WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the series premiere of ID: Invaded, "Jigsawed."
ID: Invaded is an anime series with high expectations attached to it, notably for its director, Ei Aoki, who has shows like Fate/Zero and Aldnoah.Zero under his belt. The first two episodes were released simultaneously, providing viewers with more questions than answers.
The first episode of ID: Invaded opens slowly, first with music and a black screen. Then, figures appear, racing toward the viewer until the camera seems to emerge and the pink-haired protagonist (is that you, Natsu?) awakens. He is alarmed, unable to recall who he is and where he is. He soon discovers that despite being in "pieces" he is still able to control these individual parts and mostly reconnects himself, except for a missing elbow. He looks out onto the fragmented world, which appears to be a splintered city.
He spots legs, and he calls out to them, asking about the nature of the world he's in. With his newfound powers, if we can call them that, he catapults his hand toward these legs and pulls the platform to connect to his. He approaches this person and finds a knife through her heart and somehow immediately knows her name is Kaeru. He also recalls part of his name, Sakaido, but not his full name. He then makes a grand declaration, in a Hercule Poirot-esque fashion, that he is the "brilliant detective" and he must solve the mystery of the girl's death.
We're then introduced to a team of detectives: Inspector Momoki, Togo, Kokufu, Shirataki, Habutae and Wakashika peering at a smaller scale version of the world Sakaido is currently exploring, or the id well. The id is a tripartite created by famed psychologist, Sigmund Freud, to support his personality theory and is defined as the part of the mind that responds to basic needs, urges and desires. This particular well belongs to a serial killer called the "Perforator," and this team assists Sakaido from the outside by analyzing locations, people and items found in the id well.
Sakaido takes a closer look at Kaeru and his immediate surroundings and wonders how a killer could enter a locked room. The team observes Sakaido's environment as they cross-reference items found in the id well to the real world. Inspector Momoki warns Kokofu of the danger of drawing conclusions and advises Kokofu (and viewers) not to hastily assign meaning to coincidences.
The id well is defined as "detailed memories formed by the drive to kill." This is explained by Hondomachi, the audience surrogate, and field analyst assistant to Matsuoka-san. The well -- the blue map floating in the center of the lab -- is generated by the Mizuhanome, which houses the id well. The "intent to kill" is detected through cognition particles, which were found at one of the crime scenes left by the Perforator. The intent to kill is an impulse, which is why it is located in an individual's "id." However, when a killer decisively plans a murder method, it diverges from the well. Matsuoka also reveals that only someone who has killed before can enter an id well, and performing as well as Sakaido requires a special aptitude, or as Matsuoka more plainly puts it, "a few screws loose."
Sakaido enters a different room in the id well's disjointed world and meets other "residents," who are identified as the Perforator's other victims. Two out of the seven residents, Haruka Kazuta and Yuji Oonuki, are still identified as missing persons, and Wakashika determines they may still be alive. A reflection found on one of the photographs in the residents' home also introduces the mysterious John Walker.
An address is then found on the calendar for Fujita's Wares, which is now a closed, vacant building; however, it is only fifteen minutes away from Yuji's home. Hondomachi and Matsuoka depart for this location in search of more cognition particles using the Wakumusubi, a handheld device that scans and detects these particles. Its design is reminiscent of a radar gun, and it's this fusion that still makes ID: Invaded feel like a crime and mystery show at its heart, even with its strong sci-fi elements.
Back in the id well, the residents in it inspect Kaeru and do not recognize her. Sakaido, acting as a "brilliant detective," determines he has to question the way the world is. With this intent, he connects more of the world's pieces to find "takoya" spelled out using the gaps in the city. The team outside recognize it as the logo for a takoyaki house.
Hondomachi determines the location of the Perforator using the angle taken from the image of the logo in the id well. Cognition particles are soon detected, and the world in the id well begins to break apart for Sakaido. Honodomachi fears that with the presence of these particles, the Perforator may strike and kill the two other victims. Matsuoka advises her to stay back and wait while he enters the potential crime scene. The head of the household is revealed to be Tamotsu Fukuda, who has no family. Matsuoka enters the home just in time to hear the pleas of one of the victims and the medical unit brings the face-down victim to the ambulance.
Back in the id well, Sakaido makes a crucial discovery: the "norm" in the id well is to be broken. However, Kaeru is still in one piece. He demands Kaeru's killer leave her body, and a fragmented man faces Sakaido, menacingly. The music here does well to add suspense and tension, and Sakaido questions how he can arrest this splintered man.
Before Togo can eject Sakaido, an eighth person enters the home, and unfortunately, it's Hondomachi.
ID: Invaded is available for streaming from FunimationNOW, with new episodes releasing Sunday.