Customer Reviews

Gad Guard - Lightning (Vol. 1) (With Series Box And Knit Hat)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well, what can I say.... This series deffinatly is not what I expected, however I still have to say that I am really enjoying it!! The stories follows a boy named Hajiki Sanada and his strugles to try to support his family after the passing of his father. Hajiki works as a delivery boy for a local delivery service in a town known simply as Night Town. When he is asked to make a special delivery to an unknown buyer, he stumbles upon a small stone known as a Gad, which is is mysteriously facinated by. Eventually his conection with the Gad increases as he witnesses the Gad evolve into a giant robot known as a Techode. Though the series starts off very slowly, it has alot of promise in terms of a clasic Mecha Story Line. I wouldn' recomend this series to just anybody, however if you are a fan of mecha and do not think that Evangellian is the only good mecha out there (which it's not), than you would probably enjoy this series, so check it out :)

I first saw this Aime on G4TechTV, and the first episode I saw I was hooked. For anyone who likes Animes involving huge robots and a lot of plot, along with a lot of action, you will like this series. With this one you get the series box too, so this is the better version to buy.

I like this anime alot. I like the fact that they ride on, not in the robots. I'm waiting on the next volume to arrive at my door step like a kid waiting for Santa. Hurry up! I recommend it!

I can only speculate that makers of anime can only go for so many TV shows before they have to bring in the big robots.

"Gad Guard" is one of the shows that results, though the first volume is more thoughtful and less action-oriented than many mecha anime. It's given a vivid, retro-flavoured world -- think 1930s New York set in the future -- but the storyline tends to stagger whenever the actual mecha come onto the scene. Seriously, those big toys belong on a less-polished show.

Hajiki Sanada helps support his family by working as a courier -- but one day he finds that a mysterious package he delivered went to a band of thieves, not the rightful owner. Turns out it's a Gad, a valuable mechanical cube. When Hajiki corners the thieves on a street, the Gad activates and sucks everything metal on the street into itself -- and turns all that crud into an enormous robot.

Though Hajiki claims he doesn't want the robot -- called a Techode -- there's a bond between them. And when its true owner ships it out, Haijiki follows it onto the train. But he also ends up in a bizarre battle with a sociopathic youth named Katana, who has developed an irrational hatred of the Techode, and attacks the train in his Heavy Metal robot.

But the loss of Katana's Heavy Metal is only a setback -- soon he has a Techode of his own. And he's not the only one, as Hajiki finds that his Techode -- named Lightning -- comes with a lot of responsibility and new problems. Along the way, Hajiki runs into a shy rich girl whose only real friend is her Techode, and gets involved with a series of jewel thefts.

The world of "Gad Guard" isn't too different from ours -- glitzy slums, luxurious skyscrapers, all heavily dusted with a mixture of the present and the futuristic. All of this is illustrated with loving detail, lots of moving billboards and electricity that blinks out after midnight in the poorer sections of the city. Lovely jazz soundtrack too.

The first couple episodes go rather slowly, with our hero encountering thieves, struggling to earn a salary, and going into severe denial. But things start to pick up after that -- we've got an icy adversary, a femme fatale, a wry manager and a boyish hero, as well as a shy butt-kicking love interest. And there are some spectacular action scenes, usually involving vast amounts of property damage -- including some dude getting squished in a garbage dump.

The big problem? The Techodes themselves are silly-looking. They're big, bulky, colorful and bounce around too lightly, and Lightning is hilariously rubbery -- what are those big waggling golden things that bounce around behind him all the time? The only exception is Messa, partially because that particular Techode doesn't seem to fight.

Hijiki is pretty much a standard anime hero -- a bit grumpy at times, but essentially generous and good-hearted. Not many of the other characters are developed much yet, but the shy girls Aiko and Arashi promise to be interesting. And the goth-looking teen mercenary Katana is pretty intriguing on his own -- cold, cruel, efficient, yet has a soft spot for little girls who ask him to play.

The first volume of "Gad Guard" suffers from a slow storyline and some rubbery mecha, but the interesting world and promising characters make it good enough to continue with.

The story was just a little slow through episode 1 but it did end with the Techo (robot) emerging and it was cool so I continued to watch. However the story just didnt move. The character development was too slow. The animation however was top notch and a style that I love. The opening (and preview I saw) made this show look fun and entertaining but Volume 1 was such a downer. It is possible to be fun and serious. Maybe Im giving up too early but I need more than a pretty face.

Hajiki Sanada's world consists of a place called Night Town, a section of a larger city that has seen better days. The names of the neighborhoods in this alternate world are pretty metaphorical, with Night Town containing most of the undesirable elements, while Day Town is more upscale and Gold Town is where all the rich people live. Hajiki makes a part-time living when he's not going to school by doing deliveries on his moped for his Uncle Hachisuka's business, which never asks its clients what it is being hired to deliver. Hajiki's latest job is delivering a weird cube of unknown function known as a "Gad". Hajiki mistakenly gives the Gad to a voluptuous woman posing as his client. In the chaos that follows in which Hajiki gets the cube back, he accidentally activates the Gad and it becomes a "Techode", or mecha, that has an unspoken bond with Hajiki and reflects his will. But Hajiki isn't the only kid with a mecha as he soon discovers that there are other Techode controllers whose mecha were born in the same way as his, most using their power for good, but one for evil. Katana is one of the thugs who tried to steal the Gad from Hajiki and wants to take revenge on Hajiki for defeating him in his first battle against his weaker mecha, or, "Heavy Metal", as the more normally constructed robots are known, and he gets his wish when he acquires his own Gad robot.

Gad Guard has one of the most unique looks and atmospheres that I have ever seen in an anime. The clothes and the look of the city and characters is at turns futuristic, retro, and hip. The design of the robots, while at times cartoony and reminescent of a more 1950's feel without looking stupid, are well done and original, which is half the battle in a mecha anime. While Gad Guard is heavy on action, it also has humor, and it is also peopled by a lot of interesting characters, which Volume 1 barely has time to introduce, but I look forward to learning more about them. Especially Arashi, the new girl at Hajiki's school who apparently is suffering from loneliness as she lives by herself in a rundown brownstone. I wonder why she's moved to Night Town, and where her parents are, and why she is alone? She seems to like Hajiki and also has an attachment and fascination for his Techode, which he named Lightning. Another aspect of this show I really like so far is the music soundtrack, which is primarily composed of smooth jazz with Cowboy Bebop big band moments along with more meditative string selections. The only thing I found a little laughable was the fact that Hajiki and the other Techode controllers ride on their mecha by being held in their hand on holding onto them. In reality the kids would be torn to pieces or thrown a couple of miles during battle, but come on, this is fantasy! Really enjoyable show that is very unique but also looks back to older eras.

This great series has not gotten the greatest chance to become popular, but it deserves recognition despite the fact it is another storie about giant robots. This is perhaps the original anime series ever made aside from that fact. The characters each have a completely different lifestyle, from a rich adopted rich girl to the main character, Hajiki, who lost his mother and has to work at the age of 16 to support his family. Not to mention the mysterious Katana, who from watching the series appears to be some sort of vampire, although he isn't. In all for the first season there will be seven volumes, and this is only the first.

Here is what happens to start out this action-packed, full of great plot series;

Hundreds of years into the future, Hajiki the main character is sent on a special job to deliver what is known as a gad, but he is attacked by someone who wants it, and in the mix ends up with a robot named lightning that does pretty much what he wants it to. While trying to live a normal life (as much as that possible), he is forced to fight Katana (who also has a gad robot) and many other forces who want the robots and the gads for themselves.

This series can be described as nothing but excellent. The storie, the character development, the theme of Nightown, and the action scenes are great. As the series moves, we only find out more mysterious things, both evil and surprising at once. Buy Gad Guard Vol. 1 and see for yourself, along with the rest of the series. You will not regret it.