Gibiate

So, i just watched ep 1, 2 and 12 in 4x Speed and it was amazing, i got extremely attached to the characters, the plot was amazing and i cried at the end.

I can't understand why people dislike this anime so much, sure if you are a CGI hater you won't like it that much but the CGI was top notch.

One of the best and most badass main characters I have ever seen, a cast of brilliant characters and the best final villain I have ever seen.

10/10 It's much better than Fullmetal, give this number 1 on MAL.

Honestly, i discovered that people didn't like this series throught Ex-arm's reviews. Honestly, nothing really bother me that much, if not that the plot was predictable, as any shounen that we all know, and that the fights are meh, but not that bad as to be compare to ex-arm's ...
Or maybe is it because that i listen way more than watch anime ? Anyways, my 6 is a 100% feeling about this show, meaning that, i didn't found any enjoyment in this, but is wasn't that bad all along. I still watch it from the beggining to the actual end. Worst part would be ... misused of the seiyuus for me, and cheap end story, but overall there was hope !

Hayao Miyazaki once said: "Anime was a mistake." And it IS true to some extent to some people who are particularly OVER-ambitious a.k.a. Gibiate, created and produced by "the (unknown) man, the myth, the legend" that is Ryo Aoki that was announced during last year's Anime Expo. And I have to say this because it's just "so bad it's good" hilarity of a nonsense, dumpster fire: "WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS A GIBIATE???" OOPSIES, you got GI(JE)BAITED BIG TIME!

I mean, just look at the show's background info that MAL has given us: top-of-the-class creators and makers in various industries, all coming together to create a ... show so top-notch, this is a very rare pipedream that us anime otakus would ever dream of having once in a blue moon. BUT ALAS, that is only one side of the picture of Heaven, the other side of the grass is a lot like HELL in the most (un)expected abominable way possible, and you can blame it all on Ryo Aoki, the mastermind of Gibiate that's a straight-up trainwreck of a show so masterfully crafted to fuck with our minds (like how the horror-fest of Higurashi did back in the day).

But what's the story, you ask? In a nutshell, it's an "Isekai" with the COVID-19 viral pandemic as a backdrop, talk about creativeness in the most literal sense. People from all walks of life (Samurai Sensui Kanzaki and Ninja Kenroku Sanada), seemingly time-travelled into a Japan that has been riddled with an infectious disease called "Gibia", and must now aid in the humans' help (that have not been stung with the disease from disgusting and ugly-as-shit CGI monsters) to find a cure and save mankind. Sounds interesting for an original series, I kid you not. I'd go as far as to extent my gracious thanks of a frustrating facade if the 3-episode rule doesn't apply to you, and you just wanna see how this trainwreck of a show goes from start to finish (of which I did). Along the way, many plot twists will come, and believe me, they're far from being the most generic shit you've ever seen, it's like "Oh, (someone) dies: <shout their name in distress>!" levels of full-on cringefest.

To quote it best: It's a botched project that was written by a kid who wants to make a quick buck, asked his parents to direct it, and bring in influencers (*cough* Crunchyroll *cough*) from his list of "friends of friends" to produce a "I don't know what the fuck I'm doing" project that just slaps at the bone to over-promise and under-deliver.

On the side of characters, it's even better. Wanna know why? If the "death sentence" did not foreshadow the things to come, you're missing out on some hilarity on this "so bad it's insanely-unthinkable bad shitshow". See:
- Sensui and Kenroku have come from the Edo Warring States era, and the condition of a Gibia-infested Japan is not much different from killing their enemies, but you can already tell that they're there to rain down the parades of the CGI Gibia monsters (or Meteora, the evolution of Gibia).
- Kathleen and her mum Yurika Funada, they're far from being bland characters, they're background cheerleaders in the pursuit of "safety" and are plot twisters in and of themselves.
- Dr. Yoshinaga, the professor-in-charge of finding a cure for Gibia, he's quite the crude character and is highly secretive about his actions (so that he doesn't need to show as much interest), but overtime, his "growth" into a "Highway to Hell" character is a twist as well.
- Monk Yukinojou Onikura, he's quite the intimidating character on the outside, but yet has a soft heart on the inside. His "loveline" with Kathleen's mother Yurika is sweet but however, downright full of cringe, but props to his dedication.
- Runaway daughter-and-father duo Ayame and Renjiro, one a former policewoman and the other, a Yazuka head of followers called Gailents (which compromises of right-hand man Guren, former Olympian Isao, Ninja Katsunori and fatso Hidenori). a constant bickering and fallout of a broken family (with more or less their professions against one another), the hatred is ever so real until the callus moments that force them to work together even in disagreement.

Again, in a nutshell, death will be the constant expectation, and there is NO way you can avoid it if you want to pursue "greatness".

I find it absolutely mind-boggling that a show of this magnitude not only has some of the all-time digusted-looking art and animation from 3rd-rate studios (I mean, Studio elle and l-a-unch・BOX aren't exactly good-sounding names either), BUT THE FACT that this show was "hyped beyond belief" through its own dedicated YouTube channel (GIBIATE PROJECT) with an unusually passive-agressive marketing stunt of a PR. The talks between top-notch production staff from the character designs to even the music...yeah I get it, if it's to show off how (really) good the individual aspects of the show are, but if your final product's SHIT, not even this will save you. Obscene and drab art, subpar animation and disgusting CGI doesn't make a show worthwhile to watch, but it's certainly a laughingstock of a "masterpiece".

But what I CAN save for Gibiate, is entirely for the OST alone. If you haven't heard of renowned Japanese musician Yasuhiro "SUGIZO" Sugihara, he is a BIG figure in Japan's music industry, and for good reason, having been the lead guitarist and violinist for LUNA SEA since the early 90s. More importantly, video game console gamers will enthrone about Yuzo Koshiro's presence in this show, having tipped his toe in many games that will influence the music genre (e.g. SEGA's Street of Rage series for the Genesis/Mega Drive), and having already a well-respected reputation ahead of him. The instrumental shamisen OP by the Yoshida Brothers (another cult-following Shamisen-playing musician group) is IMVHO (in my VERY honest opinion) one of the best-sounding instrumental songs to ever grace the likes of Japanese anime, and with SUGIZO's input collaboration, makes this show worth watching alone just for the sheer amount of hard work to create such an impact. Maki Ohguro (another Japanese influential music artist)'s ED is also another good song that screams "90's music", is also worth the listen outside of the show alone. Needless to say, the sound department is truly a masterpiece of work. But GOD FORBID to please pick better VAs next time, because they don't fit their respective characters.

In the end, it's of a no-brainer to address this important, decision-making question: "Should you watch Gibiate?"
Ryo Aoki's reply in an interview: "We don't care about the Japanese market, our target is the global market." Having carved the originality of Spring 2016's Endride and focusing on the Western market, he's got a bold vision, but the execution is a total dumpster of a misfire.

"Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on you." Gibiate is truly a one-of-a-kind masterpiece of how "so bad it's an utter joke" of an anime, and think of it either as an insult-to-injury to the anime industry or a worthwhile fest of experiencing "the best of the worst" to fuck with the minds of new Otakus (for a lack of a better explanation of "don't think, just watch!", of which I'll welcome you in), it is and forever will be the hilarity banter of rememebrance (of 3 months) for the "Hall of Shame" (after Mars of Destruction and Skelter+Heaven).

LONG LIVE GIBIATE!!! GET GI(JE)BAITED, sponsored and courtesy of Crunchyroll under their "Crunchyroll Originals" show lineup. Stay a LONG safe distance away from this show, or "Get N or Get Out".