Gasaraki

Gasaraki - Perfect Collection

Gasaraki blends high-quality animation with interesting mecha designs and a convoluted plot that borrows heavily from Evangelion. In the not-too-distant future, the robot-suits of the Gowa Corporation fight in a Middle Eastern conflict modeled on the Gulf War. That battle is linked to the Gowa family's attempts to unleash the Gasaraki, a powerful entity from another dimension, through a Noh dance by Yoshiro Gowa, the youngest of the brothers. Miharu, a young woman who shares a psychic bond with both Yoshiro and the Gasaraki, thwarts their efforts. While his older brother Kazukiyo plots with a fanatic right-wing cabal to "purify" Japan, Yoshiro and Mirahu embark on a voyage of self-discovery. They learn that the real Yushiro Gowa died eight years ago, and share a vision of a revolt in Heian Japan (794-1185) involving Kugai, huge mobile suits with faces modeled on Noh masks. When Yoshiro and Miharu block Kazukiyo's plot to resurrect the mysterious Gasaraki, they are carried into an Evangelion-like collage of still artwork, processed live action, drawn animation, and computer-generated imagery, overlaid with a pointillist vocal track. Toru Nozaki's screenplay leaves major plot threads dangling, including Yoshiro's death and replacement. Director Ryusuke Takahashi struggles to move the various subplots along, but the result is like watching a juggler trying to keep one ball too many in the air. Gasaraki divides viewers into fervent partisans and furious detractors. Rated 12+: Violence, tobacco use, brief nudity, occasional profanity, grotesque imagery. --Charles Solomon

Gasaraki - The Summoning (Vol. 1)

Although only recently released in the U.S., Gasaraki is already dividing viewers into enthusiastic admirers and detractors who dismiss it as dull and needlessly complicated. In the not-too-distant future, a conflict modeled on the Gulf War rages in the Middle Eastern nation of Belgistan. The defeat of the American-led U.N. ground forces suggests that dictator Colonel Stilbanov has somehow acquired breakthrough weaponry. Meanwhile the powerful Japanese Gowa family is conducting elaborate experiments that combine a Noh dance performance by the Yushiro, the youngest of the brothers, the development of bipedal battle mecha, and an attempt to contact an extremely powerful force from another dimension. Their efforts are thwarted by Miharu, a young woman who can communicate with both Yushiro and the mysterious power. Miharu is a prisoner of the sinister cabal who control Stilbanov. Gasaraki offers some polished animation and interesting mecha designs. But director Ryusuke Takahashi has the unenviable task of setting a convoluted plot in motion while introducing more than a dozen characters, some of whom have very similar names, while others remain unnamed. The story is initially difficult to follow, and Toru Nazaki's script wastes the viewer's time with pseudotechnical instrument readouts and military jargon. Contains these episodes: 1. "On the Ancient Stage of Stone," 2. "Opening Movement," 3. "Tantric Circle," 4. "Mirage." Unrated; suitable for ages 12 and up for violence, largely restricted to machine versus machine, and occasional profanity. --Charles Solomon

ry: For a thousand years, the Gowa family has secretly manipulated the fate of Japan, first through political intrigue and now through the manufacture of a frightening new weapons system. In a world in which giant robots are real, however, the most powerful weapon of all lurks within a human mind. Combining the hard edge of modern military thrillers with the frightening reality of tomorrow's super-science, "Gasaraki's" multi-layered story and unique blend of apocalyptic carnage and surreal mysticism promise that the world of Japanese animation will never be the same!

Gasaraki - Betrayal (Vol. 3)

Gasaraki ranks among the most complicated anime series, which may be why viewers either love or hate it, with little middle ground. Kazukiyo Gowa plots with Mr. Nishida, the fanatic head of a sect dedicated to purifying a Japan he regards as so corrupt that he blinded himself with a samurai sword to keep from seeing it. Yushiro is taken from his army unit, which is then used in dangerous experiments with the mecha TA's. Miharu taps into the Gowa Labs data banks and discovers Yushiro Gowa died eight years ago. Yushiro greets this revelation with an understated, "I'm dead?" When he asks his icy mother who he is, she sends him to Noh master Sorachi. In an ancient storehouse, they find a gargantuan mobile suit, "a Kugai--a gift from Gasaraki which can be operated only by a Kai." Sorachi declares Yushiro and Miharu are linked by the "Monoyose Kai bloodline," and sends them to the mountains south of Kyoto to learn who--and what--they are. Director Ryusuke Takahashi struggles to move all these stories along, but the result is like watching a juggler trying to keep one ball too many in the air. Unrated; suitable for ages 12 and up for violence, largely restricted to machine versus machine, and occasional profanity. --Charles Solomon

The battle moves to Japan as the T.A. team members find themselves prisoners in their own country. As opposing forces in the government tear each other to shreds, the Gowas make plans to exploit their new discoveries. But the Symbol strike teams are already in motion. Yushiro's past and future collide as a shocking revelation strips him of both his soul and identity in the third shocking volume of "Gasaraki."

Gasaraki - The Circle Opens (Vol. 2)

As the story unfolds, director Ryusuke Takahashi and writer Toru Nazaki begin to fill in some of the blanks from the first four episodes. The bipedal robot-suits of the Gowa Corporation ("Tactical Armor" or "T.A.'s") fight the similar weapons of the Belgistani dictator, Colonel Stilbanov. During the skirmish, the Gowa team obtains samples of the rival mechanisms' synthetic muscle, which could reveal valuable secret information. Stilbanov's mecha were supplied by the transnational conglomerate Symbol. Having used Belgistan as a testing ground for their weapons experiments, the Symbol leaders assassinate the dictator and rig a coup d'état, ending the war. Their attention shifts to recapturing the muscle samples--by any means necessary. T.A. pilot Yushiro Gowa and Miharu, the female "invitator" held by Symbol, remain inexplicably drawn to each other. During a brief meeting at a church, she once again warns him not to let "the Terror return." Symbol's attempts to kidnap Yushiro prevent her from explaining what the Terror may be. Like the Gundam pilots, Yushiro is so stoic and taciturn he's not very compelling as a character. Gasaraki would be more exciting (and easier to follow) if the viewer knew more about what he's thinking and feeling. Contains these episodes: 5. "The Touching," 6. "The Puppet," 7. "Return." Unrated; suitable for ages 12 and up for violence, largely restricted to machine versus machine, and occasional profanity. --Charles Solomon

Giant robots meet in fierce combat for the first time as betrayals and bloodshed tear the allied coalition apart. Friend and foe become meaningless words as brother sacrifices brother in a desperate battle for control of the secrets behind the T.A. And even as the T.A. team attempts to rescue Yushiro from the forces of an unknown enemy, his mysterious opponent reveals herself to him.

Gasaraki - To Be a Kai (Vol. 8)

This baroque mecha drama concludes in an elaborate finale that borrows heavily from Neon Genesis Evangelion. The economic attack and military confrontation with the United States planned by the jingoistic Nishida fizzle out; his vision of a purified Japanese society evaporates; the mutinous defense troops stand down. But the megalomaniacal Kazukiyo Gowa proceeds with his plan to resurrect the mysterious Gasaraki. When Yoshiro and Miharu arrive to prevent the resurrection, they are carried into an Evangelion-like collage of still art, processed live action, drawn animation, and computer-generated imagery, overlaid with a pointillist vocal track. Toru Nozaki's screenplay leaves many plot threads dangling, including questions about Yoshiro's death and replacement by someone with identical psychic powers. Gasaraki has not generated the widespread and heated debates of Evangelion, but it will likely remain a series that divides viewers into fervent partisans and furious detractors. Rated 12+: Violence, grotesque imagery. --Charles Solomon

In this volume, the world stands poised on the brink of destruction. Only through the actions of a few brave men and women will the Earth survive the coming conflict. While the puppets of the Kugutsu struggle to sever the strings that control them, the Kai prepare for their ultimate confrontation. The ultimate terror arrives in To Be a Kai - the eighth and final volume of Gasaraki.

Gasaraki - In the Spider's Web (Vol. 7)

In the penultimate collection, director Ryosuke Takahashi picks up some of the plot lines of this supernatural mecha series. The all-important "path of the kai" forgotten, Yoshiro insists on rescuing the psychic Miharu, who has been kidnapped by the combined forces of Symbol and the U.S. military. He attacks an American airbase in his SSDF mecha suit. Mutely awaiting her fate, Miharu experiences a series of flashbacks very similar to the ones Rei Ayanami undergoes in Evangelion. Meanwhile, the powerful Gowa family and Yoshiro's SSDF unit have joined the cabal organized by the jingoistic Nishida, who hopes to return Japan to an idealized past. By manipulating economic forces, Nishida plans to provoke the United States into staging a fake terrorist incident in Japan, then intervening militarily. After the events of September 11, some viewers may be uncomfortable with the terrorism story line. Rated 12+: Violence, tobacco use, brief nudity. --Charles Solomon

As Yushiro struggles desperately to rescue Miharu, the noose around the neck of the free world begins to tighten. As the US and Japan find themselves driven to the brink of war, the very fabric of civilization begins to unravel. Caught in the crossfire, the TA Team must make the difficult decision of whom and what to fight for in a war that no one can possibly win.

Gasaraki - Fires of War (Vol. 6)

The filmmakers seem to lose track of the story line as this supernatural mecha saga lurches toward its climax. The all-important "path of the kai" that Yushiro and Miharu were following to Kyoto to escape their pasts and probable futures is forgotten as they take refuge in a slum inhabited by illegal Chinese immigrants. The sight of a lily of the valley triggers memories that may explain who Yushiro really is. This revelation has surprisingly little effect on him, but Miharu lapses into near-catatonia. Symbol continues its all-out search for her, but the mighty Gowa family isn't pursuing Yushiro as aggressively. Its leaders are busy working with the right-wing fanatic Nishida, whose plot to restore Japan's ancient purity is tied to unrest triggered by the United States ending grain exports. Fans will delight in these newest complications; detractors will dismiss them as muddying an already opaque narrative. Rated 12+: Violence, tobacco use. --Charles Solomon

Gasaraki - From the Ashes (Vol. 4)

Gasaraki continues to offer high-quality animation and interesting mecha designs, along with an extremely convoluted plot, nattering dialogue, and icy, uncommunicative characters. These three episodes feel like a long digression. Military tests of the Gowa-manufactured Tactical Armor suits or TAs end in disaster when a "biologically enhanced" pilot runs amok, tearing off the heads of other mecha. Only Yushiro can subdue him. With both the military and other members of the Gowa family after them, Yushiro and Miharu are caught in a cruel pincer movement. Revelations pile up, as the patriarch of the clan discloses that his eldest son, Kazukiyo, has been conspiring with renegade military officers and right-wing radicals. The illegal bio-technical experiments are part of their plot to seize power and return to the ancestral ways of their "warrior clan." Numerous references are made to (the) Gasaraki, to the Kugai (the ancestral mobile suit that looks like cross between a Noh demon costume and an elaborate mecha), and to the fact that Yushiro and Miharu are "Kai," but no one explains what those words really mean. "Disembark" ends where "Ties" began, with Yushiro and Miharu once again on the road to self-discovery, with neither the viewer nor the characters appreciably wiser. Unrated; suitable for ages 12 and up for violence, largely restricted to machine versus machine, as well as occasional profanity and grotesque imagery. --Charles Solomon

The secrets of the kugutsu continue to come to light as Yushiro and Miharu find themselves pursued by both the military and the Gowas. Their only hope: to discover the true nature of the kai before it can be used against the nation of Japan. Meanwhile, Yushiro's SSDF teammates find themselves thrown into a deadly mission of their own, forced into combat with a berserk squad of rogue T.A.s! The action is nonstop and betrayal lurks around every turn in the new shocking collection of "Gasaraki!"

Gasaraki - Revelations (Vol. 5)

Revelations about the pasts of the main characters further tangle the already complicated plot of this supernatural mecha adventure. While Kazukiyo Gowa plots a right-wing coup with the sinister Nishida and his allies, Yushiro Gowa and Miharu continue their flight to Kyoto, following the "path of the kai." At a ruined shrine, they share a vision of a revolt against the Emperor in Heian Japan (794-1185). They both participate in the struggle, piloting Kugai, huge mobile suits with faces based on Noh masks, although it's not clear whether they're the same Yushiro and Miharu or earlier incarnations. One of the key players in the Heian conflict is an androgynous figure in a wimplelike robe who influences the decisions of the Empress and can actually summon Gasaraki; the viewer can learn his name (Einyo) by studying the "episode production sheets" included in the extra features, but not who he is. Back in the present, when 14-year-old Misuzu Gowa asks what's become of her brother Yushiro, Noh master Sorachi tells her, "He died eight years ago--and was replaced." Oddly, she inquires, "Why?" rather than the more pertinent, "How?" or "With what?" The mecha battles and multiple graphic styles will delight fans of the series, but the endless plot twists will confirm its detractors' complaints. Unrated; suitable for ages 12 and up for violence, occasional profanity, and grotesque imagery. --Charles Solomon

Gasaraki Vol 1:Complete Collection

For years, the Gowa family has secretly manipulated the fate of Japan, through politcal intrigue and now by manufacturing Tactical Armors-humanoid combat mechs. Yushiro, the youngest Gowa, uses his abillity to call upon Gasaraki to fight his family's devious plans. In a world where giant robots are real, the most powerful weapon lurks within a human mind.