Gasaraki Recommended

Publisher
ADV
Director
Ryosuke Takahashi
Production
Sunrise, TV Osaka, Yomiuri Advertising
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
26 episodes
Year
1998

Gasaraki

By Mark McPherson
31st May 04

Japan is in production of a new piloted robot to be used for combat. That doesn't sound too exciting, but it gets better. The Gowa family, which is also the name of the company that produces the Tactical Armors, is keeping their eyes on Yushiro Gowa, the youngest son of the Gowa family and also one of the pilots of the TAs. However, he serves another role in helping the Gowa family try to resurrect an ancient monster known as the Gasaraki that used in before in ancient Japan. Gowa is forced to try and summon this power by performing a dance on sacred ground, but ends up failing. After that, politics get in the way and the Tactical Armor squad is sent out to fight in the middle-east. Once an organization by the name of Symbol shows up in the middle-east with similar goals as Gowa, the plot gets even deeper.

This is probably one of the most serious mecha shows I've ever seen that also has a huge amount of mythology, philosophy and international politics involved with the story. The series also features a lot of characters each serving a purpose whether it's taking action or doing their role behind the scenes of the events taking place. The Gowa family alone is composed of about seven characters each with their own ambitions on how they would like to see things play out. For instance, the oldest brothers in the family wants to completely take over the Gowa company in order to reform Japan's economy while another brother only follows in the path of his oldest to continue his research on the ancient machinery that begin popping up later on.

However, the main story is focused on Yushiro Gowa and Miharu, a test pilot similar to Yushiro who pilots a machine similar to the Tactical Armors for Symbol. These two experiences a Romeo-Juliet relationship which one member of Symbols believes is key to releasing the Gasaraki. There are also a lot of issues that get addressed in this series that surprised me. Nashita, a blind elder who seems to know what he is talking about, pushes the oldest Gowa brother, Kiyoharu, into pursuing his goals of cleansing Japan. He states that the reason the economy is beginning to slip is because more and more illegal immigrants are flooding into the country resulting in ghettos. Things only get worse when the annual crop report from the stock market comes in resulting in a mass riot.

The show slips in and out political affairs and the issue surrounding the history of the ancient power known as the Gasaraki. The two subjects seem to weigh evenly since they each get the right amount of air time and are separated between episodes in order to not confuse the viewer too much. One of the interesting things about Gasaraki was that the show has a bit of political satire in it. When the Tactical Armors are sent out, they get sent to a country called Belgistan which, ironically, the president looks a bit like Saddam Hussein. Animation wise, the backgrounds are very detailed, the characters have realism to them and the mecha has some logic to their design. The music, in terms of originality, pretty much ends after the opening and closing tracks as most of the music is public domain tracks that many TV series use.

Gasaraki is a huge grab-bag of mystery, politics, mythology and emotion that all come together in an interesting brew. For those who are expecting magical powers or city demolishing battles, you will be disappointed with this series. However, if you're looking for a good story that will have you constantly thinking about what will happen next, Gasaraki may be for you. Overall, I found Gasaraki's themes very believable, it's pacing perfect and it's plot unmatched.

Pros: Layered story; excellent plot; lots of interesting characters to relate to; interesting mythology; real issues.

Cons: Music could have had more originality; the story may bore some people; character's faces seemed a bit flat.

Grade: B+

-- Mark McPherson 31st May 04

Gasaraki Images