The characters were less charismatic as well. Ayane and Miu were OK, they reminded me of Megumi and Reiko, but the only character I truly liked was Satoka Tachikawa. She’s just one cool chick and her gate power is really interesting. I also like how characters from the original series made an appearance. I won’t be specific just to avoid giving out spoilers.
And since some characters reappeared, Tomokazu Seki and Masami Suzuki came back to play their respective characters once more. Even Takahiro Sakurai made a cameo appearance. Once again, they impressed me with their voice acting.
While it looks the same, Gate Keepers 21’s animation improved a bit. First of, the invaders had an upgraded design. I think there were more invader types compared to the original. Things were gory visually too, since there were scenes that showed how humans transformed into invaders. Before they just put on shades and they would become invaders, right? It’s a lot different this time. There were even scenes of limbs being disemboweled. Of course, the CG was still good as ever.
As for the music, it was OK. The song “Ima, Egao ga Areba” sung by Sakura Nogawa was similar to the opening of the original Gate Keepers, “Asu no Egao no Tameni”. As for the other song, “Haneoto” by Junko Watanabe, it’s not something I like. It was really gloomy and kinda boring. The same goes for the BGM – The BGM became more eerie and dark as well.
I would give it a “Good” rating. It’s not as good as the original series, but I’m glad to have watched it anyway. It’s definitely worth it, and it’s a good way to end Gate Keepers.
