The only problem I have with the song on the cruise is the accent on the english, but other than that, if you don't try and understand what it is, the song is great and mellowing. Wish it were longer though.
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
The best anime I've ever seen in my life, but that may change. Skillfully animated and poignantly told, Erementar Gerad is marked down in my book as a really awesome anime series. The story, if some parts are a bit trite, is quite original and very colorful. Set in a new world, the series tests our imagination as there are weapons out there in shape of a human. The struggle to identify Eden-raids as the same as humans is very realistic and portrayed very nicely. In episode 3, when Coud realizes what Ren is saying in the clutches of the bad guy with the snake sting-raid, it really captures the heart of the series by portraying examples of racial, or in this case, alien bias. Each episode cleverly moves the series along and there are no fillers. If anything else, the producers spent a lot of time on character development, something I haven't quite seen in the manga. Coud is portrayed as being this happy-go-lucky kid who then realizes what it takes to protect someone he loves. Ren struggles with her association with the humans and Coud herself and develops as an outer-passive inner-strong girl who fights to be with Coud in the end. The Arc Aile trio is beautifully drawn and acted out, each member having their own quirks and problems, and they grow and mature as well throughout the series. Great production, hands down.
Rating:
Art
Although the anime quality was not as defined like Chrono Crusade, they still pulled it off and making the characters who they are. They made Ren really cute and branded Coud with that winning grin of his. Beautifully animated, unique weapons (or Eden raid), and awesome character depictions like the Eden-raid hunter, Wolx, make Erementar Gerad what it is. However, around episode 23 or 24, the art quality is downgraded by a lot, just as a warning for those of you who download. On top of that, they effectively employ "chibi" characters that just makes me wanna go "Awwww... that's so kawai!" The last fight scene with Coud and the Arc Aile trio is really complex and well animated that just goes to show the art is pretty competent.
Rating:
Sound
The beginning song "Forever" by Savage Genius and the "Everlasting" song creates a nice atmosphere of action and hope/love. Using techno and orchestra techniques, I felt that they used appropriate music where it needed to be. The episode where the main characters are on the cruise to go to the Garden of Eden is beautifully orchestrated. They made a new song that became the focus and motif for that episode, which is the singing song of Cisqua. It is really catchy and mellow and when Cisqua sings it at the end, it punctuates her sorrow and regret and childhood memories. As for the seiyuus, I couldn't ask for better voice acting: Ren with that innocent quiet voice but able to pierce the heart with that shattering "Iyeh!" at the end of episode 25 and Wolx with that dark sexy voice that says, "I'll kick your ass anyday, anytime, anywhere."
Rating:
Presentation
The struggle for the recognition of Eden-raids and even sting-raids is portrayed brilliantly in the series. That one particular aspect of the series has made me rewatch the series 3 times within 2 months - I even had one hour of sleep just to complete it. Some episodes seemed to drag a little, but they were still enjoyable in the end because it made up the series. The fight with the singer Eden-raid is somewhat an example of the "filler" type episode, but what it really does is that it introduces the main antagonist in the series, the Chaos Choir. All the tears and emotions seen in the anime are really realistic that it tugs at my heartstrings - very real even though the series is purely fantasy, especially the love triangle between Coud, Ren, and Viro: I love them all. Compared to the manga, the anime moves fast and yet at an enjoyable pace within the traditional 26 episodes. So in the end, it was all good and the bonding/singing ritual between Coud and Ren really got me as beautifully done.
Rating:
Final Verdict
9.3333 (very good)
Reviewed by g-money, Dec 16, 2005
Comments
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mikeon Dec 16, 2005
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Angel-on-Dragon Dec 16, 2005
I have been thinking about making a review of this anime myself....
But now I see, there's no need to do this anymore ^^ You totally speak my mind.
I loved this anime and I think it deserves this good rating. I loved the characters, especially Kuea ^^ -
g-money Dec 16, 2005
Thanks guys, this has been my first review... please pardon those slashes and weird letters as I wrote the review on M Word and just copy pasted into the reply windows, so bear with me.
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Kryuzei Dec 16, 2005
whoa...really high rating....
i agree the art is really beautiful ^^
nice review here...? -
Zeliard Dec 16, 2005
Hmm........ sorry to say that I don't kinda agree with the high rating. Maybe it's just my taste, but I stopped watching after the 5th episode.
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FFenril Dec 17, 2005
I watched the whole series and can't agree with a rating this high...
I've not read the manga so I can't compare, but the anime series has got an average animation, no battle are interestings, things move slowly, after seeing for the 3rd or 4th time Ren beind captured by the evil guys it begins to be boring...
For characters like Wolx or the fighting girl (forgot her name) it feels like the episode they appear in are fillers... You say all the episodes make the story advance, but the ones where Coud & co meet Wolx who is hunting for and Edil Raid, it *does* looks like a side story... (not to mention their behaviour at the end, Wolx especially... He cheers up his ennemy? He *totally* changed is mind? Oo) About behaviour, Coud really is stupid... Rushing into ennemies with no weapons all the time BEFORE thinking about reacting...
This anime had a great potential because it had a good concept (reminded me a little bit shaman king for using spirits/edil raid as weapons...), but it wasn't really well used... But for me, the ending really was STUPID. [SPOILER]I mean, the awful evil organisation leader start saying "oh noes we were wrong! sorries!" and it ends like that? WTF?[END OF SPOILER]However, I agree on the fact that Forever is a good song XD And the story had good ideas... But I think that for the potential that it had, Erementar Gerad is a big failure... I really hope that the manga is better (I downloaded an artbook and it was beautiful and really made me thought that even the art of the anime was average...)
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Linkplayer Dec 18, 2005
i totally agree with this review, i saw the anime and it became one of my alltime favorites, and for those who stopped watching after a few eps..IT'S YOUR LOSS!
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Zerosyb Dec 18, 2005
How great animal it is ! i agree the art is really beautiful ! The music made by FictionJunction YUUKA are also goods at.
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revontulet Dec 23, 2005
Cool, i learned something hehe, i am watching erementar in bits and pieces so i dont really get whats goin on...but still confused.
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g-money Dec 24, 2005
If you want, you can visit animenewsnetwork.com and look Erementar Gerad up or wait until Nuriko accepts my synopsis of EG because I sent her a synopsis.
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rankendrake Jan 08, 2006
Hehe, good review. Just finished watching the series and I totally agree. Must add that the anime is quite alot more expressive than the manga, at least in a literary point of view. And the music is good.
Oh, can I take your word for the artwork quality? Because my boxset of the anime is a pretty low-grade version, and I need to write up a EG review for someone.
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g-money Jan 08, 2006
Heh, my own EG episodes aren't top-notch either (less than 180 MBs per episode = low grade) However, I believe either eps 23 or 24 the art quality goes down the toilet such as badly drawn characters, bad shading, etc. Take my word for it. I forgot to mention this, but the settings may seem crappy with its 2-d like appearance, but I find that it adds more emphasis on the characters and the background didn't really bug me at all.
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mistyc Restricted Member Feb 18, 2006
i think than the review is good i couldnt make this better
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