Alternative TitlesEnglish: Red Garden Synonyms: RG, RED GARDEN Japanese: レッド ガーデン
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 22
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Oct 4, 2006 to Mar 14, 2007
Duration:
23 min. per episode Rating:
R - 17+ (violence & profanity)
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 7.461 (scored by 1960 users)
Ranked: #10972
Popularity: #811
Members: 5,648
Favorites: 45 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
drama mystery |
SynopsisStrange suicides have been taking place in New York. One day, four girls from the same high school wake up in the morning feeling tired and dizzy and not being able to remember anything about the previous night. In school, they find out that one of their classmates has committed suicide. School is canceled for the rest of the day, but instead of going home, the girls are drawn to a park by butterflies only they can see. Suddenly a man and a woman approach the girls, telling them that they all died the previous night. (Source: ANN) |
Related AnimeAdaptation: Red Garden
Sequel: Red Garden: Dead Girls
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
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Matsuo, Kou
Director |
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LM.C
Theme Song Arrangement, Theme Song Composition, Theme Song Performance, Theme Song Lyrics |
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Ishii, Kumi
Animation Director, 2nd Key Animation, Chief Animation Director |
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Senjū, Akira
Music |
Reviews
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Whoomp
22 of 23 people found this review helpful
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22 of 22 episodes seen
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| Overall |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
Murder, suicide, butterflies,Roosevelt Island and young undead girls. Welcome to Red Garden.
Red garden is a creepy horror-story starring four girls, Kate, Rachel, Claire and Rose who all died at the same place. Even thought they are dead they have been granted a life by a woman in exchange for them to at anytime fight all kinds of unnatural beings. Along with trying to live a normal life they also is trying to figure out what happened to them that night where their normal lives ended. This is just the beginning but the 4 first episodes gives hints on that there will be many plot-twists to come and that everything is not what it seems. The one thing that they do have in common is also the most interesting thing about the story, their common friend Lise who supposedly took her life the very same day they all died. This makes a really interesting way to start off a new series and I myself found it really interesting that you from the very first episode easily got sucked in the world that is Red Garden.
The art in is truly beautiful from the opening to the end but those who are not used to different animation may find it unusual and even ugly. Gonzo has done a brilliant work with this title and the artistry and style is really unique. The thing that I first noticed was that the hair of all characters have a gradient tone and no paint-on-shadows that most shows do, this makes the hair look really smooth, not hard and spiky like the stereotypical anime hair. Although this is nice it makes the already shoujo style of the characters even more shoujo-ish. There should be no problem with this if you have seen shows like Paradise Kiss and Nana before but even if you haven't the story will suck you in and you will get used to the style pretty quickly.
The music is also great, not only the opening and ending but the music in between is also very fitting to what is happening and what mood the scene is in. They seems to have been putting a lot of effort into making the mood just right as in many shows but the difference here is that they actually succeeded.
The characters in Red Garden are really something, the high school girls and really acts like it too making them easy to relate to. The girls are not meant to be superheroes with superpowers, they are just regular teens that for their own survivals sake must fight even though they don't want to. This can be seen early on in the anime, the agony the girls are in for doing what they do that will eventually take its toll and break them down.
Though it may not seem like it at first glance, this is actually a thriller and has a depth not seen many times before. The mystery is like a mist that slowly lightens and at the end of the first few episodes always leave you with a desire to watch the next and the next. This never ends and the anime always manages to keep you interested in it.
To summarise, Red Garden is a visually stunning with a interesting story that just makes you want more and more. The downside is that not everyone will appreciate the special art-style but for those who do gets to see a great story with deep life-like characters. Girl or boy (woman or man), either way I highly suggest that you watch it, for your own good. read more
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Venneh
27 of 37 people found this review helpful
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22 of 22 episodes seen
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
Title: Red Garden
Manga, Anime: The manga of Red Garden started running just under a week before the show started airing on Japanese television in Gentosha Comics' magazine Comic Birz, with story by Gonzo and art by Kirihito Ayamura. It is still running in Japan, and has two volumes to its name. It has yet to be licensed Stateside.
The anime itself ran on Japanese television from October 3rd, 2006 to March 13th, 2007, and was directed by Kou Matsuo (well-known for directing the Rozen Maiden project) and animated by Studio Gonzo (well-known for Gankutsuou and Saikano). ADV has licensed the show Stateside, and the third volume will be released on the twenty-second of this month.
Story: Red Garden's focuses in on four girls -- Kate (the one who's rich and is on the student disciplinary council Grace), Rachel (the bitchy queen bee of her clique, you know the type), Rose (the sweet, quiet one with the little siblings) and Claire (the punk) -- who go to the same school (Roosevelt Academy, which is strangely Japanese-esque for being in the middle of New York) and, for whatever reason, can't remember the night before. As the day goes on, they find out that a girl they all knew, Lise, was found dead that day. After being let out for the day, each of the girls sees a bunch of red butterflies, and mysteriously wind up in the same place. A creepy lady and her male partner show up, inform the girl that they're their instructors, and before telling them to kill a man who turns into a freaky wolf-demon thingy with their bare hands, that they're all dead.
Quite the first episode, huh?
The rest of the series focuses on how the girls deal with the fact that they're dead and all and the fact that they now have to fight and kill these monsters in order to stay alive, and the mysteries behind all this unfolding bit by bit.
One of the most frequent complaints that you will hear about Red Garden is that it's slow. And I won't deny it; the series does overall focus more on the personal lives of the girls and how what's going on now affects that more than the actual how and why of what's going on, and it makes things seem painfully slow. However, the latter does come into play, and when it does, it hits hard. The first ten or so episodes lays the groundwork for what's going on, the next six develop the situation as things are revealed and the stakes are raised, and the final six shows all the cards and lays everything on the line.
By the end of the series, you know everything that's going on in these girls' lives, and you feel like you've known them your entire life. They did really well, developing them. And even most of the bad guys and minor characters get some development, so they seem more human and less like cardboard cutouts.
Oddly enough, there are a lot of references to American pop culture, which makes sense, as it's set in NYC, but it still throws you for a loop at first.
It's not perfect, though. The how and why of what's going on is never fully explained, which is mildly annoying, but not unexpected, seeing as this is the guy who directed Rozen Maiden (and could've resolved it quite nicely in Traumend, but NO!). And there are random bits of song that are thrown in in the first half that many will find painful, but they're quickly abandoned by the second half, which was a good call. And the ending and its vagueness (another hallmark from Rozen Maiden) will probably piss some people off, but know that there is an OVA called Dead Girls that is available raw, but not subbed, and some group should really pick it up.
Art: Red Garden has an interesting style in how they design their characters -- more like the Korean style that I've seen in manga, really, than what I consider manga. The necks are unrealistically thin, the noses are really weird, and the lips are huge. But you get used to this by the third episode or so, and it grows on you after a while. And they use gradient shading here and there, and it really looks nice, but only because it's not overused. They also had the budget for outfit changes at least once every episode, which is nice, but the fashion sense was a bit lacking at times, and resulted in painful outfits.
Otherwise, fairly decent animation.
Music: The background music for this is very heavy on strings and piano, and it's really done well. It does seem a bit overdramatic at times, but those times are few and far between, and for the most part, it adds to the scenes quite nicely.
JiLL-Decoy Association does the OP, "Jolly Jolly", which is a lighthearted bit of J-Jazz, and seems a bit out of place with how dark the rest of the series is, but is still pretty nice. LM.C does the two EDs; "Rock the LM.C" for the first half of the show, which is a blend of hard rock and rap, and "Oh My Juliet" for the second half, which is more rock-oriented and a bit more of a love song.
Seiyuu: Red Garden is unusual in that the dialogue was recorded before the animation was created (when it's usually the other way around), and you can tell the difference in the quality of the acting, which is top-tier. They've also got three of my favorite seiyuu (Rie Tanaka, aka Suigin Tou; Takehito Koyasu, aka Ilpalazzo and Hotohori; and Daisuke Ono, aka Koizumi), which just adds to the awesomeness.
Voice Actors: However, as normal, the awesomeness of the seiyuu does not translate to the VAs for the English version. Most of the VAs perform their lines like robots, and/or are painfully fake-sounding/high-pitched where they shouldn't be.
Acting like this is the reason I've gone to subs and never looked back. Also, this is why America should just stick to subs. Fail, ADV. FAIL.
Length: 22 episodes is just the right length for this series. Yes, it drags a bit in places and probably could have used more development in others, but any shorter and it would've gotten the shaft, and any longer and it would've gotten painful.
Overall: An excellent series with an unusual art style, beautiful music, and excellent story and seiyuu. Yeah, it has some problems (most notably with VAs), but it could be far worse.
Story: 9/10
Art: 9/10
Music: 9/10
Seiyuu: 10/10
Voice Actors: 5/10
Length: 9/10
Overall: 51/60; 85% (B ) read more
Recommendations
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TMGK and Red Garden are both series about a happy go lucky group of high schoolers who find themselves in an unusual situation and become unlikely friends (teammates?). They both have creepy settings and both episodic and series long stories. Although I wasn't a fan of Red Garden, I think others who enjoyed TMGK may enjoy the dead girls of Red Garden as well!
If dark horror is your thing check out Red Garden. With similar characters, and high school kids fighting monsters who were once human this show could be right up ypour alley.
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Gantz and Red Garden have very similar plots albeit a little more different, They both feature peope who have died and are given another chance to live if they defeat certain monsters. However, if they die, they die forever.
Red Garden is Gantz for the girls! Really, it is a girly verson of the manly Gantz. Both of these series are a lot alike, and go well together! I think Red Garded is the spiritual sequel to Ganzt, done with a female touch. Both series feature people who just died (2 people in Gantz, 4 in Red Garden) who are forced to fight monsters or aliens to survive. If they can survive, they can return to their normal lives, otherise they're really dead this time. Gantz features a large cast of people who just died, and people drop like flies, while Red Garden is mostly just made up of the 4 girls, until you get towards the end. Both of these anime series are mature, dark, series with some focus on the "mystery" behind what happened to these people. Both series are by Studio Gonzo, and have english dubs by ADV studio/Amusement Park Media. Both have great opening music, from a genre of music that anime series normally don't use (a semi jazz song in Red Garden, and a rap song in Gantz), but the songs manage to capture the spirits of the shows completely. Plus their music just owns!
There are some differences though. Like Red Garden is more of a drama, with some action, while Gantz is more of an action series. Gantz has sex scenes, more blood, and lots more gore. While Red Garden has no sex scenes, and less blood and gore (but still very mature). Gantz is based off a still running manga, while Red Garden is an original anime, which Gonzo later ran a manga series based off of it.
If you like Gantz, you will like Red Garden, and vice-versa! Give these anime series a try! They are both very unique and very good!
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Opening Theme"Jolly Jolly" by JiLL-Decoy association
Ending Theme#01: "Rock The LM.C" by LM.C (eps 1-11)
#02: "OH MY JULIET." by LM.C (eps 12-21)
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Related ClubsLM.C Fan Club, AniAnka Club, Miyuki Sawashiro Club, AniAnka Club, ~Rie Tanaka Fan club~, Japanese Anime's #1 Fans 日本のアニメの＃ 1ファン, FUNimation fan Club, Watch Anime Together Club Headquarters, silver moon, Oh, You are Crazy! This is USA! That is Japan!, Guild Against the Killing of Hot Anime Guys, Studio Gonzo, Anti Loli Association, seinen & josei, ShadowAlex Anime Room, Chris Pattards, ~* KOYASU TAKEHITO FANS *~, The Studio Gonzo Club, (I can't believe it's a) GONZO Fan Club!
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