Kiddy Grade  Recommended
Publisher
MVM
Director
Keiji Goto
Production
Fuji TV, GONZO
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
24 episodes
Year
2002
Kiddy Grade Volume 3: Lies Beneath
By otaku_kei
2nd Nov 04  [Disclaimer: At the time of viewing this show i had not seen volumes 1 or 2] An intergalactic agency that is pledged to secure the peace. Two top agents, girls with a penchant for mayhem and being in the thick of the action. Sounds like Dirty Pair, doesn't it? You'd be wrong, welcome to Kiddy Grade! Meet Eclair and Lumiere two ES agents of the Galactic Organisation of Trades & Tariffs (G.O.T.T.). They are tasked with securing peace in the galaxy from war, hostile takeover bids amongst the great trading houses, industrial espionage with the conglomerates and doing so by any means possible! Well as with all sci-fi shows we need to do a quick tech update: spaceships, check; cyborgs, check; planet-destroying weapons, check and checked! Well as this is volume 3 we get thrown right into the thick of the series, dont get the background about the main characters etc. But all of that does get explored within these episodes. Yet before any of that takes place the girls are given a priority assignment to secure the rightful succession of one of the prime trading houses. This is then followed by assignments to track down and stop the proliferation of GEO-Sort terraforming equipment, which can also be used as planet-destroying bombs! Our two ES agents team up with other agents from the G.O.T.T. to stop this threat to galactic security, and the action pretty much never stops! Our two heroines are not the atypical galactic agents. Apart from both being cyborgs (at least thatss what I gathered) it appears that each ES agent of G.O.T.T. is imbued with specific powers and are well tooled up for any encounter. Eclair and Lumiere make for a fantastic balanced team - Eclair the headstrong physical force, and Lumiere thoughtful tactician. But this appears to be the standard for ES members a pairing with another agent that provides complimentary abilities. In conclusion these agents are prepared for everything that can be thrown at them. Now these episodes hooked me right into the show, the action is great and the characters do react well to the situations that present themselves - confident in their abilities, but uncertain when the structure they rely upon starts to erode. Now this is what these episodes are building upon - what is the Chief up to? Are Eclair and Lumiere's duties as true and good as their training has led them to believe? And what are the secrets buried in Eclair's history? This was a great show that I was really surprised by (I mean Kiddy Grade conjures up a completely different idea of what the show is gonna be). Straight after watching this volume I got volume 4 on the DVD player, I just couldn't help myself. And as soon as I get round to it I'll acquire the first two volumes. I recommend this show to anyone who likes high adventure, political plots, high-octane action, buxom girls and a lot of panty shots! It's all good! 8/10
R2 DVD Notes
Features: English 5.1; Japanese 2.0. Original Japanese Commercials; Textless Song; Image Gallery; Trailers
Release information: 4th October 2004 - OUT NOW
Notes: The animation is great but nothing that we haven't come to expect from Gonzo studios. Both audio tracks are superb, and the dub is in no way melodramatic. The extras are pretty much standard for UK releases, but what you getting the disc for is the show anyway, so no complaints.
-- otaku_kei 2nd Nov 04
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