[Anime] Ga-Rei:Zero

Illyasviel

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♥♥♥General info:


♥Series Name: Ga-Rei-Zero
♥Year of Serialization: Fall 2008
♥Author: Studios AIC Spirits & Asread[Ei Aoki-Director]
♥Artist: Manga* by Hajime Segawa
♥Genres: Action|Drama|Supernatural|Horror|
♥Current Status: Finished
♥Moment of Reviewing: End of anime
♥Other Formats: Sequel Manga*
*This anime is a prequel to the manga "Ga-Rei"


♥♥♥Series Summary:


The show is set in an alternate version of Japan where the government is in a secret battle against supernatural beings-demons.It acts through different mediums like the Supernatural Disaster Prevention Agency in which the main characters are involved.Humanity uses the help of exorcists in these battles and the main character,Kagura being from a famous exorcist family is pulled into the struggle.She meets another girl who is a little older than herself-Yomi.The two develop an unbreakable,sister-like bond and now fight together against the evil spirits.And all goes well until...ummm butterflies appear?​


♥♥♥Critical Review:


♥Story|I want to start with just a few words about the setting of the anime.While the premise is obviously nothing unique,you would expect the show to go into large scale battles between humans and spirits but that doesn't happen.Instead the show centers around the two main characters and wonderfully develops them during the show.The show will alternate between being a Slice of life show(although I didn't put this in the genre part) and a supernatural fight show,all leading to the dramatic climax in the last couple of episodes.The story sets of fast in the first two episodes,with the first episode leaving pretty much all of the viewers saying:"Wait,what just happened!?" with it's plot-twist.Now,I have to say that this first episode was made with the utmost skill,explaining the concept of spirits and those who fight them while introducing the main characters.After that,the show takes a steady narrative all up until the last couple of episodes.With that,to be honest it did seem to pointlessly drag at some places with no story or development being given to the viewer.But this isn't anything major,you will encounter this in most anime.So,even though at some point,the story might not be very interesting,it's not boring either and it should grasp your attention enough to bring you to the ending.The ending is very good,bringing enough closure to the fans even though this is a prequel to the manga so naturally there are unanswered questions.I might add that the ending of Ga Rei Zero is really sad,although it didn't look like it would be with how the show was going.


♥Characters|The main characters:Kagura and Yomi are well developed.But then again if the two main characters get 95% of the screen time then they absolutely must get enough character development.The relations between character is rather well depicted so I have no problem there either.The show tells a nice of story of young Kagura's growth from being a vulnerable girl who lost her mother,questioning is it alright to kill walking corpses to an independent fighter that did...well what she did at the end(I won't give any spoilers).Yomi gets a beautiful transmission through the series.It is sad to watch her loosing her grip on reality and her moral and mentality deteriorate with every episode giving you a hunch about what is going to happen.The secondary characters for the most part get little development and screen time.But on the bright side they are interesting characters you get a liking for:The female boss in a battle wheelchair,her ninja assistant,giant twin brothers,Yomi's boyfriend,his friend,everybody's families and a gay old man(not joking about this one) and another old man that walks around in tight underwear o_o.The antagonists kinda leave much to be desired.I mean,the main antagonist who is responsible for everything is also a big antagonist in the manga and he only gets introduced here so we don't see much of him,but he does seem cool.


♥Animation|The animation could,overall be deemed "ok".The colours are dark and gloomy especially during dramatic moments and the whole show has this ominous atmosphere.The characters are drawn well enough and the action scenes are well animated and well choreographed but there are some poorly looking scenes and quite a bit of static frames.But overall it looks fine,if we don't count the CGI used for the giant monsters,it was outright terrible.Still the animation is better than in many anime.


♥Sound|The soundtrack is very correct and adequate for the show.With the opening theme,which I loved "Paradise Lost" by Minori Chihara it is tied to the motives of the show and offers a hint of pessimism while sounding awesome.The ending theme "Yume no Ashioto ga Kikoeru" by Mizuhara Kaoru is filled with melancholy which seems appropriate considering how the show goes.The sound effects are well placed,according to the atmosphere of the scene,no problems with that.The voice actor cast did a wonderful job at portraying their given characters,bringing them to life.


♥Conclusion|This show has been widely overlooked,never gaining much popularity and as such the chances of the manga "Ga Rei" being adapted into an anime is slim.But this is a pretty good show and it deserved more.Sure the plot might not be the best ever,it is still good enough and the story is genuinely sad.I highly recommend watching this show because you really can get to like it a lot like I did.It is for everyone,having enough fight scenes,but not too many and enough slice of life parts.I would rate the show probably at 7/10.​

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Thank you for reading! :lawliet:
 
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