"Gadguard" - Episode 1

[D B Malmquist]

Today I watched the first episode of a new series from GONZO called
"Gadguard", and I was blown away by its quality, artistry and energy.
From the OP track that sounds just like a "hot" jazz combo from the
late 40s, to action sequences as well-constructed as any in FLCL or
Abenobashi, GONZO somehow has transcended anything they've done before
and hit a real winner.

The action starts with a dodgy-looking character with bad hair being
pursued across a junkyard by a beefy guy with an iron crown. Both
could have recently escaped from "Mad Max". Iron Crown is trying to
take a briefcase away from Bad Hair. Just as the latter appears to
get the upper hand, piles of scrap are thrown aside and a steampunky
and vaguely Rube-Goldbergish giant robot bursts from under cover. It
and its pilot, a handsome but forbidding young man with a scarred face
named Katana, quickly recover the briefcase for Iron Crown.

Cut to a bustling, vibrant city street at night. Four street-savvy
boys on skateboards are weaving in and out of traffic. The shout back
and forth about ways to rustle up some fun in "Night Town" as they
narrowly avoid accidents. Eventually they end up at a hangout called
the "Crocodile Cafe", where one, a good-looking blonde teenager named
Black, picks up a girl, while another, a younger boy in a watchcap
named Hajiki Sanada, seems more interested in earning some cash.
Their fun is curtailed at midnight, however, when the electricity
shuts off; apparently natural resources are in short supply in their
world.

Meanwhile, Katana and Iron Crown have broken open the briefcase, which
seems to contain a few blue cubes. Iron Crown calls them "GADs",
claims that they're very valuable, and proposes that he and Katana
sell them and split the proceeds fifty-fifty. Katana is having none
of this and simply demands his fee. He is Not Pleased, however, when
Iron Crown comes up a little short... They make plans for Katana to
send him the GADs via some outfit called Hachisuka's Deliveries after
receiving payment.

Hajiki lives in a small and fairly cramped flat with his mother and
younger sister, Satsuki (who is, of course, cute.) Satsuki talks
about the possibility of becoming a professional dancer while Mom
cooks cumplings for sale later. Money seems tight. Mom mentions that
the neighborhood isn't all that safe. The phone rings; Hajiki's boss,
a Mr. Hachisuka, apparently has an urgent delivery job for him. At
the office, Hajiki receives a suspect-looking package and is told to
deliver it with no questions asked to "Day Town", apparently a nicer
part of the city. As he navigates through the city on a scooter, we
see all sorts of marvelous, slightly "cartoony" well-animated urban
landscapes, some that look European, others that remind me of
Greenwich Village. A passing car knocks him over, and the box spills
open to reveal the "GADs" from earlier. Hajiki is strangely drawn to
one, which seems to resonate with him. Nevertheless he delivers the
package to its destination, where it is received by a sexy blue-haired
woman who briefly pretends to flirt with him.

Shortly thereafter, another sexy woman, a blonde showing rather a lot
of cleavage, arrives at the apartment - to find Iron Crown tied up and
the GADs and the blue-haired woman missing.

Later that day, as Hajiki and friends are studying in their small
parochial school, a nun enters to introduce a transfer student: a
pretty young woman of Hajiki's age named Shinozuka Arashi. She claims
to be "nothing special", but when Black puts the moves on her, she
proves quite capable of defending herself.

Meanwhile, at an abandoned strip club, the blue-haired woman and
several male comrades are enjoying themselves and planning how to get
their haul out of the city. And who should be among them but Katana?

After school Hajiki is asked to walk Arashi home, since she has moved
in next door to him. But work intervenes, as Hachisuka arrives with
the bad news that their delivery was intercepted. Will they be able
to track the thieves down? Will the blond woman? Hill Hajiki hook up
with Arashi later that night? And just what *is* a GAD, and why was
Hajiki so drawn to it? Surprisingly, many of these questions will
begin to be answered before the end *of the episode*!

As is apparent from my "synopsis", there is a lot going on in this
episode, but it never feels incoherent or sloppy. Instead it's full
of vitality and energy, with top-notch animation, artwork, writing and
music. The character designs are attractive but distinctive with a
slightly "cartoony" style. The urban backgrounds are wonderfully
rich, somewhere between "Metropolis", "Brazil" and "Big O". The
sountrack features some really nice "hot" jazz as well as classical
orchestral music (on a Kids' Station series!?). All the designs have
a subtly super-deformed look, giving the show a distinctive style.
While there's clearly a lot 3DCG in use, it never looks "fake" (a la
Vandread) and integrates perfectly with the 2D animation. Where the
show really shines, however, is in how its action sequences have been
directed and animated. The creators appear to have studied how GAINAX
constructs an action sequence, with a tremendous number of objects
being animated and a constantly moving viewpoint, done with a low,
variable frame rate that gives a feeling that events are rushing
faster than one's ability to track. Apparently GONZO put together a
"all-star team" of talent for "Gadguard" [1], and it really shows.

This also series has wonderful visual details. A politician in a
poster is a dead ringer for Darrell Hammond's SNL emulation of Sean
Connery. Other billboards have animated graphics - but another still
looks like a huge black-and-white TV and carries ads from the '50s.
An overflowing ashtray is shaped like a water nymph holding a
birdbath. Using visual clues and background dialog we learn lots
about Hajiki's world without long involved explanations. The
tecnhology level seems to be around 1950s - but with remnants of much
higher tech floating around.

BTW, one sequence involving a carrot also has a strong GAINAX "feel",
and makes it unlikely Gadguard could air uncut on US television.
Bonus points for the ED animation, which plays like a cross between a
Bill Plympton cartoon and "The Soultaker", with a funky 70's vibe.

Overall I'm really impressed with this series, and recommend it
thoroughly. The kernel of the show seems to be a kids "fighting
anime", but it's clearly so much more. Its energy and fun left me
smiling after two viewings. This and "Wandaba Style" seem to be the
big winners so far this season, with "Scrapped Princess" and "Last
Exile" also off to promising starts.

For more info: http://www.gadguard.com/

[1] http://scac.prohosting.com/anime-caravan/s-gadguard.htm

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- dbm
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