Generator Gawl

I highly recommend this series to anyone that has a healthy (or unhealthy, whatever the case may be) interest in Sci-Fi stories that revolve around time travel. The characters are likeable, the plot flows well, and it has a good deal of eye candy action sequences. However, what I like best about it is that it makes you think and any media that does that is a good thing. Enjoy.

Story: 8
I was very surprised by this anime with how deep the plot was in only twelve episodes. Many of the twists I didn’t see coming. Generator Gawl’s story starts out slow but it was fast enough to keep you interesting in what was going to happen next. My two problems with this series are firstly that the first half of the series could have had a bit more plot development than it did rather than a monster of the week show. Secondly the School Festival episode was entirely useless. It had a little plot development but it could have been spread between the first ... half of the series, thus making the first half more plot based. I also didn’t get the ending of this series, I just didn’t get it. It was a very scifi ending and I didn’t see it coming, but it just felt like it wrapped everything up rather conveniently. Nevertheless, it was at least a good ending that didn’t have me needing a sequel.

I loved the dialogue in this series. It was all very fun and added much comedy. Their explanations of time travel and the science of the series made sense without the characters going into too much depth.

Art: 8
When it came to animation, this show took no shortcuts. Almost all movements were smooth. The battle scenes were active and didn’t have moments of just screaming how powerful you were to your opponent with a lined background to somehow make it look cool. It got right down to the attacking with little or no exhibition. This show is practically on par with most of the modernly made anime in its quality, particularly in its realistic character designs.

The characters were good when it came to appearance, noticeable their eyes were not typical anime eyes and their faces were very organic looking. The Generators, though, are where the real creativity went. They were all very detailed and interesting, until later in the series when some of them look just like humans with some putty plastered on them. Generator Gawl in my mind was always the coolest in appearance. The main bone I have to pick is with Natsume’s hair. What was with that? The way her hair was shaped was very distracting and honestly creepy. And I never got used to them. She was the only human who looked entirely unbelievable.

The background of this future set anime was realistic! Most anime set in the future (2007 in this case) take society to a ridiculous level. This show didn’t. We still had cars, cell phones, and schools, and we still dressed like human beings who need a sense of self expression. Thus it made the future seem to be a believable existence.
The art for the background was not fantastic but they did do the job and at times was quite beautiful.

Sound: 7 (dub)
The music is where this show really lacks in. The tracks really aren’t that great and from most scenes are absent entirely, and with the lack of background noise it was even worse making it seem like you are listening to a silent void.

I didn’t like the opening at all to start out with but it oddly grew on me. I still can’t say it’s great but it is a good opening. The ending has a sort of catchy tune that is pleasant to listen to and was comedic, a good thing for a show that otherwise has a serious plot.

The voice acting was the best part. Both Vic Mignogna (Gawl) and Monica Rial (Natsume) did excellently in their roles. They obviously showed less experience but I think this added to the performance, especially Gawl who sounded very snarky. Rozie Curtis, who voiced Masami was perfect at being bossy and sassy towards Gawl. It really is a shame she has barely voiced in anything else.

Character: 9
Gawl would have to be hands down my favourite character as well as the best written. His personality was very deep and intriguing. Not to say that the others weren’t also well made and all of fit into their roles. Gawl and Masami helped keep the mood light with their antics. Without it the series would have been very dark overall. The villains were also well made and I felt I had come to know them through the writing, very impressed.

Overall: 8
Scifi, action, suspense, mystery, and a tiny bit of romance make this "sort of" mecha series the right to be considered a classic. Unfortunately it seems the Otaku world has forgotten this series, which is a real crying shame. ADV going out of business didn't help either.
Frankly this is an amazing anime that everyone needs to check out, if you are lucky enough to find it that is. I just happened to have a copy at the local library, the rest of you, good luck. It had me interested from beginning to end and I am definitely considering owning this series because I could watch it over and over.

Parental Caution:
Rated PG-13
-Some swearing.
-Lots of monster blood.
-There is a public bath shown in one of the episodes. Gawl stands up in the bath but thankfully it was cleverly censored.
-There is a female generator who appears to be naked in her human form but the body tattoo mostly omits this and how the animation is done. Similar to Mystique or one of the other characters in X-men.
-The terms stalker and flasher are used, but neither situation come to fruition.

Animated by Tatsunoko Productions, a company with generally low budgets. They have made a few goodies such as Irresponcible Captain Tylor and Soul Taker but their roster is mostly made up of bad and passable anime. Directed by Mizushima Seiji, whose roster includes average to bad works. This doesn’t look very promising from the very first second you lay your eyes on it.

I have seen lots of shows where the protagonist transforms to a cybernetic monster and wrecks havoc to other monsters. The most famous amongst anime are Tekkaman Blade and Biobuster Armor Guyver, and if I include live action there is also Kamen Rider. ... Watching most of their duration was interesting or exciting. Since their target audience was young teens, they were meant to be full of action and emotion, the same things which this variant DOES NOT HAVE. Compared to the above titles, the production values are TERRIBLE! Simplistic character designs, dull explosions, boring BGM, slow plot, amateurish directing, the list of lazy productions just goes on.

The premise of the story is definitely good, for combining lots of interesting science fiction elements, such as time travel, advanced genetic manipulation, and mind control. Everything else in it though is one big mess. The pacing for example is purely episodic in the first half before it becomes slow and erratic in the second half. Half of the audience will be completely bored and will have given up midway, while most of the other half will be staring at it with complete apathy to the end. THERE IS NO EXCITEMENT! Everything plays out so damn basic and slow that fail to impress you.

At the same time this is not one of those deep philosophical shows that go for substance instead of style. It really is immature all the way, so not even the sophisticated viewers can appreciate it for trying to be smart. The very first episode is about three pretty boys being arrested as peeping toms, before being released and by complete chance having to live in the same house with the girl one of them erroneously molested. HOW’S THAT FOR MATURITY? No matter how smart the show attempts to be at times with some funky scientific talking, it is all trashed with retarded anime humor such as that.

What is even lamer about it is how the three main characters are supposed to be pretty boys and extremely smart. “Supposed” couldn’t be more presented in a vaguer way since they are clearly acting completely stupid most of the time and ARE NOT THAT PRETTY TO BEGIN WITH. Of course we can always blame the production values for the later issue. Everyone in this show looks like a blob most of the time. And damn, some of their hairstyles are just OUT THERE! There is even a girl where something bad happens to her and instead of feeling sorry you are just laughing with her improbable hairdo.

What is even lamer than that is how we are supposed to consider the main trio to be super cool and awesome for just standing around while wearing fancy leather and sunglasses. How the devil can we do that when essentially only ONE of them is important to the plot and he acts like an idiot all the time? Which one of the three you may ask? Well, look at the title, why do you think the anime is called Gawl? So yeah, only he is the hero and the other two just come along as extra space and flavor for the female audience who… Hey wait a second; why do we even need a female audience for this show to begin with? It is action/supernatural for male teenagers! Stupid publicity stunts!

Anyways, it’s not like they worked to begin with. They don’t look so awesome because the production values suck. And so do the battles; man, they are so short and dull. Some creatures make of foam appear and Gawl turns to a beast and kicks their asses in a few minutes of boredom. They don’t even blow up after defeat; they just dissolve to dust, which is again lame. The other two and the token chick are mostly looking spaced out at him while doing all that; it’s like they are there just to eat up screen time.

They are not even developed in any way to care about them. Every single character in this show is a simplistic archetype and sticks to it no matter what happens. The three dudes are like they popped out of a c-grade date sim for women and the two girls are standard token chicks that are there to provide humor and cheap drama without actually doing anything. Yawn!

The fandom forgot about this show very fast and for a good reason. There was nothing in it that you won’t find in the titles I mention in the beginning and it also looks bad. Not recommended.

And now for some excused scorings.
ART SECTION: 4/10
Analysis: General Artwork 0/2, Character Figures 1/2, Backgrounds 1/2, Animation 1/2, Visual Effects 1/2

SOUND SECTION: 4/10
Analysis: Voice Acting 1/3, Music Themes 1/4, Sound Effects 2/3

STORY SECTION: 3/10
Analysis: Premise 1/2, Pacing 1/2, Complexity 0/2, Plausibility 0/2, Conclusion 1/2

CHARACTER SECTION: 4/10
Analysis: Presence 0/2, Personality 1/2, Backdrop 1/2, Development 1/2, Catharsis 1/2

VALUE SECTION: 1/10
Analysis: Historical Value 0/3, Rewatchability 0/3, Memorability 1/4

ENJOYMENT SECTION: 1/10
Analysis: Art 0/1, Sound 0/2, Story 1/3, Characters 0/4

VERDICT: 3/10