Gad Guard-
Lightning: Vol.1
(Geneon/Pioneer Region 1 NTSC DVD)
(2004)
review by Big McLargehuge

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.

Speaking of that world, Hajiki lives with his mom in Unit 47 of Night City, i.e. the giant slum surrounding the upper class Day City. The broad-brush distopia works surprisingly well. Much like the way Taro Rin’s Metropolis established the difference between the classes residing beneath the shadow of the Ziggurat, Nishikiori offers fully realized urban squalor.

When Hajiki delivers a little black cube to a mysterious woman it sets off a chain of events leading to Hajiki’s bonding with the mysterious giant robot. Unlike many other Mecha, Tekkoudo is not a super giant bristling with exotic weaponry i.e. Big O, or Mazinkeizer, but is only about 15 feet tall, painted in bold primary colors, and very organic looking.

Some may even describe Tekkoudo as “cute”, and it wouldn’t be completely out of place. He has large expressive eyes, hidden behind an armored cowl that resembles a scarf, the ends of said scarf are his exhaust ports. Since Hajiki never rides INSIDE the robot, we are treated to the whole process of Hijeki learning what he and the robot can do together.

I am a sucker for stories like that to be honest, so the first four episodes of Gad Guard were really appealing and worth repeated viewing.

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 five skull winner.