Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri
Gate: Where the JSDF Fought

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Gate - Jietai Kare no Chi nite, is a manga that most people would take one look at it and consider garbage, Midevil fantasy theme with modern military intervention. It seems like a recipe for disaster but on contrary its actually very refreshing.

(Minor Spoilers Alert)

The story takes place in japan where a giant portal to another world appears in Tokyo, where a army from the new world appears and attacks Tokyo killing over 100 people. Japan outraged by this disaster calls for the JSDF to intercept and destroy the enemies. In no time the enemies are distroyed and in the mercy of JSDF.

The main ... character of the story is a commander of a small unit in the JSDF named Youji Itama he is a second commander and a self proclaimed Otaku. In the process he meets many friends in the way of different races and tries to make peace in the natives.

In my personal opinion I found this manga to be very interesting specially the fighting with most people will know right away that its complete rape. Modern weapons vs bows and arrows. However right away you can see that people in this new world understand very quickly that they are powerless to stop the JSDF. But the real interesting part of the manga is how other countries will decide to act like the United States and China, both who have interests in this new world which appeared in Japan.

Overall I give this Manga a 9 for creativity and story. Its a manga that people should check out.

Okay, normally I don't write reviews but seeing the other reviews here praising this thing to the high heavens and what I feel about this in it being a lost opportunity for something that could have been great, I felt motivated enough to write a review.

Okay so why could this have been great? Well the underlying premise is simply an idea that offers a lot of potential. Fantasy magical Romanesque world meets modern earth with all it's high tech gadgetry and scientific insight, Hernán Cortés meets the Aztecs turned up to 11. In its larger overarching themes it has that "epic" dynamic of ... scale and potentially gravitas to the events that transpire.

Why then does it not work and why did I give it a 3 overall? Well the failure lies in the execution and in particular I think to challenge one word that's used to describe this would cover a lot of the problems that exist in the execution of this intriguing story premise. That word is "seinen", this is not seinen, this is shounen. The characters are no LotGH "realistic" multifaceted characters or anything like it, they are hammy, melodramatic and a constant buffoonish comedy is weaved throughout in combination with a really puerile sexual fetishism. It's a kind of Love Hina or some such thing meets LoTR meets Jackass and this is a really terrible juxtaposition.

This story would be so great in my view if it had taken more or less the same overarching story dynamic and adopted a more Rudyard Kipling "The Man Who Would Be King" approach focusing on some lone individual or small group of individuals who came across a portal to another world. Then follow them as they discover this world and change it with their scientific knowledge and technological gadgetry. As well as cutting out the more "shounen" elements and as for having it on the scale it is in order to include an "earth" side international political "intrigue". This side of the story is really terrible and downright quaint in its approach in the worst possible sense of that term. Had this been an actual seinen publication though rather than another slapstick adventure story it really could have been something. Instead it's more like a parody of a serious work which really seems to slow down, distract and detract from the story.

I really liked this manga at first. AT FIRST.

The concept of our world meeting another and the problems that arise was fairly interesting. What got me however, was the constant slamming of other nations VS the beneficial Japanese ones.

I get it, the politics are there, and if you look for it, people have been discussing this manga quite a lot. This manga is NOT the first by far to bring this type of commentary into a manga. Rather for me, it's the constant USA etc bashing that has slowly grated my nerves. I get it, it's not unique in the slightest and there are some ... valid criticisms, but it's really old for me.

TLDR: Another Japan and Friends vs the evil world

I first heard of the manga series when I read on ANN that it was going to be getting an anime adaptation in the near future. The synopsis piqued my interest and I had some free time so I decided to go read the first couple chapters.

I finished up to the latest chapter a night later. I was hooked.

Gate is not a sophisticated story. It's not meant to be moralistic or intellectual. It's just a fun ride with many ups-downs and loops. This series is the marriage of two seemingly non-integratable genres (military and high fantasy) and the execution of it is spot on ... and here's why:

- The story is relatively simple but has the ability to add onto itself to complicate the situation or make it more interesting. The premise in it of itself can sell the story though. Just the interactions between the JSDF soldiers and fantasy folk were enough to sell me on the series.

- The art is good. Character designs are decent and unique in some areas. There is also care taken into drawing both machine and creature with care.

- The characters however are what make this series shine. It is their interactions that make this series worthwhile and seeing their routine makes for a fun time.

These all make for a great read.

However, you won't enjoy this if it's not your taste. If you're looking for a commentary on the horrors of war or the terrors of technology being subjugated on the inferior, then this isn't for you.
If you want to see kings and knights get sh*t-stompped by Tanks, APCs and Assault Rifles or a mage asking what magical incantations needed to be performed to use C4, then Gate delivers. 100%.

If you want something to have fun reading, pick this series up!

Oh boy, oh boy, where do I even begin?

First of all, people love the fact that the modern army curbstomps the fantasy army. Logical? Perhaps. You can easily make it logical by downplaying the magic element the fantasy side has, like this series do. Magic is fiction after all.

However, we have a problem if we're going down that route. First of all, the modern army is the good guys here. It's fine if the modern army is the bad guys. It can be a story about the fantasy side losing and then slowly finding ways to hit back by researching new magic. Finding ways to ... creatively use the magic they have. Unfortunately, it's the opposite. The fantasy side is bad guy, full of slavers (the most overused method in fantasy LNs to portray fantasy folks as bad guys) and bloodthirsty conquerors. And thus we have the modern side playing heroes as they gun down the inferior medieval era barbarians. And for some reason, for some people this is a really riveting thing. But for me, it's just sad.

Fine, perhaps the evul fantasy folks are outgunned. But surely, they can compete in the match of wits, right? Well, nope. Their wits are only there to feel awed against the overwhelming might of the modern army. The villains are all SAO-tier bad. Heck, I take that back. SAO actually has Quinella, which was decent with her evilness. This? Just a bunch of caricatures to be punched down by our heroes.

You know what this lopsided situation reminds me of? Those terrible Naruto fanfics at FF.net where Naruto gains OP powers out of nowhere and steamrolls his enemies. And what a surprise, those have their own audience too.

Fine, perhaps the conflict isn't interesting at all. But surely the characters will carry the show, right? Ahahahahaha, no. They're written terribly too. No interesting inter-character conflict and no likeable character. They're your generic harem tier characters.

So, what else is there? Well, some folks argue this show is about the "culture clash". Well, sure, they are some "culture clash", but it consists of the modern folks complaining about the fantasy folks being jerks and the fantasy folks being awed at the modern folks. Truly a riveting societal tale.

Oh, and about the portrayal of foreigners in this? Cute. Japan still got a long way to go until it lost its xenophobia. There's also the negative portrayal of Japan politicians as bumbling idiots, which eerily reminds me on how the military usurped control from the government in WW2 before they went on their crusade to "liberate" their supposed Asian brothers from Western colonialism.

Overall, this is a disappointing story. The more I read the manga, the more I realized the story isn't going to get any better.

I might as well read something that is already good from the beginning.

Well this is my first review so please understand that while I write this even though it might be terrible.

In my opinion I think this Manga is a 10/10 it is a masterpiece. The reason why is that imagine you are in the midevil era. Then you open this gate saying that it is supposed to lead you to a world with prosperity and land undiscovered. So you invade not knowing anything but within hours your army is completely destroyed. In this Manga it shows what happens after that incident perfectly.

(Art)

I thought the ... art in this was fantastic and well done. The people looked fantastic and the weapons and vehicles look dead on and you can tell what they are. Also the way everything is displayed really is amazing and the scenery you can tell is really rich and a lot of time is was used to get it like that.

(Story)

The story is magnificent it very detailed and explains what is going on and the steps achieved to try and end the war as soon as possible and the actions behind the people to do so. Even though some characters in the story provide hiccups in the overall goal it is funny and yet suspenseful about how those hiccups are overcome and that overall goal is reached.


(Characters)

Now in this aspect the characters all have unique personalities. For example you have the slacker Otaku who leads the unit which is LT Itami. Also you have the trigger happy idiot who is Kuribayashi who is well skilled in hand to hand combat and can take on almost any enemy. Then you have a "Goth Loli" which is in that world a living god that has lived over 900 years and she only looks like 12 or 13. There are many more characters in this Manga but those were just a few examples of different types.


(Overall)

Overall I think that this Manga is a good read for whoever like Fantasy and Military and a little bit of Political explanations in their Manga. I would like to say that it is kind of like Legend of the Galactic Hero`s but the only reason I am not is because the settings are different and they are not using political maneuvers or military strategy to utterly destroy the person or nation that they are fighting against instead they are using those political maneuvers and military maneuvers to ensure peace even though like I said there are some hiccups. But overall I give this a 10 and a good read for whoever likes midevil meets modern military story line.


(This was my first review for anything ever so I hope it was helpful)

Synopsis:
One day as the MC (Itami Youji - an Otakou), was making his way to the Doujinshi festival in Tokyo in the Akihabara district of Japan, a gate opened in the middle of the Ginza district of Tokyo. Out of the gate poured soldiers and strange creatures (typical of monsters from a Dungeons and Dragons game), and began acting the Japanese citizens. Itami soon found himself trying to defend the Japanese citizens from this threat in an attempt to keep the Doujinshi festival from being canceled. After some investigation, it was found that the gate connected Japan to another world, where swords and sorcery were ... commonplace but were severely lacking in modern technology. The parliament of Japan decided that the Japanese Self-Defense Force (JSDF) should investigate this new territory and its plans (the Empire), the world, and the people.

Upon arriving in the new world they soon discover that the local inhabitants have set up an ambush that would prove to be a fatal mistake for the empire. After setting up a military base at the Gate it didn't take long before Itami was sent out on a mission to investigate this new land. In the beginning, they find that this new world looks similar to Earth with the inhabitants being mostly human. On their journey, they encounter ferocious dragons and conflict between the JSDF and the Empire. Itami will recruit several local females (i.e. elves (wood & Dark), demi-gods, and human mages) into his group. Through Itami's travels, he will learn what dangers exist for the JSDF in this New World.

Originality: 9
The author has presented us with a very unique storyline that showcases a fresh and creative way to travel in a world that isn't your own.

Plot: 8
The plot of the manga is constructed with a clear, concise, and compelling storyline that has a recognizable main arc with a convincing conflict and crisis. Throughout the storyline, there are several obstacles for the protagonist to overcome. With all the mini-arcs, which have conflict, crisis, and resolution, the tension between the JSDF and the Empire is constantly mounting throughout the storyline.

Theme: 8
The central theme is how the mighty have fallen (the Empire) and the strong will inherit the world (the JSDF). Throughout the story, the theme is made clear through the JSDF's (more specifically, Itami's)actions as he explores the new world. The storyline is conflict-driven.

Character Development: 9
The main and sub-main characters are memorable with unique and complex personalities. As an example; Itami is an otaku who has also accomplished gaining the ranger and special forces tab's in the military. His otaku side is thrilled that he gets to explore a unique new world that has swords and sorcery with the ability to meet and interact with demi-humans (elves, demi-gods, and cat people...). On the other hand, Itami is a soldier in the military with a talent for surviving during the most adverse conditions. He has also demonstrated that he can accomplish great feats, which helps when he ignores or goes against direct orders. As a result of the complex nature of the characters, the reader is typically torn between both positive and negative emotions for the MC. Throughout the manga, the dialogue contributes to the rich and vivid world created in GATE. The one problem that I had with this manga was that the characters tended to pick up foreign languages fairly fast and didn't struggle much.

Art, Setting, and Atmosphere: 7
The art style of Gate was done in the Seinen style, with the characters being drawn in a more realistic design, with much more details than other manga art styles. The colors tend to be darker as well since this manga art style tends to portray deep and complex storylines that are harder to grasp. The settings tend to be appropriate for the world that the characters are in and for the action that is occurring. The manga does have some anachronisms. More specifically, the use of electrical equipment in the new world where electricity doesn't exist. I understand the use of generators for electricity but the use of cell phones without adequate cell tower coverage would be impossible.

Mechanics: 8
I do not speak Japanese but in the translated version that I read, it was very easy to follow and understand what was happening with little to no spelling, grammatical, and punctuation errors. However, they did not distract from the enjoyment of the manga and it was easy to understand what was meant.

Passion: 9
The author is very adept at making you care about what ultimately becomes of the protagonist throughout the manga. The plot and theme of the manga are interesting in that the protagonist travels to another world through a GATE which allows him to return home at any time.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

I like the general premise - modern military meets medieval fantasy - and the art style is very good. Women look like women - especially military women look like real military women - and the characters are diverse enough, at least on the JSDF side.

Now to the problems. The story does start getting a harem vibe, as more and more girls start sorrounding the MC, who is... bearable.

The cast is interesting and so far the only one who sticks out like a sore thumb is Rory - a battle loli in a gothic dress really seem out of place.

All in all, an enjoyable read that ... has been good so far.

So, to sum it up:
+ art
+ premise/basic plot
+ interesting world
- battle loli
- unused potential, politicians are idiots

so if u see the anime and u thinks is gud or decent or maybe bad but dont hate it.
Then see this.
this is really the much superior adaptation and the issue of making japs such a gud guy, is better handle here they are not dat good in the manga.
so give a try from the first chapter, i know is alot but trust me lots of extra scene that were cut from dat anime.

but if ur new well if u like military or isekai or wondering how if we invade a under develop civilization what it would look like or if u ... like isekai and reverse isekai (other world come to our world) then u will like.
but warning, some scene are abit gory but nothing a teen past 18 cant handle. (i think dont sue me)

story
so story well is written above is basically dat and major plot are the same with anime. But whut ur looking in the manga is the little detail and extra things, like they cut alot of arch and scene from the manga. But the plot it self of having a gate establish in two world are really interesting it. Could be a isekai and a reverse isekai since both worlds are open at all time.

art
the art are detail, lots of extra detail and scene were present here. Like the city, base and alnus (the gate entrance of the other world later turn city) itself were much more detail and interesting

character
its as bland as it can be but, better than anime more backstory and archs. But it always be the weakness of the series. U got the bland otaku mc, the goth loli demi god, the moe loli magician, the big oppai elf and the ehm sl4v3 dark elf. The rest of them, the mc comrade are rather bland too. But comapare to anime here they got more scene. U got the muscle short girl as the melee fighter, the old vet (by old vet mean old in the army so like a grandpa character), the cute medic girl, the otaku comrade, the smug looking superior and the calm general. on the villain side, u got the mostly one dimensional but really hate able prince. As the douche-bag villain, the unwise kings and the smart but never listened to princess.

enjoyment
the enjoyment is always lies in the world building, battles, seeing the mc faction kick-ass and feeling human as superior (in tech), or the reaction of the character seeing advance tech or cute cat girls. but like overlord they handle the op of the mc faction quite well. Instead of "ah they too op is be over soon." But since the villain are such jerk u will be "oh time to f*ck em up"

conclusion

basically read it if u like the anime or if u think is decent, if u hate it then dont ill be pushing u. If ur new if u like military or isekai or wondering how if we invade a under develop civilization what it would look like or if u like isekai and reverse isekai (other world come to our world) then u will like.

This is a manga version of Gate: Jieitai Konichi nite, which also has an anime and light novel. I watched the 1st and 2nd season of the anime, loved the first and hated the second.

Reading this particular work left me with mixed feelings.

First here's a quality of art which is not on berserk level, but fairly high, and mature themes. However, with time it sorta degrades, and in places it becomes obvious that photos were used for backgrounds (the quality still remains quite high). On other hand, the series smell strongly of nationalism and leaves bad taste at some point. On occasion it reads as ... military hardware porn, as it displays more and more military stuff, people in uniforms positioned in different ways and showing off different angles. Then closer to the the 80th chapters it becomes nihilistically hopeless to the point where you start wondering whether there's even a point left in all those character dying, and where it is even going.

In a bit greater details:

Story: 5/10.

Fairly unlikely protagonist who is outshone by side characters. Side characters often have complex and believable motivations and at least to a degree resemble real people. Not that many anime steroetypes like tsundere blushing here and so on.

However, as I said the work strongly smells of nationalism, as the protagonist's army largely is displayed as some super-moral saviours completely superior to the magical civilization, and that, after a time, gets annoying and leaves bad taste in mouth. Protagonist in particular has definitely leaning towards being a jesus-kun, or at least a saint-kun, and is quite unlikely as he is.

There is a fairly strong lore in the world as well, with its gods, traditions, and so on, but the manga loves throwing darker tropes like slavery/sex slavery, prostition, abuse and so on in heavy handed and awkward manner.

The antagonists in the series are also fairly weak and act in non-sensical manner often. It isn't as bad as in some other works, though.

Art: 7/10.
Quite detailed, and even though it degrades in later chapters, it remains quite detailed. In later chapters around 80s I started noticing photo backgrounds and possible image reuse, but aside from that it remained above average throughout the series.

Characters: 7/10.

Weak main character with tendency of acting as an overly moral saint and otherwise being faceless/character-less, strong side characters with their interesting motivation, and insane villains that are not very believable.
Then there's cannon fodder characters which are not exactly logical at all times.

The villains have questionable motivation, and are somewhat hard to believe, although they never quite reach the level of a complete laughing jester lunatic. But they're close to that and are heading there.

Main character made me wonder if he was some sort of self-insert or wish fullfillment, but perhaps I am overthinking it.

Enjoyment: 5/10.

This manga gets quite annoyuing when it starts leaning towards nationalistic stuff, starts displaying might of JSDF military, superior morality of invaders, I mean liberators, or attempts to make protagonist act as a super-moral saint of sorts.

The work also gets annoying when it starts producing villains and horrible situations out of nowhere, although there are works that do it worse.

Oh, and that amazing scene with the assault on the almus hill is not in the manga. It was an unique thing of the anime.

On other hand... lore segments, side stories and the like are interesting.

But overall due to shortcoming it is a "meh" experience that did not make me sit at the edge of my seat.

Overall: 5/10.

It is worth checking out for good art, and events that weren't covered in the anime, but it has different feeling to it compared to the anime, and more heavily pronounced nationalism in it. That makes the experience less entertaining and hampers the work quality.

That's how I see it.

Gate: Thus the JSDF Fought There, also known to the original author as Gate: Thus the JSDF Fought There and Won Because They Are the Best and Japan is the Best Country in the World and America is a Big Poopy-head, is a hilariously ultra-nationalistic pile of garbage sprinkled with a lot of cool things.

But first, let's actually review the manga. The story is awful. It's atrocious because of the reasons listed above and more.

The art is great! I love it. It's a nice artstyle and is easily the best thing about the series, with the modern equipment vs barbaric savages and fantasy creatures ... battles and engagements being a close second.

The characters are almost all ridiculously cliched, the main character is just an otaku's fantasy self, Rory is a generic 1000-year old loli whose name could easily be mistakenly translated to Loli, and nobody else is particularly unique or not generic. Maybe the characters are some sort of parody on Japanese fantasy, but with how ridiculously nationalistic the story is, I'm inclined to not believe that. The girls are cute, though. That's always a plus.

The enjoyment is a 10 when I'm seeing Phantom IIs and Cobras engage dragons, 4 whenever that's not happening, and a solid 0 when it's spouting the whole anti-America pro-Japan spiel.

Overall, if you can ignore how cringey the nationalistic shit is, the manga's fun sometimes.

Now that that's out of the way, let's explain a little bit of the story.

First of all, let me say that Gate has a fantastic premise. Fantasy not-Romans invade modern day Japan with their dragons, trolls, goblins, and other fantasy monsters, then proceed to get absolutely steamrolled by a bunch of cops and JSDF with guns, so they retreat with a bunch of prisoners and leave the gate open. That's where half of the name comes from! So then Japan deploys their self-defense force with mothballed equipment into the gate and they proceed to steamroll anything that attacks them with guns, albeit older and obsolete. That's where the second half of the name comes from!

So, after Japan sends their troops into land of monsters and not-Romans with, for whatever reason, old, outdated equipment they don't use anymore, they get attacked by more not-Romans and completely wipe them out with their modern equipment. Also they spout a bunch of crap about how Japan should keep this for their own because Japan never, ever, ever had a bout of murdering people and stealing their land. Early to mid-20th century HAHAH WHAT IS THAT?

And here's some spoilers, and my absolute biggest gripe with the series.

Now Russia, China, and what is basically Japan's greatest ally, America, want to get into the new world and also steal all of its resources from the rightful owners, the Japanese people. Finder's keepers, I guess. Thank God the Prime Minister of Japan is so strong that he'll never let those evil communists and also America get what is rightfully theirs! So then Russia, China, and America all send a group of special forces to retrieve some people who came from the other side because that's totally what they'd do, and then the American Delta Force guys get shot up by the JSDF who are totally better than Delta Force, a special force renown for their ability to be really fucking good at being basically the best, and most of them die. They know they're American because, I kid you not, there's a black guy.

So then the Delta Force guys and the Chinese and Russian spec ops guys all meet up at a bath house where Rory, a 1000-year old loli demi-god, their target, is residing. Then they shoot at each other a bunch. Then Rory jumps out and massacres all three special force squads. What happens next? The PM resigns and somehow Japan isn't basically a nuclear hellscape, and the American president is 100% angry, obnoxious, and incompetent while the Russian PM admires the Japanese because, for whatever reason, the Japanese and Russians respect each other. China remains irrelevant.

In reality, America would tell Japan that, if they don't allow them to explore the new world, they will shove their nuclear boot so far up their ass a third time that they'll be coughing uranium, the UN would basically con their way into a spot into the new world, NATO would basically tell Japan that they can have their fun if they want but they're coming in regardless of how much they disagree, South Korea would get a free ride because of America, Japan will tell China to fuck off, and Russia will be able to lead extremely limited missions in the area. Japan would literally never show any backbone to any of these people but China, maybe South Korea, and then the manga itself would be a lot cooler because you'd see Frogfoots and A-10s and Pattons and T-80s and old Leopards and Challengers and other cold war-era machinery and firearms all over the place and that's a lot cooler than whatever the Japanese have.


But let's actually review the manga. The story is awful. It's atrocious because of the reasons listed above and more.

The art is great! I love it. It's a nice artstyle and is easily the best thing about the series, with the modern equipment vs barbaric savages and fantasy creatures battles and engagements being a close second.

The characters are almost all ridiculously cliched, the main character is just an otaku's fantasy self, Rory is a generic 1000-year old loli whose name could easily be mistakenly translated to Loli, and nobody else is particularly unique or not generic. Maybe the characters are some sort of parody on Japanese fantasy, but with how ridiculously nationalistic the story is, I'm inclined to not believe that. The girls are cute, though. That's always a plus.

The enjoyment is a 10 when I'm seeing Phantom IIs and Cobras engage dragons, 4 whenever that's not happening, and a solid 0 when it's spouting the whole anti-America pro-Japan spiel.

Overall, if you can ignore how cringey the nationalistic shit is, the manga's fun sometimes.

Ridiculous harem comedy with some boring politics on the side. How are we supposed to take anything in this seriously when in the middle of battle they are making sex jokes? MC just walks around making goofy faces while every woman he encounters begs to be his slave. I don't think the author understands it's the world-building that's interesting, its not watching the MC build a slave harem. All the characters are absurd and one dimensional. It has none of the fun interactions you would expect from meeting alien cultures. Instead, we get 10 volumes of boring roman politics where the outcome is 100% predictable.