|
Gad Guard : A Review of the Complete Anime Series
© Holly Ellingwood
Aug 24, 2005
Gad Guard, the TV series released by Geneon earlier this year, is an animation that surprised me with its stunning animation, darkly atmospheric story, and complexity to their characters. On the outside, it seems like your regular mecha anime adventure science fiction with young pilots, an anime one would suspect to be geared towards younger viewers. However, Gad Guard proved to be more intense and layered than expected.
Set primarily in Night Town, a place in the future, we are introduced to a small group of characters. The main hero is Hajiki, a young man striving to help his family financially by working. He finds a mysterious stone and from it is unleashed a Techode, otherwise known as a Gad. Very soon he is embroiled in action as he fights to protect himself and the people of Night Town. Don't let this plot fool you though. As simple as it may seem there lies a mature and more layered sub-plot to all this that took me by surprise and kept me watching. The heroes, as well as the villains, are more complex than they at first appear. Heroes are flawed while villains can be revealed as sympathetic. The mystery around the secret of the Gads and the motivations of the characters are revealed in an arc that fully spans the twenty four episode series without ever dragging. I liked the originality of the Gads. They aren't big enough for the people to ride in so 'pilots' must hang onto them in some way. The way the Gads look, particularly around the face at first struck me as looking a little like something from Astro Boy, perhaps a bit juvenile looking even, but the story intrigued me and lulled me away from such distractions. The animation overall, it should be well noted, is fantastic looking. Particularly for a TV series where the animation is usually less so than what you'll see in animated films or OVA series. From the punchy jazz opening song to the last moments of the final episode I enjoyed this series. More along the lines of anime like Gatekeepers, this is an enjoyable show for viewers who want some science fiction adventure but nothing too grim, deeply complex, or complete fluff. It ranks a solid 7.5 out of 10 kendo swords. Rating:
Gad Guard is rated 13 and up for mild violence and language. Release Information:
All seven volumes of Gad Guard are available now.
Go To Page:
1
The copyright of the article Gad Guard : A Review of the Complete Anime Series in Anime is owned by Holly Ellingwood. Permission to republish Gad Guard : A Review of the Complete Anime Series in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
