Generator Gawl

I highly recommend this series to anyone that has a healthy (or unhealthy, whatever the case may be) interest in Sci-Fi stories that revolve around time travel. The characters are likeable, the plot flows well, and it has a good deal of eye candy action sequences. However, what I like best about it is that it makes you think and any media that does that is a good thing. Enjoy.

Story: 8
I was very surprised by this anime with how deep the plot was in only twelve episodes. Many of the twists I didn’t see coming. Generator Gawl’s story starts out slow but it was fast enough to keep you interesting in what was going to happen next. My two problems with this series are firstly that the first half of the series could have had a bit more plot development than it did rather than a monster of the week show. Secondly the School Festival episode was entirely useless. It had a little plot development but it could have been spread between the first ... half of the series, thus making the first half more plot based. I also didn’t get the ending of this series, I just didn’t get it. It was a very scifi ending and I didn’t see it coming, but it just felt like it wrapped everything up rather conveniently. Nevertheless, it was at least a good ending that didn’t have me needing a sequel.

I loved the dialogue in this series. It was all very fun and added much comedy. Their explanations of time travel and the science of the series made sense without the characters going into too much depth.

Art: 8
When it came to animation, this show took no shortcuts. Almost all movements were smooth. The battle scenes were active and didn’t have moments of just screaming how powerful you were to your opponent with a lined background to somehow make it look cool. It got right down to the attacking with little or no exhibition. This show is practically on par with most of the modernly made anime in its quality, particularly in its realistic character designs.

The characters were good when it came to appearance, noticeable their eyes were not typical anime eyes and their faces were very organic looking. The Generators, though, are where the real creativity went. They were all very detailed and interesting, until later in the series when some of them look just like humans with some putty plastered on them. Generator Gawl in my mind was always the coolest in appearance. The main bone I have to pick is with Natsume’s hair. What was with that? The way her hair was shaped was very distracting and honestly creepy. And I never got used to them. She was the only human who looked entirely unbelievable.

The background of this future set anime was realistic! Most anime set in the future (2007 in this case) take society to a ridiculous level. This show didn’t. We still had cars, cell phones, and schools, and we still dressed like human beings who need a sense of self expression. Thus it made the future seem to be a believable existence.
The art for the background was not fantastic but they did do the job and at times was quite beautiful.

Sound: 7 (dub)
The music is where this show really lacks in. The tracks really aren’t that great and from most scenes are absent entirely, and with the lack of background noise it was even worse making it seem like you are listening to a silent void.

I didn’t like the opening at all to start out with but it oddly grew on me. I still can’t say it’s great but it is a good opening. The ending has a sort of catchy tune that is pleasant to listen to and was comedic, a good thing for a show that otherwise has a serious plot.

The voice acting was the best part. Both Vic Mignogna (Gawl) and Monica Rial (Natsume) did excellently in their roles. They obviously showed less experience but I think this added to the performance, especially Gawl who sounded very snarky. Rozie Curtis, who voiced Masami was perfect at being bossy and sassy towards Gawl. It really is a shame she has barely voiced in anything else.

Character: 9
Gawl would have to be hands down my favourite character as well as the best written. His personality was very deep and intriguing. Not to say that the others weren’t also well made and all of fit into their roles. Gawl and Masami helped keep the mood light with their antics. Without it the series would have been very dark overall. The villains were also well made and I felt I had come to know them through the writing, very impressed.

Overall: 8
Scifi, action, suspense, mystery, and a tiny bit of romance make this "sort of" mecha series the right to be considered a classic. Unfortunately it seems the Otaku world has forgotten this series, which is a real crying shame. ADV going out of business didn't help either.
Frankly this is an amazing anime that everyone needs to check out, if you are lucky enough to find it that is. I just happened to have a copy at the local library, the rest of you, good luck. It had me interested from beginning to end and I am definitely considering owning this series because I could watch it over and over.

Parental Caution:
Rated PG-13
-Some swearing.
-Lots of monster blood.
-There is a public bath shown in one of the episodes. Gawl stands up in the bath but thankfully it was cleverly censored.
-There is a female generator who appears to be naked in her human form but the body tattoo mostly omits this and how the animation is done. Similar to Mystique or one of the other characters in X-men.
-The terms stalker and flasher are used, but neither situation come to fruition.

I have a bit of a bias, as this is my favorite anime, but I'll try and be unbiased in my review.

The story is not too average, though it is in a typical school setting and has the typical characters-types (quiet one, spaz, girl-and-boy-who-start-off-hating-each-other-and-end-up-falling-in-love), but it deals with real-world morality issues, like cloning and nuclear-holocaust. There are many subtleties that you'll have to re-watch the anime to pick up, including an "oh shit" moment at the end that you have to catch the first time. Just try watching the opening after seeing the last episode and try not saying "Oh, man, how did ... I miss that?!", haha.

Lessee... the character voices are spot-on, and though I recommend watching it in Japanese as well as English, this is one of the few anime I usually watch in English (others being Gundam and Evangelion). A few scenes in English the dialogue changes drastically to accommodate cultural differences (in a scene where the students are cleaning the classroom, in English there's an announcement over the speakers that it's due to a 'custodial strike'; also, in the first episode, in Japanese our Title hero is accused of being a regular pervert for peering suspiciously into a restaurant where girls in cute uniforms work, in English he's labeled as a 'fast-food stalker'), but all of those involved know what they're about when it comes to anime voice-acting.

I think what I like best about Generator Gawl is the pacing. One of the first anime I ever watched was Gundam W, and that series alone was 49 episodes and a movie. Generator Gawl didn't feel like it was being dragged out; everything moved along from point to point, and in twelve episodes they're able to tell a story.

In the interest of not gushing, I think I'll end my review here. In conclusion, I gave the Art 10 of 10 because of the way it's used both during battles and outside of combat situations, sometimes even artistically to illustrate a point (as seen in a the dream sequence Ryo has). The sound is 10 of 10 as the voices are all well done, and the background conversations are all well-placed but completely necessary. Enjoyment is 10 of 10; I feel like I learned something as a person just for having seen it. The Character I gave a 9 of 10 to, as while each character gets plenty of development, they all start off as a generic manga/anime type character. The story is 9 of 10 for the same reason. Overall, I rated it as a 9 of 10, as, while this is *my* favorite anime, I recognize that it's probably not "the greatest anime in existence".

If youre a fan of scifi action anime, this is the show for you. I love an anime that has good fight scenes, and Generator Gawl does not disapoint. The characters become likeable very quickly. While in some shows humor seems to ruin the mood, Generator Gawl makes it work, some scenes are downright hillarious. The storyline is one that gets you thinking, sometimes you have no idea whats going to happen next and thats what makes the series so great. Overall, this anime is definately worth checking out.