Ranked #4427

Choujuushin Gravion

I would like to state this first, I am a sucker for any show that features JAM Project. The only thing I had known about this was: This is a super robot show and it has lots of fanservice. Usually, this may turn off a lot of people, but I am one of those people where fanservice doesn’t really faze me. I will admit most of the women in this show have nothing less then a D cup, but that never really got me distracted from the show. If that was the only thing that you were focusing on then, you should really get that taken care of.

As far as the story, since the second season of the show is where most of the “plot” related episodes happen, I can’t really say that this season has a real story. The short of it is, guy is looking for his sister and ends up having to fight space aliens with a mech. What this show does is do a good job using the simple “monster of the week” super robot formula. That being said, you are going to get the recurring stock footage of the mech parts combining at least once every episode. Luckily, it comes with a good JAM Project song. If this ends up bothering you, don’t complain, just fast forward through it.

Now regarding the robot itself, it is not that bad of a design. It is very simple. The one humanoid mech combines with the three planes and the drill tank, really it’s more like putting armor then it is a transformation. The weapons are ok. They have one sword, then they get a bigger sword. What I thought was interesting was that since the pilots are in the hands and feet of Gravion, when they use their rocket punch, the pilot in the hand has to actually guide the fist to the monster. Kind of a nice touch.

The characters are not that different from other shows you have seen. Again, this show is not trying to be original. What I thought was funny was that the character that you thought was going to be the leader of the pack and will eventually be the one that is going to be the head of the robot, ends up piloting one of the feet. The one character that most people may end up enjoying is Sandman. He is a bit over the top since his role is to be the very dramatic commander. As every commander of a super robot show should be.

I decided to watch the dub and it wasn’t so bad. Most of the voices fit and Sandman was perfect, so that is all that matters. Plus, the dub helped going through this show a lot easier. I ended up switching between the tracks towards end, mainly just to hear how everyone sounded. The cast is fine in either language, so it is up to you.

To sum up, the first season was not too bad. I enjoyed the show as a whole. The show picks up more during the second season, but I think the first was still fine as a stand alone. It’s short, so that’s a good thing. I ended up burning through this show very quickly. If you want a masterpiece, you are not going to get it. As a mech show, it is worth a shot. Not everyone will enjoy this show, but if you are open-minded, watch it.
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PROLOGUE This review involves both the two seasons of the series.
Gravion is not a serious series. It’s more of a tribute to the old style mecha shows, such as Getta 3 and Voltes V. So, it aims at old mecha fans of the 80’s and the 70’s and adds humour and fan service elements of present ecchi series to keep them wanting for more.

ART SECTION: 6/10 [The old meets the new.]
General Artwork & Backgrounds 2/4: As a tribute series, Gravion mixes the action and plot elements of old typical mecha series. You’ll see classic mecha attacks, such as rocket punches, drills and magic swords. But there are no dull hand-drawn special effects, as you remember in the 70’s. Slick/stylish/computer generated special effects run through the screen all the time. They are not great or very realistic but get the job done. In the second season, you can obviously expect weapon upgrades and flashier visual and sound effects. Of course, they are still cheesy and unrealistic; so the general feeling is not better.
Character Figures & Motion Fluidity 2/4: The character figures and fan service parts are quite typical. The way everything moves is not that realistic. Without being anything awesome, fans of the genre will like them.
Lightning/ Visual Effects 2/2: Colors and special effects are antithetic and too bright, a thing that is indeed overdone but is all the same needed in the whole atmosphere of this intentionally shallow series. Visuals are fake but great and fitting for this kind of series.

SOUND SECTION: 6/10 [Mecka stuff and J-pop beats.]
The musical themes (especially of the first season) are well made when it comes to exciting and arousing technology-loving otakus. Voice acting and sound effects are otherwise lukewarm.

STORY SECTION: 6/10 [The cliché mecha marries the cliché ecchi.]
General Scenario 1/2: A tribute series could have no other scenario but this: Alien invaders attack the earth and only a huge robot piloted by teenagers can stop them… Sounds familiar? It is the most overused story in history and yet it is the best-suited one.
Form of Development/ Pace of Plot 1/2: Although almost all episodes are stand-alones, a hypothetical evolution of the story does exist. On each new episode, the enemy mecha of the episode becomes immune to all previous attacks and a new weapon or strategy is needed. Don’t expect any deep battle strategies, most of the new tricks the heroes use are pretty lame. Although the pace of the story was steady in the first season, it begins really simple and boring in the second and gets more complicating and interesting towards the end. You need patience to stand the really stupid first half.
Side Stories/Extra Spices 1/2: Comical scenes and fan service elements are also used in between to keep you interested in more than just the battles. The leading male gets into sexually awkward situations for no reason other than our urge to see someone taking his cloths off. Plus, there are a few surprises from time to time, which slowly evolve the story. Mysteries are answered and new elements enter the frame. Again, most of them are lame but do give you the illusion that the series has an on going scenario.
Believability/Reasoning/Realism 1/2: There is even a tribute element to the “mysterious power” that only the leading mecha uses and is the only thing powerful enough to save the Earth. Retro series used electricity, nuclear power and anti-matter in times where such forces where hardly understood. Gravion follows that tradition by using “Gravity”, a force we all know of but have of yet no idea how it is generated. Anyway, you won’t watch a series like Gravion for its story but the writers went to all the trouble of giving something extra to it.
Conclusion 2/2: No conclusion at all in the first season. A predictable one exists in the second. It leaves no loose ends and although silly, it wraps up things nicely. The ending gets rather metaphysical but it is still quite predictable.

CHARACTER SECTION: 6/10 [Saving the world with bouncing tits.]
The series made quite a mix in this department.
-Instead of the typical wise old scientist / creator of the robot and teacher for the teenage heroes, we have a middle aged sexy millionaire with his own super deluxe villa and harem of sexy maids.
-Instead of the typical red leader of the team (a good-hearted charismatic man) we have a dork who is looking for his lost sister and who always gets into ecchi situations.
-Instead of the silent and rather rude rival man of the protagonist, we have a kind bishonen boy, who everyone loves (in a way, he has the opposite personality of the leader and thus IS the rival).
- Instead of the beautiful, kind and shy girl, we have a butchy girl, who always hits and nags (the typical neurotic girl type of most comedies).
-And finally, instead a boy and a fat guy who are used only for comic relief, we have a shy girl with glasses and a bimbo with watermelon breasts (comic relief in ecchi anime).

The supporting groups of characters are maids (more fan service), the aid of the millionaire (a mystery), military staff and politicians (mostly get their butts kicked by the aliens but plan on stealing the gravity technology of Gravion in order to stop depending on it), and the creator of the aliens (a typical, insane villain).
So, the characters are only good if seen as comical stereotypes of mecha and ecchi series. They are otherwise quite shallow, even when a simple backdrop story is given on each.
Generally, the second season introduces more secondary characters and reveals the unanswered mysteries of the main ones. But don’t expect any major fleshing out. It is still pretty clichéd stuff.

VALUE SECTION: 5/10 [Sex and violence always sell.]
Historical Value 0/3: If viewed as a cult series, zero! It had no affect on the anime industry.
Rewatchability 1/3: If viewed as a typical mecha series, small chance! The age of combining robots and voice-activated special attacks is over for the mecha genre.
Memorability 4/4: But if seen as a tribute series, it’s a blast! And has some nice jokes and fan service moments to boot.

ENJOYMENT SECTION: 4/10 [Old but still kicking!]
To tell the truth, I am not a mecha fan. I expected something serious to occur in the scenario in order for me to keep being interested. The first series ended without a conclusion and most of the second was one of the same but way more low-toned. The ending left me rather disappointed as I expected something original to happen (which didn’t). So, I can say I liked the “funny mecha/ecchi mix” of it and disliked the “repetitive defeat-the mecha-of the week motive” of it. It’s a good way to spend your time but, hey, I don’t exactly watch anime to burn excessive brain sells.

VERDICT: 5.5 / 10
The accused is found … GUILTY! … For appealing to the older members’ emotions too much.

SUGGESTION LIST
Getter Robo, Mazinger, Voltron. Famous old mecha series.
Gekiganger 3. a small but awesome mecha tribute as well.
Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann. The best idealistic mecha series I know of. If you don’t like this one, you simply don’t like the old mecha formula in general. read more