I'm not too familiar with the anime that came out in recent years, and Ga Rei Zero was one of them. I suppose it had a pretty low profile, and I didn't bother to read any synopsis of it either. I picked it up after viewing one of the threads in this forum about "The Best First Episode". It seemed that unanimously, it was chosen as -the- anime that had the best first episode. Being rebellious in nature, I decided to check it out for myself.
The first thing that surprised me was the Art of Ga Rei -Zero-. Somehow it looked like cel-rendered anime for a moment when I started it. A theatric cel work at it, meaning it's really beautiful. I loved the cel-anime era, so yeh it's personal bias. But really, it's CG and the style it is done in really blew me away. The environment is pretty colourful but not overdone such that it appears really flowery. It just felt really original and new.
The second thing that pumped up the mood was the insert music, or some will call it the soundtrack. I'm not sure if the O.S.T. will sound great standalone, but it's inserted at really appropriate moments, especially the first half of the series. It plays a really important role for the anime as well.
Lastly, I think the success of this composition is attributed to the brilliance of the direction. The sequencing, screenplay, and harmony of all the animation elements fall nicely in place. The screenplays were notably excellent.
I'd definitely recommend this anime. It deserves a high 7/10 for overall.
