Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri Part 2

In my review of season 1, I suggested saluting the Japanese flag. Well, it looks like the writers decided to give me a hand because the ending now contains a Japanese flag flying gloriously. Plus fantasy girls in military gear in various military activities, having tons of fun. In fact, the military is portrayed as so fun we should all join. Play around in the bath and get the complimentary harem. Sounds legit to me.

...Anyway, season 2 picks up where the last one left off. Beyond the titular gate is a fantasy land with elves, dragons, catgirls and whatnot. The place has been annexed by ... Japan and with much creativity and sensitivity named the Special Region. Now the virtuous Japanese Self-Defence Force (SDF) proceeds to help the local population against tyranny and oppression. And they carry it out honorably despite being hindered by incompetent politicians, propaganda-spewing journalists, and other countries such as the US who like to mess with Japan's business.

What? The Japanese constitution forbids using the SDF abroad? Don't be silly. If you annex the place, it counts as part of Japan, duh. Or maybe since the gate is inside Japan, they decided all its contents are too. If they have a team of lawyers, I'd like to hire them too.

Plus they loot, err I mean procure, whatever natural resources there are in the area. That's right; Japan strikes oil. Get rekt, Middle East. The local lords had no idea oil is even valuable when they signed the mining deal. Suckers.

As you might expect, the SDF wrecks the natives with ease. Again. Which is not really surprising because the local royalty and feudal lords have not learned much in the ways of warfare or diplomacy. Actually, forget the guns; they can't even match the SDF in a fistfight. And when the SDF isn't overpowered enough, the otaku protagonist's harem of mages and demigod lolis swoops in and wins in a few seconds. There is also a CGI dragon that is thankfully at least a bit more challenging, and that is probably the reason why it exists in the plot to begin with.

Also, the best cure for psychological trauma is apparently revenge, best achieved by having a traumatized person operate a bazooka. What could possibly go wrong?

The timing of the comedy and drama is brilliant, with random fanservice right next to slavery and war crimes (not committed by the SDF, don't worry). Just the way I like it. Romance is also handled with subtlety: near the end we even get a montage of all the latest crack pairings.

So if you are looking for lots of fanservice, explosions and nationalistic right-wing sentiment, this is the anime for you. Season 3 hype?

Dude. This anime is such garbage, oh my god.

So, at first, I didn't realize that this was psychotically upbeat right-wing fascist, nationalist, militaristic propaganda set as a harem comedy rife with the slaughter of hundreds (if not thousands). Unfortunately, it also kind of got me hooked.

I got pretty into season one, laughing hysterically about the insane murder sprees that this "JSDF" (apparently what the Japanese Military is called?) got into. They mowed down legions of iron-age soldiers and... nobody seems to mind? Where are their families? I also had some fun with the classic trope: "they're actually hundreds of years old, so ... it's okay that they look like 15 year olds!" with the harem characters. Cute.


Story: 2/10

Like I said, it's a harem anime. Whatever. It's very paint-by-numbers. All the girls are obsessed with our hero, Itami, who can do absolutely no wrong. This doesn't change in the second season, and, in fact, his little harem gets even bigger! Also, the blonde one calls him daddy. Isn't that adorable? Unfortunately, our harem anime is also set to a backdrop of wanton murder and destruction, including battles that cost the lives of thousands of civilians, destroy entire cities, obliterate a much less developed people and paint the invaders as... the good guys?

They don't seem to lose a single soldier, but have no qualms with mowing down thousands. This is fucking terrifying. At first it was kind of... almost justified... but we're fuck deep in season two. This kind of murder and militaristic psychosis is absolutely disgusting at this point. I keep thinking it will slow down... and it doesn't...

Also, what the shit is wrong with everyone in fantasy land? None of their decisions make a lick of sense! They have to be practically force fed peace negotiations with a nation that crushes them like ants. The goal is obviously to make the JSDF look smart and generous by comparison, but it ends up just looking like a bunch of Japanese diplomats discussing foreign policy with toddlers.

Toddlers that they're threatening to kill.


Art: 7/10

It's pretty enough, most of the time, if boring. Then we get the tech porn.

Absolutely beautiful designs, faithful, true-to-life reproductions, gorgeous cells and flawless animation of tanks, helicopters, bazookas, machine guns, humvees, fighter jets and more. Honestly? This anime would be a thousand times better if they just cut all the pretty military porn out and set it to a good song. I'd watch that.


Sound: 4/10

Forgettable, but fairly satisfying. They also re-use the same tracks over and over again. The intro and outro songs are boring and skippable. Nothing worth buying, that's for sure.


Character: 1/10

This is what finally stopped me being able to watch it.

I was invested. In the characters. I'll be honest, I'm spoiled rotten. Magical girl anime like PMMM and genre-changing hero anime like OPM have got me expecting a LOT from modern anime. Characters that break molds, situations that go from fun to dire in moments, expansive worlds and interesting art styles... this is what anime has been giving us over the past decade or so.

The characters in anime have risen above their tropes in a multitude of ways. I kept expecting that to happen here. I kept waiting. And waiting. And WAITING. And I finally realized.

None of them were going to get a single modicum of growth.

It's disappointing. I can imagine so many ways in which all of these characters could have broken their chains.

SPOILERS BELOW (but please read, before you have to see it with your eyes)

I realized this, at the end of episode eight, when a 12 year old girl is begging for her adult crush to save her from what is insinuated as sexual slavery and possibly death.

He does so... not because she is a tiny child and needs his help, but because she has a crush on him. He finally says that, when she's sixteen, he'll marry her. He is painted as a hero for doing so, and he even almost gives her a kiss. Their relationship is exceptionally pedophilic and disturbing, and it is portrayed as absolute perfection and heroism. I am thoroughly disgusted, and that's what made me realize that this anime was incapable of showing character growth.

If they can make an adult (I'm talking in his thirties) man seem like a hero for deciding to fuck a twelve-year-old... then this anime has no idea what a decent person even looks like.

(And to counter the "but when she's sixteen!!!11" argument, *why* make her twelve, then? Why not just make her sixteen and cut out the middle man? I'll tell you why. It's to insinuate that sexualizing a twelve-year-old is okie-dokie as long as you wait to hump until she hits the age of consent... sorta. EUGH! Inexcusable.)

This anime CANNOT show a truly good person, or even a truly complex person, because it is written by pedophilic, nationalistic otakus who masturbate to pictures of guns and drawings of little girls.

I am mentally scarred by seeing that with my own two eyeballs. I don't even want to see any more. I don't think I can take it. At least with the other fanservice lolitas they made an ATTEMPT to portray them as "older". Nine hundred years old, my ass. But with this one!? She's a literal, physical baby! She might not even have hit puberty! I *still* taste vomit.

END SPOILERS


Enjoyment: 1/10

Honestly? The first two episodes of season one are almost worth the watch.

However, the pedophilia, militarism, genocide and nationalism shown in the rest of the anime absolutely outweigh any enjoyment I got from this.

The anime is not interesting. It is not groundbreaking. It is barely functional. It is completely disgusting in every possible way. I was sucked in by a premise which never delivers.

I hate all the characters so much, at one point I was rooting for them all to be outright decimated by a fucking dragon. I regret everything I have done that led to me watching this pos anime.


Overall: 2/10

Awful. The two points are for the decent animation and good premise. The story, characters and all the things that make anime interesting and fun were missing or perverted.

I should have quit at season one. I should have quit before I started! Don't make my mistake, you sweet, innocent creatures. Fly! Fly, you fools!

This review is for the first season and the second season of GATE.

For a while, I had a habit of watching an episode or two of anime before I went to sleep, especially when I did not have something early to do the next day. Since GATE came out every Friday, I decided that it was the best show to fill the pre-sleep role. There would be no chance of accidentally binge watching fifty episodes because there would only be one episode available each day.

That was the worst decision I ever made.

GATE has one of the suckiest stories I have ever watched. ... However, the way in which it sucks is surprising. It has good scenario writing. It also integrates political intrigue and military strategy masterfully, thus creating a story that is smarter than most anime out there. So what failed?

I think the fundamental premise is what fails. GATE follows the story of Itami a Lieutenant in the Japanese army. A hole in space-time in Tokyo opens to another world, one with magic, elves, dragons, and most importantly, undeveloped technology. The Japanese army proceeds to subjugate the other side (both militarily and culturally) to “help the natives”, fighting against swords with helicopters.

While all that is going on, GATE tries its best to portray the realities of war, never shying away from gore, prostitution, slavery, and slaughter. However, in order to make it palatable to the anime audience, GATE also sets out to incorporate harem and slice of life elements into it. So one moment, people’s heads are getting blown off. The next moment, Itami is getting doted on by a bunch of cute girls (this part is especially weird; GATE seems to want to fulfill every fetish there is).

This conflict between light and dark subjects is something that GATE had to resolve with the premise that it had. It chose to solve this conflict by making the tone of the show light-hearted.

As an example, here’s a minor spoiler. The JSDF (the fictional section of the Japanese military Itami is in) swoop into a city to rescue a princess from a siege, and they do this by mowing down an entire regiment of the opposing army with helicopters and machine guns, all while “Ride of the Valkyries” is playing in the background. If you’re curious what that is, it goes da-da-da DUN DUN…ok that doesn’t help, but it’s that song that plays in every movie when something triumphant happens.

There are tons of other scenes like this in the show.

At first, we might find it fun to watch. It’s kind of like a video game, right? The targets are getting mowed down, and after a few more kills, we might get a killstreak prize (a tactical nuke! Brag about it to your friends). It’s textbook wish fulfillment. However, if we think about it, it’s actually messed up. Helpless soldiers on the other side are seen as justifiably stomped on, while the JSDF is seen as the benevolent civilizer. But shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t the strong be condemned for bullying the weak? Shouldn’t the JSDF be portrayed as evil, not the opposing army?

Of course, these are just fictional characters and no one is actually dying. However, consider this: GATE was written by a person who used to be in the Japanese military, and is sometimes shown to Japanese military recruits. When viewed in that light, the choice to employ a light tone in GATE feels rather manipulative. The show tries to make us feel as if basic human rights violations are OK, using cute girls, a bright color palette, and some clever villain characterization. In other words, GATE uses wish fulfillment to justify the unethical things that happen inside it.

In doing so, GATE is manipulating the minds of its audience. The show tries to get us to turn a blind eye to military transgressions, passing them off as “oh, the enemy king is EEEVIL” or “there was no helping it”. Eventually this leads to “the army can do no wrong”. That’s dangerous. If you’re not convinced that media can influence thinking, just look at North Korea. Somehow, the media there has convinced its people that The Fearless Leader doesn’t poop.

Something about all this doesn’t sit well with me. Part of the assumption that GATE makes in its propaganda campaign is that as long as there’s cute girls, violence, and an interesting story, anime viewers are fine with whatever goes on. No way that’s true. At least, I hope that it’s not true.

This show’s problem lies not in its quality. It lies in its ethics. If you’re going to watch, you’ll have to make a decision. You can equip critical thinking glasses, and in doing so realize that you hate being manipulated. Or you can watch brainlessly. Just understand the risks if you choose the latter option.

tl;dr: Entertaining show with likeable characters and impressive art and animation, but with a very questionable agenda.

Though I enjoyed the first season overall, while watching I was wondering if the messages conveyed were just artifacts of the setting and the plot or by design. Well, this coeur proceeded to quickly erase any doubts on my part: This anime has an agenda, and it's not pretty:

- The mc impersonates the classic from the recruitment center: Joining the AF means an easy job with a respectable income, social securities and best of all, some adventure abroad on top. Military accomplishment is an sure-fire way to attract potencial ... mates.
- Blatant adoration for military might and technology: Miltech will save the day, always.
- Endorsement of violating other people's souvereignity to further Japan's agenda. We're the good guys!
- Journalists are men and women of business, not integrity. Generally a hindrance when it's about doing what has to be done, namely The Right Thing (TM). The same goes for politicians.
- Elitism: Confronted with the achievements of Japan, other people lose all ingenuity to deal with the overwhelming cultural and military might of JP.
- Other nations are to be trusted to plunge a dagger in your nations spine as soon as it's back is turned.
- Any action regardless of how questionable it may be, can be justified with the mission/mandate.

In concert with the recent real political agenda of Shinzo Abe to expand activities of the military beyond Japan's border, well... connect the dots and you get the picture, or rather, the propaganda.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to miltary themes per se, I love Girls und Panzer. But this totally lacks any ironic twist. I find the manipulative trait of this show seriously offensive.

EDIT: typo

Review Text
I'm going to review both the first and second season, so I'll just put my review here. The second season is pretty much the same as the first in terms of content and quality, if even less.

Story - 2

Assault rifles going against man in bronze armour armed with shield and pikes, and making a big deal out of it. Yup. Animated JSDF go on an absolute slaughterfest in an alternate world in the bronze age, and made out to be the good guys... and it's not propaganda... nope nope nope. =_=

Art - 5

Art is alright, not great, nothing to boast about.
...
Sound - 4

very realistic weapon sound, music timed well but mundane.

Character - 3

Of character developments there were... none. Every supporting character sound like JSDF recruitment officers. Even the MCs only bobs up and down on the waves of the plot, taking no initiatives, The villain was actually the most developed character

Enjoyment - 2

It's not all that bad, Japanese right winged nationalism notwithstanding. There was some GGRM-esque sprouts of political intrigue in the manga original, and fewer in the first anime season, but they were quickly snipped in the bud in favour of scenes of outright massacre.

The "good" guys completely slaughters the "bad" guys from the get-go. The enjoyment derives from the same kind of satisfaction you'd feel after swatting a gnat. It's basically the whole story.

All the enemy commanders are idiots, all your allies are geniuses with a heart of gold and nerves of steel, even the lolis (on your side) are mastermind diplomats, and the Japanese army is nothing if not the very definition of humanitarianism.

Anyway, one little plus for the continued reference to the fate/stay night series, a pleasant surprise. Bumping the score from 1 to 2 for me.

Overall - 3.5

3 is poor and 4 is decent, and this is almost decent, thus 3.5.

[As per wikipedia: Propaganda is a form of biased communication, aimed at promoting or demoting certain views, perceptions or agendas.]

Had the Chinese made an anime (ignore for a moment the fact that non-indie Chinese animes are pure shit) depicting a Chinese army going into an alternate universe and saving people of a Tibetan-esque theocracy from its bloody thirsty ruler... Oh just imagine the uproar... but this is literally the same thing.

As a history major, watching this is almost unnerving. It's almost comedic watching the almost fictional Japanese invasion force taking an opponent with Roman era technology as seriously as they'd would the Russians.

It's hard not to draw parallels between this anime and the reality of the current Japanese politics, now that the Japanese military is free to invade other countries again.

---

Anyway, off topic, sorry for being conscious that history does in fact, repeats. Anyway, if you have no mind for history and have a few hours to waste on a well animated Japanese right wing propaganda, you've found the right show.

For the most part we would like to dismiss this as another fantasy adventure based anime where people find themselves in an alternate world, where everything is like an RPG game. But unlike the usual where the main character is a young boy, here it involves an adult...........or a group of adults who were cast in this kind of anime, which is unusual since author Takumi Yanai is targeting young adults, so it wouldn't be a surprise if this anime has violence, prostitution and vice in it so:

Storywise, the theme of the anime was simply based upon the metaphor of what history education that ... Japan teaches to their youngsters about Japan's involvement during world war 2. Were to them, Japan's intention was to liberate the whole Asian region of foreign domination but made no acknowledgement that they plan to only to replace it with their own domination, so frankly I really don't like how the metaphor of the anime or manga implying. Also, the plot has that geopolitical theme in it where it imply that Japan should no longer follow it's pacifistic stance and should take an active role for their military , which, by the way is something that their PM, Shinzo Abe is campaigning for. Now I don't about you, but IMO I think Japan should remain within its Pacifistic stand.

Artwise, well we don't see a lot of fanservices around, I don't, know if them girls being in the onsen counts, but quiet frankly only the angle prostitute is the only one whom we get to see some panty service. So, when watching, don't expect any full melons in this anime, but overall the background works are very good, thought they're still the usual things one would see in any similar anime with a fantasy and adventure genre. But what I really like was the uniforms of them JSDF, but it seems that somebody didn't tell the background designer MacDonald Scott, that the JSDF Air Force's McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom is colored in camouflage green and it is always manned by two person, one is the pilot and the other is a Radar Interception Officer who sits at the back.

Soundwise, well I'd say for Risa Taneda to voice Rory Mercury was pretty amazing and also the gun shot and all that KABOOM where realistic in a sense. But it really nice that the seiyu who did Itami's voice, Swabe Junichi it relly felt natural, at least he doesn't have to pretend to be a teen . The open song fit well with the anime and so as the ending song, but I just don't like them. Also , Tomasu Haruka to play a teenage princess Pina Colada, doesn't have that young intonation anymore and should have been the one to play Aoi Risa, instead of being Pina Colada...I think I'll have another one, the drink I mean.

On the character, well, if we're to take notice of some of the character name, we counld surmise that it probabaly has something to do with the author, Takumi Yanai's like the Pina Colada, why he name the Italica Princess from a rum based cocktail we'd never know, but we can conclude that he or she, probably like that kind of drink of course there is also a certain character called "Beef eater" now I don't know if he or she got that from those sissy royal guards from Buckingham palace or from a brand of Gin with the same name, but if she or he did, then they probably drink lots of it. Now, there is that Gothic Lolita Rory Mercury, did Takumi Yanai got that name from Freddie Mercury??????WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS MY FRIENDS...AND WE'LL KEEP FIGHTING TILL THE END, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, WEEE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, NO TIME FOR LOSERS..........Oh dear sorry about the troll, well we can assume that Rory's name was based from that guy. and there is Tuka Marceau where Mr. Takumi got that character's name we also never know, but as I see it Itami was still the usual harem dude except that he's more adult like than a teenager and the harem member are just limited to Lelei, Rory and Tuka, however I don't the idea that he was made to be this lolicon, in fact most of the character here were made to focus on the lolicon theme like Sugawara and Sherry which to me is kinda disgusting for the author to do. Despite of of the flaws the characters were still able to provide some entertainment for us audience. So......

How entertaining is this anime from it;s 1st and 2nd sequel? It entertaining enough....to a certain point.

But, in its overall I give it a "4" as in decent enough to watch, since I can't forgive this anime's geopolitical metaphor and the lolicon theme applied to some character.

I'm a little too busy following the presidential campaign and Tokyo earthquakes and my own career to pay attention to Japan's military situation, but from what I can gather, they're starting to recover from choosing the wrong side in WWII and they have a bit of a hissy fit when China enters their eye. So I couldn't really tell you how accurate Gate is in representing their defense forces or if it's all that successful at recruiting otaku to join the JSDF, but speaking as someone who refuses to join the military on account of how I wouldn't survive ten seconds in a Full Metal ... Jacket camp, I can safely say that if the show had been about Americans overpowering Middle-Earth with nukes, I'd think "how fucking stupid do you think I am?". It's the fact that I never feel the soldiers are in any danger that's always gotten to me about Gate. There's nothing fun about conflicts when either side has an advantage over each other so large it makes the San Andreas fault look like a housefly. I make fun of Harry Potter for never introducing guns in the war against Voldemort, but let's be honest with ourselves. It wouldn't have made good fiction, and it would have made things a lot more tediously complicated.

Having said that, is there really no person equivalent to Rory's fighting abilities and status on the fantasy people's side? If a foreign country can recruit a demon without too much trouble, I'm sure the homeland country can interest her sister with something.

So Gate 2 pretty much picks off where Gate 1 left off, except not really because I remember the first half ending with the characters agreeing to fight some dragons and that doesn't happen until a few episodes into this cour. There's not really much in here that's changed between halves either. It's still a bunch of military propaganda saying "join us now. We have cute girls and we are the most powerful force in the world, so you don't have to worry about getting killed and you can do your otaku hobbies during break". The fantasy people are pretty much just a bunch of idiots who couldn't put up a good fight against a machine gun to save their lives. And the production is still fine, although I'm getting annoyed at how all A-1 Pictures' character designs have the same flatness to their style like they hired the Sword Art Online character designer for every single thing they work on.

The show doesn't really do a whole lot to ramp things up in this cour either. As expected from light novel land, the plot is pretty much just a bunch of interchangeable conflicts that are supposed to give off a sense of progression, but I call it a desperate attempt to cover up the fact that you're not going to change the status quo. Occasionally, one of the three female fantasy characters on Itami's side will face a personal conflict, but it's always for the character's sake and never for the story's. I don't really understand how the elf girl's amnesia plotline really added to anything, nor do I understand what Rory contributes being an overpowered being on a side that's already overpowered. In fact, I don't think Itami goes through any sort of character arc either in this show, despite being the main character. The story ends with him resuming his daily life, only to get annoyed when the fantasy girls tag along, which is an ending that would get laughed at if any military movie in the States pulled that shit.

Anyways, whilst I've sort of accepted Gate's stupidity by the time I got to watching the series, it still fails without the nationalism angle because it's just boring and uncreative with the conflicts in general. As I said before regarding Marvel stuff, as well as critically acclaimed action films like Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and The Nice Guys to a lesser extent, I don't like conflicts where the villains the good guys have to face are something I could have scraped off a first draft for a Silver Age comic book or a Ubisoft game. Not a single person that Itami's crew has to face are the least bit memorable, and they're so ill-equipped to fight them anyways that it doesn't really make much of a difference. Plus, when you're basically making dragons extinct with fighter jets, there's really not a whole lot you can do to raise the stakes any higher.

This is particularly true during the final fight, where I don't think the opposing side put a scratch on any of our heroes. Itami and his mini-harem pretty much slaughter the giants, walk out with the princess, and then the show just ends with what I assume is the main villain swearing revenge. I know the novel series is still going, but I wouldn't have known that if I didn't look it up, because that finale sure seemed to assume that there was nothing left to say. And before you ask, no I don't remember who the main villain was and I don't care to look him up. I can't even remember if he was the guy who was raping princesses with bunny ears or not. That's how little an impact that guy had.

I guess Gate will be your thing if you like the idea of meshing fantasy and military together in the same way that most people like Space Jam because they like the idea of NBA Basketball and the Looney Tunes coexisting with each other, in which case fuck you guys because that movie was terrible and I have no idea why we're getting a sequel or roping the director of the good Fast & Furious movies into the thing. Also, given how much Rory fan art I see out there - a good chunk from people who haven't seen the show no less - I think it's pretty clear who's the heart of this thing. But in all seriousness, the idea does have potential for exploring the dangers of technological gaps in the same vein that the Tales of Symphonia sequel attempted to do between its wildly different lands, and if Gate had focused on that, I might have been interested. Hell, if there was a scene where one of these cat-eared girls discovers the existence of a flamethrower and tests it out, that would have been cute enough. Instead, we just get military propaganda within the realm of a fantasy setting, and neither side really does much to stand out from the rest of the pack by themselves, let alone with each other.

Considering I don't like fantasy stories or military stuff, I'm not even sure why I'm still dwelling on Gate. Might as well just wrap things up and go watch something on Netflix. I heard Lady Dynamite is pretty decent, although these post-modern comedies are getting kinda same-y to me.

Simp author as always. One of the ministers or whatever decided to break a treaty just to save a little girl, threatening the credibility and safety of the whole nation, pedophile author. MC and friends killed hundreds of the raiders yet decided to let the bird girl or whatever she was live, why? because she's a girl duh. Really threw me off there. She was literally raiding a town, trying to kill and pillage a town yet MC and friends let her live while all the others were massacred. Dumb story, all revolve around saving girls. Just a really bad one, if you were going ... to have your theme revolve around military world, then at least stick with it. Would've been 100 times better if instead of having simp characters, author decided to give a really realistic militaristic way on dealing with the whole problems happening.

If you are reading this before starting the first season CONGRATULATIONS !!!!! If I successfully convey how bad the two seasons are you may well avoid wasting time you will never get back

As I said in my review of the first season, it's a great premise, one that I would love to see get a live action treatment, or even a full CGI treatment, or even another anime treatment but a well written one. This just wasn't it. If anyone is aware of such a thing message me, I'd really like to see it, if for no other reason than to help erase this ... one from my mind, so I don't have to wait for Alzheimer's or senile dementia to do it for me.

The first season had OMGWTFBBQ moments, but the second is beyond belief. The characters are just completely unbelievable The imperial prince makes Nero look like a cross between Washington and Churchil. Itami is still being written as the great hero but his actions are outside of the realm of comprehension. This goes for all the imperials who have repeatedly had their asses handed to them continue but keep charging into hails of bullets armed with but swords. By the time second season starts the empire has lost the equivalent of about 30 roman legions but still is thinking they can do anything but sue for peace. The politicians are all presented as little better than fence posts (maybe not unfair, but usually they are fence posts with keen survival instincts).

The writing gets incredibly lazy, I mean fan fiction lazy. Aside from the characters not having any conceivable motivation for their actions. (Ex. Oh you drove my friend who was completely harmless and kind, into madness, lets be besties) you get endless plot points popping up out of nowhere with nothing to establish them. Dark mastermind inside the imperial palace with massive spy network everywhere, where did that come from ? Have hostages ? do whatever you can to destroy their value. It's just head desk material.

Finally I didn't read the light novels, but what there was of an ending after 23 episodes was just what ?? It really felt like they just decided to cut it off at that point stick whatever they could on it.

On a personal I tag all the stuff I watch with a range that goes (bad, meh, good, very good, excellent) I really wanted to a Very Bad tag to my database for this.

(This review has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!)

Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri 2nd Season, much like its predecessor, makes me think about the advancement of technology. Last time, it was weapons. This time, it is transportation.

We started with running on the ground. Then we tamed horses. Then we drove cars. Then we took subways. And then we piloted helicopters. We, as a people, have made advancements in movement at a rate that we (figuratively and ironically) cannot keep up with.

The citizens of the Empire within Gate (reducing the title at this point) are still stuck with just horses. And, sadly, they ... are still stuck with a mediocre anime.

STORY

Gate returns for the continuation to its split-cour season. Tuka Luna, Rory, Lelei, and of course Youji also return to take care of the problems facing the Japanese army and the mighty Empire.

This time around, Gate still takes advantage of its premise – namely, the overwhelming might of the Japanese army against a kingdom who still dwells within the realm of swords and castles. Delegates witnessing a contained demonstration of mortar shells, jets bombing strategic buildings, and paratroopers raining from the skies make the distinction between these two sides clearer.

This season even manages to down the patriotic platform that the first season felt dripped in. This new direction occurs because the anime focuses more on the mythical rather than the military, but it removed that saturated feeling of a pushed ideology.

Furthermore, the anime has to worry less about establishing a setting and its characters and instead can focus on its narrative. To this end, the anime comes up with many different plotlines all tied together by a singular, overarching one. Namely, Tyuule’s destruction (from the inside) of the Empire.

First, the various, smaller plotlines. To be fair to Gate, it creates a lot of conflict that does not tread into repetitive territory. That is, for the most part, much of what happens remains relevant while also differentiating itself enough to be interesting. The start of the season has more slice-of-life material with Tuka’s strange delirium. Afterwards, the anime becomes darker as Youji and the gang square off against a fire-breathing dragon.

Then Lelei’s aside at the magical city contrasts with the upheaval happening back in the capital. All the while, a plot of assassination, a peace-brokering dilemma, and a mysterious enemy stir up the narrative that much more. Everything ends with a final, Japanese-military mission to thwart the evil in place and bring happiness to both sides of the Gate.

As can be read, a lot goes on over the course of just twelve episodes. So Gate gets a few more props. Now, whether or not it executed these various plotlines, juggled them all together in an appropriate manner, is another matter entirely.

For some of the conflicts, they do bring tension. The assassination attempt by Delilah, Sugawara breaking neutrality by helping Sherry, and the imprisonment of Piña by Zorzal. These conflicts keep with the plot’s motif (fantasy versus military) as well as allow the plot to proceed naturally from one major conflict to the next.

Nevertheless, Gate has quite a few plotlines that are downright mishandled. One of the strangest plotlines occurs with Lelei’s summons to Rondel for her “academic presentation” as Youji puts it. As a whole, two separate problems exist.

First, the plotline means nothing to the larger narrative. They could have gone anywhere else, done anything else, and the outcome would have been the same. And second, the “Pied Piper” subplot. He (or she for all we know) is that “mysterious enemy” mentioned earlier. But the anime never reveals the identity of she (or he) let alone resolves his (or her) plotline.

The dragon battle is not without its own problems, too. To be fair, the battle itself is fairly engaging, taking advantage of the show’s premise once more with magical swords and landmine explosions. Altogether, a pretty cool battle.

This conflict faults elsewhere. Besides the fact that the anime provides a minimal (minimal) amount of information on the dark elves, the anime attempts to squeeze in an extra conflict. A couple of baby dragons, led by an Apostle similar to Rory, make trouble. They exist as means to show off the Japanese military a bit – fighter jets and tanks engage in one-sided combat. Which is acceptable.

But that Apostle, who indirectly decimated Yao’s and Tuka Luna’s clans as well as many others, and who showed up to begin with to take Rory back to Hardy (their leader), runs away. Worse still, Gate does not revisit this conflict in earnest for the remainder of the season, making one wonder what the point was of introducing it to begin with. This small conflict was nothing short of tacked on.

The most egregious issue, however, happens near the end. Youji and his team (that includes his newfound friends as well as his soldiers) infiltrate the castle, defeat a giant, and save both the Emperor and Piña. They won. But instead of taking out Zorzal. Instead of beating him up to a bloody pulp (again) to put him in his place. Instead of even just taking him prisoner for the numerous atrocities he’s committed and the moronic actions he’s taken. They let him go free.

The argument is that Youji and the Japanese army will always know where he is and how to find him. But when such a dangerous (and dense) dude has shown to be such an abysmal person, not taking any actions against him – when any military in their right mind would (and they themselves have touted their prowess) – is nothing short of silly.

As if that weren’t silly enough, his last line about getting revenge against Youji and the Japanese indicates that this convenient turn of events exists solely to have him cause unnecessary mayhem at some point in the future. Altogether, this admittedly minor event is absolutely asinine.

Even the themes encounter trouble. Themes on war, like the media’s inaccurate portrayal or the aftereffects of being a prisoner, are briefly shown or talked about. Unfortunately, they are never made into strong talking points. Still, the anime never intended to investigate these ideas in full; after all, its focus was more on the mixture of mythical and militaristic elements.

Alongside the surprising lack of world-building, Gate’s narrative’s negatives outweigh its positives, making it a weak tale in summation.

ANIMATION

Art and animation for Gate remains relatively the same from last season.

Much of the military tech – tanks, fighter jets, etc. – as well as the giant dragon use CG art that passes an acceptable level. Some CG segments, such as a wave of armor-clad guards, does not pass, but those scenes are not as common.

Once again, the anime’s signature paneled view, where multiple rectangular sections showcase characters or scenes happening simultaneously, returns. And, once again, it adds a bit of variety to the festivities at hand. What does not return is the Japanese side of the Gate. Losing out on the dichotomous aesthetics seems like a mistake, but, since the anime had all of its business on the Empire’s side, this loss is forgiven.

Locations visited include the makeshift town, the capital’s different sectors, and the mountainous region where the dragon lays. Not too much variety and not too much detail makes the art less impressive than it otherwise is.

Luckily, the character designs and the animation are exempt from this treatment. The cast keep their same colorful, detailed looks from the first season. Tuka’s long blonde hair with modernized (for Earth) white t-shirt and tight jeans. Rory’s fancy dress, bow, and gargantuan axe. Lelei’s all-blue attire. Newer characters, like Zorzal’s regal outfit and Tyuule’s original unkempt and later kempt looks, keep with the norm. The other citizens of the Empire all vary in size, shape, and appearance, adding even more variety to the designs.

And while Youji and the Japanese are decidedly plain in their looks, their plainness continues to contrast them with the fantastical land – an important motif throughout the whole series.

Actual animation likewise sees highs. While the anime does not define itself through animation, certain segments – such as the dragon battle, the first skirmish in the castle’s main hall, and the final battle against the giant – include a lot of magic, acrobatics, and explosions to make those fights that much more intense. To be fair, fights of this magnitude are not always happening, but downtime also includes lots of hair, eye, and limb movements from the characters to get even the “slower” segments moving.

CHARACTERS

The only truly influential newcomer is Tyuule.

Right from the get-go, her character is a tragic one as she finds herself at the hands of her captor Zorzal. But as the audience soon learns, she is not just a tragic character but also a dark character. A dark character with more than sinister intentions.

Her captivity and darkness stem from a past event involving her and her people. Unfortunately, the anime quickly passes over her backstory with just a couple of frames worth of flashback. The audience loses out on who she was as a person before, and, as such, the show fails to put her plight into perspective.

Even so, she follows through on her ultimate revenge: destroying the Empire. She pretends to be enamored with Zorzal, eventually becoming his main advisor. She feeds false information to cause chaos. She poisons the king to place his beyond-incompetent son into power to spark civil turmoil. While she does not normally directly take part in the craziness, she stirs the pot to a boiling point all the same.

In the end, she says that she destroyed the Empire, but that’s not really the case. The Japanese army didn’t needlessly kill civilians (going so far as to save important peace delegates). Plus, not only do they save the king, but also Piña. She is the main advocate on the Empire’s side vying for peace between them and the Japanese, and she becomes queen of the land, ushering in a new age of prosperity.

The reason for Tyuule’s failed revenge is seen in the tears that fall from her face. What she wanted wasn’t revenge – she wanted her life back. The people she befriended, the land she held, and the happiness she had. All of which revenge could not bring her. In other words, her character represents the idea that seeking revenge is a futile venture.

Sadly, the idea is nice, but the execution is not.

Tuka Luna also goes through a degree of tragedy herself but nowhere near the same level as Tyuule. In the beginning of the season, Yao confronts Tuka, making her think about the loss of her own clan and, more specifically, the loss of her father. Unfortunately, while there are parallels between Tuka and Yao – both are of elfish descent, both lost their clan, etc. – the anime does not explore these throughputs.

Regardless, Tuka goes practically insane. So insane, in fact, that she moves beyond pretending that her father is not dead and wandering the city in search of him. Instead, she begins to believe that Youji is her father. He goes along with the charade for a time, demonstrating that kindness can sometimes only be a Band-Aid rather than a remedy.

Thankfully, though, Youji decides to find that cure. Knowing that Tuka needs to overcome her warped perception, he and the girls finally do what the Japanese army won’t: take the fight to the dragon. While many perish, Youji and, more importantly, Tuka succeed in taking down the beast, freeing Tuka of the madness that clouded her mind for much too long.

Arguably, Tuka still calling Youji “Dad” does not really seem as though she has gotten better, but it is still nice to know that she has accepted her reality for what it is.

The rest of the cast lack much in terms of character depth. Zorzal is meant to be an arrogant, ignorant, and vile person. His personality makes him easy to hate but leaves little room for complexity. Yao Ha Ducy has an interesting development when she continues her do-whatever-she-must attitude by hurting (and thereby helping) Tuka. But the anime quickly forgets about Yao following the first half of this season.

Youji does little else besides be the everyman. The anime tries to give him some backstory, as well as parallelism with Tuka, in the form of a deranged mother, but it is hastily handed to the audience. Rory, once again, does not amount to much as a character because the anime does not give her any proper screen time and hence any proper developments. As for Lelei, she rarely has impact and intrigue except during a few of the battles.

Granted, these three are not without their positives. Youji’s ability to do everything contrasts with his inherent, just-want-to-relax self, adding comedy to his character. Rory gives the group utmost safety. And the anime juxtaposes Lelei with both her older sister and the magical town, making her level of intelligence more apparent.

Arguably the most interesting trait of the characters is the group dynamic. The group itself is actually pretty weak – they do not interact with one another all that much. But their individual relationships with Youji make their whole group quirky. At least, quirkier than it already is.

One of the harem members looks to Youji as her dad. One of them acts as his guardian. One of them thinks of him as a mentor. One of them believes him to be the kingdom’s savior. And one of them is literally a technical possession of his. They all show signs of romance, but it’s their strange relationships to Youji that make their group, well, quirky.

SOUND

The opening track for Gate brings the rock. While the quick guitar solo comes out of nowhere at the end, the guitar riffs, nice vocal work, and pounding drums work together to make a tough and cool track that fits the anime well.

In heavy contrast, to both the OP and the anime as a whole, the ending track takes on quite the lighthearted tone. Tuka, Rory, and Lelei take turns singing to the slow, happy beat, making for a calm send-off to each high-stakes episode. The ED is even pretty catchy. Arguably, it contrasts a bit too much with action-heavy show, but it’s still a nice piece all around.

And, given that this season is the continuation of a split-cour, Gate using much of the same original soundtrack is no surprise. Lots of military-esque tracks with trumpets and leveled tunes. Violin-heavy tracks that set the mood for the battles to come. And relaxing-fantasy ones for those slice-of-life segments. Once again, the OST fits but does not leave a lasting impression.

Voice acting likewise sees similar performances as last season. Ami Koshimizu as Tyuule goes cruel. Risa Taneda as Rory combines craziness and sexiness. And Hisako Kanemoto as Tuka Luna continues her mature yet cute voice for all to hear. In short, everyone involved does an above-average job.

ENJOYMENT

I’ve talked about this before, but one of the major reasons why an anime like this pulls me along is for me wanting, nay needing, to ensure that the safety of the characters holds up. Or, at the minimum, that the characters “win” in the end.

So it came as no surprise to me that Tyuule’s safety, considering her deplorable situation, had me wanting to see more of the season. Again, not because of the dragon or the military, but because I needed to know that she would be safe once all was animated and done.

I somewhat got my wish in that she ruined Zorzal’s life to an extent. But I was disappointed that she still seemed to be following him. In essence, I wanted to see her do more. Run away, destroy him. Anything to make me feel as though she were heading towards a bright future. Sadly, that didn’t happen.

My favorite character in the anime is actually Yao Ha Ducy, but, once the dragon arc ended, she became an almost permanent side character as events unfolded that did not directly concern her. Tuka Luna is next on my list of favorites, but the whole “dad” direction she took knocked down her appeal a few pegs.

The other characters I did not much care for. Rory is a bit annoying, Lelei doesn’t have much presence. As for Youji, he was not funny and was not relatable, so he, too, failed to be an entertaining character.

Interestingly, my favorite part was the end. Not Piña’s crowning or Youji getting screwed out of taking part in his hobby once more. It was the quick showcasing of the different pairings that had been made over the course of the season.

While the pairing between Sherry and Sugawara is weird due to their ages, it was still nice to see the show acknowledge these different relationships and where they were at or where they were going. Extra kudos to the pairing between Delilah and Akira, the assassin and the assassee (I just made that word up; I’m not sure why it isn’t a word considering the word “assassin” itself), for sharing an unexpected yet welcomed romance.

Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri 2nd Season encounters both highs and lows. Some tense moments in the story riddled with silly conclusions. A quirky group lacking individual development. And some nice artistic and musical pieces brought down by unsatisfying characters. It looks like, for the time being, this one will have to continue being content with its horses.

SUMMARY

Story: Bad, while the premise still holds, the patriotism has been toned down, and some of the conflicts bring tension, many plotlines are handled poorly, the final conflict is asinine, and the unexplored themes only get in the way

Animation: Good, okay artistic direction, nice character designs, above-average actual animation

Characters: Bad, Tyuule and Tuka Luna are okay, as are the quirky connections of the main group, but Youji, Rory, and Lelei still have issues being worthwhile characters

Sound: Good, good OP, good ED, okay OST, above average VA performances

Enjoyment: Bad, unfortunate outcomes and some boring characters, but at least some romance was had

Final Score: 4/10

Warning to anyone looking to watch this: This season contains rape, in fact it's one of the opening scenes. If you are triggered by that then be advised.

So this season is quite a bit darker than the first season. While the rape scenes are fairly well handled (in the first few eps at least), it does immediately take away from the comedy that I really enjoyed in the first season. That's not to say there were no comedic episodes, but they either felt out of place or weren't well done or both and I don't think I laughed once as opposed to the many, many ... times I did so in season 1. So those expecting more of what we got in season one will be dissapointed since, once the dragon plot from season 1 is resolved (in a way that was wholly unsatisfying anyway), the show loses its pacing, introduing waay too many new characters and muddling the plot. The first few eps were fairly solid if dark. Some elements were actually pretty damn good. But after episode five things go more and more down hill.

The pacing, tone and character development take a hit, and while it was never boring, and there were a few clever twists I didn't see coming, I did not enjoy myself like I did the first season, in fact I regret watching beyond episode five. (no wait, I regret watching period).

So art: Still pretty solid, plenty of rich backgrounds, and diverse background charavters. The animation while, not quite a popping as in season one, was still very good. So yeah if I was rating solely on art and animation this'd get a much higher grade.

Sound: I didn't care for the opening, but the bg ost was carried over from season 1. Of course later episodes had more than one instace where it was used terribly and there was a complete tonal dissonence between the music and what was playing out on screen. The voice acting (Japanese version) was solid, like the first.

Characters: Here's where things start to go down hill. Development is rushed, and after ep five they stop even trying. The female characters slowly lose most of what made them likable and become the typical, shallow harem sterotypes obssesed with the same guy. Or become damsels to be rescued. While some of the new characters have their moments, those are fleeting and lack impact as the show fails to keep tone and opts to scrap development whenver it's convenient for the plot. I'm sad because I ended up disliking most of the character that I liked in season 1. :(

Story: Missed opportunities, over reliance on coincidences, unfunny and out of place comic relief scenes that are much more mean spirited than in season 1 and generally serve to degrade the main characters. Too many contrived plot twists, to many gross and disturbing scenes (I really did NOT need to see a goblin pig monster satisfy his fetish of licking and bunny girl's leg in the grossest way), to rushed, to unfocused, too many new characters, too many side plots. Just gah this season ruined everything season one had going for it. D:

Final verdict: SKIP IT! seriously save your sanity and pretend it ended with season 1.