I saw first couple of episodes of Gatekeepers not too long after it aired in
Japan. First thing I noticed was Kawasumi Ayako-san's voice. I was in love
(not real love, of course... you know....) with Kamigishi Akari from "To
Heart" and her voice. It just fit the role perfectly. I'm guessing that her
performance as Akari-chan helped her get the role of Ruriko in Gatekeepers.
Beyond that, I thought I could really like this series because it was so much
like Nadesico. Then I realized that I could really hate this series
because... it was so much like Nadesico. Now I know that Gatekeepers really
is kind of like Nadesico. Unfortunately, I don't really like it. Nadesico
was very well done. ALL the characters in Nadesico were realistic and
likeable. It had multiple layers of stories with different complexities all
perfectly parallel from each other. Everything just worked so darn well!
Gatekeepers is just too mingled together. It's also somewhat like Evangelion.
And the bad guys are... like the ones from old anime (or Gekiganger). I'm
sorry, but it just doesn't work with me. At least, not the way it is done.
Here's something I learned as a serious anime fan. If the animator really
likes a character he/she is drawing, it's easy to tell! In Nadesico, I felt
that with almost every character. Don't even get me started on the "love" I
feel when I watch the Nadesico Movie. I can see that some of the characters
in Gatekeepers are obviously preferred by the animators and I sure don't blame
them. Basically, I got this one for the box -- first pressing item. I
probably will get the rest of the DVDs when it comes out in the U.S., if not
for anything else, for that cute ferret that Yukino carries around. :)
Actually, I'd get it for Kawasumi-san. You know how Ruriko tries so hard to
save the people around her? Kawasumi-san tries so hard to be a good voice
actress. I'm serious! I was in love with her (umm, I don't know what I mean
by that) when I heard her yell "Gate Open!" -- see image 1 below. Her effort
in those two words just caught my heart!
Oh, and look at image 2. Doesn't she resemble Akari-chan? Strange....
BTW, this is the first time I _shrunk_ the images. I actually rescaled it! I
don't normally do that, but this time, I wasn't trying to point out anything
technical, I just did it.
I am going to hate this series because I know I'm going to end up spending more money on it. Darn it!
