Gad Guard-Volume 2
(Geneon Region 1 NTSC DVD)
(2004)
review by Big McLargehuge

Volume 2 of the Gad Guard series further develops the cast of characters and their giant robot pals, the Teckodes. Rather than jam all the disparate elements together and insist that they begin fighting as a team, this series sort of lets the action revolve around Hajiki while other supporting characters grow closer to their Teckodes and begin coalescing as a fighting force in Daytown.

The four episodes contained on the volume 2 disk reveal a dark side to the mysterious Gads. It seems that only a chosen few who encounter these devices bond with a Techode, the vast majority of Gads create gigantic misshapen monsters known as Gadriels who “live to fight” and seek the destruction of all life on Earth.

We only get a few glimpses of what will no doubt be many robot battles to come here as two Gadriels make their appearance in the first and third episodes. Volume 2 also introduces the motives that the supporting characters have for their bonding with the Teckodes and how it influences their behavior. Hajiki is brave, so his Teckode “Lightning” is brave, the others are seeking justice, fighting internal demons, giving self esteem, and reaching untouched heights. It’s sort of Care Beary… but in this milieu it works. The desires of their masters also defines the look and powers that the Teckode’s possess.

Since these episodes still come early in a 26 episode series there is ample time for short episodic tales as well. The stand out episode is the fourth where two Gadriel hunters come to Day City specifically to kill Lightning. They are from Unit Cobalt (all the town are called Units), a town destroyed by Gadriels and the hunters cannot understand or accept the relationship that Hajike has with Lightning. This has the best action sequences in the show and really shows off how well Gonzo does giant robot anime.

Gad Guard borrows a whole lot of story from other sources, adds a few welcome twists, and presents a fun anime that’s sort of an updated version of Johny Sokko and his Giant Robot. Gone are the campy stuff we westerners expect from giant mecha anime, and instead we actually get a well rounded world, interesting characters, and at 26 episodes, a hell of a lot of plot.

The animation by my current favorites, Gonzo, is nothing short of breathtakings. From simple blowing air to full on giant robot rumbles, the quality and fluidity of their animation is unsurpassed. The success they’ve had some other recent favorites, Last Exile, Blue Submarine #6, and Hellsing, carries on effortlessly in Gad Guard.

Masaharo Aizawa’s character design tends towards the whimsical, at least, with respect to his main character Hajiki, the delivery boy who unwittingly bonds with the Heavy Metal Robot, Tekkoudo. Hajiki looked familiar, and I realized after reading the credits that Aizawa was responsible for the character design in Digimon, the older, more mature sibling of the Pokemon franchise.

The other characters tend towards the much more realistic, but amazingly, Gonzo pulls off the different character types perfectly and the actually look like they should exist in the same world. And I would be doing Gad Guard a disservice if I didn’t mention the way they designed and animated the femme fatal characters. There is a scene in the first episode with a stripper being fed a carrot that was enough to make me blush, er… among other reactions.

Geneon offers Gad Guard with the usual clutch of extras, English and Japanese language tracks, English subs, all in 2.0 surround. Geneon ads a few other extras including non-credit opening, an art gallery (why do they include these? Does anyone ever look at them more than once?) and some Easter Eggs that I couldn’t find..

Gonzo’s animation combined with Nishikiori’s direction and Aizawa’s character design make Gad Guard a winner.