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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Rent | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
 Ggultra2764
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[series:782#1552] |
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There were some ways that Dai-Guard reminded me of Patlabor. Both featured a down-to-earth approach in its mecha genre featuring a realistic perspective on the handling of giant robots in a near-future setting with a lead character having a fascination with mecha. This series focuses on a public relations firm having a giant robot as their mascot, who wind up being Japan's only means of taking out the ongoing Heterodyne threat. The intrigue for this series stems from the tensions between said firm and the military, the latter having created said robot as a countermeasure against the Heterodyne years ago yet gave it up when none of the aliens popped up. Subjects such as following established rules versus what is morally right, office politics, public image and idealism vs realism get brought up as Dai-Guard's fights with the Heterodyne push the personal beliefs and tensions of characters and factions at many instances throughout the series, helping to make the show an engaging premise throughout its run. Character personalities and backgrounds are on the simple side and typical of what you would expect in conventional titles, but they get enough depth where you can at least care for them. The nature surrounding the Heterodyne threat is a mystery and remains one all the way through the series. So don't go expecting any answers over their origins or what their purpose is in their activity on Earth. The humor for the series is supposed to come off of some of the character quirks and silly office politics, but this was more hit or miss for me. Overall, Dai Guard makes for a unique mecha title with much of the intrigue for the series coming from the tensions between the public relations firm and military, plus the real life elements that are brought into play with the expenses and practicality of utilizing a mecha in defensive situations. The series doesn't break any new ground with its characters and some plot elements, but is still a decent look if you are into mecha anime. Last updated Monday, July 08 2013. Created Monday, July 08 2013. | ||||||||
| Buy | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
 Violet D
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[series:782#1393] | ||
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All I can say if I had a Robot who would do stuff for me I would love it. This is what this story is all about. Ways to protect Japan and yourself. There is a catch though like all Robot animes. There are only a few people who know how to control them. Imaginative and if you like stories about robots this one is the one to see.
Last updated Thursday, July 07 2005. Created Thursday, July 07 2005. | ||||||||
| Rent | 7 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
 Jan-Chan
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[series:782#967] | |
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Office workers saving the world!! This is a very simple story line of three young (20+ year old) office workers in a PR (public relations) department in an over-bureaucratic company, who through a set of circumstances find themselves having double duty; doing dull office work and having to pilot a 25 meter tall robot against a strange collection of giant alien monsters. At times, the infighting and politics of the company seem more dangerous than the alien enemy. With an eye on the profit-loss margin, the management of 21st Century Defense Security, decides that using Dai-Guard to defend Japan can be both very profitable and great PR. The military gets jealous and tries to steal the Dai-Guard, and of course, they manage to muddle everything up very badly. The alien monsters are pretty simple and silly; flying disks, floating balloons, water based flowers, but they are interesting enough to be challenging to Dai-Guard, and to provide an excuse for another mecha battle. This series is parody, which pokes fun at the stupidity of office politics, and political infighting. At times you wonder who the enemy is .. the alien invaders, or perhaps the managers of the company and army, who seem to have a priority of covering their political a**es. If you liked the humor in Martian Successor Nadesico, or perhaps the story line in Gate Keepers, then you should find a measure of enjoyment in this series. The animation is good and characters are interesting, and the story line is silly at times. In any case, it is correctly rated PG12 by ADV and worth renting. Last updated Monday, September 22 2008. Created Friday, April 30 2004. | ||||||||
