GRAVION
Well, I'll be the first to admit that I've never really been one for series about giant robot's (Neon Genesis Evangelion excluded) but I was recently scrambling through my old DVD collections when I came across this little series, Gravion. Lo and behold, a series about giant robots, but why did I have it? What possessed me to purchase something that by all means I would have never otherwise even took a second glance at? To be honest, that fact still eludes me to even this day. Maybe it was a trailer that looked funny, maybe that it was made by Gonzo and that kind of pulled me in when so few were available at the time, I may never know. Regardless, I put it on and about halfway through the first episode...I still had no idea why I still had this. Sure there was the gratuitous panty shots and uncomfortable cross dressing, the funny miss-spelling and the mammary bouncing, but surely I wasn't THAT shallow back then. But wait, before I even get into anything else and tell you WHY I made it through the entire first series I'll give you a little synopsis of what exactly is going down. Well, I'll just write what's on the back of the DVD since it will probably make a lot more sense than me trying to wrap it up;
"When mankind faces an alien force with technology light years ahead of its own, it may take a man obsessed with the past to save the Earth. The fate of humanity rests on whether the eccentric billionaire Sandman can build a machine as great as the myths of old. His creation is a god for the modern age, a deity forged of circuits and steel - it is Gravion!"
Ok, so maybe I should of read it before I started writing it because that just made it sound MORE confusing. I mean, the legends of old had giant robot's in them? Let's just say that little synopsis on the back has very little to what actually happens and should be taken with a grain of salt. What matters is what's written after that;
"Only a young band of orphaned misfits are born with the ability to pilot this top secret weapon. All life on the planet depends on how well they can fight the Zeravire - if they can only stop fighting amongst themselves!"
That's essentially what the series is about. The Zeravire are an alien race attacking the Earth in dangerous and more dangerous forms, and it's up to Gravion to stop them. When this series was first released it seemed to be panned by most reviewers because of its continuous and pointless use of sexual innuendo, a poor story and uninteresting characters. I tended to agree with these judgments, however there were two main things that had me coming back each episode.
1. The Animation. While it was a little uneven at times, Gonzo's style and detail always left an impact. The transformation sequences were so well done you could forgive the goofy costumes and the enemy design was always fresh with each new evolution to match the teams changes.
2. The Music. Let me just say this right now, the music for the entirety of the series ROCKED! Rock worked with the transformers, it works here too. The intro theme and transformation theme were the standouts in this season and I could listen to them time and time again.
These two things got me through the first series and it didn't end on too bad of a note, just nothing was answered and for a while I thought that was the absolute end of the series. Rage built, and the above two points became the only good things about the series, it was all I could point to. Now, there is another reason to watch the first series, so you know what happens in the vastly superior:
GRAVION ZWEI
Get ready for what Gravion should of been, a great, if not still goofy, giant robot anime. Of course, it starts as it did last time, with Eiji in drag, but this is just some of the minor filler. This series see's the introduction of a new group of robot warriors, a new Gravion unit, a full explanation of everything that was unanswered last season, more kick ass music and more battle maids (of course).
The shameful thing is that most reviewers and fans tend to give up on this series in its first part before getting to the second, and for this I cannot overly blame them. The series was purposefully released in two halves, each named differently and never found in a packaged bundle together (at least here in Australia). For this, it actually takes effort on the consumers part to FIND both parts and after the taste left in your mouth by the first half, putting that effort in for the second may not seem worth it.
But I digress. Gonzo returns to the helm in this second part with its casual one fight per episode structure until the final story arc kicks in about halfway through the series. In the meantime we get to enjoy such antics as the team heading to a hot spring, cosplaying and other staple fan service until about episode 5 when the plot rears its head again and we head back towards an interesting horizon.
For what it's worth, its best to consider these two series to be just the one 24 episode series and should be viewed as such. There are episodes based more around comedy and character exploration, while others are focused more on developing the plot and are far more interesting. Watching the first half only will leave you drained and full of questions, while watching the two series back to back is far more fulfilling. Lastly, what you should remember at all times is that is a fun series that isn't trying to go over the top and become something deep. Its over the top in the sense that everything is just so blatantly exaggerated, but that's part of its appeal.
If you enjoy giant robot's and want something a little more easy on the brain I would recommend you give Gravion a go. As a whole series, its terrific fun and seriously, it's worth it just for the intro music to the second series. Sit down, turn your brain off and enjoy Gravion!
Original Publishing Date: 05/17/10
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