Reviews

Gunparade March is a lovely little program which seems to have gone unnoticed by large. Whether by poor distribution or almost no advertising. But it doesn't change the fact, this a wonderfully low key, people driven show that needs to be seen. The program centres around a group of young Japanese students who have been recruited by their country to be part of a defence force against a mysterious alien enemy and 2 students in particular. Hayami Atsushi is the average, slightly goofy young man who is teamed up with the introverted, intense but talented transfer student Shibamura Mai to pilot a new and improved model of the project's mecha. The series focuses largely on the students and their lives rather than the day to day fighting of aliens and looks at the flip side of life away from the action, the consequences and the emotional effects of the young people involved. With a few nods to films such as Aliens and Starship Troopers plus other anime programs like Full Metal Panic! and Martian Successor Nadesico that crept up before it, this series has a fusion of romance, comedy, action and despair to keep you hooked to the last episode. (From Mai's secret of her heart to the death of a colleague or to the adventures of The Unlucky girl!) Whilst fan's of deeper or more action based anime such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Z.O.E, Guyver or Detonator Orgun may find the slow pace boring, the more grown up crowd may thoroughly enjoy this series. As I did. The characters are wonderfully diverse, the music also and the action handled with precision and style. It proved to be a wonderful surprise and one that I recommend highly. Even if the series is all too brief. 8/10!!

What makes a great anime show over a good anime show? Or even a bad one for that matter...It's about blending elements and getting them to work together successfully. In Rahxephon the elements of deep emotions, Mecha, music, science, religion, relationships, family and even unlined racism are added and fundamentally, blended beautifully to make one of the most amazing anime series ever.

First off, this show is visually a feast for the eye. With crisp, clear animation, which despite not being the greatest in an anime show (in terms of attention for detail), is very effective, bright and colourful to the eye. Some of the battle sequences, such as the original Tokyo Jupiter invasion involving Elvy Hadhiyat and Allegretto in a dogfight is excellently choreographed being executed with style and artistry. All the characters in Rahxephon are beautifully designed also. From the quite ordinary boy, Ayato Kamina to the reserved, Quon Kisaragi. The purely macabre Helena Bahbem to the interestingly 'wise old' figure of Seiya Rikudoh. All are wonderfully written and share great layers of depth and scope. With the best instances in the show being that of Dr.Itsuki Kisaragi and Makoto Isshiki. You sense a lot of history with these characters and in the case of Makoto, a real sense of hidden malevolence, making them so compelling to the viewer. It is something that most Anime just can't produce despite there best intentions. The key being, managing to create believable characters in a fictional world. Another area in which this series really excels is the music.(With it being a huge theme throughout) The Mu, the protagonists of the piece, are creatures of music and tone and for this the creators decided, as is the way in these apocalyptic dramatisations, that Classical should be the music of choice. Whilst this adds a real strength to the emotion of the show overall, striking the right notes, this does raise a curious connection. That of Neon Genesis Evangelion, which decided to use classical producing and existing classical tracks in the day to day lives of their characters. This connection with Evangelion is seen in other areas as well, including scenarios and set pieces. Eg. The Rahxephon having to kill a D-1 in orbit from the ground or a D-1 that takes the opponent into negative space through a black hole type phenomenon, enveloping the Mecha and it's pilot. But looking no further than the main lead can really see where these 2 champions of Anime differ. Ayato Kamina and Shinji Ikari. One thing that really made this show work was the amazing realism involved in Ayato. He does really seem to be a young man coming to terms with the world around him and acting accordingly. Whilst at the end of Evangelion, fans and critics alike were becoming a little less than enamoured with Shinji as a character, not to mention the voice actors! Shinji fell into depression and became almost excruciating towards the end.

This series is a wonderful piece of emotional anime with classic design work and classic characters. Excelling in every department, including the area Evangelion failed on. A fitting and compelling ending. Both in the series and the movie endings.(Again following Evangelion with a movie alternative ending) It's not a rip off of Evangelion, but another piece of work with similarities, that stands on it's own, in it's own right. People debate, which of them is better, saying you can only like one or the other. This is wrong in my opinion, with both being Genius (in a word) and excelling in different areas. But I can only see the comparison as a pure compliment to Rahxephon. That after it's ran it's course the show is constantly being compared to one of the greatest anime series ever.

Rahxephon comes highly recommended and for some parts of the series, it is the best Anime around. It very rarely gets better than this. 9/10

Gonzo, one of the best recent times producers of anime, with the likes of Hellsing and Zaion: I wish you were here, under their belt, bring forward another series containing their second to none ability at creating great characters.

Kiddy Grade is a surprisingly sprightly series that follows the exploits of 2 members of a galactic law enforcement group far off in the future. Éclair and Lumiere are G-Class ES members of the Global Union's Planetary Mediator group, the Galactic Organization of Trade and Tariffs or the G.O.T.T as the series follows the lives, experiences and various missions of them and their fellow ES members.

Whilst both appear to be young girls, this exterior hides a strange G.O.T.T secret. (ES members re-new their souls in to new bodies, making them much older in mind than in appearance!) Both Éclair and Lumiere possess incredible powers and knowledge beyond their teen years. Using these attributes to solve cases and protect the civilians of the now mass populated Galaxy. With Éclair possessing incredible human strength and agility and her tiny partner being able to control any machine with her mind, they are a fearsome duo in cute wrapping. But the story focuses on Éclair's switching of body and how she looses her mind in the process. She struggles to cope with her troubled total recall and the inner politics with in the huge array of populated planets. Along the way, we are introduced to some wonderfully bright and imaginative characters. Including the mysterious Armblast. An auditor brought in by the G.U to assess the ES members in their day-to-day work. (Or is it something else?? There is more than meets the eye here.)

The series is a wonderfully colourful and imaginative effort. Boasting a memorable array of characters throughout the story. (The ES members are a strange but enjoyable bunch of mismatches, e.g. Un-no and A-no, Viola and Cesario) Which as a whole is this series strength, since the show isn't as spectacular in its animation as the previously mentioned Gonzo shows. All the major characters are a joy to behold with even some of the more serious ES members coming across as interesting and in no way 2 dimensional. (Like Alv and Dverger or Dextera and Sinistra)

For that I have to congratulate Gonzo. They have created a character driven anime that really does make you care about not only the 2 main characters but also the welfare of even the lesser ones. However, Kiddy Grade does have its problems. The script at times is quite horrible. Even laughable. Sometimes leaving you a little embarrassed for the writers. It's not that the content isn't worth listening to, but it is how a few of the lines are presented. Also, there are the plot lines. Which at times, throughout the series tries just too hard to be complex and mysterious. Which instead of leaving you asking some questions, which is always good for a show. This leaves you confused and asking too many questions and ending up just plain puzzled.

With equally strange and quirky (or as I prefer to call them…Japanese!) elements such as continuous crouch shots, misplaced soundtrack music or ES members with nothing but pure odd weapons. E.g. Éclair using a Lipstick whip?? Or Lumiere with exploding wine bottles!! It does add to an overall feel of a series that could be a cult classic like the likes of Bubblegum Crisis/Crash or Dirty Pair.(Fans of those shows will love this!) If the stranger elements can be forgiven that is!

Kiddy Grade is well worth a viewing as an entertainment show. Showing off wonderful characters and some wacky ideas over a serious backdrop of Politics and class struggles. Whilst it doesn't work completely, constantly leaving you thinking there should have been more to this series or that it could have been handled better with more quality and realism, to make it a true classic, it does have huge appeal to younger viewers for it's characters and their bizarre powers. Plus it is a good addition to any anime fan's collection. But it doesn't have mass 'mainstreamed' appeal, the pity here being, that all of the elements for a great show are present. 7/10 Very Good.