|
|
||||||||||
| Episode Details | |
|---|---|
| 5 | |
| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watch | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 |
 Ggultra2764
|
[series:547#1552] |
|
Kiddy Grade is a somewhat entertaining yet very flawed sci-fi series focused around the adventures of Lumiere and Eclair in their involvement with the GOTT. The first third of the series is used to explore individual cases that the duo get caught up in mixed with the introductions of other ES Agents that Lumiere and Eclair often work with on missions. Later episodes of the series bring about some shocking plot twists regarding the true nature of Eclair and Lumiere, as well as corrupt activity involving the wealthy elite of the galaxy and some within the GOTT having ulterior motives for their involvement with the organization. On paper, this would seem like a decent action series given the basic summary I just supplied as the characters are actually an interesting bunch with their personal quirks and the chemistry they have between one another, as well as main duo Lumiere and Eclair. The series also sports some good quality visuals with clean details and decent color shading in designing characters and the various environments of the planets and space colonies that GOTT missions are involved in. Unfortunately while entertaining, Kiddy Grade does suffer quite a bit with how it sets up its flow of plot. There is a lack of foreshadowing and depth in regards to the shocking plot twists that the series brings along involving elements such as Eclair's past, the wealthy elite and the motivations of said mentioned GOTT characters. Without the proper fleshing out and build up of these elements, it makes the later developments that are supposed to be shocking seem sloppily put together. Characters commit to causes without enough fleshing out as to why and the plotting becomes incoherent due to the lack of proper build up to these elements which could have been provided in earlier episodes. Not to mention said same shocking plot twists leave enough plot holes for one to think over regarding certain elements to the world of Kiddy Grade. This proves to be the biggest blow to Kiddy Grade's quality and what led me to lower my overall grade of the series to a Watch. Overall, Kiddy Grade can be quite entertaining with its chemistry between characters and later shocking conflicts provided you turn your brain off to the poor coherency of plot developments, plot holes galore and lack of fleshing out of characters in regards to why they commit to their motivations. Last updated Tuesday, September 06 2011. Created Tuesday, September 06 2011. | ||||||||
| Unevaluated |
 Xenoknight
|
[series:547#2967] | ||||||
|
Last updated Friday, November 14 2008. Created Friday, November 14 2008. | ||||||||
| Watch |
 Stretch
|
[series:547#628] | ||||||
|
(12 episodes watched): I'm afraid my first impression of Kiddy Grade wasn't all that great. The animation seems pretty good, but something about the background music just rubs me the wrong way. It seemed somehow uninspired and inappropriate to the action that was onscreen--as if someone was trying to cram some auditory excitement into my ears to make up for a lackluster plot. If I noticed a problem here, it must be serious, because I'm the sort of person who usually reads other reviewers' comments and says to myself "What, there was music playing during that scene?". I detected a lack of enthusiasm in the voice acting as well--it didn't make the VA's jobs any easier that the fight scenes seemed corny and patronizing. The Dirty Pair were likeable because they often screwed up, whereas Eclair and Lumiere are too good to believe. They don't feel the slightest anxiety while kicking cyborg ass; this was probably intended to demonstrate how "cool" they are, but had the effect of telling me that since they can't possibly lose, there's no reason for me to get excited (which made the music which urged me to do just that all the more annoying). Heroes (or heroines) need a flaw or two to make them vulnerable at times. The villains seemed two dimensional expendable evil bastards. What's going on with Armbrust, is he secretly betraying Eclair and Lumiere, or just taking a pragmatic approach to making money? One intriguing element was the comment made with respect to the girls "Come back soon. You mustn't die again, either one of you". Originally I thought this was a 13 episode series, and was willing to watch that many, but then I learned it was a twenty-sixer, and I was definitely not willing to hang on that long. Last updated Sunday, November 30 2008. Created Monday, August 22 2005. | ||||||||
| Buy |
 Forbin
|
[series:547#1573] | ||||||
|
Drama : Med / High Comedy : Low / Med Action : Med / High SciFi : High Ecchi : Med It's a low buy, but it's a buy. Hmm Kiddy Grade, gets my vote for the worst named Anime just above  Black Heaven. What a wonderful R rated title hiding under such a rated G name.Robots, girls, jokes, lolicon, strange dresses, government conspiracy, slight yuri, more than slight ecchi, and a teeeeeeeeeeny love affair (You will miss it if you don't watch until the end). It starts out as a funny comedy (first 8 episodes) turns into a very strange anime (2nd 8) and becomes a giant conspiracy (last 8). What did I hate about it that made it a low buy? One word, Clones. Clones are the refuge of the (I don't know what the hell I'm doing) writer who didn't finish the complete script before production started. Well I think they did an ok job (unlike  Slayers) I still don't like seeing a bunch of clones running around (even if they do a bunch of panty shots).Still Watch / Buy / Rent / Animenetwork this title. It's a fun ride. No knowledge of Japanese culture is needed, this one was made for the Americans (As the title song was resung in English. That might be a clue). Last updated Thursday, May 12 2005. Created Thursday, May 12 2005. | ||||||||
| Buy | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 |
 Iceman_Aragorn
|
[series:547#1517] |
|
This anime came as a surprise. For an anime I had never heard of, I never though I would now be calling it one of my favorite 5 animes ever. The main surprise was the extent to which the plot was developed. Rather than droning on like so many animes following the same pattern, this one had plot twists, surprises, and rather creative super-powers. I mean really, a lipstick whip? A nice change from the "Look, I can shoot lazers or fireballs!" The characters were rather well designed, and the art and animation were quite excellent. I don't remember as much fanservice as described below, but I may be caloused to it already ;-) Last updated Thursday, July 29 2004. Created Thursday, July 29 2004. | ||||||||
| Rent | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
 AstroNerdBoy
|
[series:547#436] |
|
When I saw their ship, my first thoughts were to Dirty Pair and indeed there are a few similarities to that classic series. You have two female partners working for a large galactic organization who go and resolve problems or solve cases in a really powerful ship. But that's where the similarities end. The series is divided into three parts. The first 10 episodes are primarily episodic in nature with Éclair and Lumière being dispactched along with GU Inspector Armbrust, who is like an auditor, negotiator, and more all wrapped up in a single package. Along the way, we are introduced to other ES members (an co-workers) of Éclair and Lumière. By episode 10, there have been some interesting clues showing Éclair and Lumière to be more than what they appear. Éclair's ability to use lipstick as a weapon gets brownie points for unique thinking on the part of the writers! With episode 11, the series shifts into the second part, that of the hunted. This is where Kiddy Grade gets really good as it moves into a serial mode from the episodic one. Every episode leaves our heroines in dire straights as they fight for their lives and try to find some answers. This is the highlight of the series. With the 3rd part of Kiddy Grade, we enter the plot-twist portion of the series which runs from episode 16 right through to the final episode. This is no exaggeration when I say that Kiddy Grade should win the award for most plot twists in an anime title. Plot twists can be a good thing when well thought out, but these just went nutty. I wonder if the writers just got carried away by trying to keep the audience guessing. Once I realized that I couldn't trust anything I saw, then whatever impact the writers tried to pull on me with the plot twist failed. Nothing they did suprised me and I didn't bother trying to figure out where they were going. Another problem I had was with a lack of background into GOTT and specifically the ES memebers. Where'd they get their powers? How were they chosen? I have other questions, but since they are spoiler in nature, I won't ask them here. Sufice to say that I would have enjoyed Kiddy Grade a lot more had the writers taken the time to address these issues. Bottom line: An OK series with a good middle. Tighter writing would have made this much better, but it is worth a rent I suppose.Last updated Sunday, December 12 2004. Created Thursday, April 29 2004. | ||||||||
| Watch | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 |
 Rirath.com
|
[series:547#802] | |
|
Kiddy Grade really impressed me. It starts off great and with every episode it increases exponentially. The pacing is just right, you're given enough time to get to know and like the characters before the real action starts. Please, don't judge this anime until you've seen the second half. The art is as great as ever. GONZO really knows how to draw cute girls and space themes. They've outdone themselves on the bishoujo girls this time though. I really enjoyed the character designs and animation. Everything animated very smoothly with a lot of attention to detail. Being from GONZO, expect a large amount of fan service as well. ^_^ The only thing stopping this from being a 5 in my book is the story seems a bit streched at the end. Not too much, but there's some quick leaps that push it a bit and hurt to think about too much. That, and the pantsu shots get a bit absurd. Cute girl, tiny skirt, much jumping and fighting... pantsu shots are not just expected but demanded! ^_^; Still, it nearly pulls an Agent Aika in a few episodes, and that gets repetitive quick. There's nothing wrong with fan service, Eclair could spend an entire episode in pantsu for all I care, but it must be done right or it's just silly. - Rirath.com Reviews & Fan Art Last updated Tuesday, June 24 2003. Created Tuesday, June 24 2003. | ||||||||
| Buy | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 |
 fyn
|
[series:547#751] | |
|
Kiddy Grade is a far-future series about a power struggle for control over a humanity that has spread from Earth to populate the galaxy and beyond. It details this form the point of view of a couple of ridiculously powerful girls who are older than they look, in desperate need of pants, and who wield unimaginably powerful lipstick and red wine. In spite of that, the show is actually quite good. That I was able to watch the whole thing is proof -- I doubt I could have made it through an episode without the imaginative over-the-top plot to go with the other ridiculousness. Last updated Saturday, June 07 2003. Created Saturday, June 07 2003. | ||||||||
| Buy | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 9 |
 Sesen Kelader
|
[series:547#471] |
|
Since I'm tired of making long review already, I'll make this one short. Simply I'll divide into three ections: Art/Anime/Music, character, story/goodies/baddies Nowadays, or shoud I say animes in 21th century, begins to use 3D into 2D anime production. Some do their jobs well some make the 2D scenes ridiculous. Kiddy Grade belongs to the former. The anime looks nice. The art design is great, too, although I don't know why female characters have always to show their panties and laps by wearing tight (and I mean tight) suits. Japanese taste. On the other hand, buildings and other scenes, tools, and "magic" designs are pretty even the "feelings" shown are deja vu. The opening song and scertain scene songs are good, yet compared to some music-superior animes such as Hack.Sign, Kiddy Grade's music pales somehow. There are a variety of characteristic personalities in Kiddy Grade. What good about character design most is that I like both of the main characters although they have opposite personalities. It's hard to harmonize so well. However, maybe it's that I've watched too much Japanese anime so that, who would be the culprit or who would be the helpers, I knew from the first time I saw them. Nevertheless it implies that Kiddy Grade has good character design, yet it does not have a breakthrough. The first 2/5 of the 24 episodes are like a bundle of individual stories, the later 3/5 are tightly and plainly related to one each other. However the first 2/5 all conntect directly to the later 3/5 as more story is told. Each episode is, in my opinion, well-planned for the big story. But the series story is not as significant as the episode stories. That's a pity. No matter how the fights, scenes, and backgrounds change, Kiddy Grade's basic story design still falls among the same category of many other Japanese animes I've watched. The seemingly more complicated yet in fact much simplier politics, betrayers from the inside and the typical, genius-leader-who-outwits-them plots, and, at last, the seems-to-be-innocent-but-yet-the-deepest main characters. For a typical story like this, Kiddy Grade is absolutely among the top, but on the other hand, I can't sweep away my doubts that implicitly Kiddy Grade has used the typicl story plot many others had used. Last updated Saturday, March 29 2003. Created Saturday, March 29 2003. | ||||||||
Other Sites
| Name | URL |
|---|---|
| TV Tome (KIddy Grade) | http://www.tvtome.com/KiddyGrade/ |
| The "Kiddy Grade" portion of TV Tome's site. | |
