Customer Reviews

Gravion - Divine Steel ( Vol. 1) + Series Box

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

 

 

Despite several negative feedback, I believe Gravion is a great addition to anyone's anime collection. I actually bought this dvd on a whim and prepared for the worst. However, Gravion is superb in their animation as well as their combination of action and comedy. It is reminiscent of the good-old Voltron days. Although in the first episodes, Gravion throws in a bunch of wacky characters, their personalities are more developed as the series continues. The subtitles are also very accurate and even the english dubbing is excellent (although I prefer to hear it in Japanese with english subtitles) The anime style is also very good and I would recommend this to anyone new or old to anime. Oh also, the 'fan service' isn't too extreme (its bearable). The music throughout the series is also wonderful and memorable. You won't regret it!

This is not the best anime ever, but it is entertaining for those of us who remember Voltron and Dai-Guard. Why I like it: 1-The art work and acting, 2- one of the English speaking actors does Goku in Saiyuki 3-Storyline is decent 4-And it's FUN. I've only seen up to ep. 6 on Anime Network but I am planing to buy the rest. A solid three stars for me, because the characters could be a bit more developed, but the rest pretty much makes up for it.

On the eve of an invasion by a soulless army of aliens known as Zeravire, the enigmatic billionare known as Sandman gathers the worlds leaders at his castle to unveil the ultimate weapon that is earth's last hope, a gravity-powered god of circuits and steel known as Gravion!

A lot of anime is somewhat less than original. This one never even makes an attempt at originality. Passionate male protagonist inadvertently ends up piloting a section of a giant combining robot- there are many places where it has been done well, but this is not one of them. The obligatory assortment of pretty girls, mostly in maid outfits? I can cope with that, but they bludgeon you with the amount of fan service here. A mysterious missing sister, a mysterious genius billionaire, a mysterious masked subordinate, a mysterious freakishly proportioned busty blond... Way too much entertaining giant robot anime around to waste my time any more with this. I guess if you are really into fan service you might like it, though.

Starting off with your typical "Aliens invading earth plotline", throw in a couple of girls dressed in maid outfits for no apparent reason and a giant transforming robot and you have pretty much summed up Gravion. They do try to write in some suspense and small ties that carry over from episode to episode but after watching these paper thin episodes you won't care who's behind what mask and where certain missing people are. And I won't even start on the stupid song-a-mation that happens every time they transform into Gravion. I'm not even sure why they have the robot in multiple pieces to begin with. All they do is fly/ride out and transform then start to battle the alien threat of the episode. Unlike similar animes you never get the sense that the characters are fighting for their life, let alone trying to protect earth. They just go from episode to episode fighting whatever threat there currently is. The English dubbing is poor, the animation feels sluggish compared to how well everything is drawn for the series. It feels like it was rushed. There's too many other good anime out there to waste time watching this one.

For all American viewers and reviewers out there,FYI:Voltron was not the first nor the best Japanese super robot. In my opinion, the all -time best and most powerful is definitely Grandizer from 1975(ask Wasim Ismail). To really gain a true understanding of this genre one must go back to its origins in the sixties. Anime such as Astro Boy, Gigantor(the first big robot in cartoons), and Speed Racer(created by Tatsuo Yoshida) were ultimately the predecessors for this genre of animation.The big robot craze was likely inspired by Godzilla,King Kong, Mighty Joe Young,War of the Worlds and dinosaurs in general. This concept,combined with many characters that were very obviously directly inspired by the five main leads of Gatchaman, (also created by Tatsuo Yoshida(also known as Battle of The Planets, G-Force and Eagle Riders in various American incarnations over the years))created some of the best cartoons to ever exist!!! Most american animation enthusiasts are not even aware of these fabulous series because they received little exposure and poor distribution in the states.They are also very difficult to find, even for those who are in the know. In the seventies,Go Nagai created a slew of super robot characters, the first being Mazinger Z, circa 1971(known as Tranzor Z in the states), and one of the last,if not THE last being VOLTRON!!!(circa 1981 - released in the states in Sept '84.) They all had their own animated series. An assortment of these robots were used in an Americanized, edited version of their original Japanese anime that, stateside, became known as Jim Terry's Force Five. The robots and series names were:Grandizer,Starvengers,Gaiking,and Dangard Ace.(The fifth cartoon, Spaceketeers, featured no robot.)This program was shown exclusively in New England states and,to my knowledge,only on Showtime(the premium cable channel).They ran from 1980-'82; many people at that time did not have cable,and if they did, may not have had the premium channels. That is why they aren't aware that these shows exist. They are definitely among the best(and my favorite)cartoons that I have EVER SEEN!!! A different assortment of these robots were used for an excellent American toyline called the Shogun Warriors! It ran from '77 -'79. There was also a Marvel comic book based on the line that ran 20 issues. Because production stopped on the line before Voltron was ever created, most people do not know that Voltron is actually from THIS SAME LINE OF ROBOTS!!! Accusing Gravion of being a Voltron ripoff is ridiculous because the first transforming super robot was Getter Robo(the second version - Getter Robo G,was known as Starvengers in the U.S. and was included in the Shogun Warriors line as well as Force Five.) Additionally, the Macross Jet Fighter Robots, known in the USA as Robotech, originated in Japan in 1979, as did Gundam which also featured robots with changeable modes. Then of course there are the Transformers, whose original Japanese counterparts originated between 1980- '81. Another great example is the Mighty Orbots from the show of the same name that aired in the fall of '84. As a side note three different robots bore the name of Voltron in the U.S.;two were featured in cartoons,while the other was released as a toy only by Matchbox in late 1984. This version split in three and was the least known of the trio. The best and most popular version was originally titled Golion and featured characters with striking resemblances in voice,appearance and personality to those that Tatsuo Yoshida created for the G- Force from Gathchaman/Battle of the Planets. Go Nagai also borrowed these same "types" for the three pilots of Starvengers. Hence it is ridiculous to accuse Gravion of being influeced by Voltron(the lion version) in any way. This is simply a continuation in the grand tradition that is the genre of Japanese super robots. Having said that, I own and HIGHLY RECOMMEND purchasing the WHOLE Gravion series, as the first 3 volumes has kept me on the edge of my seat for MONTHS in anticipation of the release of the second 3 volumes!!! Anyone who fully appreciates and understands this particular genre of anime can clearly see that this series is one of the best to have been released in a loooong time. I hope this review can help many other people seeking out quality Japanese anime. I appreciate your taking the time to read this extra - sized review and I hope it was worth your time. I recommend every title that I've mentioned in this writing and hope you have the time and patience to seek out all of this great, somewhat unheralded entertainment. My other recommendations are Getter Robo Armageddon(unbelievable!),Ronin Warriors(same!), and Mobile Suit Gundam Wing(excellent and still vastly underappreciated!) Have Fun!

Basic storyline.
Wild Card, young rookie (Eiji) is drafted into
powerful group of elites in order to save the world from being destroyed.
This team is run by a billionare man named Sandman who owns a butt load of technology as well as a gigantic robot called "Gravion"
Gravion has a bunch of accompanying mech like fighters ranging from airships to a driller. All of these little ships then combine with Gravion to make it more powerful.

This show is nothing more than an animated version of Power Rangers minus the huge play on martial arts. Big robot fights big monsters and mass destruction ensues. The one thing I noticed more than anything is this series is it's so melodramatic. The theme song, the personalities of the characters, their movements. I mean they have to announce all of the moves before Gravion performs them. So you get to hear them shout (with feeling) "GRAVATON LASER!!" "GRAVATON KICK!!" or whatever other combination you can come up with. It has a theme song for when they combine with Gravion! Drama, drama, drama.

An action anime where the character interactions are more enjoyable than the
action.