Ranked #704

Elemental Gelade

Characters/Development
I was surprised after watching this one as I expected it to be your average adventure anime with the same old story, characters that get forgotten and bad flow in story. I am glad I was wrong, this was a great viewing. The story is a rather simple one but flows very well throughout the anime having some interesting action and emotional moments. Fights aren’t too alike to each other and the emotional moments aren’t the same each time because they are sometimes sad, sometimes cute. The plot also has its interesting moments, with a few awkward ones too but theres nothing overall disappointing about it. The action in this one as I said aren’t too alike to each other throughout the anime as the enemies have different styles for battle and different terrains were they happen at. I did however get bored of Coud getting pushed around without getting hurt too badly at the start and towards the end. I like the emotion the most in this one, especially the way Ren gets upset and learns she starts to feel jealous later on. There are also some sweet romantic moments I don’t wish to spoil, but quite unexpected which is very good. Something I’ve Noticed, the way this anime is set out and the characters, it really reminds me of Outlaw Star. First, the girl is found in some sort of container in both of the animes and are both wanting to go to a certain place with the main character who promises to do so. Second, the characters are alike. You have Coud and Ren who are like Gene and Melfina. Then you have the beast girl character. You also have a good warrior in both and the annoying “kid” if you like in both of them. Thirdly, there are always people getting in the way, some people trying to kidnap the girl and some other adventures inbetween.

Animation/Scenery
Animation is rather good as well, but there were a few repeated scenes in a few spots. The Reacting scene did however got repeatative and boring half way through but at least the studio made those scenes end quicker than near the start. The art style also looks very soft with good tones of colour, with nothing too bright or dull. I did notice the art did get more sharp and better later in the anime too. Backgrounds were interesting but nothing fantastic except a few areas in the later episodes. Character designs are interesting, Ren is very cute with the way she looks with her purple hair and green eyes which is quite different than a lot of female characters and suits her very well. Coud is also rather decent looking for an adventure anime which doesn’t go over the top with hair design and clothes. The others are also interesting without being too far fetched, except the hair style of Wolx, but I rather liked it. Characters also never get forgotten as ealier characters return later in the anime.

Audio/Music
Music adds to the atmosphere and feeling of the anime, especially the music used to explain what happened in the previous episode. They sound like some old folk/country tunes and fit well with the style.

Conclusion
A very good adventure anime, without being too farfetched. Good action and great emotional scenes with an overall good flow for the story. read more

Main
Elemental Gelade is an OK series to watch. At first it may look like a kiddie show [which I think it is], but it actually get's a little better and more entertaining so it might be something those of us over 13 might enjoy....just keep in mind it's really simple.

Art-Style
Very bright colors with simple lines and shading, typical of shounen series directed towards a younger audience. There are some pretty good landscape shots...and the floating rocks are nice. The “Reaction” scenes are reused and repeated....frequently.

Sound
Nothing especially thrilling about the OP or ED, I dislike techno very much—so no comment. However some a songs during the show were OK, the last song of the final episode was probably the best.

Story
Very simplistic storyline; good versus evil blah blah blah. There was a deeper moralistic tone being taught here too, which is basically about [racial] intolerance. The story does try to get more complex, when friends turn on one another and you start to wonder just who is the bad guy [and which team is the evil team?] but that all falls by the wayside and reverts back to the overly simplistic children's style of storytelling. The final battle and ending chapters seemed kinda rushed and anti-climactic.

Cast/Characters
Cou's name is annoying [couldn't they have just called him Garrett?] and so is his hair....annoying [they look like fins or gills and they don't get wet in water]. The rest of Cou is OK, the fact that he wears red is a plus [except for Inuyasha and Vash... who wears red?]. Wren was perfect, I liked her—no problems there! The supporting cast was also OK and enjoyable and funny [especially Vero, and ep.18]....but they also have deeper, more serious sides to their personality—which is always interesting to watch and see how things develop.

Worth it or NOT?
it's an OK series to watch one time only. And it's definitely suitable to just watch this on TV or web broadcasts...but I wouldn't buy it unless I had kids. read more