What do you get when you mix C4 with a cache of ancient magic swords?! The best dragon showdown battle EVER! Gate is FUN by the megaton.
Meet Youji, My-Otaku-life-always-comes-first, Itami. (Per Wiki, Otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime, manga, video games, or computers.) Hopeless fanboy is his tag. He's blissfully oblivious. His name is not merely verbal syllables: When spoken, it's usually accompanied by an eye-roll. He's the one they don't get. They wonder how he got /here/. There's NO WAY he really passed special forces training, right? They do not take him seriously. It's all level - he doesn't pay them any mind either. His mind is his own little happy paradise and it produces enough serotonin for a Prozac factory. Shine bright! "Hey fella!😀" Shine On! "How does ya tahdayyy😁?" Shine Strong! And he's gone💨
The show opens with him innocently taking the train to the Doujin convention {He's so happy! The DAY is here! SO so HAPPY😛} when reality splits and morphs: Before he gets inside (with nary a peep at the convention floor 😲), A. H. B. L. (all hai! Breaks loose). Invaders! There's invaders passing through a dimensional passage that suddenly opened (henceforth: The Gate). Invaders on horseback🤔?? This militia is technologically a millenia behind current day Japan, but they have flying dragons and magical grenades in their bags. They have the element of surprise and are able to inflict a fair amount of damage before the Japanese military can respond. Once the men in green show up, it's a rout-and-sweep-up operation.
Why wasn't the damage worse? Why weren't the casualties higher? Meet Youji Itami:
First Lieutenant of the Ground Self-Defense Force. Soon To Be Team leader of the Third Recon Team. This duffer is a bona-fide HERO! In the following episodes we'll hear, "Where's Otami? He could get it done," more than a couple times. How did that come about? Here's a guy who isn't just about himself. He longs for the things he wants, including time to himself to spend with his first love, his Otaku life. But he will fulfill his duties to his employer, his country, and his neighbors first. He doesn't °love° himself. He accepts himself. He does the best he can, rises to the occasion when he must, and, otherwise, simply enjoys his simple life. If his duties are in conflict, doing right for his neighbor is his primary concern. We'll see Otami called into the CDR's office a few times to be chewed out, receive his suspension or punishment, and then receive his commendations and rewards. By the end of the show he has an impressive haul, smh.
G is told from the perspective of a military man and the military, in general. It's what you would expect from a Nato member's military, were it to invade a medieval country. After 2 firefights to demonstrate how hopelessly dominant they are, the homeland surrenders. Then it's pop-up military bases/camps/village/towns and keeping-the-peace. We'll watch the Japanese force settle into Gate-world-camp. Locals start to settle around them. Business is roaring and the bars are filled. The only threat is the fire-breathing dragons: G is half military, half fantasy and all-right for that! 👍🏾
Give it 3 episodes. Episode 1 is pure setup, (It's not a dream sequence. Since I went into the show knowing nothing about it, I was watching and wondering). Episode 2 sees things start to roll, but it's more setup than not. The episodes start rolling along as we get to know the people and terrain. Even as late as ep11 it feels like the meat-and-potatoes course hasn't made it to the table yet, tasty meal that it is. I was on a good roll along with those caissons until just a click north of ep15. Then I started to think: Good? Nah, this is pretty awesome😃❕
A 2016 release, G is 2 seasons, each with 12 24-minute English dubbed episodes and it is rated 7.69 on MAL. It's based on a manga with 3 of 10 volumes adapted as anime. G received criticism for being pro-military. It's actually pro-our-kids-in-green. It is not a treatise on violence, war, or the futility of human aggression. This is a simple representation of the best ideals we hold when it comes to those who protect us. It is supposed to be a fun-and-feel-good shout out to our soldiers. It doesn't have enough depth or shadow for many critics, but not every show has to be a probing examination of human existence and display the true horror of reality. Isn't escapism the goal sometimes? Sometimes we need a breather and a reminder of what right looks like. That's not to say that it couldn't have been improved upon. I found watching these poor sword carrying knights tragic as they were mowed down by machine guns. I would have preferred the military to have tried to minimize the slaughter even more (or at least some dialogue about preserving as much life as possible) given their overwhelming power advantage.
Critics have °more° need of improvement, though. Too many of them tend to act like a show has no right to be simple and happy. There's a place for entertainment like that, and displaying heros with a character like our ML is a balm to society. The cornerstone of manga and anime is childish wonder. The magic is in simplifying while delighting. {Time out: That doesn't mean dumbed-down. Hollywood is the big dumb-downer. Anime comes in every form and genre but it arguably has the highest IQ, in the balance, out of all onscreen entertainment choices, and its audience is said to have a well above average IQ} I am weary of listening to critics who think too much of themselves while having lost all concept of childlike wonder. It makes them a cheerless lot. Forget them & ShineOn! (Otami is a sage.)
G, per Wiki: " ...was produced in collaboration with the JSDF Tokyo Provincial Cooperation Office ...the original author formerly was a JSDF officer and said he proposed the cooperation with the office in the first place. ...in 2015 the JSDF entered their vehicles into a contest in Omiya-ku, Saitama, painting them with anime characters. The general positive response to Gate prompted the Japanese military to start a recruitment campaign using the main characters as mascots. A pachislot game based on the anime was released in February 2018." So, it was well received by the soldiers. Since they are called to risk their lives to protect people, critics included, let's not begrudge them their enjoyment.
The 3rd recon team is sent in to scope, scout, and attempt diplomacy: 'Go spy, but try to win hearts and minds while you're at it.' Otami won't leave helpless people on the side of the road. He becomes a harem keeper to Mercury Rory - a scorchin hot grim reaper, Marceau Tuka Luna - an elf, and Lalena Lelei - a young mage. It grows from there. For most of the show, there doesn't seem to be much actual romance going on. Many women are drawn to our male lead. He, on the other hand, seems most drawn to manga (🙄Fanboy). Before the show concludes they manage to pull off some brief but satisfying lovey-dovey. It doesn't feel unlike a post WWII Hollywood movie.
The art is simple in places and detailed in others. The people are realistic at a 7.7/10 level for being a simplified but true representation of reality. Yet there is a flat affect to the drawing that puts a signature feel to the work. Anime looks much the same to a new eye, but it is obvious that the artists put in serious effort and creativity into making shows familiar but unique - at least the good shows. There's other little touches scattered around such as when the team sets out, they pass a Stonehenge type structure. The mysterious Stonehenge is depicted as a gate in some literature. It's a little juxtaposition jewel. They dive into political factions, strategy, and machinations deeply enough to almost classify this as a political thriller. In truth, war and the military are simply a wing of politics. Do not doubt it.
Overall, G is lighthearted in tone with plenty of smile-producing lines and scenes. Every profession has its bad actors. The military consists of many decent young people who have signed up for the right reasons. There's certainly plenty of anti-military features out there, and there is nothing wrong in showing both sides. Plus, there's everything right with showing model soldiers and human beings.
〰🖍 IMHO
🎬8 📝78 🎭8 💓6 🦋5 🌞7 🎨75⚡8 🎵/🔊67 😅4 😭4 😱4 😯4 😖38 🤔45 💤2 🔚8
Age 15+
There is no issue with the language - I heard B!+ch once; nothing more.
Blood and gore @ level 4/10
The age precaution would be for sexual content. The red-light district makes an appearance. A couple times we will see a girl in a sexy outfit getting very turned on by violence- the allusion is unmistakable - very Meg-Ryan-in-When-Harry-Met-Sally. A woman is ordered to offer her body to make amends for a mistake. Abusive and humiliating copulation is depicted in silhouette in one scene - it isn't gratuitous, it's to show how despicable a bad guy is.
Rated R 17+
Re-📺? I plan to introduce this to progeny so I'll watch along with.
🐔
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