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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |||||||||||
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| Watch | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
 Ggultra2764
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[series:1215#1552] | ||||||||||
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Having recently seen Gate Keepers and having gotten this with the series for my collection, figured I'd watch this to get it out of the way despite ditching it a couple years earlier. This sequel takes place over 30 years after the events of the TV anime and has a more darker mood to it as the comedy from the original series is gone, some rather disturbing developments have occurred with how Invaders take on human form and some rather tragic developments befall those who are a Gate Keeper. The characters in this series are just as archetypal as the ones from the first series with Ayame being the cynical and anti-social glasses gal and Miu being the carefree clutz. Nods are made to the TV anime as a couple characters from it return here and there is mention of the events that took place in it, meaning those who didn't see the first anime are likely to be lost over what gets mentioned (as I did a couple years earlier). However, I was lost over how one particular character, who was a major foe in the TV anime, came to made a face turn as the anime makes no mention of how he is now fighting alongside the Gate Keepers. While I wasn't a fan of Gate Keepers, I must admit the developments in GK 21 are weaker compared to the TV anime. Gate Keepers, at the very least, had taken the time to explore and flesh out its characters so you knew how they acquired their powers as Gate Keepers and behaved as they did, despite their archetypes. Gatekeepers 21, though, doesn't really take any time to flesh out its characters, instead focusing on the ongoing quarrels between Miu and Ayame and their encounters against different Invaders. For instance, it's strongly implied that Ayame bears some sort of hatred for her father similar to a certain character from the original series she is related to. Yet while we know the reasons for this hatred with the particular character in the original TV anime, GK21 never bothers to explore these reasons with Ayame. The main baddie for GK21 is poorly developed and quite shallow in personality, being a mad loli desiring diabolical plans for the human race and Invaders. The whole climax to the series is also a bit anti-climatic with enough cliches and deus ex machina sprinkled about. Depending on how you enjoyed Gate Keepers, you may also be turned off by the lack of comedy found in this series and the implied fates of the Gate Keepers from the original series. Visually, Gate Keepers 21 is noticeably better compared to the original series sporting cleaner details, a more vivid color palette and well-animated battle sequences. There are some nice shots of the city landscape as Miu, Ayame and other characters travel about and some nicely drawn designs of the different monsters that the Invaders form themselves into. Yet as much praise as I can give the visuals, Gate Keepers 21 is weaker in quality than the original TV series and that is saying something considering how indifferent I was of it. With limited fleshing out of its cast, some sloppy plotting elements and (depending on how you feel) the lack of comedy, this is a pretty weak sequel for the Gate Keepers anime. Last updated Saturday, February 02 2013. Created Wednesday, June 02 2010. | ||||||||||||||||||
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 Forbin
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[series:1215#1573] | ||||||||||||||||
Last updated Tuesday, October 25 2005. Created Tuesday, October 25 2005. | ||||||||||||||||||
