Gibiate

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I WATCHED THIS ANIME SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO. My brother gave up on this anime at episode 1 and told me, "Gibiate? More like jebaited with hot trash!" I pushed through per episode, hoping I’d get something good out of it. It did not even turn out to be the kind of “so bad it’s good” anime. Let me tell you all about this dumpster fire.


Art 1/10:
There's like 5 or more art “styles” in this anime. If that isn't enough to send a cluster of red flags for your brain, then I'd also mention the naturally terrible mix of these art styles. Perhaps it's ... bad directing or just plain incompetent decisions. Aside from the notably sloppy "fight scenes", everything really is horribly static for a show that is supposedly financed significantly. Normally, I tend to be more forgiving for animation in this form (I was fine with Fairy Gone for example). But there are way more options to keep the lesser furnished aspects to a minimum or at least not obvious. Also, perhaps each art style could have worked a lot better if any of those were given singular focus. What happened to the budget allocations for this thing, just thrown around for whatever? I'm absolutely horrified how this was even given a pass.


Characters 1/10:
The characters were SO STIFF. Granted, it's not the first show to have an Gen X meets Modern Generation concept, but Gibiate handles this terribly. Very awkward character dynamics. Some jump in dialogues were excessively slow, like it felt like the camera would painfully teeter to one character to tell the viewer that "Hey, this guy is speaking now!!" Please. And what's to like in a set of either boring, annoying or wonderfully predictable characters! Also, ignoring the fact that there is supposed to be a HUGE language and technological barrier within the cast! Either be respectful with incorporating any era's concept or be flexible with it. And the awful hints of "romance" or affection! My goodness, what is this horrible cast!!

People. Don’t. Talk. The. Way. Gibiate. Shows. It.


Plot 1/10:
Gibiate's story sounds like a fanfic writer's wet dream. I would know because I was one of those. I absolutely know I would have loved to write this idea for a fanfiction with characters from a famous series. The time travel concept was just a chef's kiss after everything. See, the progression and the arc setups were severely irritating. You got all this wonderful potential from Japanese history, but it ended up feeling like a child's story drawn from Mommy's bedtime stories mixed with Grandpa's war stories, all taken by the child to form a ridiculous story that will only ever be grand and have any small amount of coherence for a that child alone. Wow! What an interesting idea, let's take it. Wow! Another premise I can use. Maybe we can use it for a different project? NO, SLAM THEM ALL TOGETHER!

What's also horrible was when the anime explains things happening as if the viewer is but a child. Maybe I missed a memo on that regard, but it was quite insulting in that regard. "He died because he got bit by the monster!" as if it was something meant to be a shocking reveal. "Oh no, things are bad! I must proceed to say it to make sure the viewer knows things are bad, by also narrating the situation as if the group of people with me aren't adults." We get barely an episodic length of character backstories, so yeah, things somehow managed to feel rushed despite the excruciatingly slow pacing of the character interactions. "You see how this character is actually good?! Now, feel bad and empathize!"

Gibiate did all the bad things wonderfully.


Sound Design 4/10:
The only aspect I'm willing to accept as actually okay. It gets annoying, but it's mostly because of all the bad elements already mixed in. The worst of all is some action scenes are supposed to be exciting or suspenseful, but the general atmosphere of all the clustered aspects just made things feel pretentious.


Final Notes 1/10:
Basically, the anime tried so hard to incorporate various moods, eras, and genres. It obviously failed. Just no. Please keep yourself away from this actual monstrosity of an anime. So many other anime deserves the kind of financial or social backing that this anime got. I am so angry that this anime exists.

I know a good number of 90's anime that are way more interesting with actually better animated and more entertaining fight scenes.

Man, I will forgive ANY type of unoriginal fanservice anime full of breasts and such. At least, that kind of anime is true to their audience and intentions. Excuse my language, but I have to do it for the rest of the review. What the fuck is this abomination of an anime?! WHAT THE FUCK happened here?! What a FUCKING bad anime! My eyes! FUCK!! God, I wanted to give this anime a fucking ZERO. FUCK IT! STAY AWAY! FUCKING SAVE YOUR SANITY FROM THIS SHITSHOW!

After Gibiate, Mars of Destruction looks like a solid 10/10.

2030, a not-so-distant future, but a story that can easily become a reality in 10 years. The whole world is infected with a virus that depending on your sex, age and race, turns you into a monstrosity. The story takes place in Japan, where a group of people are fighting the infected monstrosities and are trying to find a cure for the virus.

Do you remember the low budget sci-fi movies from the 1980s? They are trying so hard to touch upon some interesting topics, however, all the philosophy they have is hardly discussion-worthy, the horror elements ... will barely scare a kid, and scarcely anyone will find the action scenes spectacular. This is what Gibiate is. Indeed, I would love to stop my review on the fact that the animation is horrible and that is the reason for you to never watch this anime, but I will not do it. Story wise, while it does offer the viewer a grain of uniqueness, it just fails if you try to analyze it. Sanada Kenroku and Kanzaki Sensui are the two warriors from the past, who are later joined by another warrior, but it is not what I am trying to stress here. They somehow find themselves in the future and all the people that see them can say is that there is hardly anything strange about this whole situation. ‘After all, we live in the times, when the virus is about to destroy the humanity. I do not have the time to spare to think about a monk, a samurai and a ninja that somehow travelled from the past.’

I mean, freak out for a second. You see people, who are supposed to be dead already. Forget about that, you see the people that forged the history of your country. Show some emotions, will you? Instead of it, the anime series decides that the two warriors look lame and they should look like ‘some parents of the kids that like metal and want to look like their children, but they fail miserably.’ And this is still not the main problem of the storyline. The worst thing about it is that it is extremely easy to guess what is going to happen: a man runs from a monster, plays some mediocre OST to make it even more of a forced drama than it is and, at this point, I cannot imagine a person that will not understand what is about to happen to this man; he dies, of course.

Animation wise, while the anime does use the old 90-ish character designs, which quite match the overall tone of Gibiate, it becomes too much of a problem for me to ignore. Gibiate declares to be action/sci-fi orientated type of an anime, so it is supposed to make you a little bit scared, or maybe just a bit uncomfortable, thinking what if this were real. However, Gibiate hardly has anything to offer in that regard. I mean, I understand that Gibiate does not have a budget to boast about. Why would not they make one type of monsters that is well-animated, instead of trying to show different types of monsters.

Gibiate does not want its viewers to approach the show with logic, reason, or even the slightest ability to think. It is, just like one of many of these low-budget sci-fi series, where you should only care about 1 hero singlehandedly saving the whole humanity. The characters do not even try to show some development: a samurai that finds himself in the future, but he no longer can serve his lord. He finds out that his lord died the most dishonorable death possible… It should be painful? Such a samurai would have just committed a seppuku. In addition to this, people are hardly astounded by the fact that they, for some completely unknown to them reason, can see historical figures that are supposed to be dead long time ago. Instead of it, they always say something like ‘there is nothing surprising about it. After all, we are going through some tough times.’ And it is always the same bloody explanation.

Unfortunately, I failed to find anything good about this anime. Even the OST does not fit the series and makes it more annoying, maybe even ridiculous and funny. Gibiate does not have anything good to offer for its viewer, however, if you want to enjoy it, you will need to stop thinking completely, that way you might find it enjoyable. Yet, if you think that you will find some sense about Gibiate, I am sorry to say that, but I would highly recommend you to avoid this series. In the end, it is up to you to decide.