. By the end of the first episode, you’ve seen more trauma than most shows pack into a season.
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But if you want a story that actually explores what national identity means when the "nation" is physically disappearing, this is it. It’s not just about survival; it’s about what you take with you when you can’t take anything.
Next Steps for Your Watchlist
If you've finished the first episode and need to decompress (or double down on the dread), here is what you should do next:
- Check the Audio Settings: Switch between the Japanese VA and the English dub. The English dub gets some flak for "unnatural" accents, but the Japanese performance by Reina Ueda (Ayumu) is hauntingly good.
- Watch "Tokyo Magnitude 8.0": If Japan Sinks felt a bit too "Michael Bay" for you, this is the more grounded, scientifically accurate cousin of the genre.
- Look up Kintsugi: The show references this Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with gold. Understanding that philosophy makes the later episodes hit much harder.
Go grab some tissues. You're going to need them for episode two.