Ga-Rei: Zero

When I started watchin Ga-Rei Zero, I never thought I would enjoy it so much. If in the beggining of the first episode I was surprised to see how full of action it was, at the end of the same episode I was like "what the hell.. everybody dies. anime ends. go home". (If you watched it you know what I'm taking about). And then in the second episode other characters die so I was kind of confused and said to myself "No, no. Something is wrong here". Well, the actual story starts with episode 3 so basically, the first 2 episodes have nothing to ... do with the rest of the series. I know it is weird but in a good way.

Starting with the storyline, I have to say it's pretty amazing. The two main characters, Yomi and Kagura, show us that the most important thing in the world is not family itself, but the persons who are not blood-related to you and still love you like they truly are. It's a sad story indeed, about friendship, family bonds, love and loyalty. Like many other animes, this one theaches us that with great power comes great sacrifice and unless you are emotionally strong you can't live the way Yomi and Kagura did.

The music is awesome! Those sad and peaceful melodies which play in the background of the most heartbreaking scenes are completely wonderful. I haven't seen an anime with such an appropriate music since a while. Moreover, given the powerful beginning with countinuous action I would've never thought the anime could be so sensitive.

My favourite character was Yomi. Although she turned into a villain, she died as hero, as a good person who only wished to protect the ones she loved. Yomi was (in my opinion) the most complex character of the series. She loved Kagura like her little sister, she loved her adoptive father like her real one and nevertheless, she loved noriyuki so much that she couldn't kill him. In spite of the fact that she was such a hearty person, the rest of the family hated her for not being blood-related to them (which I find incredibly hard to live with). I don't blame her for wanting revenge or for holding hatred against May and her uncle (whom she killed) and I definately don't blame her for wanting power after she ended up crippled. You know that saying: "You weren't born evil. Life made you this way". I think this pretty much sums up Yomi's life. Anyway, I was glad to see that in the end she let go of the hatred and realised there were still persons who cared about her. Too bad it was too late.

I really enjoyed this anime. It was full of unexpected but the fact that so many people had to die really saddened me. Their deaths were sooo sorrowful, they really got to my feels. What I liked most was how this uninterrupted action was combined in such a fine way with a remarkable life story and of course, unfulfilled love. There are 3 different things wrapped into a singel package. And this package is surprisingly good.

I wasn't going to watch this, I can't remember why, but then one day I did...for some reason...and I'm so glad I did!

I don't think there really is much story...I mean it's like a generic friend story and one friend goes to the dark side and then the light side has to bite the bullet and defeat the dark side and defeat their friend, ya know, Naruto like crap. Queue a shit load of build up trying to make the relationship between the two characters seem more believable and to try and make their final showdown more epic. Not that this series needs its ... fights to be anymore epic, though.

The animation is incredible, it drops a little but never greatly or enough to ruin the show. And the art in the manga is VERY bad so it was nice to see how nice looking this was, with fluid fights (something else the manga lacked). Everything just looked plain awesome. Plus it was nice to see such random weapons, Irons and Suitcases for example (both of which were surprisingly badass). Plus Yomi is just plain beautiful, I think I'm in love.

I never really know what to say for sound, yeah the soundtracks great, yeah the voice work is great. Pretty much sums it up.

The characters are quite bland, you have a pervert, a gay pervert, a coward, twins, sisters etc etc nothing really pushes the boundaries but all the characters are likeable or funny or hot or use a technique or weapon that makes them badass. You forget how bland they are when they're kicking ass and taking names.

Somehow, someway I feel that 12 episodes was too many, the way they did the intro and outro had way to much overlap (one episode was basically one of the episodes from the beginning with new bits pushed in the gaps), it could have been broken down into half the episodes, same with the flashback within the flashback that took up most of the series and moved way to slowly, I think their could have been other ways to build up the relationship between Kagura and Yomi and it be enjoyable for us at the same time. This could have easily been 3 - 4 episodes shorter in my book and it woulda made it more enjoyable, you got long, slow boring flashback episodes that didn't really seem to fight juxtaposed with incredible action sequences which did fit. I just wish they wouldn't keep taking their foot off the gas pedal. I feel almost that my time was wasted, there seems to be no plans for a sequel and instead of creating a sorta tied up prequel it was more like an intro into the manga, like a really long advert, I think they coulda done more with the episodes, had their own side story that started at episode one and ended at episode twelve.

Overall there needs to be more anime like this, the action was incredible, the story was nothing new but it was the Ga-Rei quirks which made it more than just a generic shounen. Sacred Beasts, Irons, Suitcases, twists and turns and characters that actually get their asses handed to them or died. Storywise it followed all the generic shounen patterns but it completely turned it on its head and it should be remembered for that.

If Bleach was seinen it'd be kinda like this...

I have to make something clear for someone who didn't understand this review. What I liked about this series wasn't so much the content but what the series....stood for.

It took a rather generic shounen story and turned it on it's head. It was dark and bloody and crazy and shounen is aimed for boys whose balls ain't dropped yet. So for that I take my hat off. Too many shounens limit themselves because of what they're but every now and then a series goes "FUCK YOU JUMP!" and does whatever the hell it wants. So yeah the inner flashback was pretty shit. But sometimes it's not just about the content.

Spoilers Ahoy!

Ga-rei… where to begin… Apparently this is based of a manga with the same (or similar title). I have to admit that I was fairly confused by the first episode, which almost never happens to me… this might be because I never read the original source material. I think, for this one, I’ll start with the production value. Overall, the PV was amazing. The animation was fluid and precise, the artwork never suffered many flaws, and the few tiny flaws that it did suffer from are really of no concern. The characters have a decent range of emotional expression, which one really doesn’t see ... much these days. The music was good too. It had a bit of a Ghost in the Shell vibe to it, without Yoko Kanno’s musical genius. The show did have the tendency to rely on CG a bit heavily, but it was decent CG, and I think it made the Ghost in the Shell vibe even stronger (though production IG wasn’t even involved with this.) Ladies and gentlemen, activate the spoiler tags, because here comes the first episode. We learn that the show focuses around a combat squadron that fights against the supernatural. The strongest of these squads is Squad 4, who the story revolves around. We get introduced to the squad, including the bespectacled, fringed commander, his young squeaky girl assistant, Masaki (who I like because he is weird and has glasses, much like myself), this big guy with a scar who said a Buddhist prayer, a girl with a motorcycle that she can kill things with, and the male lead who’s name escapes me at the moment. The first scene is our male lead in front of a tombstone in a cemetery, and he has the first of many fucked-up flashbacks for the episode. From here on out, I’ll call them FUFB. He see’s this creepy kid with white hair, and he is standing over a body and surrounded in flames, then a gunshot is seen, and the male lead snaps back to reality. The motorcycle girl, Natsuki, picks up the male lead to bring him to the scene of a supernatural incident in progress. We first get to see a bunch of invisible zombie things, and they scare me a bit, called Category C, which I guess is low class. Then the main baddy for the show comes in. A Category B… A ROLLING, FLAMING CG DINOSAUR THAT SHOOTS FLAMING INVISIBLE ZOMBIES! I shit you not, this actually happens. Well, cut a long story short, the incident is solved after some bad-assery in a water plant… this is where stuff gets kind of fucked up. The lights flicker, and our friends from Squad 4 begin to die… which kind of weirded me out. Why introduce a bunch of characters if they all die? Well, a girl with a sword kills Masaki, and the other squad four members, pretty violently. The male lead desperately calls base for assistance, and we see that Mami-chan, the assistant to the director, has killed him, and has a face-hugger brain-sucker alien thing on her head… She speaks as two minds, and says “We’ll be going ahead” then shoots herself in the head… this show seems fucked up, eh? Male lead has another FUFB and sees the white haired child and the body again. The male lead is screaming “Aoi” which I guess is her name, and the girl with the sword (the one killing everybody) tries to convince him that she is no longer Aoi. Aoi stands up and walks toward male lead. Male lead pleads, Aoi presses against his gun, and he fires. As Aoi falls, a swarm of crystalline blue butterflies (which will most likely be recurring in this show) fly away. We snap back to reality, where the sword girl says “I told you to give it up.” She then proceeds to slay the male lead. As the credits role, there is no ED, just the almost surprisingly haunting environment noise of falling water. Overall, the show is pretty good, but I don’t feel like I’ll know what’s going on until the next episode. I give this in total an 8/10. The beginning makes it seem like it might be generic, but it was fucked up and confusing enough to hook me in for the next episode.

Produced by AIC spirits, airs Saturdays. Subs by Aero.

“Would you kill someone you love, because of love?”

The allure of psychological tragedy is undeniable. From the moment I read taglines, the rational side of my mind calls a bluff. Moral challengers are a rare godsend, but something about morally-challenging, interesting taglines triggers skepticism, like they exist to compensate for said moral challenge to be little more than a brief tangent to the circle called the plot. So, with the above skepticism in hand, Ga Rei –Zero- became my next target, hoping that it would exceed my (admittedly unjustly low) expectations.


What I did not expect was the single most emotional, beautiful pieces of tragedy ... I have happened across in an anime.


Being a relative novice with the supernatural genre, I approached “Ga Rei –Zero-“ with an open mind, expecting something akin to “Elfen Lied” in its exploration of the concept of love, and indeed, my assessment ultimately proved correct. Not knowing the original Ga Rei continuity, my first impressions of –Zero- were those of apprehension: series driven by squad dynamics rely heavily on interaction rather than depth of character, and given the psychological appeal of this series and the highly personal nature of the series’ driving value, I wondered if I should resign this series to a mere pass-time. It was at that pivotal moment where the real story arrived on the scene in a katana-fuelled frenzy, instilling me with such profound shock that my impressions of the series instantly turned about.

Having been fed the ways of Aristotlean theatre for the better part of a year, my interest was piqued by an apparent subversion of the ways of tragedy. Yet in this exploration of the tragic heroine corrupted by something so noble as love, I found something in this series which invoked the same catharsis one is meant to find. This is, perhaps, the triumph of this production: many a series fails because their main character is impossible to sympathize with, or is so derivative that sympathy becomes impossible. Yet as I held the naive belief that the tragic heroine could be saved, salvaged by the eternal bonds of sisterly love, I realized just how profound an effect the series had on me: just how well the series endeared me to its characters.

As one need not guess at the ending to a prequel, it falls to the director to end the series in a fashion that does the viewer justice, yet engage those who are oblivious to the nature of the bitter end with a sense of apprehension, the “what next” sense one ought to feel. But as the tragically beautiful music swelled to a climax and falls with the hero’s last words, despite the part of my mind suited to analyse form from a cool distance, the part which knew this was inevitable for this tragic heroine fell silent.

And yet, despite the silent beauty of the scene, somehow I felt unsatisfied. In spite of the beauty, the music, the raw emotion, and its undeniably profound effect on me, something about that scene felt inconclusive, something nagging at my mind.

“This can’t be it. There has to be something more.”

Perhaps the downfall of this series is that is a prequel, and, while as a stand-alone text its mastery is evident, its effect cannot be felt segregated from its parent material. While in its own, Ga Rei –Zero- is more than beautiful, easily able to take the highest mantle for tragedy and, perhaps, the mantle for anime in general, my final conclusion is that for the profound catharsis effect demanded of tragedy, one simply cannot approach this like a casual observer.
And hence, the onus is on the audience to do the series justice. While even the most callous of us cannot deny they feel for the plight of the characters, in the end, the series’ ability to make one care for the characters is undeniable. But it’s the difference between greeting a new acquaintance and an old friend. It’s obvious which has the better effect.

Which is not to say Ga Rei –Zero- is worthless alone. Far from it, as an exploration of love, loss and hate, it’s nothing less than brilliant. To pick up this ball and run with it is a definite worthwhile experience, but if you’re serious about playing the game, invest the time and read the manga first.

I think the first episode ending was a wonderful hook. The second episode drew you in more. But Ga-Rei Zero, despite strong action scenes, and great leads fails, and really, fails utterly because it doesn't remain true to it's characters.

As the back story develops after episode 2 the bond between Yomi and Kagura receives a full accounting, and it is the rather well developed main characters and wonderful interaction between them and also the members of their team that made these several episodes captivating. I was less impressed throughout the story with the monster designs and I found all the ... Clan family heads less than believable - they were there for the plot`s sake.

What happens to Yomi, to make her change? The drastic change, I assumed, was akin to being turned into a vampire - that is, the evil Yomi was possessed, so she was not responsible for her actions. When the Bane stone, a rather poorly defined object of `pure supernatural energy`makes it appearance I guessed it had something to do with it.

So Yomi, the adopted, loved, in love, daughter of a powerful clan head, a loyal, honored member of an organization that battles those who would release the `foulness of death`upon the world then has a very bad day. And before she is turned to the dark side, she commits an act completely out of character, she kills someone. (This scene has another thing wrong with it - the person she kills, had just escaped the thralls of the Bane stone, but seemingly lost all memory of it, yet earlier when this had happened to her she was in shock because of her actions.) Yomi would not have done this act.

Sigh, but she did, and then the primary antagonist (PA) shows up and the next thing you know she`s in a coma for 2 months, suspected of heinous crimes, and when she wakes up, probably permanently physically disabled, seemingly doubted by her (ex)-fiancee and Kagura (who both commit actions I found highly unlikely that upset Yomi). So she`s alone and lo and behold, the PA agains shows up, heals her ailing body with the bane stone offers it to her and sigh, she takes it. The Yomi I had come to know would have been filled with remorse at her killing someone, she would have used some very nasty Japanese words, the PA would have left her, a broken proud warrior.

But the screenwriter probably had the ending in mine when he started writing this series, but fell in love with Yomi while creating the character, and made her much more.

But if the Bane stone can take possession of your soul, and force you to commit evil acts, which it seemingly does, when sigh Yomi has become evil, there are really only 2 possible choices for the story. Either Yomi has the ability to overcome the lurid presence of the Bane Stone, and the focus should be on her internal conflict using her powerful will to at least have a chance at redemption (which still might have included her sacrificing herself). Both drama and tragedy can come out of this - it is a good choice but melodrama won out. Additionally, this could have been Kagura battling the `banality of evil`` that Yomi had become but also, you know, trying to get that glowing stone out of her and maybe big sis would come back! But melodrama won out.

Ga-Rei:Zero (Will you kill someone you love because of love).The title in itself can envoke emotion in someone.

Story-The main story is about the relationship of the two sisters yomi and kagura.The first episode might be a little bit comfusing, and the anime in general might be confusing, but once it gets going everything falls into place.They 2 sisters at first have a really good relationship, but it takes a turn for the worse when yomi turns evil.The group yomi is in (and later kagura) is a group dedicated to destroying ghosts and paranormal anomalies that normal people cant see with there bare eyes, ... but they can.The ending to this anime is one i dont think i will ever forget for the rest of my life, i was expecting it but i didnt want it to end the way it did.Its one of the endings that will make an impact on your life and is something that you will reflect on and even dream about.To say the least it has a really well put together storyling and a good but tragic ending.

Art-This anime has some unique concepts as far as character design and weapon design (one of the characters weapons is suitcase that shoots missles) so yeah theres some unique designs to the weapons in this anime.And some of the bigger anomalies have a cg effect to them which some might not like, but i did. I enjoy seeing animes that try to change it up and try something different.

Sound-It has a really soothing and appropriate opening to it and the music always seems to match the intensity.Not really much to say the soundtrack was great.

Character-The 2 main characters are alot alike in most ways, they are sisters afterall.Yet there extremely diverse.You also got the nabuu brothers which are you typical block head muscle types, but they feel different that the rest because they are brothers and there smarter than they appear.The sort of secondary characters even have small backstories to them so you might even remember some of them which isnt all that common in animes.

Enjoyment-At first i was a little bit annoyed with this anime because it seemed to go all over the place, but it was actually giving a really in depth back story that led to a tragic ending which after finishing the anime made me realize how well written this anime was. This anime is filled with tons of awesome fighting, comedy here and there which one scene in particular makes me laugh everytime i think of it, and of course the intense moments and sad parts that seem to stick with you. They still do and its been a month or so since ive seen this.

Overall-Overall this anime can be confusing at first like some animes can, but you realize that its just cleverly written. Once i figured that out i really got to enjoy it. It has tons of action, funny scenes and intense scenes which seem to balance out in my opinion. If you like tragic, intense fighting animes then i think you would enjoy this.

Ga-Rei Zero caught my attention while browsing a forum. To be more accurate it was a character named Yomi. The motto of the show “Will you kill someone you love because of love?” seemed interesting and makes you wonder about the series.

The show starts basically with the ending. We don't get any introductions we just arrive in the middle of the action. The whole first episode is raced through the events, and it got a sudden and suprising end. At the beginning of the second episode the whole pace changes, and we return to the events that happened years before the first episode. After this ... the show basically turns into a slice of life show with few bits of drama and pretty much cominc relief elements.

We get see the main characters relationships to each other and their motives explained. There are some action scenes in-between, but they don't become important to the main story until the end. The last few episodesw pick the pace up again and show us the events that eventually led to episode one.

Now few words about the ending. After all this build-up, you wait for a a climatic, atcion-packed conclusion and you might think everything gets explained and resolved. Wrong. You get the action and you understand the motives of the main characters, but it is so rushed and meaningless, that barely feels like an ending. The anime was a prequel to the manga series, so it is a bit understandable, that not everything is wrapped up, but there are so many unexplained elements to the story, that I had to look after the answers to my questions at more places.

The last episodes introduces dramatic changes in the story that felt rushed and they came basically out of the blue. I think they are supposed to have a dramatic effect on the viewer, however they only raise more questions instead. While the ending is dramatic, the monologues of the side characters ruin the mood and while these scenes are supposed to show the inner thoughts of the main characters, while they are explained through the viewpoint of the supporting cast. This distances the viewer from the main characters.

The characters themselves are colorful we can see many types of people appearing in the first episode. Too bad, that the supporting cast takes too much focus from the main characters, Kagura and Yomi. This wouldn't be bad if they played important part in the events. Sadly in the end the majority of the supporting characters only serve as cannon fodder to the demons and don't even play any role to the development of the story, save for a few exceptions.

Yomi is the one character who bears the whole show on her shoulders. She sets events in motion, her character is pretty unique and she has the most focus throughout the story, while the other characters are static. Her development is the only worth mentioning altough her actions may seem inconsequent due to the poor storytelling. But if there is one character you might get attached to during the that is undoubtly Yomi. Kagura, the other main character of the show is young girl who joins Yomi in her job as an exorcist at a very young age. She has a naive and kind nature, and this remains so during the events. She faces many hardships despite her young age, but the sad thing is, it doesn't even change a bit of her personality. At the end of the show, the flash-forward shows, that her personality hasn't gone through any changes at all, rendering the previous events almost meaningless.

I personally feel, that the show could have been much better if the story would only be about Kagura and Yomi. While they get much screentime, too much of it goes by without any meaningful events, and this gives back the feeling of a slice-of-life show.

The animation and the action scenes are the major strong-points of the show. The fights are well animated, the motions are fluid, the scenery is also nice. The sound effects and the music is pretty mediocre, it is not really worth mentioning. The opening song is very catchy, it goes well with the action scenes of the show and the slow ending matches the mood of the story.

The pacing of the show totally ruins the mood of the anime. I only can recommend the series to people who like action shows and are prone to tear-jerkers. For those, who look for a more time, Ga-Rei is certainly not their choice.

Like some other reviewers have mentioned, the characters are somewhat predictable, and the truckload of supporting characters don't get much development at all. This is somewhat hard to do in 12 episodes, but that brings me to my next point - the show feels a bit slow until around episode 7, and then starts to keep you hooked.

As for the story, it's a bit predictable, but still a rather unique overall plot.

Verdict: Certainly not bad if you're looking for something to watch - however, not the most enthralling or groundbreaking show you've ever seen.

~~~~~~~~SPOILERS~~~~~~~



***first "review" I've ever done.



As I write this review I have currently just finished that last episode aired for this anime which would be episode 12 and I have some things I'd like to say about Ga-Rei Zero, both how I felt about the journey through it and how I think it fairs as an anime as a whole (they are different).

... Do you enjoy action?
Do you enjoy light romance?
Do you enjoy a tear jerking experience?
If you said yes to any of the above this is a MUST watch!

MAIN CONTENT (LESS GIBBERISH) SPOILER FREE!

Ga-Rei Zero is about two girls who work for a organization that fights against the supernatural/ghosts, monsters and all the sorts is what you can guess from reading the synopsis, is that all it has to offer? if you think surely not then you would be correct, Ga-Rei Zero is not so much about monster fighting at all its much more about the relationships between two girls Yomi and Kagura who both find each other by fate and connect because of there experiences and the past, it helps them to understand each other in which they become unofficial sisters and go through life working for this organization, but if you read the synopsis something goes horribly wrong in one of there missions, I can't go much more into detail unless I want to spoil things important so if you wish to read more and don't care about spoilers read more below!

SCORES

Story 8/10 - The story as I'm sure you already know isn't very unique in the idea of main characters killing monsters and the supernatural but I'm giving it a 8/10 because it was done fairly well.

Art 9/10 - To me personally the art was great, it was dark yet colourful enough for the watcher to understand how the creators wanted you to portray the setting and atmosphere, the characters were well done so I have no complaints.

Sound 7/10 - Nothing to special, the sound did it's job in instilling emotions and giving you an idea of situations.

Enjoyment 6/10 - I scored enjoyment fairly low because the ending wasn't what I was hoping for (it felt like something was missing) which REALLY bummed me out if you want to read the ending feel free to read my comments below.

Overall 8/10 - If you are looking for a tear jerking experience with tonnes of action and well fleshed out main characters then look no further then Ga-Rei Zero which offers that and more.




PERSONAL THOUGHTS OF GA-REI ZERO (GIBBERISH) SPOILERS!

I'd like to cover how I personally felt about my experience with Ga-Rei Zero first, this anime to me is fantastic on so many levels. just everything about it seems like it clicks in my mind as something I would watch from animations to plot/story to character development, for example how Kagura is taken in from Yomi's family and how they connect and become as close as you can get to blood related sisters, I feel not to many animes any more focus on relationships but Ga-Rei Zero nails it. ~SPOILER~ BUT on a personal enjoyment level the ending where Kagura kills Yomi to stop her suffering from a bane stone she was tricked into using almost causing her to turn into a phantom,~SPOILER~ it just feels empty like the anime is missing something, to be honest I doubt any of this will make any sense since I am still in shock to what I have witnessed, I really wish there was a season 2 of this anime because at the end it time skips 2 years after Kagura kills Yomi and we see Kagura with a boy named Ken whom we can only assume is her boyfriend or colleague fighting off more spirits which hints at a season 2 but to this day it hasn't been made, another thing that hints at a season 2 is it never really shows us Yomi is dead for sure, ya she got stabbed but since she has a bane stone a single stab wouldn't do her in so it makes me think Yomi is alive somewhere, this anime SCREAMS season 2 but it's not yet here hopefully it is one day.

I saw some pics of Ga-Rei Zero tonight and rember what a good anime it is. I heard about it in a forum and my firts thouts were "Oh, well I run out of any good animes with little episodes, why not to watch this one, it is not much of an deal anyway". But then I didn't know that that's not another lazy, boring anime with fights here and there. At start I was a bit confused with the story and the first 1-3 eps but when the main story take place I was shocked. This fascinating, complex and still interesting story revolving around ... two friends and the human soul which can not overcome some things.
I think the 12 episodes where too little for a story like this.
But this can certainly be forgiven because all the attention may finally be concentrated in Kagura and Yomi. Dynamics around them, comedy, action, the bond between them that would strengthened with each passing episode and then simply merge with nothing and only the memory remains. The whole anime is a good example of what can be done only by one or even innocent-looking, human mistake and how fragile is the relationship between two people.

In the Art all that I didn't like were the "invisable" demons. However the main characters were beatiful and the battles - very well made.

It was a good thing that the OP and ED had comed around 3 ep and didn't show right from the begining the main characters. The music during the battles wasn't bad too.

Overall Ga-Rei Zero is a nice anime, with good sense and insight into human life and emotions, with not that little action and comedy too. Definitely worth watching.

Ga Rei Zero?
Hmmmm.....
I found it accidentally while searching for best anime titles of 2008. Animecrazy.net included it into their list. Hmmm....Kinda intriguing coz the poster seemed so interesting...time to see some shounen moves again...it's blazing!!!

(Well, you could easily find this poster that I'm talking about. The one, with many characters surrounded with fire, you'll find it)

Unfortunately, the people in the poster doesn't have anything to do with the whooooooooooooooleeeeeeeeeeeeeeee anime.....Hmmm...well, not really. You see, I thought I would be facing them longer and have to deal with some 10 maybe 20 lousy minutes and more to come, but I was soooooooooooooooo surprised that they were ... easily BUTCHERED!!! MY gosh! This ANIME boasts in B-L-O-O-D! And to think that these people in the poster were the main characters,,,HUH? What would happen now in the story????? AHEMMMM.... I was confused for a while. I paused while seeing the credits at the end, waiting for the ed song to play..but nothing showed up? What's wrong with this anime????

EHERM>....Now we're faced with another set of characters. They possess powers like what- I-thought-to-be-the main-characters also have, like they can see beasts or dark spirits what an ordinary person cannot do. As you see, these characters work under the government to destroy these malevolent spirits and help to maintain peace on earth. These were chosen people who have certain gifts and abilities to perform the tasks assigned to them. See, nothing extra- ordinary right? Well, it's the re-usable plot of any action anime.

De mo.....Don't lose hope...

As I have mentioned earlier, the what- I-thought-to-be-the main-characters were BUTCHERED right from the very beginning. So, this may seem something new and intriguing, right?.....BWAGAGAGAGA!!!

Will you kill someone you love, because of love? Ahemmm....Kinda soft and romantic right? It doesn't seem right for a bloody anime like this, I thought. You see, This anime is lead by a female named Kagura Tsuchimiya who idolized her Yomi-oneechan. And Yomi-oneechan, true enough, is a very skilled swordsman and a prodigy in the making. She was set to be a heir to her fostered-clan and had a very cute love-hate relationship with her fiancee, Nori-chan. Romantic, it is! They even had a filler episode just for the two, Yay!! If you're into this kind of genre, action with romance inside, then this one is really for you!! Hek hek ^_^

All seems right and fine, until, of course, the dark side made his entrance. This source-of-trouble which made the goody-goody relationship of everyone turned to its worst situation and gave a 360 degree rotation to all the lives of our dear characters..HUHUHUHUHUHUHU!! ^~^

Because, you know there's a lot of things that were really regrettable and as a viewer you could not help to feel so remorsed for the things that could have saved: relationships with your co-workers, relatives, friends, love life (huhuhuhu, so much regret ^~^) and with your treasured one. Huhuhuhu :(

And to think, that this whole thing is just a prequel to the original story.....MY GOLLY!! Although, I'm gonna say that the 12 episodes kinda satisfied me, and I feel fine even if there wont be any continuation to the story, the thought of the real plot keeps me more interested. Real main characters will be revealed. Wushu!!! I haven't searched for any season 2 yet, if their on the making already. But, Whatevah!! Sure they will, it's not like they kinda use the setting of the manga only and wont deliver the real fruit. 'Couse, they wont. Bring it on!!


P.S.

I like the Paradise Lost (OP song)
Nori-chan! Yomi-chan!! Huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuuuh
:

Story:
Storywise, Ga-Rei Zero (Abbreviated to GRZ from now on) does it very well. This was one of the highlights of the show, and definitely was a solid good plot backing it up. It engages the viewer not to drop the show and it was sure to please even the viewers who are not a fan of the genre. I know this since I am definitely not a huge fan of action shows, and I absolutely loved GRZ. The twists and turns of the plot was exceptional, and was entertaining but definitely kept you at the edge of your seat until the very end of the ... show. However, the ending for me was not very good, but I’ll let you judge that yourself ;)

Rating: 9/10
“Solid and good plot that was very entertaining and would keep viewers from watching. A deep storyline with lots of twists in it. If it wasn’t for the ending, I would have given it a full 10.”



Art/Animation:
Wow. Very exceptional designs. I absolutely adored the character designs. Not to mention the kick-ass animation that the producers did. I have no comments for this one, all I can say is that it is brilliant. Heck, even a Mio (K-On) lookalike is there!

Rating: 10/10
“Nothing else to say but brilliant. Not just the character designs, but the smooth and awesome animations.”



Enjoyment:
I definitely enjoyed GRZ. The characters were loveable, I truly loved all of them! :3 Nabuu FTW! The first 2 episodes definitely were the most memorable for me and was the reason I kept watching. GRZ has a little bit something for everyone, definitely.

Rating: 10/10
“An enjoyable show to watch. Definitely won’t get bored of it, that’s for sure ^^”


Final Rating: 29/30
GRZ is definitely a must watch anime. Trust me, YOU HAVE TO WATCH IT. At first, I hated Ga-Rei Zero before even watching it! You know why? Cause I thought that the name was horrible XD. But little did I know that this show was exceptional and I know that I would have regretted not watching it. That just goes to show that you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover (in this case, not to judge an anime by its name XD). Definitely recommended for everyone, even those who aren’t fans of the genre.
“Solid and good plot that was very entertaining and would keep viewers from watching. A deep storyline with lots of twists in it. If it wasn’t for the ending, I would have given it a full 10.”

Firstly I would have to say that this anime is not for someone who is not able to persevere till the end before they began whining about how bad or confusing the anime is. I won't recommend this to people who know that they are not very smart either, because the message behind the story is quite deep.

"Will You Kill Someone You Love, Because Of Love?"

This is quite an intelligent anime with two stunningly exciting opening episodes. It explores guilt and love; goodness and evil in human heart. Its emotions are genuine and are multi-textual. If you understand the tag-line ... (the question) above, you would probably understand what I mean. This anime greatly portrays the complication of mixed human emotions. Does love triumph over hate? Does doubt show even in the strongest-willed person when he is placed in despair?

The OP song is one of my favorite songs all time. The opening animation also fits the song's lyrics very well.

Overall I have enjoyed the anime so much that I couldn't wait for the good quality one to download and had to watch the blurry one on YouTube.

Ga-Rei -Zero- is currently my favorite anime.

In my eyes, this is a masterpiece. All the episodes are put together well; the flow of the series kept me dying to know what happens in the next episode. I know there was a manga before this and Ga-Rei: Zero is the prequel for it, but you do not need the basic knowledge of the manga to understand this prequel. It could definitely stand on its own. If you are not into bloody and gruesome animes, I suggest you stay from this unless you are willing to take the risk. There is subtle nudity, but it's nothing bad.

The story is about the bond between ... two school girls (Yomi Isayama and Kagura Tsuchimiya) who are destined to become vanquishers, people who eliminate phantoms who disturb the balance in the living world. Ga-Rei: Zero has exciting, thrilling fighting scenes; The animation looks amazing. The English dub is pretty excellent; one of the best I've heard. This series is fast-paced and head-boggling. The characters are believable and their motives are not questionable. When the past of the main characters are explained, the characters become almost real and deep. I enjoyed Ga-Rei: Zero the whole way through. If you love strong female leads and you don't mind a little gruesome fighting, you'll love it. This anime truly expresses what it means to love somebody.

Seriously, I believe this is one anime you can't put on hold. It's a great way to spend a lonely Saturday night.

I found this anime when i was listening to an Anisong concert and heard Minori Chihara singing the OP, Paradise Lost, which was pretty great. Having nothing to do one day i picked up this anime.

The first 2 episodes were very unique in its own way, especially the first episode. I am sure most people who watched the first episode were immediately drawn into this anime, wanting to find out what happens next. If you haven't done so, do give it a try and you will understand what i mean.

The rest of the episodes were pretty great in terms of character building. Emotions were ... especially strong towards the end. My favourite piece of music was the insert song, "Reincarnation" by Yozuca and Faylan, played during the last episode which drawn me close to tears(i don't cry easily) when paired with the ending scenes of the final fight.

If you are looking for a short anime of 12-13 episodes to watch, i will strongly recommend Ga Rei:Zero, one of the best short anime i watched.

Ga Rei Zero is definitely an anime full of surprises. In the beginning, it appears to be an average humans versus demons scenario, but turns out to be much, much more. In only twelve episodes, the show displays the characters personalities and relationships in a way that makes you grow to love them, making it all the more distressing when disaster occurs.

Not only does it have just the right amount of action and violence, but also goes in depth with family politics, and how such leads to jealously and revenge.

Personally, this anime left me with a feeling of despair towards the tragic incident that happens ... to the two main characters. Their friendship and duty seems to be the only thing driving them at times- even if they have to choose between the two.

The anime is worthwhile, and should at the very least be watched past the two first episodes.

After watching the first couple of episodes of Ga-Rei -Zero-, I came an inch away from just dropping it altogether, but since the fall season didn't have much else that interested me I stuck with it. About 4 episodes later I was really glad that I did stick with it. By the end of the season, this actually made my favorites list.

Ga-Rei -Zero- does an excellent job of character development for Yomi and Kagura. In fact, it does such a good job it almost completely ignores most of the other characters, which was the one thing I wish was better.

The artwork in ... the show is very clean, though dark (which was in line with the story so I have no complaints). The fights were dynamic and very well done, though some of the weapons and fighting were kind of "out there."

The soundtrack was nothing amazing to me, but it did well enough at setting the feeling from what I recall feeling while watching each episode.

Lastly, the story. There isn't a whole lot to say about it, because this is simply a precursor to the main storyline that exists in the manga. That being said, I thought that it was really very well done, giving us a background on the characters that we would need to know and setting up the general premise for the content.

So, in a nutshell, I really, really liked this series. It had some cool action, some great character development, and didn't try to stretch the content. Ga-Rei -Zero- is possibly the best pre-cursor to an existing storyline that I have seen, and one that I would easily recommend to anyone that enjoys this genre of show.

This is one of the view animes that have the first glance look it might be awesome and turns out it really is. Few animes out there have really been as suprising as this one. The Story although confusing at first leads you to expect more and more and more. The few but excellently well written in gory, and touching moments are fantastic. This anime was one of the best that i have ever seen and it is a highly recomended one for any who are sketchy about it at first.

Going into Ga-Rei-Zero I didn't really know what to expect. All I had really heard about it was that it was an urban fantasy action series directed by a Mr. Ei Aoki, whom previous to this, had only directed...Girls Bravo? However, after Ga-Rei-Zero he went on to direct Wandering Son (which I think is brilliant), the first Kara no Kyoukai film, Fate/Zero, and most recently, a show I recommend everyone go check out called Aldnoah.Zero. I consider Ga-Rei-Zero as Ei Aoki's first attempt at Fate/Zero. Ga-Rei-Zero is a good show. But it's obviously not on any level close to Fate/Zero. It has many good qualities ... about it, and now, I'm gonna go over those good qualities!  

STORY: 7/10
The story is about vanquishers who are essentially spirit detectives who try to keep these ghosts from terrorizing their city. The story holds up, but comes off as pretty confusing at times. This series is a prequel to the manga that it was adapted from.

CHARACTERS: 8/10
I thought the characters were portrayed very well. A few character motivations weren't entirely made clear but that's alright. Yomi and Kagura's relationship is one of the best that I've seen from two female characters. A sisterly bond unique to this show that separates it from many other anime.

ART/ANIMATION: 8/10
The animation is above average for its time (2009). Action scenes looked really good, and the character designs were good. Ga-Rei-Zero was animated in part by Asread and AIC Spirits. Asread has recently worked on the Corpse Party adaptation and the ever polarizing Mirai Nikki.

SOUND: 9/10
I thought the soundtrack was fantastic. Each track played throughout the show is just great. Whether it's during an action scene or not, the music just fits perfectly. The opening and ending themes were great. They both really pump you up and make you want to continue watching. In terms of voice acting, I'll recommend the Japanese Dub over the English Dub for this one. It's one of "those" FUNimation dubs where they use those same 10 people that they always used to use to voice each character. Nothing really wrong with the English dub but it's average at best.  

OVERALL/FINAL THOUGHTS: 7/10
Ga-Rei-Zero is a good show. It has many good action sequences, great character interactions, and a fantastic soundtrack. Some confusing plot lines but they can be overlooked. I was told that this show had a really good first episode, and I was not disappointed. It's really intense, and it'll really grab your attention. I will say that I really dislike how they ended this series. You can't end a show like that if your not gonna make a second season. It seems unlikely that another season will be made, as it was made 5 years ago, and we've heard nothing since. I recommend this show to you if your in the mood for a good action series with a great soundtrack and a great bond between female characters. I will also recommend the currently airing Tokyo ESP, which was written by the same mangeka and takes place in the same universe as Ga-Rei-Zero.
See ya !

I just can't take any more of this show. A loser whiner loser girl and a cool girl with a sword. OH LIKE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE IN MEDIA EVER. Ga rai Zero is just a shining example of a series that should not have been made but justcause these girls have swords and can fight, it somehow is good. Not to mention some of the guys are like girls, pretty much. It's sad. There must be more action anime with real stories and good characters, and I'd recommend those instead.