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Plot Synopsis

After going through numerous interstellar wars, mankind is finally formed an interstellar union. However there are still much disputes and wars occurring amongst the members of the union itself.

In order to resolve this dispute, a secret organization, known as GOTT, is formed. They trained agents with special powers to fight for the organization.

Agent Eclair and Lumiere are two girls with outstanding abilities, and they are assigned as partners. Together, they fight, and slowly dive deeper to uncover about the secret of the organization that they work for.

Synopsis by niomea.

Story & Characters

Take two young women: one with red hair, a fiery temper and lots of cheerful enthusiasm; one with blue hair, a cool outlook to match and the ongoing desire to be elegant; combine with plenty of fan-service (but not too much originality), and you could quite succinctly sum up Kiddy Grade. Then again, to be fair, this series goes a bit further than that. Kiddy Grade provides a decent science fiction storyline with numerous cues taken from older and similar anime (particularly the classic "Dirty Pair"), while updating the premise to a contemporary production in 2004.

The structure of the series starts off with a number of discrete episodes introducing Eclair and Lumiere, as well as other characters, working on separate missions. Throughout these episodes numerous subtle hints are dropped that will, if the viewer is observant, have further implications later on in the series. The second part of the series (from Episode 15 onwards) becomes more cohesive; and viewers get to see how the discrete parts come together to form a storyline with lots of political intrigue, corruption, discrimination, revenge, and a healthy dose of violence.

One key element that caught my attention when looking at this series was a tag-line in the trailer: "What happens when you question authority", often a good hint for some sort of intrigue that leads into conspiracy and betrayal - all good stuff.

The two main characters: Eclair and Lumiere are partners working a double-life. At times they operate as receptionists for the Galactic Organisation of Trades and Tariffs (GOTT). Otherwise they are off enforcing the peace, solving problems, and catching criminals as covert ES members - operating above the galactic law rather than outside it. Both Eclair and Lumiere have special capabilities: Eclair with super-strength and speed that is effected when she applies a special lipstick; and Lumiere with the ability to access and gain control of any electronic device (computers, spaceships, mecha, etc.). However, not everything is quite as it seems on the surface. Underlying both Eclair and Lumiere is a history for each of them that percolates to the surface about half-way through the series with drastic and unpredictable consequences; and shifts the viewer's perceptions of both characters significantly.

Along with Eclair and Lumiere are several other ES teams; all operating as pairs; and all with special abilities that can combine for a "super" ability. In a number of cases the other ES teams have a relationship between the two members (e.g. brother and sister, former colleagues prior to joining GOTT, etc.). Interestingly, Eclair nor Lumiere have neither benefit: no super-power when combined or direct relationship between them; but they both have an implicit bond with each other that surpasses their working relationship and has something to do with their respective histories.

Many of the other minor characters have certain relationships with others, and these are revealed progressively throughout the series. The cast, in itself, is quite large and certain characters will only be seen for one episode, or additional cameo spots in other episodes. Similarly, the minor characters often emphasise the key theme of discrimination - and are not overly subtle about it.

The Bottom Line: While this series can hardly be called original with the various cues taken from older anime (particularly Dirty Pair), the storyline and character relationships evolve as the series progresses. The story provides a number of hints (in the early half) and plot twists (in the latter sections) that do manage to hold interest throughout and, in a number of cases, warrant further viewing to pick up the nuances on a second or third run-through. In all, the storyline is delivered competently and is an entertaining watch for people interested in a combination of science fiction, political intrigue, and loads of fan-service.

Rating

7 (above average)

Art

The artwork for this show is abound in fan-service with Eclair's panty-shots and revealing costumes dominant. Character designs and costumes are definitely tailored for arguably the general male demographic, presumably the target audience for this series.

With that fundamental observation out of the way, the rest of the artwork is nicely detailed and appropriate for a science-fiction context. The animation is produced by Gonzo Digimation, which brings together clear evidence of computer-generated images (e.g. mecha and spaceships) together with digital cel imagery (everything else). There are no "traditional" cels in this series as everything has been painted digitally and integrated using computers entirely, a common technique for contemporary productions. Accordingly, the colours are consistent without fail right through the entire series, even if the artwork quality slips a little towards the end as some the physical designs of some of the regular characters changed (for example Armblast on disc 8).

The artwork also adopts the notion that things do not always appear what they really are. For example: while Lumiere may be young in physical appearance, that appearance is belied by a maturity far greater than Eclair's - the "older" partner in their ES team. As a consequence, the character designs work well in portraying ironic situations and providing visual "twists" in addition to those in the storyline. Often these twists are subtle, so keep your eyes peeled.

On a technical note, there were no significant issues with the transfer (the Region 4 version at any rate). Colours were clear and vibrant and there was no evidence of artefacts or bleeding of the colour. The detail was well maintained throughout with only 3 episodes per disc providing plenty of space and avoiding any issues of an overly compressed video track.

The Bottom Line: Nothing to complain about on the visuals in this title - if you don't mind fan-service being dished up by the truckload. Characters are well-designed and attractive (including some of the males - Sinistra, Dextera stand up please) and the attention to detail for the mecha and ships shows a thoroughness commonly expected of Gonzo Digimation.

Rating

8 (good)

Sound

Primary listening to this show was in the original Japanese language with the odd spot-check to the English tracks for some comparisons. The Region 4 release had three audio tracks provided: Dolby Digital 5.1 English; Dolby Digital 2.0 English; Dolby Digital 2.0 Japanese. The Japanese track had, in my view, the best consistency with the dialogue and the ongoing impressions of the characters. As with many other anime, the English tracks managed to portray the younger cast members with a more mature timbre than the visuals would have you lead to believe. It is for this reason mainly that I choose to stick with the Japanese track. Case in point where Viola was commenting to Lumiere about the dinners as payback, the English track didn't manage to convey the bratty aspects to Viola's dialogue that the Japanese one managed to do well. Both DD 2.0 tracks provided good directionality for the dialogue, while the DD 5.1 track provided a bit of a boost to the overall soundstage, particularly with the use of the subwoofer for some effects.

One point to note, though, is that the subtitles reflected the English ADR script and were not necessarily an accurate translation of the original dialogue. For example: in one case Lumiere's Japanese dialogue clearly said "Eclair", but the subtitles read "You made it". A second example was reading subtitles, but not hearing any dialogue! Even the "Engrish" dialogue segments were not necessarily translated faithfully - and this was pointedly obvious with some of the launch sequences. However, when you listen to the English track, the timing of the subtitles and dialogue matched very closely. While this is ostensibly a nit-picking criticism, it did detract from the authentic experience of expecting what you read is an accurate translation of what you hear.

The music track was generally appropriate and not overly remarkable in its own right. The choice of music for different segments was consistent with the context of the scene - something gritty for the conspiracy bits, something bright when Eclair and Lumiere are relaxing or happy, etc. You were able to get clear cues from certain tracks, with consistent themes used for, as an example, the dramatic conspiracy parts. That said, the tracks weren't overly memorable and don't necessarily warrant going out and looking for the soundtrack for one's own collection.

The Bottom Line: The audio was appropriate for the genre and was well deployed on the review equipment (Yamaha HTR-5740 6.1 system). My usual preference is to stick with the Japanese dialogue for reasons set out above, but that preference should not detract prospective viewers from taking a look at this series. Music was also appropriate, but not overly memorable in its own right.

Rating

7 (above average)

Presentation

The Madman release (Region 4 for Australia and New Zealand) comes out as 8 discs with a collectors box. Madman has now made the entire collection at a discounted price compared to acquiring the discs individually for those of us patient enough to wait a while (I wasn't).

Each disc was a DVD-9 (single-sided double-layer) and with three episodes on each disc, there was no artefects or macroblocking arising from an overly compressed video. This also provided opportunities to embed a range of extras on each disc. Usually the extras comprised a slideshow gallery of content from the disc; the textless opening and endings; character biographies (although these were repeated across the discs); promotional videos and original Japanese commercials; as well as trailers of other Madman releases. Maybe I'm getting picky again, but the extras didn't stand out as attractions in their own right; and I'm getting spoiled enough with other titles to expect more than the usual suspects.

Overall, Kiddy Grade provides a decent science fiction series with enough of a storyline to keep the viewer interested throughout. While certain aspects of it can hardly be called original or innovative, the presentation works well with contemporary treatment of artwork and the use of CGI in a seamless manner. It doesn't require dedicated concentration, but there are hints dropped throughout the first half of the series that only gain significance in the second half, so some attention to detail and nuances will help in the overall enjoyment of the series. The series is rated in Australia as PG - Parental Guidance recommended (Discs 1 to 3) and M15+ - Mature Audiences (Discs 4 to 8) for some adult themes, healthy doses of fan-service, and low-level animated violence (i.e. you get to see people killed and stuff being blown up). Accordingly, this series would be suitable for teenagers and young adults, and I'd recommend this series to anyone interested in a blend of science fiction, mystery and a bit of political intrigue.

Rating

6 (average)

Final Verdict

6.83 (above average)

Reviewed by davidh01, 43wk 3d ago