there could have been detail put into the story and characters. and I noticed a tiny bit of spoilers and why is this considered your favorite of all time? you touched only a little bit about it. I'm familiar with this anime, but if other people read this review it's probably going to confuse them more than help them approach it or not. you only bothered with one character but that was later in the review when you were going on about cosplaying? which probably wasn't really relevant to the review over all. as this is your first review, as I can remember my first review...regardless errors and mistakes are bound to happen when doing a first review sometimes. if you're curious about a well structured review check out some of the others which float about and possibly a group which could be helpful as well. don't let this discourage you and I do hope to see more reviews from you in the future.
Erementar Gerad tv Review
Coud Van Giruet, a sky pirate, stumbles upon a girl named Reverie Metherlance in a coffin during a loot raid, and learns that she is an Edel Raid, a living weapon.
Almost immediatly after, a fight breaks out to obtain the power of Reverie Metherlance. Coud is then left possession of Reverie (more simply called Ren). In the ensuing fight, Coud becomes her Pledger-- the human that bonds with an Edel Raid. As they escape, Coud swear to escort her to Edel Garden, the supposed birthplace of Edel Raids.
Together with three members from Arc Aile, an organization that supposedly protects Edel Raids, Coud and Ren fend off thieves that want Ren's power as they make their way to the mythical Edel Garden.
Story & Characters
Elemental Gelade is hands down my favourite anime of all time. I know that there are better out there. I've seen them. But Elemental Gelade is just... wonderful. A total of only ~25 episodes, there is no filler, just a story that draws you in and makes you laugh and cry along with every one of the characters. The character development was so well paced, and very in depth. The characters were easy to relate to--even the supposed "bad guys" had their reasons and motivations that showed that, rather than a flat villain who was evil for evil's sake, these were real people who, however misguided, were doing what they thought was right.
Rating:
Art
For the time it was created, the art is phenomenal. Today's art far outstrips it with how it can appear three dimensional, but considering what was available at the time I think it was wonderful. Not everyone can pull a James Cameron and wait 15 years for the technology to catch up with the vision.
I find the art in Elemental Gelade to be very fluid, wonderfully expressing movement. Just the opening theme is a good indication of it; how realistically Ren's dress billows in the wind, the skillful blend of art techniques...
Though I think Coud's hair is very reminiscent of Yu-gi-oh.
Rating:
Sound
I'll shamelessly admit I pay next to no attention to such things as BGM and such. As long as it sounds good, right?
I will say that I love the incorporation of celtic-sounding music throughout the show. It just gives it this atmosphere of a fantastic world. My inner Scotswoman wiggled in delight through most of it.
As for the voice-acting... the Japanese voice actors were wonderful. I cannot say anything close to the same for the English dubs. When the dub first came out I watched the first episode out of curiosity, and just about broke down crying. In my eyes (or ears, rather) the dub mutilated it.
To start off, the choice of voice actors themselves was terrible. Ren's voice in the original is incredibly soft-spoken, slightly monotone, and positively oozes emotionless indifference. Ren's voice in the dub sounds like some weird robot. Just... weird and flat. Instantly gone was the feeling of this softspoken, withdrawn girl who couldn't relate to the world. Instead there was a blunt, inhuman girl who really hated everything.
To make things worse, the lines had all changed. The best joke of the first episode entirely lost its humour due to the rewording. I couldn't bring myself to watch past the first episode, but it was enough. I understand that dubs have to change the words so that they can match the mouth movement... but during his joke, you couldn't see Coud's face! His back was to the audience!!
The last thing that forever condemns the dub in my eyes: Erementar Gerard. Edel Raid. COME ON. How in the world does "Erementar" make more sense than "Elemental"? Japanese make no distinction between l's and r's, but that's no excuse for English speakers. Of course there's no real way to prove if it's supposed to be Erementar Gerard or Elemental Gelade (other than the obvious fact that it sounds tons better as the latter and actually is someone intelligible, and that the English manga under the latter name had already been released) but Edel?? They are trying to find the Garden of Eden, so wouldn't it naturally follow that they are called Eden Raids? In fact, direct quote from wikipedia,
Quote: Eve is the queen of Edel Garden...
. I suppose the idea of Eve's garden being called Eden is too obvious.
To make matters EVEN WORSE, the most common subbed versions are NOT translations. No. Rather than actually translating the Japanese properly, most of the subs are just the dub lines written down and then pasted onto the original Japanese episodes. So even if you decide the dubs are terrible and go watch the subs, you still do not get the full benefit of a real translation. And the only way you could possibly tell the difference is if you have a good grasp of Japanese, or if you've seen the proper translations before. Thankfully every episode starts with a short blurb about the series, making it easy to spot the lazy subs if you know what the subs are supposed to say.
So to summarize, the music was wonderful. The original voice-acting was fantastic. 10/10. The dub was a travesty. -1000/10.
Rating:
Presentation
To me, Elemental Gelade was inspiring. When I decided to cosplay for the very first time I didn't hesitate in choosing Ren. Because I just loved it that much. Sadly it's not very well known... But it should be. There's fighting, action and pirates for the shonen lovers out there; romance and touching themes for the shoujo lovers; younger audiences would find it simple and pure enough to understand while older audiences would find the issues and concepts complex enough to hold them.
Belonging, friendship, equality, morality, loyalty, all these and more are addressed in this beautiful anime. Personally, it's all I've ever wanted in a story. I've seen better humour. I've seen better romance. I've seen better fantasy. I've seen better action. But never have I seen all of that and more so masterfully blended and balanced in one plot line.
Elemental Gelade is the anime that truly brought me into the world of anime and showed me how amazing it could be. It will always be my favourite. Though I knew barely any Japanese when I read it, replaying the short intro that every episode starts with in my head to this day makes me feel calm and relaxed. Though the only words I was ever really able to catch back then were sora (sky), densetsu (legend), ai (love), and the name of the world, Guardia, remembering the cadence and the meaning... It perfectly sums up the wonder of the series.
Quote: A yearning for the sky, a closeness to the sky. A world where some had obtained a mysterious power that had risen to the skies: Guardia, where once there was a legend. Deep in the horizon, surrounded by the distant clouds, a land of gold. Pursuing this tale through his dreams within the freedom of the skies, the boy, Coud, a thief of the sky. Traveling the road of ups and downs on his journeys of love and adventure.
Rating:
Final Verdict
9.3333 (very good)
Reviewed by Liung, Mar 20, 2012
Comments
-
angelxxuan Banned Member Mar 20, 2012
-
SnickerdoodleNinja Retired Moderator Mar 21, 2012
You've got a lot of good thoughts present here, but as angelxxuan mentioned the story and art sections could both use quite a bit of elaboration. Remember, a large purpose of reviews is to help others decide whether or not they want to look into the series, and for that we need to know more specifics about what makes the series so great. Sometimes it also helps to try to keep your tone in such a way that something doesn't come across as ranting; I think you're points about the translation seem very valid, but sometimes tone can make it seem like a person is getting carried away even if their thoughts are perfectly valid.
Please don't let this be a discouragement; I can definitely see that you've got nice writing style and ability, but there are always things that even veteran writers can improve on and I have not doubt you could do really well in reviews with a few changes. Hope to see more from you! :) I've been curious about this show, so I might have to check it out sometime.
P.S.: Here's a great resource if you decide to continue reviewing: http://forum.minitokyo.net/t69855.
-
Shadowgirl Apr 26, 2012
I liked the entrance movie and song it was EPIC and the art and everything amazahhhhh. I was blown away i thought it would have been something like the hack series but i was....... just WOW
page 1 of 1 3 total items
Only members can post replies, please register.