Gasaraki

Where Evangelion revolutionised the mecha genre, and perhaps inspired melodramatic experimentalism in modern anime, Gasaraki made a quieter step in a different direction for mecha. From the very outset, I’ll just say that one of the main draw points for this series is the mecha design, and the high degree of thought that was put into the functionality of the bipedal machines as effective tools of war in near-future combat. But there is a lot more to the show than that; Gasaraki is one of those rare anime that manage to rise above what could easily have become a convoluted mess of a plot. With ... elements of military, romance, supernatural, sci-fi, mecha, history, and politics, Gasaraki is the product of an amalgamation of a whole slew of genres and plot-lines that manages to work. But it doesn’t work as well as it could have, and the constant juggling of its many characters and stories result in some elements being underplayed and others over-stressed. The character of Misuzu and her endearment to her brother seems to be almost completely redundant at times, and quite often you end up wishing one storyline was given more attention than others. But the hectic plot also means that the show manages to be engaging for the majority of its run without ever resorting to an episodic format, which is a bit of a rarity in anime. One of the show’s biggest flaws is its characterisation, largely in the first half of the series.

The series has a very large cast, and as such, it struggles early on in giving any one character enough attention to establish them as a believable, human individual. For far too long, the protagonists of the series are sidelined to a seemingly inconsequential role of feeling sorry for themselves, and most of the rest of the cast are like talking clichés. This results in a disappointing, flat beginning. But the show does eventually manage to pull in the viewers when things start to come together and the characters are faced with hardship after hardship, the way they handle each obstacle a contribution to their depth of character. By the end of the series I felt a strong affection for many of the characters, and the villains prove to be very satisfying in their antagonistic roles, with Gouda-esque scheming and cunning. The almost iconic Nishida was one of the more interesting characters, a tactical genius and a man of honour and strong values, he provided the backbone for the idealistic elements of the series. Unfortunately, Miharu is never quite granted enough development to make her anything beyond blatantly sympathetic, and Yushiro is often terminally quiet. The more outgoing members of the TA crew proved to be the best source of characterisation from the whole show.

I’m not usually a fan of mecha at all, in fact the mere concept of creating bipedal weapons that dwarf other combatants or transform into jets is just impractical. A man-made bipedal weaponry would not only be incredibly hard and costly to create (just look at how long it took them to get ASIMO waddling about), but it would serve no purpose, having no benefit over existing vehicles of war such as tanks and aircraft. Not to mention, hominoid designs for mecha are only possible to a certain height, whereupon the sheer weight of the mecha would cause its legs and joints to crumble. Gasaraki, however, is the one and only mecha anime where the mecha is both feasible and logically designed. Rather than trying to sell them as useful all-purpose weapons, the “Tactical Armours” or TAs, are portrayed as being optimised for urban combat, where the mobility of tanks is severely limited. They are not oversized, instead built with a stock frame that is able to hold a large array of equipment, ammunition and some missiles. The thought that was put into them is quite impressive, exemplified by the fact that they, realistically, are not flawless super-powered machines. In one of the earlier episodes, for instance, the functionality of the TAs are severely impaired by sand getting into their systems when they enter combat in a desert area. Also, the piloting of a TA is shown to be quite a taxing experience, with the use of drugs to manipulate the pilot’s physical condition being a common occurrence (quite an adept foresight into the direction of warfare). In combat, their mobility is significantly better than alternative vehicles (especially as they are able to hoist themselves up the sides of buildings), but they are not overly dextrous or agile. This down-to-earth, believable portrayal of mecha is something I hadn’t seen done before (or since), and so I give the show credit for its pioneering mecha conception.

However, with that appraisal out of the way, the fact that they are more realistic also means that the action scenes are often slightly subdued and slow, not as exciting as the fast-paced fisticuffs of your usual clichéd mecha. There are a number of action highlights, such as Symbol’s TAs taking out a unit of tanks in Belgistan, and the battle following the awakening of the Kugutsu, but all in all, the action scenes are relatively bland, and sometimes the animation budget clearly isn’t there to support them (such as when the rioting takes place later in the series). A few times, they are made more interesting by the ingenious use of the TAs many functions to escape a tight situation. The show maintains a relatively fast pace right the way through, so it isn’t lacking in excitement, but don’t expect to be blown away with intense action sequences. On the whole, the production values get the job done but do not excel. The character designs are different, but, with the exclusion of the Gowa family, also uite unappealing. There are a number of reused cels and shortcuts in the animation are apparent at times. The music, on the other hand, is remarkable, with an ethereal clash of archaic Japanese and modern, militaristic sounds. This melding of sounds is exemplified best by the OP, which I consider a musical accomplishment, and quite possibly my favourite anime OP ever. The soundtrack is fittingly haunting and refreshingly innovative.

So, where the characters and the production are the sources of most of the show’s flaws, the plot is an understated success, crafting a complex mythos for the gasaraki, as well as deftly utilising the global economy as the stage for a truly modernistic conflict. The way the series balances, or rather, collides the old and the new through its exploration of multiple timelines, one set in archaic Japan and the other in the near-future, is clever and engaging. It mirrors the thematic core of the series, which is all about the conflict between traditional and modern values, and the resultant direction of human civilisation. I especially love the story behind the Gasaraki, and their plight was a nice way to cap off the themes of the show in a thought-provoking manner. I will also attest to the fact that Gasaraki truly nails the fragile balance between mystery and explanation; where many anime leave frustrating plotholes, Gasaraki leaves a hazy sense of unknown which compliments the new-age mythical tone of the show. It helps that I’m a great fan of political espionage and conspiracy, as a good portion of the show is spent scheming and plotting, as well as exposition interestingly delivered through news reports. There is a lot of dialogue, and the story is quite involved, so it’s not a show you can casually skip through. That’s not to say it becomes bogged down in pointless dialogue; there should be enough going on to keep anyone interested.

All in all, Gasaraki is a series that should be applauded for trying something new and interesting with the mecha genre, and for the amount of thought that went into its complex story, but is one that failed to live up to its potential through unexceptional production and often poorly written characters. It’s a series that will be highly enjoyed by anyone with the fortitude to watch past its opening episodes, and for anyone who really appreciates innovation and a creative story. Those who simply must have strong dramatic elements to their anime, or who are likely to be apathetic toward the cool mecha designs may find the show very disappointing. In any case, its milestone treatment of mecha as more than a fanciful superweapon, is one that no other anime has put in the effort to match, and its plot is several cuts above the cliché that plagues the mecha genre.

Gasaraki is one of the more trickier titles I've had to try figuring out in terms of what it wanted to tell and how to critique it. Focused on young mecha pilot Yushiro Gowa, the boy is treated as nothing more than a tool by his family who have considerable influence in Japan's military and political world, considering they have Yushiro become part of the country's military to test out their mecha, the Tactical Armor. This starts off the complicated tale of Gasaraki, a series that dabbles into political conspiracies, elements of Japanese folklore and the "real robot" genre of mecha anime.

Let's first tackle the ... simplest element of the series in the form of its "real robot" approach. Directed by the same man involved with 80s mecha title Armored Trooper Votoms, Gasaraki depicts a near-future implementation of its mecha similar to how Patlabor pulls it off with grounded implementation of its technology and limits to how far humans can make use of said robots in battle. This series is one of the more meticulous mecha titles when it comes to detailing the various capabilities of the Tactical Armor units seen throughout the series, demonstrating various elements such as having support staff coordinate mission details and locations, use of the mecha's features for various battle scenarios and believably dealing with realistic circumstances such as physics and terrain.

The elements of mysticism and politics introduced to the series are the more complicated element to the series and what has led to its very mixed reception among fans. Let's dabble into the political element of the series first. The series focuses on some shaky elements related to real-life global issues such as a Middle Eastern conflict similar to the Persian Gulf War and a radical element to Japan's relationship with America as the Gowas are among a conspiracy that would involve returning Japan to the militaristic regime it was under before their defeat in World War II. The latter element is the major focus for many of the later episodes in the series as this conspiracy drives Japan and America to the brink of war and the tension escalating from the conflict make for the highlight to this series. The political focus, combined with Gasaraki's "real robot" element, gives the series a realistic feel as its events give off a serious mood and are often accompanied by news program clips that make for a unique approach to delivering details on the title's major events without resorting to narration or exposition.

The mysticism element is more of a mixed bag here. The series makes use of elements in Japanese folklore and Noh musical performances to symbolically represent Japan's cultural identity and attempt using as a major story element involving the Gowa family. But this attempt felt hackneyed, was not as polished as the political and realistic elements that were otherwise conveyed throughout much of Gasaraki's run and lead to a subpar and rushed final episode once events with the American-Japanese political situation get resolved.

But perhaps this show's biggest issue is that it can be hard for many viewers to stay engaged to it. As lead characters, Yushiro and Miharu are rather bland and even as they are fleshed out, their characters lack much in the way of dimension, they mostly serve as players to the conflicts that play out and Miharu spends a good number of episodes in the second half in a catatonic state. The series also can get in the bad habit of being very dialogue-heavy with the various philosophies and political banter exchanged between characters at a number of points throughout Gasaraki, which become increasingly present during the American-Japanese conflict that takes place. While the exchanges help to get into the heads of some of the characters within the Gowa family, they can be difficult to follow if one isn't savvy enough with understanding Japanese history and culture.

Visually, Gasaraki is a bit of a mixed bag. The series sports polished and nicely detailed designs for its mecha, solid choreography and fluid movement for mecha battle scenes, implementation of CG animation for computer displays and providing diverse looks for its characters that aren't reused for the many designs implemented. However, the color tones used for the visuals are drab, consistency issues with a number of the title's designs are an occasional occurrence and details on visual elements not involving mecha and computer screens look rather rough in their appearance.

The soundtrack to Gasaraki is perhaps the high point of the series for me, consisting of dramatic and haunting musical pieces that are effectively used in the show's many tense and suspenseful moments. The OP and ED for the series (Message #9 and Love Story respectively) are excellent fits for Gasaraki and do well to convey the regular mood and themes that you can expect out of the series.

Overall, Gasaraki's quite the mixed bag for me. It tries making an effort to be realistic and different with its political and supernatural themes, which works well to a degree with the political elements and realism conveyed in its storytelling. However, these efforts are a double-edged sword as they can limit accessibility and engagement to many viewers with its convoluted themes, heavy-handed philosophizing, sloppy implementation of its supernatural elements and rather bland lead characters. While reputable for its mixture of "real robot" and political elements, your mileage will definitely vary with the amount of enjoyment one can get out of Gasaraki.

Out of all the anime I've seen over the years that fall in and around the mecha genre, Gasaraki definitely has one thing going for it: Style.

The show is a fusion of unlikely elements: Gritty mechanized warfare that's so real it's almost boring with its endless chatter about maintenance and data collection. Elaborately costumed and choreographed traditional performing arts. Classical Japanese history. War in the Middle East. Trans-Pacific diplomacy.

Somehow Sunrise manages to fit all these individual pieces together into a nice-looking whole with a muted but satisfying color palette, consistent but not-too-formulaic episode pacing, and well selected musical choices that compliment the military and spiritual ... aspects of the show equally well, creating this harmonious whole that mecha fanatics can't help but lose themselves in if they're not trying to follow the story too closely.

Unfortunately, if a person does try to follow along with the nebulous twists and turns of Gasaraki's storyline, major flaws become apparent that seriously detract from the brownie points the series collects on style: While Gasaraki does manage to stitch all the genres and tropes I mentioned above into one cloth that's largely believable, fitting that many elements into 25 episodes forces the plot to weave all over the road as far as the characters' motivations are concerned, and leave you a little dazed at the end wondering what the purpose of all the warfare was supposed to be from the beginning.

SPOILERS THIS PARAGRAPH: Yushiro started out the series as some kind of spiritual medium who could perform the dance of Gasaraki for Gowa. Then he also turned out to be the lead test pilot for Gowa's state-of-the-art mobile weapons program. Then these other mobile weapons appear in Belgistan (making Gowa no longer state-of-the-art?), and Yushiro goes there and meets Miharu, which in a roundabout way reveals that he is both a 1000-year-old reincarnated soul AND not the real Yushiro Gowa. Then, while Yushiro and Miharu are AWOL from their respective militias to "find themselves" in Kyoto, and hear the story of the kai and kugai from a man who's just conveniently waiting there for them, the JSSDF randomly decides that the Japanese population needs to be purged of modern materialistic greed (and taking the United States down with it?) provoking Miharu's former comrades to attack Gowa/JSSDF headquarters so Yushiro can return from Kyoto right in the nick of time and save the day?

It reminds of a Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle in a way, with reincarnated clones coming back from the dead to have incest babies that will eventually challenge their own incest parents to a duel to the death in another dimension in the future. (Just teasing Tsubasa fans.) It's hard to care anymore who lives or dies when the story has become so complicated that you lose sight of why winning the war is important?

MORE SPOILERS THIS PARAGRAPH: The height of the illogical insanity for me, was in the last episode when the American President calls Mr. Nishida on the phone at Gowa headquarters to concede defeat, telling Mr. Nishida that he regretted being the first American President in history to surrender, and that he wished he could have met Mr. Nishida. That didn't make any sense at all, because Mr. Nishida was not the Prime Minister or any sort of official Japanese government official at all? He's just some crazy old military advisor obsessed with Japanese swords who knew the Gasaraki legend and managed to convince Kazukiyo Gowa and the JSSDF guy that the kugai's revival was some kind of divine message. How did the US President even have Mr. Nishida's direct phone number? Is it possible that even Gasaraki's own writers had lost track of what was going on by the last episode?

After finishing the first four episodes of Gasaraki, I had really high hopes for where the end of the series was going to go. I really thought it was going to turn out like Evangelion, or Lain, or xxxHolic, and have some kind of deep-but-vague conclusion that I could kick back and think about for a while. I kept suspending judgment as I watched one episode after the next, holding out hope, waiting for the end when something unexpected would happen that would tie everything together and make it all make sense... But that validating moment never came, and there was just massive disappointment waiting for me as the power of the Gasaraki faded away leaving Yushiro and Miharu smilingly gazing into the sunrise with all their friends, like the end of some fluffy Pixar movie, so easily seeming to forget everything that happened to them in the last 24 episodes.