NoaIzumiAnime Review: Gatekeepers 21
May 13th 2009 02:00
Thirty years after the original Gate Keepers saved the world, the Invaders are back. Now it’s up to a new generation of Gate Keepers to defend the Earth.
Gatekeepers 21 is the sequel to the very well-done and successful Gate Keepers. So, how does it measure up? Frankly, not that well. Gone are most of the things that made the original so great (which is kind of strange, considering that both series shared most of the same creative team), and what’s left is not bad, per se, but…
The biggest and most noticable difference is that GK21 is darker than the original. And I mean that literally as well as metaphorically. What scenes don’t take place at night look like they were shot during twilight or on a cloudy day. In addition, there is no romantic arc here, and very little humor, which results in the sequel having much less energy than the first series.
Part of the problem is the characters. The story centers around two girls, one of whom, Ayane, has been a Gatekeeper for a while, but isn’t comfortable with her Gate ability, so she usually uses cell phones as proxies for her Gate power (which is admittedly a cool plot point). Ayane has a connection with the original Gatekeepers that is frequently hinted at before it’s revealed, but that same connection has caused her to be detached from the world she’s fighting for. The other, Miyu, finds out about her Gate power in the first episode, and becomes a reluctant partner to an indifferent Ayane. She’s a much more typical high school girl, and does not like the idea of destroying Invaders that used to be human. Essentially, they are the fighting girl who has to learn how to feel, and the feeling girl who has to learn how to fight. The growth of their relationship is interesting, and winds up playing almost as important a role in the finale to Gatekeepers 21 as the romantic arc did in the finale of the original. But for the most of the series, Ayane is too outwardly nihilistic to really identify with, and Miyu is just mildly annoying. The series picks up a little midway through, with the introduction of Satoka, a third Gatekeeper without the emotional baggage and hang-ups, who generally just likes the fight. She’s not as developed, character-wise, but she is fun to watch. A couple of characters from the first series round out the new Gatekeeper team.
Miu and Akane
The Invaders have also lost a lot of what made them so fun in the original, and have taken a decided turn into the horror genre. Where before the Invaders mimicked humans, now they actually infect humans, turning them into Invaders. Gone are the cool giant monsters that the original Invaders transformed into, and in their place are Invader cars and Invader gargoyles. They’re interesting to see, but they don’t beat the slabs of Invader that walk on the highway that walk like giant feet crushing everything in their path, or the Invader jumbo jet that transforms into a dinosaur, or the mecha Chef Boy-R-Dees! There was a certain occasional whacky silliness in the original Invaders that the new series has given up on.
I’m not a person that believes that a series can be ruined by a bad sequel, but if you do, Gatekeepers 21 could very well prove you right, because it takes the upbeat tone, optimistic ending, and sheer fun of Gate Keepers, and turns it on its head. You’ve been warned.
On the plus side, the animation is excellent, and the action is well-done. Gatekeepers 21 stands well enough on its own as a sci-fi/horror piece with a reasonably good emotional center. But, Gate Keepers, it ain’t.
Great moments: Miyu jumps for a moving truck, and pancakes right on a traffic sign. The one humorous moment in the whole series.
Geeking out: in the first episode, a plushie from Sgt. Frog is seen. There are also numerous inside references to the original series.
Extras: Clean and Japanese versions of the openings (GK21 has two). Image gallery, conceptual art.
Summary: Passable sci-fi/horror, but pales in comparison to the original. Grade: B
Age rating: 14 and up. Light fan service (short skirts, tight shirts) and violence. There’s a scene of an Invader infecting a human that is thoroughly disgusting.
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