Ranked #2372

Gasaraki

Where Evangelion revolutionised the mecha genre, and perhaps inspired melodramatic experimentalism in modern anime, Gasaraki made a quieter step in a different direction for mecha. From the very outset, I’ll just say that one of the main draw points for this series is the mecha design, and the high degree of thought that was put into the functionality of the bipedal machines as effective tools of war in near-future combat. But there is a lot more to the show than that; Gasaraki is one of those rare anime that manage to rise above what could easily have become a convoluted mess of a plot. With elements of military, romance, supernatural, sci-fi, mecha, history, and politics, Gasaraki is the product of an amalgamation of a whole slew of genres and plot-lines that manages to work. But it doesn’t work as well as it could have, and the constant juggling of its many characters and stories result in some elements being underplayed and others over-stressed. The character of Misuzu and her endearment to her brother seems to be almost completely redundant at times, and quite often you end up wishing one storyline was given more attention than others. But the hectic plot also means that the show manages to be engaging for the majority of its run without ever resorting to an episodic format, which is a bit of a rarity in anime. One of the show’s biggest flaws is its characterisation, largely in the first half of the series.

The series has a very large cast, and as such, it struggles early on in giving any one character enough attention to establish them as a believable, human individual. For far too long, the protagonists of the series are sidelined to a seemingly inconsequential role of feeling sorry for themselves, and most of the rest of the cast are like talking clichés. This results in a disappointing, flat beginning. But the show does eventually manage to pull in the viewers when things start to come together and the characters are faced with hardship after hardship, the way they handle each obstacle a contribution to their depth of character. By the end of the series I felt a strong affection for many of the characters, and the villains prove to be very satisfying in their antagonistic roles, with Gouda-esque scheming and cunning. The almost iconic Nishida was one of the more interesting characters, a tactical genius and a man of honour and strong values, he provided the backbone for the idealistic elements of the series. Unfortunately, Miharu is never quite granted enough development to make her anything beyond blatantly sympathetic, and Yushiro is often terminally quiet. The more outgoing members of the TA crew proved to be the best source of characterisation from the whole show.

I’m not usually a fan of mecha at all, in fact the mere concept of creating bipedal weapons that dwarf other combatants or transform into jets is just impractical. A man-made bipedal weaponry would not only be incredibly hard and costly to create (just look at how long it took them to get ASIMO waddling about), but it would serve no purpose, having no benefit over existing vehicles of war such as tanks and aircraft. Not to mention, hominoid designs for mecha are only possible to a certain height, whereupon the sheer weight of the mecha would cause its legs and joints to crumble. Gasaraki, however, is the one and only mecha anime where the mecha is both feasible and logically designed. Rather than trying to sell them as useful all-purpose weapons, the “Tactical Armours” or TAs, are portrayed as being optimised for urban combat, where the mobility of tanks is severely limited. They are not oversized, instead built with a stock frame that is able to hold a large array of equipment, ammunition and some missiles. The thought that was put into them is quite impressive, exemplified by the fact that they, realistically, are not flawless super-powered machines. In one of the earlier episodes, for instance, the functionality of the TAs are severely impaired by sand getting into their systems when they enter combat in a desert area. Also, the piloting of a TA is shown to be quite a taxing experience, with the use of drugs to manipulate the pilot’s physical condition being a common occurrence (quite an adept foresight into the direction of warfare). In combat, their mobility is significantly better than alternative vehicles (especially as they are able to hoist themselves up the sides of buildings), but they are not overly dextrous or agile. This down-to-earth, believable portrayal of mecha is something I hadn’t seen done before (or since), and so I give the show credit for its pioneering mecha conception.

However, with that appraisal out of the way, the fact that they are more realistic also means that the action scenes are often slightly subdued and slow, not as exciting as the fast-paced fisticuffs of your usual clichéd mecha. There are a number of action highlights, such as Symbol’s TAs taking out a unit of tanks in Belgistan, and the battle following the awakening of the Kugutsu, but all in all, the action scenes are relatively bland, and sometimes the animation budget clearly isn’t there to support them (such as when the rioting takes place later in the series). A few times, they are made more interesting by the ingenious use of the TAs many functions to escape a tight situation. The show maintains a relatively fast pace right the way through, so it isn’t lacking in excitement, but don’t expect to be blown away with intense action sequences. On the whole, the production values get the job done but do not excel. The character designs are different, but, with the exclusion of the Gowa family, also uite unappealing. There are a number of reused cels and shortcuts in the animation are apparent at times. The music, on the other hand, is remarkable, with an ethereal clash of archaic Japanese and modern, militaristic sounds. This melding of sounds is exemplified best by the OP, which I consider a musical accomplishment, and quite possibly my favourite anime OP ever. The soundtrack is fittingly haunting and refreshingly innovative.

So, where the characters and the production are the sources of most of the show’s flaws, the plot is an understated success, crafting a complex mythos for the gasaraki, as well as deftly utilising the global economy as the stage for a truly modernistic conflict. The way the series balances, or rather, collides the old and the new through its exploration of multiple timelines, one set in archaic Japan and the other in the near-future, is clever and engaging. It mirrors the thematic core of the series, which is all about the conflict between traditional and modern values, and the resultant direction of human civilisation. I especially love the story behind the Gasaraki, and their plight was a nice way to cap off the themes of the show in a thought-provoking manner. I will also attest to the fact that Gasaraki truly nails the fragile balance between mystery and explanation; where many anime leave frustrating plotholes, Gasaraki leaves a hazy sense of unknown which compliments the new-age mythical tone of the show. It helps that I’m a great fan of political espionage and conspiracy, as a good portion of the show is spent scheming and plotting, as well as exposition interestingly delivered through news reports. There is a lot of dialogue, and the story is quite involved, so it’s not a show you can casually skip through. That’s not to say it becomes bogged down in pointless dialogue; there should be enough going on to keep anyone interested.

All in all, Gasaraki is a series that should be applauded for trying something new and interesting with the mecha genre, and for the amount of thought that went into its complex story, but is one that failed to live up to its potential through unexceptional production and often poorly written characters. It’s a series that will be highly enjoyed by anyone with the fortitude to watch past its opening episodes, and for anyone who really appreciates innovation and a creative story. Those who simply must have strong dramatic elements to their anime, or who are likely to be apathetic toward the cool mecha designs may find the show very disappointing. In any case, its milestone treatment of mecha as more than a fanciful superweapon, is one that no other anime has put in the effort to match, and its plot is several cuts above the cliché that plagues the mecha genre.
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Gasaraki is a very serious mecha anime that falls somewhere between the military and supernatural genres. Fans of G Gundam, Gurren Lagann, or any mecha show in that vein probably won't find what they're looking for here. There is a lot of politcal action going on with the various governments, and various character's psychology is brought up on multiple occasions. The end of the show gets pretty complicated with lots of information warfare and stockmarket wars going between America and Japan and will either add to the enjoyment or confusion of the person watching. The intrigue and character drama still make it an enjoyable watch even if some of the topics aren't fully understandable, and there's plenty of mech on mech action to go around. The superanatural aspect of the show comes from certain characters experiencing reincarnation from past lives and either struggling against or embracing their past personas. As the story progresses its revealed just how important the characters past lives will be in the current war. The Mecha side of the series takes itself very seriously with an attempt to depict a real-world approach to military mecha. Both the Tactical Armors and their pilots are shown to need constant maintenance in order to continue functioning. The TAs can loose performance due to sand or if the parts are overstressed for even a short period of time while pilots psychological welfare is always a concern of the operators that constantly watch over their vitals in combat situations. A heavy amount of tactics is involved in every battle with emphasis put on coordination and cooperation throughout the team. I recommend this for anyone that wants to see a realistic take on the 'what-if' scenario of a military's first steps in putting mecha into practical combat applications, or just looking for a good mecha/supernatural show without angels or super-powered attacks flying all over the place. read more

A different kind of Mecha anime.
Gasaraki is a relatively unknown anime series. Instead of concentrating on battles in their machines, it revolves more around family politics and politics.

The story revolves around Yushiro Gowa, the fourth son in the Gowa family. The largest company in Japan. His family puts him in the volunteer part of the experimental Mecha unit. Then things erupt in the Middle East, and a Nato/UN is sent in, and are pushed back by a unknown force. The Gowa family learns that there is another Mecha unit and send in theirs without UN permission. Things get really complicated then, Yushiro meets the leader of the other Mecha unit Miharu and things begin to come clear in Yushiro's life. After the UN forces defeat the Middle East country, the United States finds out about the Mecha units and tries to take them for them selfs. That's just story through the first ten episodes. Like I said a lot of political intrigue. I'm not going to go much further let's just say it puts the United States and Japan a odds, and maybe that's what some people want inside Japan to shake it up, because they feel Japan is America's slave.

I know this came out before the Iraq war, but there are is a lot of similarities to what's going on right now, and it's doesn't show a good impression of the United States, Japan, and the UN. The story was captivating, the Mecha battles were believable, nothing over the top. The character's seemed real, and believable. The only thing that kept it getting a 10 was the ending. It was a little anti climatic, other wise the show was great. read more

A hidden treasure from Sunrise. This anime had a lot of fan support coming from Japan due to it's credited staff.

Directors Goro and Ryousuke were at that helm of this very realistic mecha series...

While she didn't do the entire score (even though you'd think so), Yoko Kanno composed the OP and END of this series as well.
Sure they may not be the absolute BEST of OPs and ENDs, but they are haunting, creepy, and very soothing...

I stumbled upon this anime while researching dubbed Sunrise titles, and this was one of the earliest ones released by ADV Films! Another odd fact I found, was that Bandai usually handles the Sunrise animes...

So with all of these facts added up it became clear to me: This one needs to be watched.

Plot: 10/10

First off, this is one of the most normal mecha series out there.

No lasers, no space battles, no upgraded models, and there's no fast paced battles either.
The focus of the story is economy, development of weapons, those who can mentally withstand this weapons, and the force that drives these events to happen.

Considering how down-to-earth this series is, you'd have to ask yourself: How could this be entertaining???

It's simple: The very pacing and atmosphere of the story will intrigue you enough to see it through to the end...
Sounds like something you've heard probably, but the difference is this: It draws you in with human behavior, rather than space battles and super cool mecha fights (even though this anime does have some veeery nice moments in the latter...)

True, the plot is one of the slowest anime ever, and the REAL meat of the story doesn't happen until ep 7-9, but you'll be focused more on the origins on everything, and on how the main characters are as talented (cursed?) as they are...

The actual plot deals with aspects of reincarnation, and the nature of humans and war. Ryousuke always treated mecha more as a tool of war, than as way of people expressing what they can't usually do. You can see a notable difference in execution as the mecha move with lagging coordination rather than fluid motion.
It's a HUGE departure from all those mecha series, where the pilots can control every part of the robot, and do it so effortlessly...
In here, it takes a toll on them, and it does it with feeling...

The ending seems a little symbolic, but it does end rather well, if a little abrubtly...
Most of Ryousuke's works end with us wanting more, but when that happens, it also means that the series overall was very enjoyable...

Art: 10/10

Ooooh, another one of the juicy elements.

I'm not lying when I say that this has some of the best animation anime has to offer... AND this is from 1998!
The mecha move with such precision and such weight... You can almost believe that these were really manufactured, based on how well these things move!

The characters look, for the most part, appealing enough. The main characters don't look ugly, but rather soulless and troubled...

Some of the background shots during some of the desert sequences are quite the sight too, especially in ep 3-4...

They're hardly ever any lags in the animation, which is to be expected from Sunrise.

If you were to start the series based on the art, you wouldn't be alone...

Sound: 10/10

To compliment the heavy atmosphere omnipresent throughout, we have an equally heavy soundtrack that convinces viewers that this anime was made strictly for adults, and that if one were to watch this expecting a fast paced storyline, they'd be sorely disappointed...

As mentioned before, the OP and END were composed by everyone's favorite composer Yoko Kanno.

They're haunting, beautiful, and alluring... and slow...ly... captivating...

The music rarely ever plays rushy songs, and has very sudden-y, very calm pieces of sounds to complement the mature tone.

The weaknesses of this score is that, while perfectly suited to this anime's style, it still won't make people who like mature anime, like this one...

Charcter: 6/10

Unfortunately, the characters don't show much personality, and instead act more like "standard adults that play their jobs and roles accordingly". It can be a bit disappointing to get into a story that just doesn't have it's people act more interesting to support how much you like the series already.

Even so, it's not all bad.

It would have been bad if they developed 1 or 2 characters and left the rest out, but by not developing any of the characters, we can see what the story is really trying to say.

The last episode itself explains in a vague sense how people are formalic in the way they live their lives, and how they behave and respond to every consequence...

In that respect, the score gets a 6 instead of a 3 or 4.
It gets a 6, because some might not stick around long enough to care...

Enjoyment: 8/10

Considering how much I've said that this plot is very mature in theme and tone (but not really in terms of content), enjoying this series will depend on how well you tolerate topics relating to politics and economics.

I gave it an 8, because for all the references and approaches to the adult mumbo-jumbo, it hardly affected the overall story, and acts more of a point to the story rather than it beng a central element that the story revolved around.

As I've said before, you will most likely be impressed with the style, and will find the change inticing, but in account to how average viewers might see it, I have to give the well-rounded score of 8.

Overall: 9/10

For being an adult anime, it really doesn't have content that will give it a 18+ rating. Hardly any cussing, even less gore, and the language will sparodically occur every so often but it's not an ongoing practice.

In short, Gasaraki is an anime that is as mentally mature as it is slow. It takes an open-minded adult to really understand and enjoy this title, because it's merits are extremely greater than it's faults.

Bad aspects only refer to how "not so hot-blooded" it is. If you like really rampant and over-the-top action with plots only existing to further the action, than Gasaraki is definately not for you.

Gasaraki is an adult anime, that tells it's human story well, by utilizing it's mecha in both a really amazing way, and in a very humane way.

One of Sunrise's hidden gems.

+ One of the best adult anime, that tells its story effectively wthout resorting to mature content. Pacing is captivating, and uniquely addicting.
+ Artistically one of the best animes ever, with consistant animation, and realistic mecha designs. Soundtrack is equally suited to style, with beautiful OP and END to match.

- Pacing can and will dissuade people. Topics of discussion will make people think they're watching the 10 'o clock news.
- Characters are largely undelevoped for the majority of the run. Enjoying the series will depend on your apprecition for what it's trying to do. read more

Gasaraki is a very unusual show. It doesn't mind being extremely poetic. It doesn't care that a lot of viewers will regard it as excessively high-brow. I think the director must have watched a lot of art films, especially Fellini.

Gasaraki is not a great show. It is not the next Cowboy Bebop. It does have a lot of elements that don't fit together very closely -- the giant robots don't fit well with the supernatural elements or the realistic techno-thriller politics.

Gasaraki evoked a very powerful mood in me. In the end, perhaps it promised more explanations than it delivered, but certainly it delivered more atmosphere and mood than I had imagined to be possible. I didn't care about the plot -- I didn't even care much about the main characters, and I was very frustrated by the fact that the writing seemed pretty weak for some key character relationships -- but there were a few characters who positively inspired me, and there was a genuine sense of depth to this show. read more

I love this series because it's nothing like what you expect it to be. It's highly thoughtful and insightful into the relationships of large political families. When watching this anime, I think it's vitally important to go read up on the importance of the Noh play in Japan and what it actually MEANS. You will not be able to fully appreciate this series without having an appreciation of Noh (and wikipedia's article is totally insufficient to get this appreciation - I suggest a trip to your local library for a breifing of Japanese literature and art history). I literally had to go study up on the mythology and art utilized in this series immediately after the first time I watched it and then immediately watch the whole series over again to grasp what this story was trying to tell me. It's intelligent, understated, and indirect just like the true essence of the Japanese aesthetic; IMO a work of art. read more

From the same fellow, Ryosuke Takahashi, who brought you Armored Troopers VOTOMS and Silent Service, Gasaraki shares its 'stable-mates' interests in the politics of war and the dilemmas of the soldier, buts adds little bit of a supernatural edge to the proceddings.

The design of the mecha is what makes Gasaraki interesting, but these distinct designs can only just make up for the general lack of action in the series overall. Character development is also fairly weak, but seceral characters are forced to make difficult decisions, which adds to the dramatic elements of the series overall.

Gasaraki is also among the more ethnocentric series available on DVD in the US. Noh drama, and the early history of Japan both are key plot points, but most anime fans may not 'get it' because of the general obsurity of these narrative elements.

an interesting curio, but only demends space on the shelf of a dedicated mecha fan. read more